HOUSE BILL 981035
BY REPRESENTATIVES Grampsas, Dean, June, Mace, and Veiga;
also SENATORS Rizzuto, Congrove, Hernandez, Martinez,
Phillips, and Rupert.
CONCERNING THE ELIMINATION OF A MAXIMUM BENEFIT AMOUNT
FOR A RETIREMENT PENSION PAYABLE BY THE BOARD TO VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS
WHO HAVE TWENTY YEARS OF ACTIVE SERVICE AND WHO ARE OVER THE AGE
OF FIFTY YEARS WHEN AN ACTUARIAL REVIEW INDICATES THAT A PAYMENT
HIGHER THAN ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS IS ACTUARIALLY SOUND.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State
of Colorado:
SECTION 1. 31301120,
Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
31301120. Maximum benefit
amount. Except as otherwise provided
in section 31301129
SECTIONS 31301122 AND 31301129, a benefit
provided in this part 11 must not exceed four hundred and
fifty dollars per month.
SECTION 2. 31301122
(1), Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
31301122. Retirement pension.
(1) The board of a municipality, with the prior consent
of the municipality's governing body, or the board of a fire protection
district or county improvement district may pay a retirement pension
to a volunteer firefighter who has twenty years of active service
and who is over the age of fifty years. The retirement pension
shall be an amount determined by the board of not more than one
hundred dollars per month, unless an actuarial review indicates
a higher payment is actuarially sound; but
in no case shall the retirement pension exceed the amount stated
in section 31301120.
EXCEPT THAT ANY SUCH AMOUNT DETERMINED BY THE BOARD OF A MUNICIPALITY
SHALL BE MADE WITH THE PRIOR CONSENT OF THE MUNICIPALITY'S GOVERNING
BODY. ANY HIGHER PAYMENT MADE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL
NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT AMOUNT CONTAINED IN SECTION
31301120. Pensions that make payments in excess of
three hundred dollars per month are subject to the state contribution
limitation specified in section 31301112 (2) (b).
Except as provided in section 31301132, a volunteer
firefighter shall not receive a retirement pension for service
in a fire department while the firefighter is an active member
of that department. A volunteer firefighter shall maintain a
minimum training participation in the fire department of thirtysix
hours each year to qualify for retirement benefits. A volunteer
firefighter who has served twenty years and who has not reached
the age of fifty years may be granted a leave of absence and retain
all rights to a retirement pension and is entitled to the retirement
pension when the firefighter is fifty years of age.
SECTION 3. 31301125
(2), Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
31301125. Supplemental
retirement pension. (2) The
supplemental monthly pension payment shall not exceed five percent
of the monthly pension payment provided by section 31301122
multiplied by the number of years of active service in excess
of twenty years, up to a maximum of ten years; except that the
total of the monthly retirement pension payment provided by section
31301122 and the supplemental monthly pension payment
shall not exceed the
AN amount stated in section 31301120
THAT IS ACTUARIALLY SOUND.
SECTION 4. Safety
clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and
declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health, and safety.
____________________________ ____________________________
Charles E. Berry Tom Norton
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PRESIDENT OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
____________________________ ____________________________
Judith M. Rodrigue Patricia K. Dicks
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
APPROVED________________________________________
_________________________________________
Roy Romer
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE
OF COLORADO