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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1082
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 5568
Referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS
Introduced by:
(APP)
AN ACT CONCERNING A RETIRED TEACHER ADVI SORY COUNCIL,
THE MEMBERSHIP OF AN D TERM LIMITS FOR THE TEACHERS'
RETIREMENT BOARD, A CAP ON CERTAIN PROFE SSIONAL FEES
PAID BY THE BOARD, AND MEDICARE SUPPLEME NTAL PLANS
FOR RETIRED TEACHERS .
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established a 1
Retired Teacher Advisory Council, which shall provide the Teachers' 2
Retirement Board with input on all matters under the purview of the 3
board that pertain to retired teachers. The advisory council shall include 4
the following members, each appointed by the organization such 5
member represents: (1) Two representing the Association of Retired 6
Teachers of Connecticut; (2) two representing the CEA-Retired; (3) two 7
representing the AFT-Retired; (4) two representing the Retired Teachers' 8
Healthcare Advocates; and (5) one nonvoting member representing the 9
Teachers' Retirement Board, who shall be a staff member of the board 10
and who shall serve as the advisory council's liaison to the board. Each 11
voting member shall be a retired teacher who is enrolled in a health 12
benefit plan offered by the board. The advisory council shall elect a 13
chairperson and secretary from among its members. 14 Raised Bill No. 1082
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(b) The advisory council shall meet in advance of each meeting of the 15
board and provide written recommendations to the board through the 16
liaison to the board. A representative of such council shall be allowed to 17
speak during the public comment portion of any meeting of the board. 18
(c) The board shall provide the following to the advisory council: (1) 19
Materials related to health benefit plans offered by the board, including, 20
but not limited to, advance copies of open enrollment materials, 21
documents related to coverages and evaluations that are used for the 22
development of requests for proposals, evaluations of health benefit 23
plans and financial reports of the board; (2) materials related to 24
communication channels and practices between the board and retired 25
members; (3) copies of any legislative proposals submitted by the board 26
that might affect retired members or the retirement benefits of future 27
retired members; and (4) any other materials or information that the 28
board believes may benefit from review by the advisory council. 29
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-183l of the general statutes is 30
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 31
passage): 32
(a) (1) On and after July 1, 1991, the management of the system shall 33
continue to be vested in the Teachers' Retirement Board, whose 34
members shall include the Treasurer, the Secretary of the Office of Policy 35
and Management and the Commissioner of Education, or their 36
designees, who shall be voting members of the board, ex officio. (2) On 37
or before June 15, 1985, and quadrennially thereafter, the members of 38
the system shall elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by said 39
board, two persons to serve as members of said board for terms of four 40
years beginning July first following such election. Both of such persons 41
shall be active teachers who shall be nominated by the members of the 42
system who are not retired and elected by all the members of the system. 43
On or before July 1, 1991, and quadrennially thereafter, the members of 44
the system shall elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by said 45
board, three persons to serve as members of said board for terms of four 46
years beginning July first following such election. Two of such persons 47 Raised Bill No. 1082
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shall be retired teachers who shall be nominated by the retired members 48
of the system and elected by all the members of the system and one shall 49
be an active teacher who shall be nominated by the members of the 50
system who are not retired and elected by all the members of the system. 51
(3) On or before July 1, 2011, and quadrennially thereafter, the members 52
of the system shall elect from their number, in a manner prescribed by 53
said board, one person to serve as a member of said board for a term of 54
four years beginning July first following such election. Such person shall 55
be an active teacher who shall be nominated by the members of the 56
system who are not retired, elected by all the members of the system 57
and a member of an exclusive representative of a teachers' bargaining 58
unit that is not represented by the members of the board elected under 59
subdivision (2) of this subsection. (4) On or before July 1, 2021, and 60
quadrennially thereafter, the members of the system shall elect from 61
their number, in a manner prescribed by said board, one person to serve 62
as a member of said board for a term of four years beginning July first 63
following such election. Such person shall be a retired teacher who is 64
(A) a member of an organization composed exclusively of retired 65
teachers that is not otherwise represented on the board, and (B) an 66
enrollee of a health benefit plan offered by the board. Such person shall 67
be nominated and elected by the retired members of the system. (5) If a 68
vacancy occurs in the positions filled by the members of the system who 69
are not retired, said board shall elect a member of the system who is not 70
