RBH No. 6162
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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2142 By: McDugle
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement
Retirement System; amending 47 O.S. 2021, Section 2 -
300, which relates to definitions; modifying
membership definition; providing f or certain election
by common school district with respect to police
officers performing service at school s offering
instruction for specified g rade levels; providing
procedures for police officers to become members of
the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System;
providing for transfer of service credit; providing
for purchase at actuarial cost; providing for
treatment of service not purchased; providing for
election with respect to certain police officers
based upon prior membership in the Teachers '
Retirement System of Oklahoma; providing for
codification; providing an effective date ; and
declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2021, Section 2 -300, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2-300. As used in Section 2 -300 et seq. of this title:
1. "System" means the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement
System;
2. "Act" means Section 2-300 et seq. of this title; RBH No. 6162
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3. "Board" means the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement Boar d
of the System;
4. "Executive Director" means the managing officer of the
System employed by the Board;
5. "Fund" means the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement Fund;
6. a. "Member" means:
(1) all commissioned law enforcement officers of the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division of the
Department of Public Safety who have obtained
certification from the Council on Law Enforcement
Education and Training, and all cadets of a
Patrol Academy of the Department of Public
Safety,
(2) law enforcement officers and crim inalists of the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,
(3) law enforcement officers of the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control
designated to perform duties in the investigation
and prevention of crime and the enforcement of
the criminal laws of this state,
(4) law enforcement officers of the Oklahoma
Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission
designated to perform duties in the investigation RBH No. 6162
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and prevention of crime and the enforcement of
the criminal laws of this state,
(5) employees of the Communications Section of the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division, radio
technicians and tower technicians of the
Department of Public Safety, who are employed in
any such capacity as of June 30, 2008, and who
remain employed on or after July 1, 2008, until a
termination of service, or until a termination of
service with an election of a vested benefit from
the System, or until re tirement. Effective July
1, 2008, a person employed for the first time as
an employee of the Department of Public S afety in
the Communications Division as an information
systems telecommunication technician of the
Department of Public Safety shall not be a member
of the System,
(6) park rangers of the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department and any park manager or
park supervisor of the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department, who was employed in such a
position prior to July 1, 1985, and who elects on
or before September 1, 1996, to participate in
the System, and RBH No. 6162
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(7) inspectors of the Board of Pharmacy ; and
(8) law enforcement officers employed by a common
school district performing services at a school
offering instruction in the ninth grade or higher
that makes an election to participate in the
System pursuant to the provisions of Section 2 of
this act.
b. Effective effective July 1, 1987, a member does not
include a "leased employee" as defined under Section
414(n)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended. Effective July 1, 1999, any i ndividual who
agrees with the participating employer that the
individual's services are to be performed as a leased
employee or an independent contractor shall not be a
member regardless of any classification as a common-
law employee by the Internal Revenu e Service or any
other governmental agency, or any court of competent
jurisdiction.
c. All all persons who shall be offered a position of a
commissioned law enforcement officer as an employee of
one of the agencies des cribed in subparagraph a of
this paragraph shall participate in the System upon
the person meeting the requisite post -offer-pre- RBH No. 6162
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employment physical examination standards which shall
be subject to the following requirements:
(1) all such persons shall be of good moral
character, free from deformi ties, mental or
physical conditions, or disease and alcohol or
drug addiction which would prohibit the person
from performing the duties of a law enforcement
officer,
(2) the physical-medical examination shall pertai n to
age, sight, hearing, agility and ot her conditions
the requirements of which shall be established by
the Board,
(3) the person shall be required to meet the
conditions of this subsection prior to the
beginning of actual employment but after an offer
of employment has been tendered by a
participating employer,
(4) the Board shall have authority to deny or revoke
membership of any person submitting false
information in such person 's membership
application, and
(5) the Board shall have final authority in
determining eligibility for membership in the RBH No. 6162
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System, pursuant to the provisions of this
subsection;
7. "Normal retirement date" means the date at which the member
is eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member 's
accrued retirement benefit. S uch date shall be the first day of the
month coinciding with or following the date the member:
a. completes twenty (20) years of vesting service, or
b. attains sixty-two (62) years of age with ten (10)
years of vesting service, or
c. attains sixty-two (62) years of age, if:
(1) the member has been transferred to this System
from the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement
System on or after July 1, 1981, and
(2) the member would have been vested had the member
continued to be a member of the Oklahoma Public
Employees Retirement System.
