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S. 3

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Leventis and Drummond
Document Path: l:\s-resmin\bills\leventis\smin0013.ppl.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 80, 3203

Introduced in the Senate on December 9, 2002
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Finance

Summary: State employees terminated due to budget cuts; agencies to buy retirement years; continued health and dental insurance; provisions

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/9/2002  Senate  Introduced and read first time
   12/9/2002  Senate  Referred to Committee on Finance

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/9/2002

A BILL ADDING SECTION 9-1-1520 TO REQUIRE AGENCIES TO PURCHASE RETIREMENT SERVICE CREDIT OF UP TO THREE YEARS FOR EMPLOYEES THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE, UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, TO RETIRE WITHIN THREE YEARS AFTER BEING TERMINATED AS A RESULT OF AN AGENCY REDUCTION IN FORCE CAUSED BY A MANDATED REDUCTION IN THE AGENCY BUDGET AND TO MANDATE THAT THESE EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR STATE HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE; TO REQUIRE THAT THE EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER SHARE OF STATE HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE BE PROVIDED TO TERMINATED EMPLOYEES FOR UP TO ONE YEAR; AND TO REQUIRE THAT TERMINATED EMPLOYEES RETURNING TO SERVICE WITHIN A TWO YEAR PERIOD HAVE THEIR BENEFITS CALCULATED AS IF THERE HAD BEEN NO BREAK IN SERVICE AND TO PERMIT THESE EMPLOYEES TO PURCHASE BACK RETIREMENT AND LEAVE BENEFITS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Title 9 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 9-1-1520

(A)    When certified in writing by an agency director that a state employee has been terminated after November 30,2002, as a result of an agency reduction in force caused by a mandated reduction in the agency budget, and the terminated employee does not have sufficient creditable service to qualify for service retirement with an immediate annuity, including early retirement pursuant to Section 9-1-1515 of the 1976 Code, but is eligible to establish service credit sufficient to allow the employee to retire under service retirement with an immediate annuity and the amount of service credit required to be established is three years or less, then the terminated employee is eligible to have his employer, by means of an employer contribution, make the payment to establish credit for the employee. To be eligible to have this employer paid contribution, the employee must retire. Employer contributions made pursuant to this paragraph are made pursuant to Section 9-1-1140(H) or 9-11-50(H) of the 1976 Code. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1-11-730 of the 1976 Code, or any other provision of law, persons for whom service credit is purchased by their employer pursuant to this subparagraph qualify for state-paid health and dental insurance.

(B)    When certified by an agency director that a state employee participating in a state health and dental insurance plan is terminated because of an agency reduction in force caused by a mandated reduction in the agency budget, then the terminated employee must continue to receive health and dental insurance plan coverage the employee carried while employed. The coverage must be continued for a period not to exceed one year after the date of termination or until the former employee has obtained substantially equivalent coverage, whichever occurs first. During the one year period of coverage, the full amount of both the employer and employee share of premium must be paid by the terminating agency.

(C)    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any state employee who is terminated as a result of an agency reduction in force caused by a mandated reduction in the agency budget who is subsequently re-employed in state government within a two-year period must have his state employment benefits calculated as if there had been no break in state service. After re-employment an employee has the option to purchase the retirement service credit for this period of time as an approved leave of absence. Within thirty days of being re-employed an employee also has the option to repurchase from the hiring agency any or all of the leave previously paid to the employee at the same per day rate as the former employee was compensated."

SECTION    .2    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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