AL
Alabama House Bill HB472

Alabama 2024 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB472 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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33 HB472
44 T4I3911-1
55 By Representative Pringle
66 RFD: Ways and Means General Fund
77 First Read: 18-Apr-24
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1212 5 T4I3911-1 04/18/2024 KMS (L)cr 2024-1299
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1414 First Read: 18-Apr-24
1515 SYNOPSIS:
1616 This bill would provide further for the
1717 calculating of retirement benefits for an assistant
1818 district attorney who has participated in more than one
1919 retirement plan.
2020 This bill would provide that all full-time
2121 prosecuting attorneys and full-time investigators who
2222 are Tier II members shall receive the same retirement
2323 benefits provided to Tier I plan members during that
2424 employment.
2525 This bill would provide that a retired district
2626 attorney, retired assistant district attorney, or
2727 retired deputy district attorney may return to work
2828 part time and under certain conditions without the loss
2929 of retirement benefits.
3030 This bill would also establish the Rural
3131 Initiative for Assistant District Attorney Recruitment
3232 and Retention, to provide for the award of incentive
3333 time for any full-time assistant district attorney,
3434 deputy district attorney, chief investigator, or
3535 district attorney investigator who serves in a rural
3636 judicial circuit and participates in the Employees'
3737 Retirement System.
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6767 A BILL
6868 TO BE ENTITLED
6969 AN ACT
7070 Relating to district attorneys; to amend Section
7171 12-17-213, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide further for the
7272 calculating of retirement benefits for an assistant district
7373 attorney who has participated in more than one retirement
7474 plan; to add Sections 36-27-6.6 and 36-27-8.3 to the Code of
7575 Alabama 1975, to provide that all full-time prosecuting
7676 attorneys and full-time investigators who are Tier II members
7777 shall receive the same retirement benefits provided to Tier I
7878 plan members during that employment; to provide that a retired
7979 district attorney, retired assistant district attorney, or
8080 retired deputy district attorney may return to work part time
8181 and under certain conditions without the loss of benefits; and
8282 to establish the Rural Initiative for Assistant District
8383 Attorney Recruitment and Retention to provide for the award of
8484 incentive time for any full-time assistant district attorney,
8585 deputy district attorney, chief investigator, or district
8686 attorney investigator who serves in a rural judicial circuit
8787 and participates in the Employees' Retirement System.
8888 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
8989 Section 1. Section 12-17-213 of the Code of Alabama
9090 1975, is amended to read as follows:
9191 "§12-17-213
9292 (a) Any person now serving or having formerly served as
9393 a district attorney of a judicial circuit of Alabama, who has
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123123 a district attorney of a judicial circuit of Alabama, who has
124124 served for not less than 18 years, when he or she has reached
125125 the age of 60 years, may elect to become a supernumerary
126126 district attorney by filing a written declaration to that
127127 effect with the Governor, and time served as judge of a court
128128 of record, a county court, county solicitor or any other
129129 countywide elected official, a full-time deputy or assistant
130130 district attorney, or as a duly licensed attorney employed
131131 full time by the State of Alabama, whether commissioned or
132132 appointed, or as an elected constitutional officer or other
133133 state official, shall be counted as time served towards
134134 accumulating the above required 18 years; provided, that such
135135 district attorney shall have served not less than 10 years as
136136 district attorney of a judicial circuit.
137137 (b) Any district attorney of a judicial circuit who has
138138 served 18 years as circuit district attorney may elect to
139139 become a supernumerary district attorney by filing a written
140140 declaration to that effect with the Governor, and only two and
141141 one-half years served as judge of a court of record, a county
142142 court, county solicitor, a full-time deputy or assistant
143143 district attorney, or as a duly licensed attorney employed
144144 full time by the State of Alabama, whether commissioned or
145145 appointed, or as an elected constitutional officer or other
146146 state official, may be counted as time served towards
147147 accumulating the above required 18 years.
148148 (c) On October 1, 2021, any person who was elected or
149149 appointed as a district attorney prior to November 8, 2016,
150150 and held office as a district attorney through or after
151151 January 1, 2019, may elect to become a supernumerary district
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181181 January 1, 2019, may elect to become a supernumerary district
182182 attorney by filing a written declaration to that effect with
183183 the Governor. Prior time served as a judge of a court of
184184 record, a full-time deputy or assistant district attorney, a
185185 duly licensed attorney employed full time by the State of
186186 Alabama, or a district attorney, shall be counted as time
187187 served towards accumulating the 18 years required in this
188188 section.
189189 (d)(1) Any district attorney who, on or after October
190190 1, 2021, qualifies under Division 2, commencing with Section
191191 12-17-210, of Article 6 of this chapter, to receive a salary
192192 pursuant to Section 12-17-215 and also qualifies to receive a
193193 pension under any of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, shall
194194 elect, at the time of separation from state service, to
195195 receive either a salary under Section 12-17-215 or a pension,
196196 but not both, by filing a written declaration with the
197197 Governor and the applicable retirement system. This subsection
198198 shall not prohibit survivor benefits that may be available
199199 under any of the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
200200 (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1), any time
201201 accumulated or credited as an assistant district attorney for
202202 purposes of calculating or receiving retirement benefits
203203 cannot be withheld merely because of participation in another
204204 retirement plan, so long as the accumulated time or credit, or
205205 any part of the accumulated time or credit, does not need to
206206 be used to calculate another retirement plan or benefit.
