Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0017 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- S 0017
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7	7	LC000245
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' RETIREMENT
16	16	Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Goodwin, Pearson, Cano, Miller, Brito, and DiPalma
17	17	Date Introduced: January 18, 2023
18	18	Referred To: Senate Finance
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21	21	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
22	22	SECTION 1. Sections 16-16-1 and 16-16-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-16 entitled 1
23	23	"Teachers’ Retirement [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" are 2
24	24	hereby amended to read as follows: 3
25	25	16-16-1. Definitions. 4
26	26	(a) The following words and phrases used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is 5
27	27	plainly required by the context, have the following meanings: 6
28	28	(1) “Active member” means any teacher as defined in this section for whom the retirement 7
29	29	system is currently receiving regular contributions pursuant to §§ 16-16-22 and 16-16-22.1. 8
30	30	Except as otherwise provided in this section, the words and phrases used in this chapter, so 9
31	31	far as applicable, have the same meanings as they have in chapters 8 to 10 of title 36. 10
32	32	(2) “Beneficiary” means any person in receipt of annuity, benefit, or retirement allowance 11
33	33	from the retirement system as provided in this chapter. 12
34	34	(3) “Child” includes a stepchild of a deceased member who has been a stepchild for at least 13
35	35	one year immediately preceding the date on which the member died or an adopted child of a 14
36	36	deceased member without regard to the length of time the child has been adopted. 15
37	37	(4) “Former spouse divorced” means a person divorced from a deceased member, but only 16
38	38	if the person meets one of the following conditions: 17
39	39	(i) Is the mother or father of the deceased member’s child(ren); 18
40	40	(ii) Legally adopted the deceased member’s child(ren) while married to the deceased 19
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44	44	member and while the child(ren) was under the age of eighteen (18) years; or 1
45	45	(iii) Was married to the deceased member at the time both of them legally adopted a 2
46	46	child(ren) under the age of eighteen (18) years ; or 3
47	47	(iv) Was married to the deceased member for ten (10) or more years and to whom the 4
48	48	deceased member was required by a court order to contribute post-divorce support. 5
49	49	(5) “Member” means any person included in the membership of the retirement system 6
50	50	under the provisions of this chapter. 7
51	51	(6) “Prior service” means service as a teacher rendered prior to the first day of July, 1949, 8
52	52	certified on his or her prior service certificate and allowable as prior service under the provisions 9
53	53	of this chapter. 10
54	54	(7) “Retired teacher” means any teacher who retired prior to July 1, 1949, pursuant to the 11
55	55	provisions of G.L. 1938, ch. 195, as amended, and who on June 30, 1949, was in receipt of a pension 12
56	56	under the provisions of that chapter. 13
57	57	(8) “Retirement system” and “system” means the employees’ retirement system of the state 14
58	58	of Rhode Island created by chapter 8 of title 36, and “retirement board” means the board established 15
59	59	under that chapter. 16
60	60	(9) “Salary” or “compensation” includes any and all salary paid for teaching services 17
61	61	regardless of whether any part of the salary or compensation is derived from any state or federal 18
62	62	grant or appropriation for teachers’ salaries, as the term is defined in § 36-8-1(8). “Average 19
63	63	compensation” shall be defined in accordance with section 36-8-1(5)(a). 20
64	64	(10) “Service” means service as a teacher as described in subdivision (12) of this section. 21
65	65	Periods of employment as teacher, principal, assistant principal, supervisor, superintendent, or 22
66	66	assistant superintendent shall be combined in computing periods of service and employment. 23
67	67	(11) “Spouse” means the surviving person who was married to a deceased member, but 24
68	68	only if the surviving person meets one of the following conditions: 25
69	69	(i) Was married to the deceased member for not less than one year immediately prior to the 26
70	70	date on which the member died; 27
71	71	(ii) Is the mother or father of the deceased member’s child(ren); 28
72	72	(iii) Legally adopted the deceased member’s child(ren) while married to the deceased 29
73	73	member and while the child(ren) was under the age of eighteen (18) years; or 30
74	74	(iv) Was married to the deceased member at the time both of them legally adopted a 31
75	75	child(ren) under the age of eighteen (18) years. 32
76	76	(12) “Teacher” means a person required to hold a certificate of qualification issued by or 33
