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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 882
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING MU NICIPAL ARBITRATION AND THE
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 7-473c of the general 1
statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective July 1, 2019): 3
(a) (1) The Labor Commissioner shall appoint a Neutral Arbitrator 4
Selection Committee consisting of ten members, five of whom shall 5
represent the interests of employees and employee organizations and 6
five of whom shall represent the interests of municipal employers, 7
provided one of the members representing the interests of municipal 8
employers shall be a representative of the Connecticut Conference of 9
Municipalities. The members of the selection committee shall serve for 10
a term of four years. Arbitrators may be removed for good cause. [The] 11
(2) Before July 1, 2019, the selection committee shall appoint a panel 12
of neutral arbitrators consisting of not less than twenty impartial 13
persons representing the interests of the public in general to serve as 14
provided in this section. Each member of the panel shall be a resident 15
of the state and shall be selected by a unanimous vote of the selection 16
committee. The members of the panel shall serve for a term of two 17
years, except that the term of any such member appointed before July 18
1, 2019, shall terminate on said date. 19 Substitute Bill No. 882
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(3) On and after July 1, 2019, the selection committee shall appoint a 20
panel of neutral arbitrators consisting of not less than ten impartial 21
persons representing the interests of the public in general to serve as 22
provided in this section. Each member of the panel shall be a resident 23
of the state and shall be selected by a unanimous vote of the selection 24
committee. The members of the panel shall serve for a term of five 25
years. 26
(b) (1) If neither the municipal employer nor the municipal 27
employee organization has requested the arbitration services of the 28
State Board of Mediation and Arbitration (A) within one hundred 29
eighty days after the certification or recognition of a newly certified or 30
recognized municipal employee organization required to commence 31
negotiations pursuant to section 7-473a, or (B) within thirty days after 32
the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement, or within 33
thirty days after the specified date for implementation of reopener 34
provisions in an existing collective bargaining agreement, or within 35
thirty days after the date the parties to an existing collective bargaining 36
agreement commence negotiations to revise said agreement on any 37
matter affecting wages, hours, and other conditions of employment, 38
said board shall notify the municipal employer and municipal 39
employee organization that one hundred eighty days have passed 40
since the certification or recognition of the newly certified or 41
recognized municipal employee organization, or that thirty days have 42
passed since the specified date for implementation of reopener 43
provisions in an existing agreement, or the date the parties 44
commenced negotiations to revise an existing agreement on any matter 45
affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment or the 46
expiration of such collective bargaining agreement and that binding 47
and final arbitration is now imposed on them, provided written 48
notification of such imposition shall be sent by registered mail or 49
certified mail, return receipt requested, to each party. 50
(2) Within ten days of receipt of the written notification required 51
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, the chief executive 52 Substitute Bill No. 882
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officer of the municipal employer and the executive head of the 53
municipal employee organization each shall select one member of the 54
arbitration panel. Within five days of their appointment, the [two 55
members of the arbitration panel] State Board of Mediation and 56
Arbitration shall select a third member, who shall be an impartial 57
representative of the interests of the public in general and who shall be 58
selected at random from the panel of neutral arbitrators appointed 59
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Such third member shall be 60
the chairperson of the panel. 61
(3) In the event that the municipal employer or the municipal 62
employee organization have not selected their respective members of 63
the arbitration panel, [or the two members of the panel have not 64
selected the third member,] the State Board of Mediation and 65
Arbitration shall appoint such members as are needed to complete the 66
panel, provided (A) the member or members so appointed are 67
residents of this state, and (B) the selection of the third member of the 68
panel by the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration shall be made at 69
random from among the members of the panel of neutral arbitrators 70
appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. 71
Sec. 2. Section 7-440 of the general statutes is repealed and the 72
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 73
(a) Each member shall contribute to the fund five per cent of his pay 74
as to that portion of pay with respect to which contributions are not to 75
be deducted under section 7-453 and two and one-quarter per cent as 76
to that portion of pay with respect to which contributions are to be so 77
deducted, to be deducted from such pay by the municipality and 78
forwarded not less frequently than once a month to the Retirement 79
Commission to be credited to the fund. 80
(b) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, each member shall 81
contribute to the fund six per cent of such member's pay as to that 82
portion of pay with respect to which contributions are not to be 83
deducted under section 7-453 and three and one-quarter per cent as to 84 Substitute Bill No. 882
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that portion of pay with respect to which contributions are to be so 85
deducted from such pay by the municipality and forwarded not less 86
frequently than once a month to the Retirement Commission to be 87
credited to the fund. 88
(c) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, each member shall 89
