HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1577        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2583

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the Massachusetts State Employees Retirement System.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1577        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2583

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to the Massachusetts 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. Subdivision 6 of section 22 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended in paragraph (b) by inserting after the final sentence the following two sentences:- For each calendar year beginning subsequent to December thirty-first, two thousand and twenty-three, ''regular interest'' shall mean interest credited at a rate established by the commission, equal to the increase of the most recent Consumer Price Index for New England issued by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The rate established by the commission shall be taken to the nearest tenth of one per cent; provided that the rate established by the commission shall not exceed two per cent.

SECTION 2. Subdivision 4 of section 28 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out paragraph (c) and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph (c):- 

(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, each district, non-commonwealth governmental unit, or educational collaborative as authorized by the provisions of section four E of chapter forty, 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.

SECTION 3. Subdivision 4 of section 28 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

(d)  The state retirement board upon terms and conditions it may establish, may require a participating employer governed by this sub-section, who fails to remit either its normal cost amount as determined in paragraph €, or the contributions made on behalf of employees who are members of the Massachusetts State Employees Retirement System as required by section 22 of Chapter 32, by the first day of the second month following the work month, to pay an additional amount equal to 10% of the total amount of delinquent contributions.  The state retirement board shall have the right to commence an action in contract for payment of outstanding amounts determined to be due in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

SECTION 4. Section 28 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting at the end thereof the following subdivision:-

(9) For the purposes of this section, “non-commonwealth governmental unit” shall mean an employer as defined in section one of chapter 32 whose employees are not employees of the commonwealth or an agency thereof, employed in a position in the service of the commonwealth, and whose regular compensation is not paid by the commonwealth, eligible for membership in the state employees retirement system and the requirements in connection therewith.

SECTION 5. Section 8 of chapter 32A of the General Laws, as so, is hereby amended by inserting after the fourth paragraph the following sentence:- All amounts withheld under the provisions of section 19 and section 19A of chapter 32 forwarded by the state retirement board to the commission as provided by this section from pensions or retirement allowances issued in the month of the death of any retiree, survivor or beneficiary shall be returned to the state retirement board by the commission.

SECTION 6. Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009 is hereby amended by striking section 139 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 139. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, employees of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation as defined in Section 8 of this Act who are hired after the effective date of this act shall become members of the Massachusetts State Employees’ retirement system, and notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary including, but not limited to, paragraph (c) of subdivision (8) of section 3 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, said system shall be responsible for all liability attributable to said service of such employees. The liabilities attributable to any other service of such employees shall be recoverable by the commonwealth pursuant to the terms of paragraph (c) of subdivision (8) of section 3 of chapter 32 of the General Laws.”

SECTION 7. Said chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009 is hereby amended by striking section 159 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 159. (a) Effective upon the date of dissolution of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority: (1) the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Employees' Retirement System shall be dissolved ; (2) all members of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Employees’ Retirement System shall become members of the Massachusetts State Employees’ Retirement System; (3) the management of benefits of the dissolved Massachusetts Turnpike Authority employees' retirement system shall be transferred to the state board of retirement in section 18 of chapter 10 of the General Laws which board shall have with respect thereto the general powers and duties set forth in subdivision (5) of section 20 of said chapter 32, including the reimbursement for liabilities attributable to the service of such members with other governmental units recoverable pursuant to the terms of paragraph (c) of subdivision (8) of section 3 of chapter 32 of the General Laws; (4) all data, files, papers and records and other materials of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority retirement board provided for in paragraph (b) of subdivision (41/2) of said section 20 of said chapter 32 shall be transferred to and held by the state board of retirement; (5) ownership and control of all the assets of the dissolved Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Employees' Retirement System in the custody of the secretary-treasurer of the authority shall be transferred to the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and be made assets of the Massachusetts State Employees’ Retirement System; and (6) the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority retirement board in said paragraph (b) of subdivision (4 1/2) of said section 20 of said chapter 43 shall be abolished; provided, however, that the members and officers thereof shall be authorized to do all such things and take all such action as may be necessary or desirable to be done or taken by them to effectuate the transfers to be made pursuant to this section.

(b) Effective upon the date of dissolution of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the payment of all annuities, pensions, retirement allowances and refunds of accumulated total deductions and of any other benefits granted under the sections 1 to 28, inclusive, of said chapter 32 are hereby made obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 8. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, reimbursements currently outstanding to the state retirement board under paragraph € of sub-section (4) of section 28 of chapter 32 for calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015 shall not be required.  

SECTION 9. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, reimbursements currently outstanding to the state retirement board under paragraph (c) of sub-section (4) of section 28 of chapter 32 for calendar years 2016 and after shall be required and remitted under terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the board.

SECTION 10. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect on July 1, 2024.

SECTION 11. Section 6 shall take effect on January 1, 2010.

SECTION 12. Section 7 shall take effect on July 1, 2009.