Oklahoma 2022 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2487 Amended / Bill

Filed 04/14/2022

                    RBH No. 10792 
 
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION 
April 13, 2022 
 
 
ENGROSSED HOUSE 
BILL NO. 2487 	By: Frix of the House 
 
  and 
 
  Taylor and Stephens of the 
Senate 
 
 
 
 
 
[ public retirement systems - modifying requirements 
to participate in certain plans - effective dates ] 
 
 
 
 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF TH E STATE OF OKLAHOMA: 
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     62 O.S. 2021, Section 3103, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 3103. As used in the Oklahoma Pension Legislatio n 
Actuarial Analysis Act: 
1. "Amendment" means any amendment, including a substitute 
bill, made to a retirement bill by any commi ttee of the House or 
Senate, any conference committee of the House or Senate or by the 
House or Senate; 
2.  "RB number" means that number preceded by the letters "RB" 
assigned to a retirement bill by the respective staffs of the 
Oklahoma State Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives when  RBH No. 10792 
 
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the respective staff office prepares a retirement bill for a member 
of the Legislature; 
3.  "Legislative Actuary" means the firm or entity that enters 
into a contract with the Legislative Service Bureau pursuant to 
Section 452.15 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes to provide the 
actuarial services and other duties provided for in the Ok lahoma 
Pension Legislation A ctuarial Analysis Act; 
4.  "Nonfiscal amendment" means an amendment to a retirement 
bill having a fiscal impact, which amendment does not change any 
factor of an actuarial investigation specified in subsection A of 
Section 3109 of this title; 
5.  "Nonfiscal retirement bill" means a retirement bill: 
a. which does not affect the cost or funding factors of a 
retirement system, 
b. which affects such factors only in a manner which does 
not: 
(1) grant a benefit increase under the retir ement 
system affected by the bill, 
(2) create an actuarial accrued liability for or 
increase the actuarial accrued liab ility of the 
retirement system affected by the bill, or 
(3) increase the normal cost of the retirement system 
affected by the bill,  RBH No. 10792 
 
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c. which authorizes the purchase by an active member of 
the retirement system, at the actuarial cost for the 
purchase as computed pursuant to the statute in effect 
on the effective date of the measure allowing such 
purchase, of years of service for purposes of reaching 
a normal retirement date in the applicable retirement 
system, but which cannot be used in order to compute 
the number of years o f service for purposes of 
computing the retirement benefit for the member, 
d. which provides for the computation of a s ervice-
connected disability retirement benefit for members of 
the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System 
pursuant to Section 2-305 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes if the members were unable to complete twenty 
(20) years of service as a result of t he disability, 
e. which requires membership in the defined benefit plan 
authorized by Section 901 et seq. of Title 74 of the 
Oklahoma Statutes for persons whose first elected or 
appointed service occurs on or after November 1, 2018, 
if such persons had any prior service in the Oklaho ma 
Public Employees Retirement System prior to November 
1, 2015, 
f. which provides for a one-time increase in retirement 
benefits if the increase in retirement benefits is not  RBH No. 10792 
 
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a permanent increase in the gross annual retirement 
benefit payable to a member or beneficiary, occurs 
only once pursuant to a single statutory authorization 
and does not exceed: 
(1) the lesser of two percent (2%) of the gross 
annual retirement benefit of the member or One 
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and r equires that 
the benefit may only be provided if the funded 
ratio of the affected retirement system would not 
be less than sixty percent (60%) but not greater 
than eighty percent (80%) after the benefit 
increase is paid, 
(2) the lesser of two percent (2%) of the gross 
annual retirement benefit of the member or One 
Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1,200.00) and 
requires that the benefit may on ly be provided if 
the funded ratio of the affected retirement 
system would be greater than eighty percent (80%) 
but not greater than one hundred pe rcent (100%) 
after the benefit increase is paid, 
(3) the lesser of two percent (2%) of the gross 
annual retirement benefit of the member or One 
Thousand Four Hundred Dollars ($1,400.00) and 
requires that the benefit may only be provided if  RBH No. 10792 
 
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the funded ratio of the affected retirement 
system would be greater than one hundred percent 
(100%) after the benefit increas e is paid, or 
(4) the greater of two percent (2%) of the gross 
annual retirement benefit of the volunteer 
firefighter or One Hundred Dollars ($100. 00) for 
persons who retired from the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Pension and Retirement System as 
volunteer firefighters and who did not retire 
from the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and 
Retirement System as a paid firefighter. 
As used in this subparagraph, "funded ratio" means the 
figure derived by dividing the actuarial value of 
assets of the applicable retirement sy stem by the 
actuarial accrued liability of the applicable 
retirement system, 
g. which modifies the disability pension standard for 
police officers who are members of the Oklahoma Police 
Pension and Retirement System as provided by Section 3 
50-115 of this act Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes , 
or 
h. which provides a cost-of-living benefit increase 
pursuant to the provisions of Sections 2 through 7 of 
this act:  RBH No. 10792 
 
