A_AB232_1132

2001 REGULAR SESSION (71st) A AB232 1132

Amendment No. 1132

Assembly Amendment to Assembly Bill No. 232 (BDR 1‑208)

Proposed by: Committee on Ways and Means

Amendment Box: Resolves conflicts with A.B. No. 452, S.B. No. 298 and S.B. No. 349. Makes substantive changes.

Resolves Conflicts with: AB452, SB298, SB349

Amends: Summary: Title: Preamble: Joint Sponsorship:

ASSEMBLY ACTION Initial and Date |SENATE ACTION Initial and Date

Adopted Lost | Adopted Lost

Concurred In Not |Concurred In Not

Receded Not | Receded Not

Amend sec. 11, page 2, line 39, before “The” by inserting:

“The rules must include, without limitation, rules relating to the administration of the retirement plans in accordance with federal law.”.

Amend sec. 13, page 3, by deleting line 16 and inserting:

“fund, all money submitted to the system for deposit in the fund pursuant to section 13.5 of this act and all income accruing to the fund from all other sources must be”.

Amend the bill as a whole by adding a new section designated sec. 13.5, following sec. 13, to read as follows:

“Sec. 13.5. 1. Beginning July 1, 2003, the court administrator shall submit to the system for deposit in the judicial retirement fund on behalf of each member of the system the percentage of compensation of the member that is determined by the actuary of the system to be required to pay the normal cost incurred in making payments pursuant to subsection 5 of section 13 of this act and any administrative expenses of the system. Such payments must be:

(a) Accompanied by payroll reports that include information deemed necessary by the board to carry out its duties; and

(b) Received by the system not later than 15 days after the calendar month for which the compensation and service credits of members of the system are reported and certified by the court administrator. The compensation must be reported separately for each month that it is paid.

2. Beginning July 1, 2003, the court administrator shall pay to the system for deposit in the judicial retirement fund from any fund created for the purpose of paying pension benefits to justices of the supreme court or district judges an amount as the contribution of the State of Nevada as employer which is actuarially determined to be sufficient to provide the system with enough money to pay all benefits for which the system will be liable.”.

Amend sec. 19, page 4, line 27, by deleting “member,” and inserting:

“member of the system,”.

Amend sec. 19, page 4, line 32, by deleting “judge.” and inserting:

“judge that are maintained by the court administrator.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 6, by deleting lines 31 through 37 and inserting:

“retirement plan if he gives written notice to the board of his intention to withdraw from the public employees’ retirement system and to become a member of the judicial retirement plan. Such notice must be given to the board within the time set forth in subsection 3 and must be given the first time that the justice or judge is elected or appointed while he is a member of the public employees’ retirement system.

2. A justice or judge may not become a member of the judicial retirement plan pursuant to subsection 1 if he has previously been elected or appointed on or after November 5, 2002, and taken office on or after January 1, 2003, while he was a member of the public employees’ retirement system and he did not give notice of his intention to withdraw from the public employees’ retirement system and to become a member of the judicial retirement plan in the manner set forth in this section.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 6, line 38, by deleting “2.” and inserting “3.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 6, line 40, after “year” by inserting “immediately”.

Amend sec. 23, page 6, line 44, by deleting “3.” and inserting “4.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 6, by deleting lines 46 through 48 and inserting:

“system, it shall transfer from the public employees’ retirement fund to the judicial retirement plan the accrued actuarial liability and credit for service earned by the justice or judge while a member of the public employees’ retirement system as determined by an actuary of the judicial retirement system. The service so”.

Amend sec. 23, page 7, line 3, by deleting “4.” and inserting “5.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 7, line 5, by deleting “5.” and inserting “6.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 7, by deleting line 7 and inserting:

“both this chapter and chapter 286 of NRS.”.

Amend sec. 23, page 7, line 8, by deleting “6.” and inserting “7.”

Amend sec. 25, page 7, line 31, after “may” by inserting:

“, except as otherwise provided in subsection 2,”.

