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AN ACT relating to hazardous duty retirement for code enforcement personnel of a 1
consolidated local government. 2
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 3
ď˘Section 1. KRS 78.5520 is amended to read as follows: 4
(1) For purposes of this section: 5
(a) "Hazardous position" for employees who began participating in the County 6
Employees Retirement System prior to September 1, 2008, means: 7
1. Any position whose principal duties involve active law enforcement, 8
including the positions of probation and parole officer, active fire 9
suppression or prevention, correctional officers with duties that 10
routinely and regularly require face-to-face contact with inmates, or 11
other positions, including but not limited to paramedics and emergency 12
medical technicians, with duties that require frequent exposure to a high 13
degree of danger or peril and also require a high degree of physical 14
conditioning; and 15
2. Code enforcement officers employed by a consolidated local 16
government pursuant to KRS Chapter 67C with duties including but 17
not limited to investigation, inspection, and issuance of citations for 18
violations of ordinances relating to facilities, hazardous materials, 19
land development, and zoning, and with duties that require frequent 20
exposure to a high degree of danger or peril and also require a high 21
degree of physical conditioning; and 22
(b) "Hazardous position" for employees who begin participating in the County 23
Employees Retirement System on or after September 1, 2008, means: 24
1. Police officers and firefighters as defined in KRS 61.315(1), 25
paramedics, correctional officers with duties that routinely and regularly 26
require face-to-face contact with inmates, and emergency medical 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 982
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technicians, if: 1
a.[1.] The employee's duties require frequent exposure to a high degree 2
of danger or peril and a high degree of physical conditioning; and 3
b.[2.] The employee's duties are not primarily clerical or administrative; 4
and 5
2. Code enforcement officers employed by a consolidated local 6
government pursuant to KRS Chapter 67C with duties including but 7
not limited to investigation, inspection, and the issuance of citations 8
for violations of ordinances relating to facilities, hazardous materials, 9
land development, and zoning, if: 10
a. The employee's duties require frequent exposure to a high 11
degree of danger or peril and a high degree of physical 12
conditioning; and 13
b. The employee's duties are not primarily clerical or 14
administrative. 15
(2) (a) Each employer may request of the board hazardous coverage for those 16
positions as defined in subsection (1) of this section. Upon request, each 17
employer shall certify to the system, in the manner prescribed by the board, 18
the names of all employees working in a hazardous position as defined in 19
subsection (1) of this section for which coverage is requested. The 20
certification of the employer shall bear the approval of the agent or agency 21
responsible for the budget of the employer indicating that the required 22
employer contributions have been provided for in the budget of the employer. 23
The system shall determine whether the employees whose names have been 24
certified by the employer are working in positions meeting the definition of a 25
hazardous position as provided by subsection (1) of this section. 26
(b) Each employer shall also certify, under penalty of perjury in accordance with 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 982
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KRS Chapter 523, that each employee's actual job duties are accurately 1
reflected in the job description provided to the system. The system shall 2
determine whether the employees whose names have been certified by the 3
employer are working in positions meeting the definition of a hazardous 4
position as defined in subsection (1) of this section. 5
(c) The board shall have the authority to remove any employee from hazardous 6
coverage if the board determines the employee is not working in a hazardous 7
position or if the employee is classified in a hazardous position but has 8
individual job duties that do not meet the definition of a hazardous position or 9
are not accurately reflected in the job descriptions filed by the employer with 10
the system. 11
(3) (a) If the employer participated in the system prior to electing hazardous 12
coverage, the employer may pay to the system the cost of converting the 13
nonhazardous service to hazardous service from the date of participation to 14
the date the payment is made, or the employer may establish a payment 15
schedule for payment of the cost of the hazardous service above that which 16
would be funded within the existing employer contribution rate. The employer 17
may extend the payment schedule to a maximum of thirty (30) years. 18
Payments made by the employer under this subsection shall be deposited to 19
the retirement allowance account of the proper retirement or retiree health 20
fund and shall not be considered accumulated contributions of the individual 21
members. 22
(b) If the employer elects not to make the additional payment as provided by 23
paragraph (a) of this subsection, the employee may pay the cost of converting 24
the service and provide payment for the cost as provided by KRS 61.552(9). 25
Payments made by the employee under this subsection shall not be picked up, 26
as described in KRS 78.610(4), by the employer. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 982
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(c) If neither the employer nor employee makes the payment, the service prior to 1
hazardous position coverage shall remain nonhazardous. 2
(d) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to members who begin 3
participating in the system on or after January 1, 2014. 4
(4) Any person employed in a hazardous position shall be required to undergo a 5
thorough medical examination by a licensed physician, and a copy of the medical 6
report of the physician shall be retained on file by the person's employer and made 7
available to the system upon request. 8
(5) If doubt exists regarding the benefits payable to a hazardous position employee 9
under this section, the board shall determine the benefits payable under KRS 78.510 10
to 78.852. 11