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(1) Section 49-143.7 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, 
(2) Section 50-136.9 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, 
(3) Section 1104K of Title 20 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, 
(4) Section 2-305.12 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, 
(5) Section 17-116.22 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, 
(6) Section 930.11 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, or 
i. which restores benefits pursuant to Sections 2 through 
8 of this act. 
A nonfiscal retirement bill shall include any retirement bill that 
has as its sole purpose the appropriation or distribution or 
redistribution of monies in some manner to a retirement system for 
purposes of reducing the unfunded liability of such system or the 
earmarking of a portion of the revenue from a tax to a retirement 
system or increasing the percentage of the revenue earmarked fr om a 
tax to a retirement system; 
6.  "Reduction-in-cost amendment" means an amendment to a 
retirement bill having a fiscal impact which reduces the cost of the  RBH No. 10792 
 
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bill as such cost is determined by th e actuarial investigation for 
the bill prepared pursuant t o Section 3109 of this title; 
7.  "Retirement bill" means any bill or joint resolution 
introduced or any bill or joint resolution amended by a member of 
the Oklahoma Legislature which creates or ame nds any law directly 
affecting a retirement system.  A re tirement bill shall not mean a 
bill or resolution that impacts the revenue of any state tax in 
which a portion of the revenue generated from such tax is earmarked 
for the benefit of a retirement syst em; 
8.  "Retirement bill having a fiscal impact " means any 
retirement bill creating or establishing a retirement system and any 
other retirement bill other than a nonfiscal retirement bill; and 
9.  "Retirement system" means the Teachers' Retirement System of 
Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retir ement System, the 
Uniform Retirement System for Just ices and Judges, the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Police 
Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Law Enforcement 
Retirement System, or a retirement system establis hed after January 
1, 2006. 
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 20 21, Section 49-100.1, is 
amended to read as f ollows: 
Section 49-100.1  As used in this article:  RBH No. 10792 
 
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1.  "System" means the Okla homa Firefighters Pension and 
Retirement System and all predeces sor municipal firefighters pension 
and retirement systems; 
2.  "Article" means Article 49 of this title; 
3.  "State Board" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and 
Retirement Board; 
4.  "Local board" means the local firefighters pension and 
retirement boards; 
5.  "Fund" means the Oklahoma Firefi ghters Pension and 
Retirement Fund; 
6.  "Member" means all eligible fir efighters of a participating 
municipality or a fire protection district who pe rform the essential 
functions of fire suppression, prevention, a nd life safety duties in 
a fire department. The term "member" shall include but not be 
limited to the person serv ing as fire chief of any participating 
municipality, provided that a person se rving as fire chief of a 
participating municipality shall meet t he age, agility, physical and 
other eligibility requirements required by law at the time sai d 
person becomes a mem ber of the System.  Effective July 1, 1987, a 
member does not include a "lease d employee".  The term "leased 
employee" means any person (other than an employee of the recipient) 
who pursuant to an agreement between the recipient and a ny other 
person ("leasing organization") has performed services for the 
recipient (or for the recipi ent and related persons determined in  RBH No. 10792 
 
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accordance with Section 41 4(n)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, as amended) on a substantially full -time basis for a period of 
at least one (1) year, and such services are performed under primary 
direction or control by the recipient.  Contributions or benefits 
provided a leased employee by the leasing organization which are 
attributable to services performed for the recipient employer shall 
be treated as provided by the recipient employer.  A leased employee 
shall not be considered an employee of the recipient if the 
requirements of the safe harbor provisions of Sec tion 414(n)(5) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 19 86, as amended, are sa tisfied.  
Effective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with the 
participating municipality that the individual's services are to be 
performed as a leased employee or an independent contractor shall 
not be a member regardless of a ny classification as a common law 
employee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other governmental 
agency, or any court of competent jurisdiction; 
7.  "Normal retirement date" means the date at which the m ember 
is eligible to receive the unreduced paymen ts of the member's 
accrued retirement benefit.  Such date shall be the first day 
following the date the member completes twenty (20) years of 
credited service.  For a member whose first employment with a 
participating employer of the System occurs on or af ter November 1, 
2013, such date shall be the first day following the date the member 
completes twenty-two (22) years of credited service and has attained  RBH No. 10792 
 
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the age of at least fifty (50) years.  If the member's employment 
continues past the normal retirement date of the member, t he actual 
retirement date of the member shall be the first day following the 
date the member terminates employment with more than twenty (20) 
years of credited service , or with respect to members who are 
required to complete twenty -two (22) years of servic e, the first day 
following the date the member terminates employment with more than 
twenty-two (22) years of service and who has also attained the age 
of at least fifty (50) years ; 
8.  "Credited service" means the period of service us ed to 
determine the eligibility for and the amount of benefits payable to 
a member.  Credited servic e shall consist of the period during which 
the member participat ed in the System or the predecessor municip al 
systems as an active employee in an eligible m embership 
classification, plus any service prior to the establishment of the 
predecessor municipal s ystems which was credited under the 
predecessor municipal system s; provided, however, "credited service" 
for members from a fire protection district shall n ot begin accruing 
before July 1, 1982; 
9.  "Participating municipality" means a municipality, county 
fire department organized pursuant to subsection D of Section 3 51 of 
Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or fire protection district which 
is making contributions to the System o n behalf of its firefighters.   RBH No. 10792 
 