Amend sec. 25, page 7, line 34, after “2.” by inserting:

“A justice or judge may purchase creditable service pursuant to subsection 1 only if, at the time of the purchase, he is employed in a position whose occupant is eligible for membership in the judicial retirement plan.

3.”.

Amend sec. 25, page 7, between lines 46 and 47, by inserting:

“4. If a member of the judicial retirement plan enters into an agreement whereby he agrees to pay for the purchase of service credit in installments and he defaults on that agreement, the member is entitled to receive service credit in the proportion that the principal paid bears to the principal due under the agreement.”.

Amend sec. 27, page 8, by deleting lines 4 and 5 and inserting:

“begins on the day his term of office begins and terminates on the day his term of office expires, unless sooner terminated on the day of”.

Amend sec. 29, page 8, line 15, by deleting “service,” and inserting “service”.

Amend sec. 29, page 8, line 21, by deleting “under” and inserting “pursuant to”.

Amend sec. 29, page 8, line 25, by deleting “under” and inserting “pursuant to”.

Amend sec. 30, page 8, line 30, by deleting “3” and inserting “4”.

Amend sec. 30, page 8, line 31, by deleting “section 31” and inserting:

“sections 31 and 31.5”.

Amend sec. 30, page 8, line 40, after “3.” by inserting:

“If a retired justice or judge who accepts employment as a justice of the supreme court or district judge in a judicial capacity pursuant to this section elects not to reenroll in the judicial retirement plan pursuant to subsection 1 of section 31 of this act, the court administrator may pay contributions on behalf of the retired justice or judge to a retirement fund which is not a part of the judicial retirement plan in an amount not to exceed the amount of the contributions that the court administrator would pay to the system on behalf of a participating justice or judge who is employed in a similar position.

4.”.

Amend the bill as a whole by adding a new section designated sec. 31.5, following sec. 31, to read as follows:

“Sec. 31.5. 1. The provisions of subsection 1 of section 30 of this act do not apply to a retired justice or judge who accepts employment as a justice of the supreme court or district judge in a judicial capacity if:

(a) He fills a position for which there is a critical labor shortage; and

(b) At the time of his reemployment, he is receiving:

(1) An unmodified benefit; or

(2) A benefit actuarially reduced pursuant to subsection 2 of section 29 of this act and has reached the required age at which he could have retired with an unmodified benefit.

2. A retired justice or judge who is reemployed under the circumstances set forth in subsection 1 may reenroll in the judicial retirement plan as provided in section 31 of this act.

3. The supreme court shall designate positions in the judicial branch of state government for which there are critical labor shortages.”.

Amend sec. 54, page 17, line 5, by deleting “accredited contributing” and inserting “creditable”.

Amend sec. 54, page 17, lines 6 and 7, by deleting “accredited contributing” and inserting “creditable”.

Amend sec. 54, page 17, line 20, by deleting “contributing” and inserting “creditable”.

Amend sec. 54, page 17, line 21, by deleting “under” and inserting “pursuant to”.

Amend sec. 54, page 17, between lines 24 and 25 by inserting:

“4. As used in this section, “dependent” includes a survivor beneficiary designated pursuant to section 57.2 of this act.”.

Amend sec. 57, page 18, line 15, by deleting “accredited contributing” and inserting “creditable”.

Amend the bill as a whole by adding new sections designated sections 57.2 through 57.8, following sec. 57, to read as follows:

“Sec. 57.2. An unmarried member of the judicial retirement plan may designate, in writing, a survivor beneficiary to receive the payments provided pursuant to section 57.4, 57.6 or 57.8 of this act if the member is unmarried on the date of his death. A designation pursuant to this section must be made on a form approved by the executive officer of the board.

Sec. 57.4. 1. The survivor beneficiary of a deceased member of the judicial retirement plan is entitled to receive a cumulative benefit of at least $450 per month. The payments must begin on the first day of the month immediately following the death of the member and must cease on the last day of the month in which the survivor beneficiary dies.

