Date: 08/19/2014

Final
Consideration of Proposed Legislation

POLICE OFFICERS' AND FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION REFORM COMMISSION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Amend Bill 5 (LLS 15-0081) to strike line 10 and t
Refer Bill 1 (LLS 15-0067) to the Legislative Coun
Refer Bill 2 (LLS 15-0069) to the Legislative Coun
Refer Bill 3 (LLS 15-0068) to the Legislative Coun
Refer Bill 4 (LLS 15-0070) to the Legislative Coun
Refer Bill 5 (LLS 15-0081) to the Legislative Coun		Pass Without Objection
PASS
PASS
PASS
PASS
PASS



02:17 PM -- Consideration of Proposed Legislation

Kevin Lindahl, General Counsel for the FPPA, presented bills recommended to the commission by the FPPA. The first four bills on the agenda (Bill 1 through Bill 4) represent internally identified issues to improve FPPA administration and benefits available in FPPA statewide plans. Bill 5 affects volunteer firefighter plans statewide, including FPPA plans and other plans not administered by the FPPA.

02:20 PM

Mr. Lindahl explained Bill 1, which concerns the transfer of member funds and service credit from another pension plan to a FPPA plan (Attachment C). He stated that the current process to achieve a single pension for a member in this situation is more complicated than it needs to be.

02:23 PM

Senator Balmer asked about fiscal impact of the bills. Alex Schatz, Legislative Council Staff, stated that past FPPA-related bills typically carried a statutory public entity fiscal impact, but that no formal analysis is done for interim committee meetings and no specific analysis had been performed on the current bills.

02:24 PM

With regard to Bill 1, Mr. Lindahl discussed the purchase of service credit and obstacles to transferring service credit between volunteer plans and other FPPA-administered plans. Federal tax law creates a distinction in the purchase of service credit that is not contemplated under current Colorado law; Bill 1 addresses this issue. A police officer who cannot currently purchase service credit when transferring to a FPPA plan due to either residual benefits or lack of adequate funding in the pension plan of a previous employer will have options to purchase service credit under Bill 1.

02:36 PM

Mr. Lindahl explained that Bill 2 concerns the FPPA board's authority to accept late payments, and to account for and fund the administrative costs of plans (Attachment D). He explained that recently adopted accounting standards, such as GASB 67, prompt the need for this legislation. In response to a comment regarding potential fiscal impacts, Mr. Lindahl stated that most FPPA bills would not generate state government costs, while some legislation may impact local governments. For example, Bill 2 may require local governments to conform to accounting standards, but many of these standards are otherwise applicable to local governments. Audit costs are typically in the range of $100 per employer affiliated with the FPPA, which is currently considered de minimus by the FPPA board. The commission discussed language concerning social security payments in Section 3 of the bill.

02:47 PM

Mr. Lindahl explained that Bill 3 concerns a trend in the last 5 to 10 years, where merging fire departments bring in new members, typically older than new members to an FPPA-administered plan, to the statewide defined benefit plan (Attachment E). This causes an actuarial impact, and Mr. Lindahl explained that Bill 3 is intended to create a process for these members similar to reentry.

02:52 PM

Mr. Lindahl explained that Bill 4 concerns nontraditional hires to police and fire departments, such as a fire chief who has already earned a pension in a prior job (Attachment F). Bill 4 provides flexibility to local governing boards to offer benefits to such hires. To comply with federal law, the bill requires local departments to implement a FICA replacement plan. The bill identifies specific pension plans that are consistent with the FPPA Statewide Death and Disability Plan. Bill 4 also provides direction to social security employers (e.g., police departments that historically evolved from a marshal, as opposed to a police chief), making certain FPPA benefits to these employers if they participate in the Social Security Supplemental Retirement Plan.

03:04 PM

Mr. Lindahl explained that Bill 5 concerns various issues that affect volunteer firefighter pension plans (Attachment G). For example, many departments have small volunteer firefighter pension plans with relatively heavy administrative costs; some of these plans are administered by the FPPA (approximately 175 of 225 plans) and some are not. The bill provides a basis to develop alternatives to current plans. Mr. Lindahl stated that the bill is likely to require state funding for the study in the range of $50,000.
BILL:Consideration of Proposed Legislation
TIME: 03:16:39 PM
MOVED:Ulibarri
MOTION:Refer Bill 1 (LLS 15-0067) to the Legislative Council Committee. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0, with 3 members excused and 1 absent.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Buck
Yes
Court
Yes
Dore
Absent
Ginal
Yes
Jones
Yes
King
Excused
Melton
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Rosenthal
Excused
Scott
Yes
Ulibarri
Yes
Wright
Yes
Labuda
Excused
Tochtrop
Yes
YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 1 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:19 PM