retired to fill the unexpired portion of the term. If a vacancy occurs in 71
the positions filled by the retired members of the system, said board 72
shall elect a retired member of the system to fill the unexpired portion 73
of the term. The Governor shall appoint five public members to said 74
board in accordance with the provisions of section 4-9a, one of whom 75
shall be the mayor, first selectman or chief elected official of a 76
municipality. On and after the effective date of this section, the 77
Governor shall fill the next vacant position on the board that is 78
appointed by the Governor with a person who is the mayor, first 79
selectman or chief elected official of a municipality. The members of the 80
board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for any 81
expenditures or loss of salary or wages which they incur through service 82 Raised Bill No. 1082
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on the board. No elected member of the board shall serve for more than 83
twelve years, whether consecutively or nonconsecutively, except if a 84
member completes a twelfth year during a term, such member may 85
complete such term. All decisions of the board shall require the approval 86
of six members of the board or a majority of the members who are 87
present, whichever is greater. 88
Sec. 3. Section 10-183t of the general statutes is repealed and the 89
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 90
(a) The [retirement] board shall offer one or more health benefit plans 91
to: Any member receiving retirement benefits or a disability allowance 92
from the system; the spouse or surviving spouse of such member, and a 93
disabled dependent of such member if there is no spouse or surviving 94
spouse, provided such member, spouse, surviving spouse, or disabled 95
dependent is participating in Medicare Part A hospital insurance and 96
Medicare Part B medical insurance. The board may offer one or more 97
basic plans, the cost of which to any such member, spouse, surviving 98
spouse or disabled dependent shall be one-third of the basic plan's 99
premium equivalent, and one or more optional plans, provided such 100
member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent shall pay one-101
third of the basic plan's premium equivalent plus the difference in cost 102
between any such basic plans and any such optional plans. The board 103
shall designate those plans which are basic and those plans which are 104
optional for the purpose of determining such cost and the amount to be 105
charged or withheld from benefit payments for such plans. In addition 106
to any such basic and optional plans, the board shall offer a Medicare 107
supplemental plan, which shall provide coverage substantially equal to 108
or better than such basic and optional plans and include coverage 109
consistent with all state insurance mandates. The surviving spouse of a 110
member, or a disabled dependent of a member if there is no surviving 111
spouse, shall not be ineligible for participation in any such plan solely 112
because such surviving spouse or disabled dependent is not receiving 113
benefits from the system. With respect to any person participating in 114
any such plan, the state shall appropriate to the board one-third of the 115
cost of such basic plan or plans, or one-third of the cost of the rate in 116 Raised Bill No. 1082
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effect during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, whichever is greater. 117
On and after July 1, 2012, federal reimbursements received by the 118
[retirement] board under the retiree drug subsidy provisions of 119
Medicare Part D shall be used to offset amounts appropriated by the 120
state to the board pursuant to this subsection. 121
(b) Any member who is receiving retirement benefits or a disability 122
allowance from the system, the spouse or surviving spouse of such 123
member, or a disabled dependent of such member if there is no spouse 124
or surviving spouse, and who is not participating in Medicare Part A 125
hospital insurance and Medicare Part B medical insurance, may fully 126
participate in any or all group health insurance plans maintained for 127
active teachers by such member's last employing board of education, or 128
by the state in the case of a member who was employed by the state, 129
upon payment to such board of education or to the state, as applicable, 130
by such member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent, of 131
the premium charged for his form of coverage. Such premium shall be 132
no greater than that charged for the same form of coverage for active 133
teachers. The spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent shall not 134
be ineligible for participation in any such plan solely because such 135
spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent is not receiving 136
benefits from the system. No person shall be ineligible for participation 137
in such plans for failure to enroll in such plans at the time the member's 138
retirement benefit or disability allowance became effective. Nothing in 139
this subsection shall be construed to impair or alter the provisions of any 140
collective bargaining agreement relating to the payment by a board of 141
education of group health insurance premiums on behalf of any 142
member receiving benefits from the system. Prior to the cancellation of 143
coverage for any member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled 144
dependent for failure to pay the required premiums or cost due, the 145
board of education or the state, if applicable, shall notify the Teachers' 146