2. The benefits paid pursuant to this section are in addition to any benefits paid pursuant to section 55 of this act.

3. As used in this section, “survivor beneficiary” means a person designated pursuant to section 57.2 of this act.

Sec. 57.6. 1. The survivor beneficiary of a deceased member of the judicial retirement plan who had 10 or more years of creditable service is entitled to receive a monthly allowance equivalent to that provided by:

(a) Option 3 in section 38 of this act, if the deceased member had less than 15 years of service on the date of his death; or

(b) Option 2 in section 38 of this act, if the deceased member had 15 or more years of service on the date of his death.

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To apply the provisions of Options 2 and 3, the deceased member shall be deemed to have retired on the date of his death immediately after having named the survivor beneficiary as beneficiary pursuant to the applicable option. This benefit must be computed without any reduction for age for the deceased member. The benefits provided by this subsection must be paid to the survivor beneficiary for the remainder of the life of the survivor beneficiary.

2. The survivor beneficiary may elect to receive the benefits provided by any one of the following only:

(a) This section; or

(b) Section 57.4 of this act.

3. As used in this section, “survivor beneficiary” means a person designated pursuant to section 57.2 of this act.

Sec. 57.8. 1. The survivor beneficiary of a deceased member of the judicial retirement plan who was fully eligible to retire, both as to service and age, is entitled to receive a monthly allowance equivalent to that provided by Option 2 in section 38 of this act. This section does not apply to the survivor beneficiary of a member who was eligible to retire only pursuant to subsection 2 of section 29 of this act. For the purposes of applying the provisions of Option 2, the deceased member shall be deemed to have retired on the date of his death immediately after having named the survivor beneficiary as beneficiary pursuant to Option 2. The benefits provided by this section must be paid to the survivor beneficiary for the remainder of the life of the survivor beneficiary. The survivor beneficiary may elect to receive the benefits provided by any one of the following only:

(a) This section;

(b) Section 57.4 of this act; or

2. As used in this section, “survivor beneficiary” means a person designated pursuant to section 57.2 of this act.”.

Amend sec. 58, page 18, line 34, by deleting “option” and inserting “Option”.

Amend sec. 58, page 18, line 37, by deleting “option” and inserting “Option”.

Amend sec. 58, page 18, line 39, by deleting “option” and inserting “Option”.

Amend sec. 59, page 18, line 46, by deleting “under” and inserting “pursuant to”.

Amend sec. 59, page 18, line 47, by deleting:

“56 or 57” and inserting:

“56, 57, 57.4 or 57.6”.

Amend sec. 59, page 19, line 2, by deleting “under” and inserting “pursuant to”.

Amend sec. 61, page 19, by deleting lines 13 through 15 and inserting:

“Sec. 61. 1. The retirement allowance for a member of the judicial retirement plan becomes vested on the date that the member completes 5 years of creditable service.”.

Amend sec. 61, page 19, line 18, by deleting “accredited contributing” and inserting “creditable”.

Amend sec. 63, page 19, by deleting lines 37 through 44 and inserting:

“[1.] (a) Claims of justices of the supreme court pursuant to NRS [2.050 and 2.060.

2.] 2.060.

(b) Claims pursuant to NRS 2.070 and section 15 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this [act.

3.] session.

4.] 3.090.

(d) Claims pursuant to NRS 3.095 and section 16 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this [act.] session.”.

Amend sec. 64, page 20, line 3, by deleting “inclusive:” and inserting:

“inclusive, and section 15 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session:”.

Amend sec. 69, page 22, line 42, by deleting “inclusive:” and inserting:

“inclusive, and section 16 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session:”.

Amend sec. 78, page 28, line 30, by deleting “30” and inserting “60”.

Amend sec. 80, page 30, line 9, by deleting “date” and inserting “date,”.

Amend sec. 80, page 30, line 20, by deleting “30” and inserting “60”.

Amend sec. 80, page 30, line 33, after “inclusive,” by inserting:

“and section 3 of Assembly Bill No. 452 of this [act] session”.

