09 LC 21
0329
House
Bill 546
By:
Representatives Weldon of the
3rd,
Maxwell of the
17th,
Lane of the
167th,
Neal of the
1st,
Holt of the
112th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement
and pensions, so as to define certain terms relative to the Georgia
Firefighters' Pension Fund; to provide that part-time firefighters shall be
eligible for membership in such fund; to repeal a certain prohibition relative
to creditable service; to increase the penalty for making false statements or
falsifying documents; to provide for related matters; to repeal Chapter 7A of
said title, relating to the Georgia Class Nine Fire Department Pension Fund; to
provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and
pensions, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of Code Section 47-7-1, relating
to definitions relative to the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund, as
follows:
"(2)
'Fire department' means a full-time fire department or volunteer fire department
or a
combination full-time and volunteer fire
department which satisfies the following
criteria:
(A)
The fire department is certified by the superintendent of the Georgia
Fire
Academy
Firefighter
Standards and Training Council as provided
in Chapter
3
Article 1 of
Chapter 4 of Title 25;
and
(B)
The public fire suppression facilities of the fire department are ratable not
less favorably than a class
eight
nine
rating under standards set forth in the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule,
Section I, Public Fire Suppression, Edition 6-80, Copyright 1980, published by
the Insurance Services Office, a rating organization licensed by the
Commissioner of Insurance, which schedule is maintained on file with the
Commissioner of Insurance as required by general law and which has not been
disapproved by the Commissioner, or less than a rating which the board by
regulation determines is substantially equivalent under rating standards
published by a rating organization licensed by the Commissioner of Insurance
performing similar rating functions which standards are maintained on file with
the Commissioner of Insurance and which have not been disapproved by the
Commissioner.
The
board may require annual certification by the chief of a fire department of the
satisfaction of such requirements as a condition to the eligibility of
firefighters and volunteer firefighters to become members of the fund to obtain
creditable service with the fund."
SECTION
2.
Said
title is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of Code Section 47-7-1,
relating to definitions relative to the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund, as
follows:
"(3)
'Firefighter' means a person who is:
(A)
A full-time or
part-time employee of a fire department
who in the course of
full-time
his or
her employment by and within a department
either is a candidate for or holds a current firefighter's certificate issued
under Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 25 and has as incident to his or her
position of employment the principal duty of, and actually performs the function
of, preventing and suppressing
fires;
provided, however, that such term shall not include persons whose primary
responsibility is the performance of emergency medical
services; or
(B)
Appointed and regularly enrolled as a volunteer with a
class nine
fire department;
volunteer fire
department or combination full-time and volunteer fire department which
satisfies the requirements specified in subparagraph (a)(1)(D) of Code Section
25-3-23 and who, as a volunteer
firefighter, has and primarily performs the principal responsibility of
preventing or suppressing
fires; and
who satisfies the requirements specified in subparagraph (a)(1)(D) of Code
Section 25-3-23."
SECTION
3.
Said
title is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Code
Section 47-7-61, relating to tax on premiums charged by fire insurance companies
for certain classes of coverage, exclusions, and penalty for failure to report
and pay such tax, as follows:
"(3)
Returns shall be made on forms prescribed by the board. Such forms shall
require, without limitation, a separate statement of the gross premiums from
policies covering property served by public fire suppression facilities of the
fire department rated as
class nine
and those rated not less than class
eight
nine
under the standards set forth in the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule or a
rating which the board determines is its substantial
equivalent."
SECTION
4.
Said
title is further amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of Code
Section 47-7-61, relating to tax on premiums charged by fire insurance companies
for certain classes of coverage, exclusions, and penalty for failure to report
and pay such tax, as follows:
"(2)
A taxpayer whose timely claim for refund is denied or has not been decided by
the board within 180 days after it is filed may bring an action for a refund of
not more than the amount set forth in the claim. Such action shall be brought
in the superior court of the county in which the board's principal office is
located. Such action shall name as the defendant the Georgia Firefighters'
Pension Fund and not members of the board or any officer or employee of the
board. Service of the summons and complaint in such action shall be made upon
the
secretary-treasurer
executive
director of the fund. No such action
shall be commenced after the expiration of 180 days after the claim has been
denied by the board or, if the board has not acted on the claim, within one year
of the date the claim was filed with the board."
SECTION
5.
Said
title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-7-81, relating to the
effect of the failure of a volunteer fire department to hold required drills and
the effect of a volunteer firefighter to meet attendance requirements, as
follows:
"47-7-81.
(a)(1)
The board is authorized to prescribe the minimum monthly and annual number of
hours of drills and meetings required to be conducted by a volunteer fire
department as a condition to qualification of service by a firefighter or
volunteer firefighter with such department for credit toward retirement and
other benefits under this chapter.
(2)
Any volunteer fire department which fails to hold at least eight hours of drills
and meetings per month for three months in any calendar year or such greater
requirements as may be established by the board shall not be classified as a
volunteer fire department for such calendar year, and the members of such
department shall not be entitled to receive credit for service during such
calendar year. Such members shall be entitled to a refund of 95 percent of the
dues paid during such period.
(b)(1)
The board is authorized to prescribe the monthly and annual percentage of
attendance at drills, meetings, and fires necessary for volunteer
and
part-time firefighters to receive credit
for service toward retirement and other benefits under this chapter and to
establish the form of reports required to be filed with the board concerning
such matters and the time within which such reports
must
shall
be filed with the board. In no case shall the annual percentage be set by the
board at less than 50 percent of all drills, meetings, and fires in any calendar
year.
(2)
Any volunteer
or
part-time firefighter who fails to meet
the attendance requirements relative to drills, meetings, and fires in this Code
section, or such greater requirement as may be established by the board for the
calendar
year,
shall not be granted credit for such year's service; and, in the event the
member has paid any dues into the fund for such period, the member shall be
entitled to a refund of 95 percent of such dues so paid.
