2003-2004 Bill 3203: State Employees Terminated Due to Budget Cuts; Agencies to Buy Retirement

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 115th Session, 2003-2004 3 4 H. 3203 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Reps. Jennings and Bales 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\ggs\22727htc03.doc 11 Companion/Similar bill(s): 3, 80 12 13 Introduced in the House on January 14, 2003 14 Currently residing in the House Committee on Ways and Means 15 16 Summary: State employees terminated due to budget cuts; agencies to buy retirement years; continued 17 health and dental insurance; provisions 18 19 20 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 21 22 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 23 12/11/2002 House Prefiled 24 12/11/2002 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means 25 1/14/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-79 26 1/14/2003 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-80 27 4/23/2003 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Bailey 28 29 30 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 31 32 12/11/2002 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 9-1-1520, SO AS TO REQUIRE 13 STATE AGENCIES TO PURCHASE RETIREMENT SERVICE 14 CREDIT OF UP TO THREE YEARS FOR AN EMPLOYEE FOR 15 WHOM SUCH A PURCHASE WOULD QUALIFY HIM FOR 16 SERVICE RETIREMENT WITH AN IMMEDIATE ANNUITY 17 FOR AN EMPLOYEE TERMINATED AS A RESULT OF AN 18 AGENCY REDUCTION IN FORCE CAUSED BY A 19 MANDATED REDUCTION IN THE AGENCY BUDGET, TO 20 PROVIDE THAT THESE EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR 21 STATE-PAID HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE; TO 22 PROVIDE FOR STATE-PAID HEALTH AND DENTAL 23 INSURANCE FOR STATE EMPLOYEES TERMINATED DUE 24 TO BUDGET REDUCTION FOR A YEAR FOLLOWING 25 TERMINATION OR UNTIL THEY EARLIER OBTAIN 26 SIMILAR COVERAGE, TO REQUIRE THAT TERMINATED 27 EMPLOYEES RETURNING TO SERVICE WITHIN A 28 TWO-YEAR PERIOD HAVE THEIR BENEFITS 29 CALCULATED AS IF THERE HAD BEEN NO BREAK IN 30 SERVICE, AND TO PERMIT THESE EMPLOYEES TO 31 PURCHASE RETIREMENT AND LEAVE BENEFITS. 32 33 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 34 Carolina: 35 36 SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 1, Title 9 of the 1976 Code is 37 amended by adding: 38 39 “Section 9-1-1520. (A) When certified in writing by an agency 40 director that a state employee has been terminated after November 41 30, 2002, as a result of an agency reduction in force caused by a 42 mandated reduction in the agency budget, and the terminated

1 [3203] 1 1 employee does not have sufficient creditable service to qualify for 2 service retirement with an immediate annuity, including early 3 retirement pursuant to Section 9-1-1515, but is eligible to establish 4 service credit sufficient to allow the employee to retire under 5 service retirement with an immediate annuity and the amount of 6 service credit required to be established is three years or less, then 7 the terminated employee is eligible to have his employer, by 8 means of an employer contribution, make the payment to establish 9 credit for the employee. To be eligible to have this employer-paid 10 contribution, the employee must retire. Employer contributions 11 made pursuant to this section are made pursuant to Section 12 9-1-1140(H) or 9-11-50(H). Notwithstanding the provisions of 13 Section 1-11-730, or any other provision of law, persons for whom 14 service credit is purchased by their employer pursuant to this 15 section qualify for state-paid health and dental insurance. 16 (B) When certified by an agency director that a state employee 17 participating in a state health and dental insurance plan is 18 terminated because of an agency reduction in force caused by a 19 mandated reduction in the agency budget, then the terminated 20 employee shall continue to receive health and dental insurance 21 plan coverage the employee carried while employed. The 22 coverage must be continued for a period not to exceed one year 23 after the date of termination or until the former employee has 24 obtained substantially equivalent coverage, whichever occurs first. 25 During the one-year period of coverage, the full amount of both 26 the employer and employee share of premium must be paid by the 27 terminating agency. 28 (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a state 29 employee who is terminated as a result of an agency reduction in 30 force caused by a mandated reduction in the agency budget who is 31 subsequently re-employed in state government within a two-year 32 period shall have his state employment benefits calculated as if 33 there had been no break in state service. After re-employment an 34 employee has the option to purchase the retirement service credit 35 for this period of time as an approved leave of absence. Within 36 thirty days of being re-employed an employee also has the option 37 to repurchase from the hiring agency any or all of the leave 38 previously paid to the employee at the same per day rate as the 39 former employee was compensated.” 40 41 SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the 42 Governor. 43 ----XX----

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