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All participating municipalities shall appoint a fire chief who 
shall supervise and administer the fire departm ent; 
10.  "Disability" means the complete i nability of the 
firefighter to perform any and ev ery duty of the firefi ghter's 
regular occupation; provided further, that once benefits have been 
paid for twenty-four (24) months the provisions of Section 49 -110 of 
this title shall apply to the firefighter ; 
11. "Executive Director" means the managing of ficer of the 
System employed by the State Board; 
12.  "Eligible employer" means any municipality wit h a municipal 
fire department, any county fire department organi zed pursuant to 
subsection D of Section 351 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes or 
any fire protection district w ith an organized fire department; 
13.  "Entry date" means the date as of which an eligible 
employer joins the System.  The first entry date pu rsuant to this 
article shall be January 1, 1981; 
14.  "Final average salary" means the avera ge paid gross salary 
of the firefighter for normally scheduled hours over the highest 
salaried thirty (30) consecutive months of the last sixty (60) 
months of credited service.  Gross salary shall not includ e payment 
for accumulated sick or annual leave up on termination of empl oyment, 
any uniform allowances or any other compensation for reimbursement 
of out-of-pocket expenses.  Only salary on which the required 
contributions have been made may be used in comp uting the final  RBH No. 10792 
 
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average salary.  Effective Januar y 1, 1988, gross salar y shall 
include any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 125 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.  Gross salary shal l 
include any amount of elective salary red uction under Section 457 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amend ed, and any amount of 
nonelective salary reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.  Effective July 1, 1 998, for 
purposes of determining a member's compensation, any contribution by 
the member to reduce the member's re gular cash remuneration under 
132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall be 
treated as if the member did not make such an election.  Only salary 
on which required contributions have been made may be used in 
computing final average sa lary. 
In addition to other applicable limitations, and notwithstanding 
any other provision to the contrary, for plan years beginning on or 
after July 1, 2002, the annual gross salary of each "Noneligible 
Member" taken into account und er the System shall no t exceed the 
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRR A") 
annual salary limit.  The EGTRRA annual salary limit is Two Hundred 
Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), as adjusted by the Commissioner for 
increases in the cost of living in acc ordance with Section 
401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as am ended.  The 
annual salary limit in effect for a calendar year ap plies to any 
period, not exceeding twelve ( 12) months, over which salary is  RBH No. 10792 
 
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determined ("determination period") be ginning in such calendar year.  
If a determination period consists of fewer th an twelve (12) months, 
the EGTRRA salary limit will be multiplie d by a fraction, the 
numerator of which is the number of months in the determination 
period, and the denominator o f which is twelve (12).  For purposes 
of this subsection, a "Noneligible Membe r" is any member who first 
became a member during a plan year co mmencing on or after July 1, 
1996. 
For plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any re ference 
to the annual salary limit under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA salary limit 
set forth in this subsection. 
Effective June 9, 2010, gross sa lary shall also include gross 
salary, as described above, for services, but paid by the later of 
two and one-half (2 1/2) months after a firefighter' s severance from 
employment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date 
the firefighter terminat ed employment, if it is a payment that, 
absent a severance from employm ent, would have been paid to the 
firefighter while the firefighter continued i n employment with the 
participating municipality. 
Effective June 9, 2010, any payments not described above shall 
not be considered gross salary if paid afte r severance from 
employment, even if they are paid by the later of two and one -half 
(2 1/2) months after the date of severance from employment or the  RBH No. 10792 
 
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end of the calendar year that includes the date of severa nce from 
employment, except payments to an indivi dual who does not curr ently 
perform services for the participating municipality by reason of 
qualified military service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amende d, to the extent 
these payments do not exceed the amounts the individua l would have 
received if the individual had continued to perform services for the 
participating municipality rather than entering qualified mi litary 
service. 
Effective June 9, 2010, bac k pay, within the meaning of Section 
1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be treated as 
gross salary for the year to which the back pay relates to the 
extent the back pay represents wages and comp ensation that would 
otherwise be included i n this definition. 
Effective for years beginning after December 31, 200 8, gross 
salary shall also include differential wage payments under Section 
414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; 
15.  "Accrued retirement benefit" means two and one-half percent 
(2 1/2%) of the firefighter's fi nal average salary mul tiplied by the 
member's years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) ye ars; 
16.  "Beneficiary" means a member's surviving spouse or any 
surviving children, including biological a nd adopted children, at 
the time of the member's death.  The surviving spouse must have been 
married to the firefighter for the thirty (30) continuou s months  RBH No. 10792 
 
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preceding the firefighter's death provided a surviving spouse of a 
member who died while in, or as a consequence of, the performance of 
the member's duty for a participa ting municipality, shall not be 
subject to the marriage limitation for survivo r benefits.  A 
surviving child of a member shall be a beneficiar y until reaching 
eighteen (18) years of age or twenty-two (22) years of age if the 
child is enrolled full time and regularly attending a public or 
private school or any institution of higher e ducation.  Any child 
adopted by a member after the member's reti rement shall be a 
beneficiary only if the c hild is adopted by the member for the 
thirty (30) continuous months pre ceding the member's death.  Any 
child who is adopted by a member after the mem ber's retirement and 
such member dies accidentally or as a conse quence of the performance 
of the member's duty as a firefighter shall not be subject to the 
thirty-month adoption requirement.  This definition of beneficiary 
shall be in addition to any other requirement set forth in this 
article; 
17.  "Accumulated contri butions" means the sum of all 
contributions made by a member to the System and includes both 
contributions deducte d from the compensation of a member and 
contributions of a member picked up an d paid by the participating 
municipality of the member.  Accumul ated contributions shall not 
include any interest on the contributions of the member, intere st on  RBH No. 10792 
 
