Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 173 (2020GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Snider, C.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/28/2020

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• provides that a person employed as a firefighter service employee on or after July 1, 2021, by the state as a participating employer is eligible to earn service credit in the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System;
• requires the Retirement and Independent Entities Interim Committee to study and make recommendations on system eligibility for existing firefighter service employees who are employed by the state as a participating employer; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Casey Snider
Senate Sponsor: 
Evan J. Vickers
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies the Utah State Retirement and Insurance Benefit Act by amending
retirement eligibility provisions for firefighters.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ provides that a person employed as a firefighter service employee on or after July 1,
2021, by the state as a participating employer is eligible to earn service credit in the
New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System;
▸ requires the Retirement and Independent Entities Interim Committee to study and
make recommendations on system eligibility for existing firefighter service
employees who are employed by the state as a participating employer; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
49-23-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 227
Uncodified Material Affected:
ENACTS UNCODIFIED MATERIAL
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
49-23-102
 is amended to read:
49-23-102.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) (a) "Compensation" means the total amount of payments that are includable in
gross income received by a public safety service employee or a firefighter service employee as
base income for the regularly scheduled work period. The participating employer shall
establish the regularly scheduled work period. Base income shall be determined prior to the
deduction of any amounts the public safety service employee or firefighter service employee
authorizes to be deducted for salary deferral or other benefits authorized by federal law.
(b) "Compensation" includes performance-based bonuses and cost-of-living
adjustments.
(c) "Compensation" does not include:
(i) overtime;
(ii) sick pay incentives;
(iii) retirement pay incentives;
(iv) the monetary value of remuneration paid in kind, as in a residence, use of
equipment or uniform, travel, or similar payments;
(v) a lump-sum payment or special payment covering accumulated leave; and
(vi) all contributions made by a participating employer under this system or under any
other employee benefit system or plan maintained by a participating employer for the benefit of
a member or participant.
(d) "Compensation" for purposes of this chapter may not exceed the amount allowed
under Section 401(a)(17), Internal Revenue Code.
(2) "Corresponding Tier I system" means the system or plan that would have covered
the member if the member had initially entered employment before July 1, 2011.
(3) "Dispatcher" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
53-6-102
.
(4) "Final average salary" means the amount calculated by averaging the highest five
years of annual compensation preceding retirement subject to Subsections (4)(a), (b), (c), (d),
and (e).
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b), the percentage increase in annual
compensation in any one of the years used may not exceed the previous year's compensation by
more than 10% plus a cost-of-living adjustment equal to the decrease in the purchasing power
of the dollar during the previous year, as measured by a United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics Consumer Price Index average as determined by the board.
(b) In cases where the participating employer provides acceptable documentation to the
office, the limitation in Subsection (4)(a) may be exceeded if:
(i) the member has transferred from another agency; or
(ii) the member has been promoted to a new position.
(c) If the member retires more than six months from the date of termination of
employment, the member is considered to have been in service at the member's last rate of pay
from the date of the termination of employment to the effective date of retirement for purposes
of computing the member's final average salary only.
(d) If the member has less than five years of service credit in this system, final average
salary means the average annual compensation paid to the member during the full period of
service credit.
(e) The annual compensation used to calculate final average salary shall be based on:
(i) a calendar year for a member employed by a participating employer that is not an
educational institution; or
(ii) a contract year for a member employed by an educational institution.
(5) (a) "Firefighter service" means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080
hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:
(i) a firefighter service employee trained in firefighter techniques and assigned to a
position of hazardous duty with a regularly constituted fire department; [
or
]
(ii) the state fire marshal appointed under Section 
53-7-103
 or a deputy state fire
marshal[
.
]
; or
(iii) a firefighter service employee who is:
(A) hired on or after July 1, 2021;
(B) trained in firefighter techniques;
(C) assigned to a position of hazardous duty; and
(D) employed by the state as a participating employer.
(b) "Firefighter service" does not include secretarial staff or other similar employees.
(6) 
(a)
 "Firefighter service employee" means an employee of a participating employer
who provides firefighter service under this chapter.