Amend the bill as a whole by adding new sections designated sections 82.1 through 82.6, following sec. 82, to read as follows:

“Sec. 82.1. Section 30 of this act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 30. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4 and [sections 31 and 31.5] section 31 of this act, if a retired justice or judge accepts employment as a justice of the supreme court or district judge in any judicial capacity, including, without limitation, employment as a senior justice or senior judge of the Nevada court system, he is disqualified from receiving any allowances under the judicial retirement plan for the duration of his active service.

2. If a retired justice or judge accepts any employment other than that described in subsection 1, the justice or judge is entitled to the same allowances as a retired justice or judge who has no employment.

3. If a retired justice or judge who accepts employment as a justice of the supreme court or district judge in a judicial capacity pursuant to this section elects not to reenroll in the judicial retirement plan pursuant to subsection 1 of section 31 of this act, the court administrator may pay contributions on behalf of the retired justice or judge to a retirement fund which is not a part of the judicial retirement plan in an amount not to exceed the amount of the contributions that the court administrator would pay to the system on behalf of a participating justice or judge who is employed in a similar position.

4. The system may waive for one period of 30 days or less a retired justice’s or judge’s disqualification under this section if the chief justice of the supreme court certifies in writing, in advance, that the retired justice or judge is recalled to meet an emergency and that no other qualified person is immediately available.

Sec. 82.2. Section 4 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4. 1. Except as limited by subsection 3, the survivor beneficiary of a deceased member who had 10 or more years of accredited contributing service is entitled to receive a monthly allowance equivalent to that provided by:

(a) Option 3 in NRS 286.590, if the deceased member had less than 15 years of service on the date of his death; or

(b) Option 2 in NRS 286.590, if the deceased member had 15 or more years of service on the date of his death.

2. The survivor beneficiary may elect to receive the benefits provided by any one of the following only:

(a) This section;

(b) Section 3 of this act; or

3. The benefits provided by paragraph (a) of subsection 1 may only be paid to the survivor beneficiary of a member who died on or after January 1, 2002.

4. As used in this section, “survivor beneficiary” means a person designated pursuant to section 2 of this act.

Sec. 82.3. Section 15 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 15. Chapter 2 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

1. An unmarried justice of the supreme court may designate, in writing, a survivor beneficiary to receive the payments provided pursuant to this section if the justice is unmarried on the date of his death. A designation pursuant to this section must be made on a form approved by the court administrator.

2. If a justice of the supreme court at the time of his death had retired and was then receiving a pension pursuant to the provisions of NRS 2.060, or if at the time of his death the justice had not retired but had performed sufficient service for retirement pursuant to the provisions of NRS 2.060, the survivor beneficiary designated pursuant to subsection 1, if the survivor beneficiary has attained the age of 60 years, is entitled, until his death, to receive monthly payments of $2,500 per month.

3. If a survivor beneficiary of a justice is not eligible to receive benefits pursuant to subsection 2, he is entitled, until his death or until he becomes eligible to receive those benefits, to receive payments equal in amount to the payment provided in subsection 1 of section 3 of this act for the survivor beneficiary of a deceased member of the public employees’ retirement system.

4. To obtain these benefits, the survivor beneficiary must make application to the board, commission or authority entrusted with the administration of the judges’ pensions and furnish such information as may be required pursuant to reasonable regulations adopted for the purpose of carrying out the intent of this section.

5. Any person receiving a benefit pursuant to the provisions of this section is entitled to receive post-retirement increases equal to those provided for persons retired pursuant to the public employees’ retirement system.

6. It is the intent of this section that no special fund be created for the purpose of paying these benefits, and all payments made pursuant to the provisions of this section are to be made out of and charged to any fund created for the purpose of paying pension benefits to justices of the supreme court.

Sec. 82.4. Section 15 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 15. Chapter 2 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

4. To obtain these benefits, the survivor beneficiary must make application to the [board, commission or authority entrusted with the administration of the judges’ pensions] executive officer of the public employees’ retirement board and furnish such information as may be required pursuant to reasonable regulations adopted for the purpose of carrying out the intent of this section.

