Connecticut 2024 2024 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00377 Comm Sub / Analysis

Filed 04/22/2024

                     
Analyst: NN  	Page 1 	4/16/24 
 
 
 
 
OFA Bill Analysis 
SB 377 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING THE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT BOARD'S 
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES TO THE TEACHERS' 
RETIREMENT SYSTEM STATUTES. 
 
SUMMARY: 
The bill makes various changes to the statutes governing the 
Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) that serve to clarify the 
administration of benefits. These changes include: (1) clarifying the 
definition of employer and public school by including dates for sunset 
groups; (2) clarifying that a member's application for retirement is 
irrevocable on the date the member retires; (3) allowing the return of a 
members' accumulated contributions and credited interest to their 
surviving spouse or children if no beneficiary was elected; (4) changing 
the timing of a retiree member election to the Teachers' Retirement 
Board (TRB) and (5)  removing an outdated reference to the TRS.  
EFFECTIVE DATE:  July 1, 2024, except Sections 1 -2 are effective 
from passage. 
ANALYSIS BY SECTION: 
Section 1 
Amends the definition of employer to clarify the Children's Center is 
to sunset on 7/1/24 and the State Education Resource Center was sunset 
on 7/1/22. 
Section 2 
Amends the definition of public school to clarify the Children's 
Center is to sunset on 7/1/24 and the State Education Resource Center 
is to sunset on 7/1/22. 
Section 3  2024SB-00377-R000571-BA.DOCX 
Analyst: NN 	Page 2 	4/16/24 
Makes a technical change to the TRS benefit eligibility statutes that 
clarifies the commencement of the benefit. Members may withdraw the 
retirement applications up to the day before their retirement date.  
Section 4 
Amends the TRS death benefit statutes to create default beneficiaries 
for the return of accumulated contributions and credited interest in the 
absence of a designee or surviving spouse. In this event, the next default 
designees are the surviving children, if none, then the funds are 
awarded to the member's estate. 
Section 5 
Amends the month the TRB election is held for two retiree seats from 
October to July and continuing quadrennially thereafter. PA 23-63 
added two board seats for retired members of the TRS to the TRB via an 
October 1, 2023 election.   
Section 6 
Removes outdated language from the statutes that allowed the 
executive director of the Commission for Education Technology.  
COMMITTEE ACTION 
Appropriations Committee 
Joint Favorable 
Yea 52 Nay 0