contribute to the fund seven per cent of such member's pay as to that 90
portion of pay with respect to which contributions are not to be 91
deducted under section 7-453 and four and one-quarter per cent as to 92
that portion of pay with respect to which contributions are to be so 93
deducted, to be deducted from such pay by the municipality and 94
forwarded not less frequently than once a month to the Retirement 95
Commission to be credited to the fund. 96
(d) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, each member shall 97
contribute to the fund eight per cent of such member's pay as to that 98
portion of pay with respect to which contributions are not to be 99
deducted under section 7-453 and five and one-quarter per cent as to 100
that portion of pay with respect to which contributions are to be so 101
deducted from such pay by the municipality and forwarded not less 102
frequently than once a month to the Retirement Commission to be 103
credited to the fund. 104
(e) In the case of members serving with the armed forces of the 105
United States in time of war, hostilities or national emergency or any 106
acts incident thereto, as provided in section 7-434, the municipality 107
shall forward to the Retirement Commission to be credited to the fund 108
a like contribution on behalf of such member based upon his pay at the 109
time of entering such service. Any member leaving the employment of 110
the municipality before becoming eligible for retirement may 111
withdraw on request to the Retirement Commission the total of all 112
contributions made by him, including contributions made to another 113
system and transferred to the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund 114
under the provisions of section 7-442b, less any retroactive 115
contributions payable by such member under section 7-453 to the Old 116
Age and Survivors Insurance System which have been paid from the 117 Substitute Bill No. 882
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fund under the provisions of section 7-451, provided, if no request is 118
made within ten years, such contributions shall revert to the fund. The 119
withdrawal of contributions shall include interest credited from July 1, 120
1983, or the first of the fiscal year following the date of actual 121
contribution, whichever is later, to the first of the fiscal year coincident 122
with or preceding the date the employee leaves municipal service. 123
Such interest shall be credited at the rate of five per cent per year. In 124
addition, for the partial year during which the employee leaves 125
municipal service or withdraws his contributions, whichever is later, 126
interest shall be credited at the rate of five-twelfths of one per cent 127
multiplied by the full number of months completed during that year, 128
such interest rate to be applied to the value of contributions including 129
any prior interest credits as of the first day of that year. Any employee 130
who withdraws his contributions from the fund and is subsequently 131
reinstated shall not receive credit for service for such prior 132
employment in the computation of his eventual retirement allowance 133
unless the withdrawn contributions plus interest, if any, have been 134
repaid with additional interest at a rate to be determined by the 135
commission. Any municipality which has made contributions on 136
behalf of any member serving in the armed forces who is not 137
reemployed by the municipality within six months following the 138
termination of such service, unless this period is further extended by 139
reason of disability incurred in such service, shall be entitled to receive 140
from the fund on application to the Retirement Commission the 141
amount of such contributions. Any municipality which has made 142
contributions in accordance with subsection (b) of section 7-436b on 143
behalf of any member who leaves the employment of the municipality 144
and withdraws from the municipal employees' retirement system 145
before becoming eligible for retirement shall be entitled to receive from 146
the fund on application to the Retirement Commission the amount of 147
such contributions. In case of the death of a member before retirement, 148
who has not elected a retirement income option in accordance with the 149
provisions of this part or who has made such election but has not 150
completed the age and service requirements that would permit him to 151
retire on his own application, or after retirement without having made 152 Substitute Bill No. 882
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such election, or in case of the death of the survivor of a member who 153
has made such election and his spouse after a retirement allowance has 154
become payable, his contributions to the fund plus such five per cent 155
interest, if any, less any retirement allowance paid to him or his 156
spouse, and less any retroactive contributions paid by such member to 157
the Old Age and Survivors Insurance System which have been paid 158
from the fund under the provisions of section 7-451, shall be paid from 159
the fund on the order of the Retirement Commission to the beneficiary 160
or beneficiaries, if any, named by such member. If no named 161
beneficiaries survive the member, or the survivor of the member and 162
his spouse, payment shall be made to the executors or administrators 163
of such member or his spouse, as the case may be, except that, if the 164
amount is less than five hundred dollars, the refund may be made, at 165
the option of the Retirement Commission, in accordance with the 166
terms of section 45a-273. 167
Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2019) Not later than December 1, 2019, the 168
Connecticut Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 169
established pursuant to section 2-79a of the general statutes, in 170
consultation with the Connecticut State Employees Retirement 171
Commission established pursuant to section 5-155a of the general 172
statutes, shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Office of Policy 173
and Management. Such report shall contain recommendations 174
concerning the addition of a new municipal employees' retirement 175
system membership tier modeled after the state employees retirement 176
system. 177
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 7-473c(a) and (b)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 7-440
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 New section
PD Joint Favorable Subst.