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any amount contributed by the municipality or state and any amount 
contributed by the municipa lity or state; and 
18.  "Limitation year" means the year used in applying the 
limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
which year shall be the calendar ye ar. 
SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 20 21, Section 49-101, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 49-101.  A.  All retired volunteer firefighters who 
qualify for retirement shall be entitled to a monthly pension .  The 
monthly pension of a volunteer firefighter shall be in the amount 
retired volunteer firefighters are receiving at the time the 
volunteer firefighter begins to receive a pension for each year of 
credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years.  In d etermining 
the number of years of credited service, a fractional year of six 
(6) months or more shal l be counted as one (1) full year and a 
fractional year of less than six (6) months shall no t be counted in 
such determination.  Retired volunteer firefighters of a 
municipality shall receive a pension of not less than that which 
retired volunteer firefighters of such municipality were receiving 
on June 30, 1985. 
B.  If a A volunteer firefighter whose first service with a 
participating employer of the System occurs prior to Novemb er 1, 
2013, who terminates service after completing ten (10) years of 
credited service, the volunteer firefighter shall but less than  RBH No. 10792 
 
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twenty (20) years of credited se rvice, shall be entitled to receive 
a vested benefit.  The volunteer firefighter whose first service 
with a participating employer of the System occurs prior to Novembe r 
1, 2013, shall be entitled to a monthly pension commencing on the 
date the firefighter reaches fifty (50) years of age or the date the 
firefighter would have had twenty (20) ye ars of credited service had 
the firefighter's service continued uninterrupted, whichever is 
later.  If a volunteer firefighter whose first service with a 
participating employer of the S ystem occurs on or after November 1, 
2013, terminates service after c ompleting eleven (11) years of 
credited service, the volunteer firefighter shall receive a vested 
benefit.  The volunteer firefighter whose first service with a 
participating employer of the System occurs on or after November 1, 
2013, shall be entitled to a monthly pension commencing on the date 
the firefighter reaches fifty (50) year s of age or the date the 
firefighter would have had twenty -two (22) years of credited service 
had the firefighter's service continued uninterrupted, whichev er is 
later. The monthly amount of such retirement benefit shall be the 
amount being paid to volunt eer firefighters at the time the member 
vests multiplied by the number of years of credited service.  
Credited service must be established at the time of th e volunteer 
firefighter's termination.  If a volunteer firefighter who 
terminates terminated employment and receives elected, or was 
eligible to elect, a vested benefit dies prior to being eligible to  RBH No. 10792 
 
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receive benefits, the volunteer firefighter's beneficiary, as 
defined in paragraph 16 of Section 49-100.1 of this title, shall be 
entitled to the volunteer firefighter's normal monthly retirement 
benefit on the date the deceased volunteer firefighter would have 
been eligible to receive the benefit. 
SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 2021, Section 49-101.2, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 49-101.2  Any member serving as an active volunteer 
firefighter who receives annual compensation fr om the fire 
department the firef ighter is enrolled in as a member of the System 
for services related to firefighting, other than reimbursement of 
expenses in excess of two (2) five and one-half (5 1/2) times the 
annual pension benefit paid by the System to a retired volunteer 
firefighter with twenty (20) years credited service, shall be 
considered a paid firefighter and must meet the physical and agili ty 
requirements pursuant to Section 49 -116 of this title to cont inue as 
an active member of the System.  Cr edited service earned as a paid 
firefighter pursuant to this section shall not be considered actual 
experience as a paid firefighter for purposes of meeting the 
qualifications of a paid fire chief as provided in S ection 29-102 of 
this title.  No fire depar tment of a participating municipality 
shall employ a volunteer firefighter from another fire department to 
perform services relating to firefighting for any compensation of 
any kind.  RBH No. 10792 
 
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SECTION 5.    AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 2021, Section 49 -106.1, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 49-106.1 A. In lieu of terminating employment and 
accepting a service reti rement pension pursuant to Sections 49-101 
and 49-106 of this title, any member of the Okla homa Firefighters 
Pension and Retiremen t System serving as an active firefighter in a 
fire department of a participating municipality who has not less 
than twenty (20) years of creditable serv ice, or any member of the 
Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Reti rement System whose first 
employment with a participating employer of the System occurs on o r 
after November 1, 2013, and who has not less than twenty-two (22) 
years of creditable service and who is eligible to receive a service 
retirement pension may elect to participate in the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Deferred Option Plan and defer the receipts of benefits 
in accordance with the provisions of this section. 
B.  For purposes of this section, credi table service shall 
include service credit reciprocally recogniz ed pursuant to Sections 
49-100.1 through 49-100.8 and Sections 49-101, 49-101.1 and 49-101.2 
of this title but for eligibility purposes only. 
C.  The duration of par ticipation in the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan for active firefighters shall not exceed five 
(5) years.  Participati on in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred 
Option Plan must begin the first day of a month and end on the last 
day of a month.  At the conclusion of a memb er's participation in  RBH No. 10792 
 
