HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4592

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 4, 2022.

The committee on Public Service, to whom was referred so much of the recommendations of the Department of the State Treasurer (House, No, 25) as relates to non-Commonwealth entities within the state employees' retirement system (House, No. 48), the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1729) of Anne M. Gobi, Kimberly N. Ferguson, Mathew J. Muratore, Joanne M. Comerford and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to regional planning agencies, and the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2550) of James Arciero and others relative to the retirement of members of regional planning agencies, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4592) ought to pass.

For the committee,

KENNETH I. GORDON.

        FILED ON: 3/11/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4592

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to non-Commonwealth entities within the state employees' retirement system.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The General Laws are hereby amended in Chapter 40B by inserting after Section 30 the following section:-

Section 31.  (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings: --

“Agency”, shall mean the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, the Old Colony Planning Council, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District.

(b)  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an agency that is a member of the state retirement system pursuant to chapter 32 of the General Laws shall be deemed to be or shall continue to be a member of the state retirement system.

(c) An agency shall not be held liable for any past due contributions outstanding as of the date of passage of this Act.

SECTION 2.  Paragraph (c) of sub-section 4 of section 28 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended to read as follows:

(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, each agency as defined in Section 1 above, the employees of which have become, or which become members of the state employees retirement system under the provisions of this subdivision or any other previous act, shall remit to the state board of retirement as the employer's normal cost as determined by the actuary, of benefits earned during each year by such employees who are members of the state employees' retirement system.

The actuary shall determine such cost as a percentage of the payroll of the district, non-commonwealth entity and collaborative for such employees based upon the most recent actuarial valuation of the state retirement system.  The actuary may consider factors including types of governmental unit, employee demographic information, and employee group classification to help in the determination of said percentage.  Said cost shall be paid monthly and deposited in the pension reserve fund of the state employees' retirement system.  The actuary shall review the percentage determined in this paragraph at least every three years.