207207 (e) A supernumerary district attorney who is receiving
208208 a salary pursuant to Section 12-17-215 may also be employed
209209 by, or perform duties in any capacity, including as an
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239239 by, or perform duties in any capacity, including as an
240240 independent contractor for , any employer participating in the
241241 Employees' Retirement System; provided, however, the
242242 supernumerary district attorney's compensation from the
243243 employer in a calendar year may not exceed the salary
244244 limitation described and calculated pursuant to subsection (a)
245245 of Section 36-27-8.2."
246246 Section 2. Sections 36-27-6.6 and 36-27-8.3 are added
247247 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
248248 §36-27-6.6
249249 (a) All full-time prosecuting attorneys and full-time
250250 investigators who are Tier II members and are employed by a
251251 district attorney's office shall receive the same retirement
252252 benefits provided to Tier I plan members during their
253253 employment with the district attorney's office.
254254 (b) The Tier II plan members receiving the same
255255 retirement benefits provided to Tier I plan members pursuant
256256 to subsection (a) shall contribute to the Employees'
257257 Retirement System seven and one-half percent of their earnable
258258 compensation.
259259 (c) In the application of Sections 36-27-16 and
260260 16-25-14 to a member whose creditable service includes periods
261261 of service to different tier plans, the benefit rates of each
262262 respective tier plan will be applicable to the creditable
263263 service earned while in each respective tier plan. In all
264264 other respects, the pension under this section shall be
265265 determined on the basis of the member's tier plan at the time
266266 of his or her withdrawal from service.
267267 §36-27-8.3
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297297 §36-27-8.3
298298 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
299299 contrary, any individual who is a retired district attorney
300300 under the Judicial Retirement Fund, or a retired assistant
301301 district attorney or retired deputy district attorney under
302302 the Employees' Retirement System, upon the request of a
303303 district attorney, may undertake any duty or perform any
304304 function presently or hereafter assigned by law to any
305305 district attorney in this state, without suspension of his or
306306 her retirement allowance, provided that both: (i) the retired
307307 district attorney, retired assistant district attorney, or
308308 retired deputy district attorney is not employed in a
309309 permanent full-time capacity; and (ii) the compensation earned
310310 by the retired district attorney, retired assistant district
311311 attorney, or retired deputy district attorney does not exceed
312312 fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year and is paid from the
313313 district attorney's fund for the office in which the services
314314 are provided.
315315 (b) Beginning January 1, 2025, and each calendar year
316316 thereafter, the annual earning limit provided in subsection
317317 (a) shall be increased by the same percentage increase as the
318318 increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers
319319 as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
320320 Statistics. Any increase in the annual earning limit shall be
321321 rounded to the next lowest multiple of one thousand dollars
322322 ($1,000) with any amount in excess of the one thousand-dollar
323323 ($1,000) multiple considered in determining the increase for
324324 the following year. Each adjustment shall be based on the
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355355 increase in the index for the preceding 12-month period ending
356356 on September 30 and the increase shall be effective for the
357357 following calendar year.
358358 Section 3. (a) This section shall be known and may be
359359 cited as the Rural Initiative for Assistant District Attorney
360360 Recruitment and Retention.
361361 (b) For the purposes of this section, the following
362362 terms have the following meanings:
363363 (1) ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY. A full-time assistant
364364 district attorney, deputy district attorney, chief
365365 investigator, or district attorney investigator who is
366366 employed by this state in the office of a district attorney.
367367 (2) RURAL INCENTIVE TIME. One additional year of
368368 creditable service for each five-year consecutive period
369369 served in a rural judicial circuit. For the purposes of
370370 calculating rural incentive time, only creditable service in a
371371 rural judicial circuit qualifies and no creditable service
372372 time from a non-rural judicial circuit shall qualify.
373373 (3) RURAL JUDICIAL CIRCUIT. All judicial circuits
374374 located in this state, excluding the 6th Judicial Circuit,
375375 10th Judicial Circuit, 13th Judicial Circuit, 15th Judicial
376376 Circuit, 18th Judicial Circuit, 23rd Judicial Circuit, and
377377 28th Judicial Circuit.
378378 (c) Any assistant district attorney who, commencing on
379379 October 1, 2024, is employed in a rural judicial circuit and
380380 is participating in the Employees' Retirement System, upon
381381 attainment of the requisite years of creditable service in any
382382 rural judicial circuit or who otherwise qualifies for service
383383 or disability retirement in any rural judicial circuit, shall
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413413 or disability retirement in any rural judicial circuit, shall
414414 be awarded one year of rural incentive time for every five
415415 years of service as an assistant district attorney.
416416 Section 4. This act shall become effective on October
417417 1, 2024.
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