(c)
The board is authorized to prescribe the monthly and annual hourly requirements
in conjunction with the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council
necessary to receive credit for service toward retirement and other benefits
under this chapter and to establish the form of reports required to be filed
with the board concerning such matters and the time within which such reports
must
shall
be filed with the board. In no case shall the average weekly hourly requirement
be less than 20 hours per week for any calendar year."
SECTION
6.
Said
title is further amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code
Section 47-7-83, relating to service credit of a member of the Georgia
Firefighters' Pension Fund who is also a member of the Peace Officers' Annuity
and Benefit Fund, as follows:
"(b)(1)
Any
Subject to the
limitation of subsection (a) of this Code section,
any member who
first
became a member of the fund on or after July 1, 1993, and
who is also a member of the Peace
Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund shall
not
be eligible for creditable service in the fund for any period after
that
date
July 1,
2010, with respect to which such member is
also entitled to any creditable service in the Peace Officers' Annuity and
Benefit Fund."
SECTION
7.
Said
title is further amended by revising subparagraph (d)(3)(C) of Code Section
47-7-100, relating to eligibility for full pension benefits, optional pension
benefits, vesting of rights to pension benefits, and early retirement provisions
relative to the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund, as follows:
"(C)
If, following the death of the member's spouse or the entry of a final judgment
of divorce between the member and the member's spouse, the member remarries, the
member may, in writing on forms prescribed by the board and subject to approval
by the board, elect Option A with respect to the member's new spouse. The joint
and survivor benefit shall be determined as of the date of the election.
No such
election shall be made until the expiration of one year after the date of
remarriage or until a child of the remarried couple is born, whichever is
earlier."
SECTION
8.
Said
title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-7-103, relating to benefits
payable to a named beneficiary upon death of a member of the Georgia
Firefighters' Pension Fund before benefits have commenced or before benefits
equal to the member's dues have been paid, as follows:
"(a)
In the event of the death of a member of the fund who is in good standing and
who has not commenced receiving any benefits under this chapter, the designated
beneficiary of such deceased member shall be entitled to be paid the amount of
$5,000.00, upon making proper application to the
secretary-treasurer
executive
director of the fund. Such application
shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate of the
deceased member and such other information as may be required by the
board.
(b)
In the event of the death of a member of the fund who is in good
standing, who
has not elected survivor benefits under Option A or B as provided for in
subsection (d) of Code Section 47-7-100,
and who has commenced receiving benefits under this chapter, but who has not
received total benefits in an amount equal to $5,000.00, the member's named
beneficiary shall be entitled to receive the difference between $5,000.00 and
the amount of benefits received by such deceased member, upon making application
as provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section."
SECTION
9.
Said
title is further amended by revising of Code Section 47-7-104, relating to
benefits payable to volunteer firefighters erroneously found to be eligible for
such payments, as follows:
"47-7-104.
Any
other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding:
(1)
Any person who served as a volunteer firefighter prior to March 3, 1955, and who
began receiving retirement benefits at a later date from the fund, based on the
board of trustees' belief that such person was eligible for such benefits, but
whose retirement benefits were ceased or canceled by the board of trustees based
upon its subsequent realization that such person was not in fact eligible for
such benefits; or
(2)
Any person who left service as a volunteer firefighter after receiving written
notice from the
secretary-treasurer
executive
director of the fund that
he
such
person was eligible for retirement
benefits except for not having reached the age of 60 years, which written notice
was later determined by the board to be erroneous,
shall
be eligible to receive the retirement benefits under this chapter in the same
manner as if such service had been rendered in a class
eight
nine
or better fire department, regardless of the fact that such service was not
rendered in a class
eight
nine
or better fire department."
SECTION
10.
Said
title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 47-7-124,
relating to disposition of funds abandoned by members of the Georgia
Firefighters' Pension Fund separated from the service, notice, and limitation on
asserting certain claims, as follows:
"(a)
No claim shall be made against the fund for benefits or the return of
contributions after the lapse of seven years from the date on which the
secretary-treasurer
executive
director of the fund shall have mailed by
first-class mail to the last known address of the firefighter or volunteer
firefighter or other person eligible therefor, as such address is reflected by
the records of the fund, a written notice that the firefighter or volunteer
firefighter or other eligible person is or may be eligible for such benefits or
return of contributions; and, in the event any claim for benefits or the return
of contributions is barred in accordance with this subsection, the amounts
thereof shall be the property of the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund. The
bar period prescribed by this subsection shall not begin to run with respect to
a firefighter or volunteer firefighter on leave of absence who has elected to
leave his or
her contributions in the fund until the
failure of the firefighter or volunteer firefighter to provide written
confirmation of his
or
her election to remain on leave of absence
within 60 days of a not more frequent than biennial request for such
confirmation mailed to the last known address of such firefighter or volunteer
firefighter, as such address is reflected by the records of the
fund."
SECTION
11.
Said
title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 47-7-126,
relating to penalty for false statements or falsified records and correction of
errors by the board, as follows:
"(a)
Any person who knowingly makes any false statements or falsifies or permits to
be falsified any records of the fund in an attempt to defraud the fund shall be
guilty of a
misdemeanor
felony
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed
$500.00
$5,000.00,
imprisonment for up to
12
months
five
years, or both."
SECTION
12.
Said
title is further amended by repealing in its entirety Chapter 7A, relating to
the Georgia Class Nine Fire Department Pension Fund.
SECTION
13.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2010, only if it is determined to have
been concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law";
otherwise, this Act shall not become effective and shall be automatically
repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2010, as required by subsection (a) of Code
Section 47-20-50.
SECTION
14.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.