Bill 1 will start in the Senate, with Senator Jones as a prime sponsor; Representative Melton will be the prime sponsor in the House. Senators Balmer and Ulibarri, and Representatives Court and Ginal were added as cosponsors.
BILL:Consideration of Proposed Legislation
TIME: 03:20:26 PM
MOVED:Ulibarri
MOTION:Refer Bill 2 (LLS 15-0069) to the Legislative Council Committee. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1, with 3 members excused and 1 absent.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Buck
No
Court
Yes
Dore
Absent
Ginal
Yes
Jones
Yes
King
Excused
Melton
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Rosenthal
Excused
Scott
Yes
Ulibarri
Yes
Wright
Yes
Labuda
Excused
Tochtrop
Yes
YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 3 ABS: 1 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:20 PM

Bill 2 will start in the Senate, with Senator Ulibarri as a prime sponsor; Representative Court will be the prime sponsor in the House. Senators Balmer and Jones, and Representatives Ginal and Melton were added as cosponsors.
BILL:Consideration of Proposed Legislation
TIME: 03:22:56 PM
MOVED:Balmer
MOTION:Refer Bill 3 (LLS 15-0068) to the Legislative Council Committee. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0, with 3 members excused and 1 absent.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Buck
Yes
Court
Yes
Dore
Absent
Ginal
Yes
Jones
Yes
King
Excused
Melton
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Rosenthal
Excused
Scott
Yes
Ulibarri
Yes
Wright
Yes
Labuda
Excused
Tochtrop
Yes
YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 1 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:22 PM

Bill 3 will start in the Senate, with Senator Balmer as a prime sponsor; Representative Ginal will be the prime sponsor in the House. Senator Ulibarri and Representatives Court and Melton were added as cosponsors.
BILL:Consideration of Proposed Legislation
TIME: 03:24:34 PM
MOVED:Melton
MOTION:Refer Bill 4 (LLS 15-0070) to the Legislative Council Committee. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0, with 3 members excused and 1 absent.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Buck
Yes
Court
Yes
Dore
Absent
Ginal
Yes
Jones
Yes
King
Excused
Melton
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Rosenthal
Excused
Scott
Yes
Ulibarri
Yes
Wright
Yes
Labuda
Excused
Tochtrop
Yes
YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 1 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:24 PM

Bill 4 will start in the Senate, with Senator Balmer as a prime sponsor; Representative Ginal will be the prime sponsor in the House. Representatives Court and Melton were added as cosponsors.

03:26 PM

Nicole Myers, Office of Legislative Legal Services, discussed concerns of the Office of State Auditor related to Bill 5. She explained that Page 6, line 10 of the draft bill identifies a timeframe for the completion of the study that may be difficult to achieve. Ms. Myers suggested an amendment to strike line 10 and the first two words of line 11 of Page 6 of draft Bill 5, and replace with "As soon as practicable after the receipt of the report required in subsection (2) of this section, [but not less than forty-five days after...]".
BILL:Consideration of Proposed Legislation
TIME: 03:26:49 PM
MOVED:Court
MOTION:Amend Bill 5 (LLS 15-0081) to strike line 10 and the first two words of line 11 and replace with "As soon as practicable after the receipt of the report required in subsection (2) of this section". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Balmer
Buck
Court
Dore
Ginal
Jones
King
Melton
Peniston
Rosenthal
Scott
Ulibarri
Wright
Labuda
Tochtrop
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:Consideration of Proposed Legislation
TIME: 03:35:00 PM
MOVED:Ulibarri
MOTION:Refer Bill 5 (LLS 15-0081) to the Legislative Council Committee, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3, with 3 members excused and 1 absent.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Balmer
No
Buck
No
Court
Yes
Dore
Absent
Ginal
Yes
Jones
Yes
King
Excused
Melton
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Rosenthal
Excused
Scott
No
Ulibarri
Yes
Wright
Yes
Labuda
Excused
Tochtrop
Yes
YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 3 ABS: 1 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:35 PM

Bill 5 will start in the Senate, with Senator Ulibarri as a prime sponsor; Representative Melton will be the prime sponsor in the House. Representatives Court and Ginal were added as cosponsors.