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the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, the member shall 
terminate employment with all participating municipalities as a 
firefighter, and shall start receiving the member's accrued monthly 
retirement benefit from the System.  Such a member may be reemployed 
by a participating municipality but only in a position not covered 
under the System, and receive in-service distributions of such 
member's accrued monthly retirement benefit from the System. 
D.  When a member begins particip ation in the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, the con tribution of the member 
shall cease.  The employer contributions shall continue to be paid 
in accordance with subsection B of Section 49-122 of this title.  
Employer contributions for members who elect the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Deferred Option Plan shall b e credited equally to the 
Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System and to the 
member's Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan account.  The 
monthly retirement benefits that woul d have been payable had the 
member elected to cease employment a nd receive a service retirement 
shall be paid into the member's Oklahoma Firefighters Deferr ed 
Option Plan account. 
E.  1.  A member who participates in this plan sh all be eligible 
to receive cost-of-living increases. 
2.  A member who participates in this plan shall earn interest 
at a rate of two percentage points below the rate of return of the 
investment portfolio of the System, but no less than the actuarial  RBH No. 10792 
 
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assumed interest rate as certifie d by the actuary in the yearly 
evaluation report of the actuary.  The interest shall be credited to 
the individual account balance of the member on an annua l basis. 
3.  Effective November 1, 2013, the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan account for a member whose first service with a 
participating municipality o f the System occurs on or after Novembe r 
1, 2013, and who participates for the first time in the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on or after November 1, 2 013, and 
has completed active participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan, shall earn interest at a rate equal to the 
actual rate of return of the investment portf olio of the System, 
less one (1) percentage point to offset administrativ e costs of the 
System as determined by the System. 
F.  A member in the plan shall receive, at the option of the 
member, a lump-sum payment from the account equal to the payments to 
the account or an annuity based upon the account of the member or 
may elect any other method of paymen t if approved by the Board of 
Trustees.  If a member becomes so physically or mentally disabled 
while in, or in consequence of, the performance of his or he r duty 
as to prevent the effective performance of his or her duties that 
the State Board approves an in-line-of-duty disability pension, the 
payment from the accoun t shall be an in-line-of-duty disability 
payment.  Notwithstanding any other provision conta ined herein to 
the contrary, commencement of distributions under the Okla homa  RBH No. 10792 
 
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Firefighters Deferred Option Plan shall be no later than the time as 
set forth in subsection B of Section 49 -106 of this title and a 
member whose first service with a participati ng municipality of the 
System occurs on or after November 1, 2013, and wh o participates for 
the first time in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on 
or after November 1, 2013, must receive a d istribution of the entire 
remaining balance in the me mber's Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred 
Option Plan account no later than A pril 1 of the calendar year 
following the later of: 
1.  The calendar year in which the memb er reaches seventy and 
one-half (70 1/2) years of age for a member who attains age seventy 
and one-half (70 1/2) before January 1, 2020, or effective for 
distributions required to be made afte r December 31, 2019, the 
calendar year in which the member reach es seventy-two (72) years of 
age for an individual who attains age seventy and one -half (70 1/2) 
after December 31, 2019; or 
2.  The actual retirement date of the me mber. 
G.  If a member dies while maintaining an account balance in the 
plan the System shal l pay to the designated recipient or re cipients 
of the member, or if there is no designated recipient or if the 
designated recipient predeceases the member, to the s pouse of the 
member, or if there is no spouse or if the spouse predeceases the 
member, to the estate of the member a lump -sum payment equal to the 
account balance of the member.  If s uch member was receiving, or  RBH No. 10792 
 
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eligible to receive, an in-line-of-duty disability pension at the 
time of his or her death, payment of the account balance shall be an 
in-line-of-duty disability payment.  If a designated recipient is 
the surviving spouse of th e member, the surviving spouse shall 
receive his or her portion of the ac count balance of the member 
pursuant to subsection F of this section.  The surviving spouse , 
whether or not he or she is a designa ted recipient of the member, 
may elect to receive his or her portion of the account balance of 
the member in the same manner a s was applicable to the mem ber. 
H.  In lieu of participating in the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsect ions A, B, C, D, E and F of 
this section, a member ma y elect to participate in the Oklahoma 
Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection as 
follows: 
1.  For purposes of this subsection and subsection I of this 
section, the following defini tions shall apply: 
a. "back drop date" means the memb er's normal retirement 
date or the date five (5) years before the member 
elects to participate in th e Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan, whichever date is later, 
b. "termination date" means the date the member elects to 
participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred 
Option Plan pursuant to this subsection, and the d ate  RBH No. 10792 
 
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the member terminates e mployment with all 
participating municipalities as an active fir efighter, 
c. "earlier attained credited service" means the credited 
service earned by a memb er as of the back drop date, 
and 
d. "deferred benefit balance" means all monthly 
retirement benefits that would have been payable had 
the member elected to cease em ployment on the back 
drop date and receive a service retirement from the 
back drop date to the termination date, all the 
member's contributions and one-half (1/2) of the 
employer contributions from the back drop date to the 
termination date, with interest based on how the 
benefit would have acc umulated on a compound annual 
basis as if the member had participated in the 
Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursua nt to 
subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of this section from 
the back drop date to the termin ation date; and 
2.  At the termination date, the monthly pension benefit shall 
be determined based on earlier attained credited service and on the 
final average salary as of the back drop date .  The member's 
individual deferred option account shall be cred ited with an amount 
equal to the deferred benefit balance, the member shall terminate 
employment with all participating municipalities as a firefighter,  RBH No. 10792 
 