With respect to distributions under the System made for calendar
years beginning on or after January 1, 2005, the System shall apply
the minimum distribution incidental benefit requirements, incidental
benefit requirements, and m inimum distribution requirements of
Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
in accordance with the final regulations under Section 401(a)(9) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including Treasury
Regulations Sections 1.401(a)(9)-1 through 1.401(a)(9)-9; provided RBH No. 6162
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that for individuals who attain seventy and one -half (70 1/2) years
of age after December 31, 2019, distributions shall be made when the
individual attains seventy -two (72) years of age, pursuant to the
provisions of the SECURE Act of 2019, Pub. L. 116-94, Sections
401(a)(9)(B)(iv)(I), 401(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) and 401(a)(9)(C)(ii) (I) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, notwithstanding any
provision of the System to the contrary. With respect to
distributions under the System made for calen dar years beginning on
or after January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2004, the System
shall apply the minimum distribution requirements and incidental
benefit requirements of Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenu e
Code of 1986, as amended, in accordanc e with the regulations under
Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
which were proposed in January 2001, notwithstanding any provision
of the System to the contrary.
Effective July 1, 198 9, notwithstanding any other provision
contained herein to the contrary, in no event shall commencement of
distribution of the accrued retirement benefit of a member be
delayed beyond April 1 of the calendar year following the later of:
(1) the calendar year in which the member reaches seventy and one-
half (70 1/2) years of age for a member who attains this age before
January 1, 2020, or, for a member who attains this age after January
1, 2020, the calendar year in which the member reaches seventy -two
(72) years of age; or (2) the actual retirem ent date of the member. RBH No. 6162
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A member electing to defer the commencement of retirem ent benefits
pursuant to Section 2 -308.1 of this title may not defer the benefit
commencement beyond the age of sixty -five (65).
Effective September 8, 2009, notwithstanding anything to the
contrary of the System, the System, which as a governmental plan
(within the meaning of Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended), is treated as having complied with Section
401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 , as amended, for all
years to which Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, applies to the System if the System complies with
a reasonable and good faith interpretation of Section 401(a)( 9) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
A member who was required to join the System effective July 1,
1980, because of the transfer of the employing agency from the
Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System to the System, and was
not a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Reti rement System on
the date of such transfer shall be allowed to receive credit f or
prior law enforcement service rendered to this state, if the member
is not receiving or eligible to receive retirement credit or
benefits for such service in any other public retirement system,
upon payment to the System of the employee contribution the member
would have been subject to had the member been a member of the
System at the time, plus five percent (5%) interest. Service cred it
received pursuant to this paragraph shall be used in determining the RBH No. 6162
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member's retirement benefit, and shall be used in determining years
of service for retirement or vesting purposes;
8. "Actual paid base salary " means the salary received by a
member, excluding payment for any accumulated le ave or uniform
allowance. Salary shall include any amount of nonelective salar y
reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
9. "Final average salary " means the average of the highest
thirty (30) consecutive complete months of act ual paid gross salary.
Gross salary shall include any amount of elective salar y reduction
under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
and any amount of nonelective salary reduction under Sect ion 414(h)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1,
1992, gross salary shall include any am ount of elective salary
reduction under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended. Effective July 1, 1998, gross sala ry shall include any
amount of elective salary reduction not includable in the gross
income of the member under Section 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1998, for purposes of
determining a member 's compensation, any contribution by the member
to reduce his or her regular cash remuneration under Section
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 contri butions have been made may be used in RBH No. 6162
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computing the final average salary. Gross salary shall not include
severance pay.
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 salar y of each "Noneligible
Member" taken into account under the System shall not ex ceed the
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ( "EGTRRA")
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 accorda nce with Section
401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The
annual salary limit in effect for a calendar year a pplies to any
period, not exceeding twel ve (12) months, over which salary is
determined ("determination period ") beginning in such calendar year.
If a determination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months,
the EGTRRA salary limit will be multipli ed by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of months in the determination
period, and the denominator of wh ich is twelve (12). For purposes
of this section, a "Noneligible Member" is any member who first
became a member during a plan year comm encing on or after July 1,
1996.
For plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any reference
in the System to the annual salary limit under Section 401(a)(17) of RBH No. 6162
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the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA
salary limit set for th in this provision.