(b)
 [
An employee of a regularly constituted fire department who does not perform
firefighter service is not a firefighter
] 
"Firefighter
 service employee
" does not include an
employee of a regularly constituted fire department who does not perform firefighter service
.
(7) (a) "Line-of-duty death" means a death resulting from:
(i) external force, violence, or disease occasioned by an act of duty as a public safety
service or firefighter service employee; or
(ii) strenuous activity, including a heart attack or stroke, that occurs during strenuous
training or another strenuous activity required as an act of duty as a public safety service or
firefighter service employee.
(b) "Line-of-duty death" does not include a death that:
(i) occurs during an activity that is required as an act of duty as a public safety service
or firefighter service employee if the activity is not a strenuous activity, including an activity
that is clerical, administrative, or of a nonmanual nature;
(ii) occurs during the commission of a crime committed by the employee;
(iii) the employee's intoxication or use of alcohol or drugs, whether prescribed or
nonprescribed, contributes to the employee's death; or
(iv) occurs in a manner other than as described in Subsection (7)(a).
(8) "Participating employer" means an employer which meets the participation
requirements of:
(a) Sections 
49-14-201
 and 
49-14-202
;
(b) Sections 
49-15-201
 and 
49-15-202
;
(c) Sections 
49-16-201
 and 
49-16-202
; or
(d) Sections 
49-23-201
 and 
49-23-202
.
(9) (a) "Public safety service" means employment normally requiring an average of
2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is a:
(i) law enforcement officer in accordance with Section 
53-13-103
;
(ii) correctional officer in accordance with Section 
53-13-104
;
(iii) special function officer approved in accordance with Sections 
49-15-201
 and
53-13-105
;
(iv) dispatcher who is certified in accordance with Section 
53-6-303
; and
(v) full-time member of the Board of Pardons and Parole created under Section
77-27-2
.
(b) Except as provided under Subsections (9)(a)(iv) and (v), "public safety service"
also requires that in the course of employment the employee's life or personal safety is at risk.
(10) "Public safety service employee" means an employee of a participating employer
who performs public safety service under this chapter.
(11) (a) "Strenuous activity" means engagement involving a difficult, stressful, or
vigorous fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical service,
physical law enforcement, prison security, disaster relief, or other emergency response activity.
(b) "Strenuous activity" includes participating in a participating employer sanctioned
and funded training exercise that involves difficult, stressful, or vigorous physical activity.
(12) "System" means the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory
Retirement System created under this chapter.
(13) (a) "Volunteer firefighter" means any individual that is not regularly employed as
a firefighter service employee, but who:
(i) has been trained in firefighter techniques and skills;
(ii) continues to receive regular firefighter training; and
(iii) is on the rolls of a legally organized volunteer fire department which provides
ongoing training and serves a political subdivision of the state.
(b) An individual that volunteers assistance but does not meet the requirements of
Subsection (13)(a) is not a volunteer firefighter for purposes of this chapter.
(14) "Years of service credit" means:
(a) a period, consisting of 12 full months as determined by the board; or
(b) a period determined by the board, whether consecutive or not, during which a
regular full-time employee performed services for a participating employer, including any time
the regular full-time employee was absent on a paid leave of absence granted by a participating
employer or was absent in the service of the United States government on military duty as
provided by this chapter.
Section 2. 
Study.
(1) During the 2020 Legislative interim, the Retirement and Independent Entities
Interim Committee shall study:
(a) modifications to the Firefighters' Retirement System and the New Public Safety and
Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System;
(b) whether existing members of the Public Employees' Noncontributory Retirement
Act and the New Public Employees' Tier II Contributory Retirement Act should be covered
under the Firefighters' Retirement System and the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II
Contributory Retirement System if the members are employed as firefighter service employees
who are:
(i) trained in firefighter techniques;
(ii) assigned to a position of a hazardous duty; and
(iii) employed by the state as a participating employer; and
(c) other related issues.
(2) The Retirement and Independent Entities Interim Committee may make
recommendations for the 2021 Annual General Session based on the study described in
Subsection (1).
Section 3. 
Effective date.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), this bill takes effect May 12, 2020.
(2) The actions affecting Section 
49-23-102
 take effect July 1, 2021.