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and shall start receiving the member's accrued monthly retirement 
benefit from the System.  Such a memb er may be reemployed by a 
participating municipality but only in a position not covered unde r 
the System, and receive in-service distributions of such member's 
accrued monthly retirement benef it from the System.  The provisions 
of subsections B, C, E, F an d G of this section shall apply to this 
subsection.  A member shall not participate in the O klahoma 
Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection if the 
member has elected to p articipate in the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan pur suant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of 
this section. 
I.  Certain surviving spouses and members shall be eligible to 
participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Def erred Option Plan 
pursuant to subsection H of this section and this subsection. 
1.  For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions 
shall apply: 
a. "back drop election date " means the date the surviving 
spouse or member elects to commence partic ipation in 
the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan 
pursuant to subsection H of this section and this 
subsection, 
b. "interest" means the actuarial assumed interest rate 
as certified by the actuary in the yearly evaluation 
report of the actuary,  RBH No. 10792 
 
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c. "monthly adjustment amount" means the difference 
between the monthly pension prior to the ba ck drop 
election and the adjusted month ly pension due to the 
back drop election, 
d. "back drop pension adjustment amount" means the sum of 
all the monthly adjustment amounts adjusted for 
interest from the pension commencement date to the 
back drop election date, and 
e. "deferred benefit balance adjustment amount" means the 
interest on the deferre d benefit balance from the 
pension commencement date to the back drop ele ction 
date. 
2.  If a member who has more than twenty (20) years of 
creditable service and i s eligible to receive a service , or a member 
of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retire ment System whose 
first employment with a participating employer of the S ystem occurs 
on or after November 1, 2013, and such member has more than twenty -
two (22) years of creditable service, retirement pension dies on or 
after June 4, 2007, and prior to te rminating employment, the 
member's surviving spouse shall be eligible to elect to receive a 
benefit determined as if the member had elected to participate in 
the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Pla n in accordance with 
subsection H of this section on the day immediately preceding such 
member's death.  Prior to July 1, 2010 , the surviving spouse must  RBH No. 10792 
 
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make any such election within one (1) year from the date of the 
member's death.  Effective July 1, 201 0, the surviving spouse must 
make any such election w ithin ninety (90) days from the date of the 
member's death.  If on or aft er June 4, 2007, such elect ion is made, 
the monthly pension such surviving spouse is entitl ed to receive 
shall be adjusted in acco rdance with the provisions of subsection H 
of this section to account for the member's participation in the 
Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan.  The surviving spouse 
may only make this election if the member h as not previously elected 
to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. 
For purposes of this election, the surviving spouse must have been 
married to the firefighter for t he thirty (30) continuous months 
preceding the firefighter's dea th; provided, the surviving spouse of 
a member who died while in, or as a consequence of, th e performance 
of the member's duty for a participating municipality shall not be 
subject to the marriage limitation for this election. 
3.  If a member has more than twenty (20) years of creditable 
service, or a member of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension a nd 
Retirement System whose first employment with a participating 
employer of the System occurs on or after November 1, 2013, and such 
member has more than twenty -two (22) years of creditable service and 
is eligible to receive a service retirement pension, and is eligible 
for a retirement for disability monthly pension pursuant to Section 
49-109 of this title on or after June 4, 2007, such member shall be  RBH No. 10792 
 
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eligible to elect to receive a benefit determined a s if the member 
had elected to participate in the Okl ahoma Firefighters Deferred 
Option Plan, in accordance with subsection H of this section, on the 
day immediately preceding the date of the member's disability 
retirement, provided such election is made w ithin two (2) years from 
the date of the member's dis ability retirement.  The disability 
monthly pension such member is receiv ing, or entitled to receive , 
shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subsect ion H 
of this section to account for th e member's participation in the 
Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. The deferred benefit 
balance such member is entit led to receive shall be red uced by the 
back drop pension adjustment amount and increased by the deferred 
benefit balance adjustmen t amount. The member may only make a back 
drop election if the deferred benefit balance after the adjustment 
described in this paragraph is greater than Zero Dollars ($0.00).  
The member may only make this election i f the member has not 
previously elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan. 
4.  If a member has more than twenty (20) years of creditab le 
service, or a member of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and 
Retirement System whose fi rst employment with a participating 
employer of the System occurs on or after November 1, 20 13, and such 
member has more than twenty-two (22) years of creditable ser vice and 
is eligible to receive a service retirement pension, and filed a  RBH No. 10792 
 