Effective January 1, 2008, gross salary for a plan year shall
also include gross salary, as descr ibed above, for services, but
paid by the later of two and one -half (2 1/2) months after a
member's severance from employment or the end of the calendar year
that includes the date the member terminated employment, if it is a
payment that, absent a severan ce from employment, would have been
paid to the member while the member continued in employment with the
employer.
Effective January 1, 2 008, any payments not described above
shall not be considered gross salary if paid after 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
end of the calendar year that includes the date of severanc e from
employment, except payments to an individual who does not currently
perform services for the employer by reason of qualified military
service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to the extent the se payments do
not exceed the amounts the individual would have received if the
individual had continued to perform services for the employer rather
than entering qualified military service.
Effective January 1, 2008 , back pay, within the meaning of
Section 1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be RBH No. 6162
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treated as gross sal ary for the limitation year to which the back
pay relates to the extent the back pay represents wages and
compensation that would otherwi se be included in this definition.
Effective for years beginning after December 31, 2008, gross
salary shall also inclu de differential wage payments under Section
414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
10. "Credited service" means the period of service used to
determine the amount of benefits payable to a member. Credited
service shall consist of th e period during which the member
participated in the System or the predecessor Plan as an active
employee in an eligible membership class ification, plus any service
prior to the establishment of the predecessor Plan which was
credited under the predecessor Plan and for law enforcement officers
and criminalists of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Na rcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control
who became members of the System on July 1, 1980, any service
credited under the Ok lahoma Public Employees Retirement System as of
June 30, 1980, and for members of the Communications and Lake Patrol
Divisions of the Okl ahoma Department of Public Safety, who b ecame
members of the System on July 1, 1981, any service credited under
the predecessor Plan or the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement
System as of June 30, 1981, and for law enforcement officers of the
Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission who became members of
the System on July 1, 1982, any service credited under the Ok lahoma RBH No. 6162
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Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1982, and for park
rangers of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department who became
members of the System on July 1, 1985, any service credited under
the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement Syst em as of June 30, 1985,
and for inspectors of the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy who
became members of the System on July 1, 1986, any service credited
under the Oklahoma Publ ic Employees Retirement System as of June 30,
1986, for law enforcement officer s of the Oklahoma Capitol Patrol
Division of the Department of Public Safety who became members of
the System effective July 1, 1993, any service credited under the
Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1993, and
for all commissioned o fficers in the Gunsmith/Ammunition Reloader
Division of the Department of Public Safety who became members of
the System effective July 1 , 1994, any service credited under the
Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1994, and
for the park managers or park supervisors of the Oklahoma Tourism
and Recreation Department who were employed in such a position prior
to July 1, 1985, and who elect to become members of the System
effective September 1, 1996, any service transferred pursuant to
subsection C of Section 2 -309.6 of this title and any service
purchased pursuant to subsection B of Section 2 -307.2 of this title.
Effective August 5, 1993, an authorized leave of absence shall
include a period of absence pursuant to the Family and Medical Le ave
Act of 1993; RBH No. 6162
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11. "Disability" means a physical or mental condition which, in
the judgment of the Board, totally and presumably perma nently
prevents the member from engaging in the usual and customary duties
of the occupation of the member and thereaft er prevents the member
from performing the duties of any occupation or service for which
the member is qualified by reason of training, e ducation or
experience. A person is not under a disability when capable of
performing a service to the employer, regar dless of occupation,
providing the salary of the employee is not diminished thereby;
12. "Limitation year" means the year used in applyi ng the
limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
which year shall be the calendar year;
13. "Line of duty" means any action which a member whose
primary function is crime control or reduction or enforcement of the
criminal law is obligated or authorized by rule, regulatio ns,
condition of employment or service, or law to perform including
those social, ceremonial or athletic functions to which the member
is assigned, or for which the member is compensated, by the agency
the member serves;
14. "Personal injury" or "injury" means any traumatic injury as
well as diseases which are caused by or result fr om such an injury,
but not occupational diseases;
15. "Catastrophic nature" means consequences of an injury that
permanently prevent an individual from performing any gainful w ork; RBH No. 6162
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16. "Traumatic injury" means a wound or a condition of the body
caused by external force including injuries inflicted by bullets,
explosives, sharp instruments, blunt objects or other physical
blows, chemicals, electricity, climatic conditions, infec tious
diseases, radiation and bacteria, but excluding stress and strain;
and
17. "Beneficiary" means the individual designated by the member
on a beneficiary designation form supplied by the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System, or, if there is no d esignated
beneficiary or if the designated beneficiary predeceases the member,
the estate of the member. If the member 's spouse is not designated
as the sole primary beneficiary, the member 's spouse must sign a
consent.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law t o be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2-309.6a of Title 47, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The governing board of any common school dis trict may make
an irrevocable writte n election for the district to become a
participating employer in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement
System for police officers who are CLEET certified and employed by
the school district at any school offering inst ruction in the ninth
grade or higher. The school district shall send written notice of
the election to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System. RBH No. 6162
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B. Beginning the fol lowing month after the System receives the
written notice, the school district and all active police officers
who are CLEET certified and hired on or after the date of the
election and who perform services as described in subsection A of
this section shall participate in and make contr ibutions to the
System as other participating employers and members of the System.