Retirement Board of its intention to cancel such coverage at least thirty 147
days prior to the date of cancellation. Absent any contractual provisions 148
to the contrary, the payments made pursuant to subsection (c) of this 149
section shall be first applied to any cost borne by the member, spouse, 150 Raised Bill No. 1082
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surviving spouse or disabled dependent participating in any such plan. 151
As used in this subsection, "last employing board of education" means 152
the board of education by which such member was employed when 153
such member filed his initial application for retirement, and "health 154
insurance plans" means hospital, medical, major medical, dental, 155
prescription drug or auditory benefit plans that are available to active 156
teachers. 157
(c) (1) On and after July 1, 2000, the board shall pay a subsidy equal 158
to the subsidy paid in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, to the board 159
of education or to the state, if applicable, on behalf of any member who 160
is receiving retirement benefits or a disability allowance from the 161
system, the spouse of such member, the surviving spouse of such 162
member, or a disabled dependent of such member if there is no spouse 163
or surviving spouse, who is participating in a health insurance plan 164
maintained by a board of education or by the state, if applicable. Such 165
payment shall not exceed the actual cost of such insurance. 166
(2) With respect to any person participating in any such plan 167
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the state shall appropriate to 168
the board one-third of the cost of the subsidy, except that, for the fiscal 169
year ending June 30, 2013, the state shall appropriate twenty-five per 170
cent of the cost of the subsidy. On and after July 1, 2018, for the fiscal 171
year ending June 30, 2019, and for each fiscal year thereafter, fifty per 172
cent of the total amount appropriated by the state in each such fiscal 173
year for the state's share of the cost of such subsidies shall be paid to the 174
board on or before July first of such fiscal year, and the remaining fifty 175
per cent of such total amount shall be paid to the board on or before 176
December first of such fiscal year. 177
(3) No payment to a board of education pursuant to this subsection 178
may be used to reduce the amount of any premium payment on behalf 179
of any such member, spouse, surviving spouse, or disabled dependent, 180
made by such board pursuant to any agreement in effect on July 1, 1990. 181
On and after July 1, 2012, the board shall pay a subsidy of two hundred 182
twenty dollars per month on behalf of the member, spouse or the 183 Raised Bill No. 1082
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surviving spouse of such member who: (A) Has attained the normal 184
retirement age to participate in Medicare, (B) is not eligible for Medicare 185
Part A without cost, and (C) contributes at least two hundred twenty 186
dollars per month towards his or her medical and prescription drug 187
plan provided by the board of education. 188
(d) The Treasurer shall establish a separate retired teachers' health 189
insurance premium account within the Teachers' Retirement Fund. 190
Commencing July 1, 1989, and annually thereafter all health benefit plan 191
contributions withheld under this chapter in excess of five hundred 192
thousand dollars shall, upon deposit in the Teachers' Retirement Fund, 193
be credited to such account. Interest derived from the investment of 194
funds in the account shall be credited to the account. Funds in the 195
account shall be used for (1) payments to boards of education pursuant 196
to subsection (c) of this section and for payment of premiums on behalf 197
of members, spouses of members, surviving spouses of members or 198
disabled dependents of members participating in one or more health 199
insurance plans pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in an amount 200
equal to the difference between the amount paid pursuant to subsection 201
(a) of this section and the amount paid pursuant to subsection (c) of this 202
section, and (2) payments of not more than one hundred fifty thousand 203
dollars in any fiscal year for [professional] health care consultation fees 204
associated with the administration of the health benefit plans offered 205
pursuant to this section. Not later than August first, annually, the 206
Teachers' Retirement Board shall report to all members in written form, 207
and also in electronic form to each member for whom the board has an 208
electronic mail address on file, a detailed accounting of payments made 209
for professional fees during the previous fiscal year. If, during any fiscal 210
year, there are insufficient funds in the account for the purposes of all 211
such payments, the General Assembly shall appropriate sufficient funds 212
to the account for such purpose. 213
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section Raised Bill No. 1082
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Sec. 2 from passage 10-183l(a)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 10-183t
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) establish a Retired Teacher Advisory Council for the Teachers'
Retirement Board; (2) require that an additional retired teacher be added
to the board's membership; (3) institute term limits for board members;
(4) cap the amount of certain professional fees paid by the board; and
(5) require that the board offer a Medicare supplemental plan to retired
teachers.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]