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grievance for wrongful termination occurring on or after June 4, 
2007, or is not a member of a collective bar gaining organization as 
a firefighter, is involuntarily terminated and is seeking to have 
his or her position as a firefighter reinstated through a legal 
process, but is not reinstated as an active membe r, such member 
shall be eligible to elect to receive a benefit determined as if the 
member had elected to participate in the O klahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan in accordance with subsection H of this section 
on the day immediately preceding the dat e of the member's 
termination.  Such election must be made within two (2) years from 
the date of the member's termination as a n active member and, if the 
member's case pertaining to the member's termination is on appe al to 
a court of competent jurisdiction , within such period set by the 
State Board in its so le discretion.  The monthly pension such member 
is receiving, or entitled to receive, shall be adjus ted in 
accordance with the provisions of subsection H of this se ction to 
account for the member's parti cipation in the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Deferred Option Plan.  The deferred benefit balance such member is 
entitled to receive s hall be reduced by the back drop pension 
adjustment amount and increased by the deferred be nefit balance 
adjustment amount.  The m ember may only make a back drop election if 
the deferred benefit balance after the adjustment described in this 
paragraph is greater than Zero Dollars ($ 0.00).  The member may only  RBH No. 10792 
 
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make this election if the member has not previously elected to 
participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. 
5. Subparagraphs d and e of paragraph 1 and paragraphs 3 and 4 
of this subsection are effective June 4, 2007, provided the Internal 
Revenue Service issues a favorabl e determination letter for the 
System which includes the provisions of such subparagraphs an d 
paragraphs without modification or as modified to conform to any 
changes required by the Internal Revenue Service as part of its 
determination letter review proce ss.  In the event the Internal 
Revenue Service does not issue such a determination letter wh ich 
includes the provisions of such subparagraphs or paragraphs without 
modification or as modified to conform to any changes required by 
the Internal Revenue Servi ce as part of its determination letter 
review process, then subparagraphs d and e of paragra ph 1 and 
paragraphs 3 and 4 of this subsection shall be repealed effectiv e 
June 4, 2007. 
SECTION 6.    AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 20 21, Section 49-108, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 49-108.  A.  Any volunteer firefighter who is appointed 
as a paid firefighter whose first service with a participating 
employer of the System occurs p rior to November 1, 2013, and serves 
less than ten (10) years as a paid firefighter, shall be entitled to 
receive one-twentieth (1/20) of a volunteer pensio n earned over 
twenty (20) years for each full year served as a volunteer  RBH No. 10792 
 
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firefighter and one-twentieth of one-half (1/20 of 1/2) of the 
average salary received for each full year the firefighter served as 
a paid firefighter.  Any volunteer firefighter who is appointed as a 
paid firefighter whose first service with a participating employer 
of the System occurs on or after November 1, 2013, and serves less 
than eleven (11) years as a paid firefighter, shall be entitled to 
receive one-twenty-second (1/22) of a volunteer pension ear ned over 
twenty-two (22) years for each full year served as a volunteer 
firefighter and one-twenty-second of fifty-five percent (1/22 of 
55%) of the average salary rece ived for each full year the 
firefighter served as a paid firefighter. 
B.  Any volunteer firefighter who is appointed as a paid 
firefighter after May 15, 1992, whose first service with a 
participating employer of the System occurs prior to November 1, 
2013, and serves ten (10) or more years as a paid firefighter, shall 
be entitled to credit no more than five (5) years of volunteer time 
to complete a twenty -year paid service pension with remaining 
volunteer time computed at one -twentieth (1/20) of a volu nteer 
pension earned over twenty (20) years for each additional v olunteer 
year.  Any volunteer firefighter who is appointed as a paid 
firefighter before May 15, 1992, and serves ten (10) or more years 
as a paid firefighter, shall be entitled to credit all of the 
firefighter's volunteer time to complete a twenty -year paid service 
pension.  Any volunteer firefighter who is appointed as a paid  RBH No. 10792 
 
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firefighter whose first service w ith a participating employer of the 
System occurs on or after No vember 1, 2013, and serves eleven (11) 
or more years as a paid firefighter, shall be entitled to credit no 
more than five (5) years of volunteer time to complete a twenty -two-
year paid service pension with remaining volunteer time computed at 
one-twenty-second (1/22) of a volunteer pension earned o ver twenty-
two (22) years for each a dditional volunteer year. 
C.  For purposes of determining benefits pursuant to this 
section, total credited servi ce for paid and volunteer service shall 
not exceed thirty (30) y ears; provided, the most recent years of 
service shall be used in determining t otal credited service for paid 
and volunteer service. 
D.  Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to 
create an eligibility for pension which is not otherwise provid ed by 
law. 
SECTION 7.    AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 20 21, Section 49-117.1, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 49-117.1  A.  A member who terminates service before 
normal retirement date, other than by death or disability shall, 
upon application filed with the State Board, be re funded from the 
Fund an amount equal to the accumulated contributions t he member has 
made to the Fund, but excluding any interest or any amount 
contributed by the municipality or state.  RBH No. 10792 
 