C. Upon election by the school district board, pursuant to
subsection A of this section, active CLEET certified police officers
employed prior to the date of the election and who were
participating in the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma, may,
within three (3) months of the date of the election, make an
irrevocable written election to participate in the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System and file the written election with the
Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System. Such police officers w ho make the
election to transfer shall be transferred to the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System subject to the following:
1. Upon the date of election of the police officer, t he police
officer shall cease accruing benefits in the Teachers ' Retirement
System of Oklahoma and shall commence accruing benefits in the
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System;
2. Prior to the beginning of the mont h following receipt of the
police officers' election by Teachers ' Retirement System of
Oklahoma, the Teache rs' Retirement System of Oklahoma shall transfer RBH No. 6162
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to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System all employee
contributions and employer contributi ons plus accrued interest. The
Teachers' Retirement System of O klahoma shall also send to the
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System the retirement records of
the transferring police officer;
3. To receive service credit accrued by such police office r
prior to the election, or prior t o the date as of which the pe rson
making the election ceases to be a mem ber of the Teachers'
Retirement System of Oklahoma, whichever date occurs last, the
member shall pay the difference between the amount transferred by
the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma to the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System in paragraph 2 of this subsection and
the amount determined by the Board of Trustees pursuant to Section
2-307.5 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The polic e officer
shall elect to either pay any difference to receive fu ll credit for
the years sought to be transf erred or receive prorated service
credit for only the amount received from the Teachers ' Retirement
System of Oklahoma pursuant to this subsection. Payments made by
electing police officers pursuant to this parag raph shall be made
pursuant to subsection B of Section 2-307.5 of Title 47 of the
Oklahoma Statutes;
4. Service credit accrued by a police officer while a member of
the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma shall be treated as
credited service for such transferring police officer in the RBH No. 6162
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Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma if the police officer is not
receiving or eligible to receive service credit or benefits from
said service in any oth er public retirement system and the member
has not received serv ice credit for the same years of service
pursuant to Sections 2-307.1, 2-307.3 and 2-307.4 of Title 47 of the
Oklahoma Statutes. Provided further, that only transferred credited
service related to police service with the school district shall be
included in the determination of a police officer 's normal
retirement date or vesting date; and
5. All service credit with the Teachers ' Retirement System of
Oklahoma which is ineligible for transfer to the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System shall be cance led.
D. Upon election by the school district board, pursuant to
subsection A of this section, active CLEET certified police officers
employed prior to the date of the elec tion and who were not
participating in the Teachers ' Retirement System of Oklahoma, may,
within three (3) months of the date of the election, make an
irrevocable written election to participate in the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System and file the written election with the
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Ret irement System. Beginning th e following
month after the System for such police officer s receives the police
officer's written election, the school district and the electing
police officer shall participate and make contributions to the
System as other participating employers and memb ers of the System. RBH No. 6162
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
59-1-6162 MAH 01/12/23
THOMAS E. CUMMINS CONSULTING ACTUARY, INC.
2512 E. 71
st
Street , Suite D ∙ Tulsa, Oklahoma 741 36
(918) 492-9658 ∙ (918) 492- 9659
January 16, 2023
Representative Kevin McDugle
Room 242
Re: RHB No. 6162
RBH No. 6162 would allow the law enforcement officers who are
employed by a common school district at an institution in grade 9 or
greater to become participants in Oklahoma Law Enforcement
Retirement System. The school district must elect to become a
Participating Employer for the officers may become participants.
RBH No. 6162 is a fiscal bill as defined by OPLAAA since it adds
additional eligible participants to OLERS.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the
Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to
render the actuarial opinion herein.
Thomas E. Cummins
Thomas E. Cummins, MAAA