6. It is the intent of this section that no special fund be created for the purpose of paying these benefits, and all payments made pursuant to the provisions of this section are to be made out of and charged to [any fund created for the purpose of paying pension benefits to justices of the supreme court.] the judicial retirement fund established pursuant to section 13 of Assembly Bill No. 232 of this session.

Sec. 82.5. Section 16 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 16. Chapter 3 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

1. An unmarried district judge may designate, in writing, a survivor beneficiary to receive the payments provided pursuant to this section if the judge is unmarried on the date of his death. A designation pursuant to this section must be made on a form approved by the court administrator.

2. If a district judge at the time of his death had retired and was then receiving a pension pursuant to the provisions of NRS 3.090, or if at the time of his death the judge had not retired but had performed sufficient service for retirement pursuant to the provisions of NRS 3.090, the survivor beneficiary designated pursuant to subsection 1, if the survivor beneficiary has attained the age of 60 years, is entitled, until his death, to receive monthly payments of $2,500 per month.

3. If a survivor beneficiary of a judge is not eligible to receive benefits pursuant to subsection 2, he is entitled, until his death or until he becomes eligible to receive those benefits, to receive payments equal in amount to the payment provided in subsection 1 of section 3 of this act for the survivor beneficiary of a deceased member of the public employees’ retirement system.

Sec. 82.6. Section 16 of Senate Bill No. 349 of this session is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 16. Chapter 3 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

4. To obtain these benefits, the survivor beneficiary must make application to the [board, commission or authority entrusted with the administration of the judges’ pensions] executive officer of the public employees’ retirement fund and furnish such information as may be required pursuant to reasonable regulations adopted for the purpose of carrying out the intent of this section.

6. It is the intent of this section that no special fund be created for the purpose of paying these benefits, and all payments made pursuant to the provisions of this section are to be made out of and charged to [any fund created for the purpose of paying pension benefits to district judges.] the judicial retirement fund established pursuant to section 13 of Assembly Bill No. 232 of this session.”.

Amend the bill as a whole by adding a new section designated sec. 84.5, following sec. 84, to read as follows:

“Sec. 84.5. 1. From January 1, 2003, through June 30, 2003, the court administrator shall submit to the judicial retirement system for deposit in the judicial retirement fund created pursuant to section 13 of this act on behalf of each member of the judicial retirement system 25.6 percent of the compensation of the member. Such payments must be:

(a) Deposited in the fund;

(b) Accompanied by payroll reports that include information deemed necessary by the public employees’ retirement board to carry out its duties; and

(c) Received by the judicial retirement system not later than 15 days after the calendar month for which the compensation and service credits of members of the judicial retirement system are reported and certified by the court administrator. The compensation must be reported separately for each month that it is paid.

2. As used in this section, “compensation” means the salary paid to a justice of the supreme court or district judge by this state including:

(a) Base pay, which is the monthly rate of pay excluding all fringe benefits;

(b) Additional payment for longevity; and

(c) Payment for extra duty assignments if it is the standard practice of this state to include such pay in the employment contract or official job description for the calendar year in which it is paid and such pay is specifically included in the justice’s or judge’s employment contract or official job description.

3. The term “compensation” does not include any type of payment not specifically described in subsection 2.”.

Amend sec. 85, page 32, line 15, by deleting “$14,342,070” and inserting “$5,000,000”.

Amend sec. 86, page 32, by deleting lines 19 through 22 and inserting:

“Sec. 86. 1. This section and sections 13, 82.2, 82.3, 82.5 and 85 of this act become effective upon passage and approval.

2. Sections 1 to 12, inclusive, 13.5 to 82, inclusive, 82.4, and 82.6 to 84.5, inclusive, of this act become effective on January 1, 2003.

3. Section 31.5 of this act expires by limitation on June 30, 2005.

4. Section 82.1 of this act becomes effective on July 1, 2005.”.