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B.  If a member, whose first employment with a participating 
employer of the System occurs prior to Novemb er 1, 2013, has 
completed ten (10) years of credited service at the date of 
termination, the memb er may elect a vested benefit in lieu of 
receiving the member's accumulated cont ributions. 
C.  If a member whose first empl oyment with a participating 
employer of the System occurs on or after N ovember 1, 2013, has 
completed eleven (11) years of credited s ervice at the date of 
termination, the member may elect a vested benefit in lieu of 
receiving the member's accumulated cont ributions. 
D. If the member who has completed ten (10) or more years o f 
credited service as prescribed by subsection B of this secti on 
elects the vested benefit, the member shall be entitled to a monthly 
retirement annuity commencing on the date the membe r reaches fifty 
(50) years of age or the date the member would have had twenty (20) 
years of credited service had the member's employ ment continued 
uninterrupted, whichever is later.  The annual amount of such 
retirement annuity shall be equal to two and o ne-half percent (2 
1/2%) of the annualized final average salary multipl ied by the 
number of years of credited service not to exceed t hirty (30) years. 
The death benefits provided for in Section 49 -113.2 of this title 
shall not apply to any member retiring under the provisions of this 
section.  RBH No. 10792 
 
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E.  If the member who has comple ted eleven (11) or more years of 
credited service as prescribe d by subsection C of this section 
elects the vested benefit, the member shall be entitled to a monthly 
retirement annuity c ommencing on the date the member rea ches fifty 
(50) years of age or the date the member would have had twenty-two 
(22) years of credited service had the member's employment continued 
uninterrupted, whichever is la ter.  The annual amount of such 
retirement annuity shall be equal to two and on e-half percent (2 
1/2%) of the annualized final average salary multiplied by the 
number of years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years.  
The death benefits provide d for in Section 49-113.2 of this title 
shall not apply to any member retiring under the provisions of this 
section. 
F. D. If a member who terminates terminated employment and 
elects elected, or was eligible to elect, a vested benefit dies 
prior to being eligible to receive benefits, the member's 
beneficiary, as defined in paragraph 16 of Section 49-100.1 of this 
title, shall be entitled to the member's normal monthly retiremen t 
benefit on the date the deceased member would have been eligible to 
receive the benefit. 
G. E. If a member terminates em ployment and withdraws the 
member's accumulated contributions and then subsequently rejoins the 
System, he may pay to the System the sum of the accumulated 
contributions he has withdrawn plus five percent (5%) ann ual  RBH No. 10792 
 
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interest from the date of withdrawal an d shall receive the same 
benefits as if he had never withdrawn his cont ributions; however, 
effective January 1, 1991, the rate of int erest provided herein 
shall be ten percent (10%) per annum. 
H. F.  Lump-sum payments for repayment of any amounts received 
because of a member's prior terminat ion with interest may be repaid 
by a trustee-to-trustee transfer of non-Roth funds from a Code 
Section 403(b) annuity, a governmental Code Section 457 plan, and/or 
a Code Section 401(a) qualified plan. 
I. G. A firefighter shall not be permitted to withdra w from the 
System while employed as a firefighter in a participating 
municipality. 
SECTION 8.    AMENDATORY     11 O.S. 2021, Section 49-135, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 49-135. A.  No person shall be employed in a fire 
department who has reached the age of fo rty-five (45) years, unless 
it appears he or she shall become eligible for reti rement at the age 
of sixty-five (65) years, or at the age of sixty-seven (67) years 
for a firefighter whos e first service with a participating employer 
of the System occurs on o r after November 1, 2013, or unless he or 
she be retired from a municipal fire department in the State of 
Oklahoma.  This section shall not ap ply to professional engineers, 
or to persons employed as technical specialists on a temporary 
basis.  The State Bo ard shall be authorized to establish the maximum  RBH No. 10792 
 
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age, within the limits herein prescribed, over which an applicant 
may not be considered for i nitial employment, but no person shall be 
prohibited from making application fo r reemployment and having such 
reemployment application considered merely because of his or her 
age, provided that such person be under the age of forty -five (45) 
years, and provided further, that such reemployment shall be with 
the consent of the fire chi ef of such municipality. 
B.  On or after the effective date of this act, a person who 
performs volunteer services as a firefighter, who has attained the 
age of forty-five (45) or more years as of the first date such 
volunteer services are performed, for a municipality or a county 
shall not be eligible to be a member of the Oklahoma Firefighters 
Pension and Retirement System for any purpose, shall not be eligible 
for any benefit payable by the System and shall not receive any form 
of service credit from the System resulting from such voluntee r 
services.  The person responsible for decisions regarding the 
performance of firefighting services having jurisdiction, which in 
the absence of any other requirement to the contrary s hall be the 
Fire Chief, shall make t he final determination on applicant s for 
positions that would involve the performance of volunteer 
firefighting services if the applicant is over the age of forty -five 
(45) years based on local rules, regulations, ordina nces, guidelines 
and standard operating procedures.  RBH No. 10792 
 
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C.  Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections C and H of 
Section 49-106.1 of this title to t erminate employment with all 
participating municipalities as a firefighter, a person receiving an 
accrued retirement benefit pursuant to Secti on 49-106 of this title 
may perform volunteer firefighting services for a volunteer 
department pursuant to subsect ion B of this section and continue to 
receive the member's accrued retirement benefit; provided, that the 
pension shall cease during any perio d of time the member may 
thereafter serve for compensation in any municipal fire department 
in the state; provided further, that no person shall perform any 
services as a firefi ghter if such person is receiving disabilit y 
benefits pursuant to Section 49 -109 of this title. 
SECTION 9.  Section 1 of this act shall become effective October 
1, 2022. 
SECTION 10.  Sections 2 through 8 of this act shall become 
effective November 1, 2022. 
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
April 13, 2022 - DO PASS