77	77	under the authority of the board of regents for elementary and secondary education and who is 34
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81	81	engaged in teaching as his or her principal occupation and is regularly employed as a teacher in the 1
82	82	public schools of any city or town in the state, or any formalized, commissioner approved, 2
83	83	cooperative service arrangement. The term includes a person employed as a teacher, supervisor, 3
84	84	principal, assistant principal, superintendent, or assistant superintendent of schools, director, 4
85	85	assistant director, coordinator, consultant, dean, assistant dean, educational administrator, nurse 5
86	86	teacher, and attendance officer or any person who has worked in the field of education or is working 6
87	87	in the field of education that holds a teaching or administrative certificate. In determining the 7
88	88	number of days served by a teacher the total number of days served in any public school of any city 8
89	89	or town in the state may be combined for any one school year. The term also includes a school 9
90	90	business administrator whether or not the administrator holds a teaching or administrative 10
91	91	certificate, and also includes occupational therapists and physical therapists licensed by the 11
92	92	department of health and employed by a school committee in the state, or by any formalized, 12
93	93	commissioner approved, cooperative service arrangement. 13
94	94	(13) “Teaching” includes teaching, supervising, and superintending or assistant 14
95	95	superintending of schools. 15
96	96	(14) “Total service” means prior service as defined in subdivision (6) of this section, plus 16
97	97	service rendered as a member of the system on or after the first day of July, 1949. 17
98	98	(15) For purposes of this chapter, “domestic partner” shall be defined as a person who, 18
99	99	prior to the decedent’s death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed relationship with the 19
100	100	decedent, and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following qualifications: 20
101	101	(i) Both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally competent to 21
102	102	contract; 22
103	103	(ii) Neither partner was married to anyone else; 23
104	104	(iii) Partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in the 24
105	105	state of Rhode Island; 25
106	106	(iv) Partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the time of 26
107	107	death; and 27
108	108	(v) Partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of the 28
109	109	following: 29
110	110	(A) Domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract; 30
111	111	(B) Joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence; 31
112	112	(C) Two (2) of: (I) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (II) joint checking account; (III) joint 32
113	113	credit account; (IV) joint lease; and/or 33
114	114	(D) The domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent’s will, 34
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118	118	retirement contract or life insurance. 1
119	119	(b) The masculine pronoun wherever used shall also include the feminine pronoun. 2
120	120	(c) Any term not specifically defined in this chapter and specifically defined in chapters 3
121	121	36-8 — 36-10 shall have the same definition as set forth in chapters 36-8 — 36-10. 4
122	122	16-16-26. Spouse's or domestic partner's benefits Spouse's, former spouse divorced, 5
123	123	or domestic partner's benefits. 6
124	124	(a) Spouse’s, former spouse divorced, and domestic partner’s benefits are payable 7
125	125	following the decease of a member as provided in §§ 16-16-25 — 16-16-38. 8
126	126	(b) The spouse, former spouse divorced, or domestic partner shall be entitled to benefits 9
127	127	upon attaining the age of sixty (60) years. 10
128	128	(c) The spouse, former spouse divorced, or domestic partner was living with the deceased 11
129	129	member at the time of the member’s death. A spouse or domestic partner is deemed to have been 12
130	130	living with the deceased member if they were both members of the same household on the date of 13
131	131	the deceased member’s death, or the spouse or domestic partner was receiving regular contributions 14
132	132	from the deceased member toward support on that date, or the deceased member had been ordered 15
133	133	by a court to contribute to the spouse’s, former spouse divorced, or domestic partner’s support. 16
134	134	(d) Remarriage of the spouse, former spouse divorced, or domestic partner or establishment 17
135	135	of a domestic partnership shall render him or her ineligible to receive current or future benefits 18
136	136	under this section. 19
137	137	(e) The spouse or domestic partner of a member, as defined in this section, shall be entitled 20
138	138	to monthly benefits payable in accordance with the following table: 21
139	139	Spouse’s or Domestic Partner’s 22
140	140	Highest Annual Salary Monthly Minimum Benefit 23
141	141	$17,000 or less $825 24
142	142	$17,001 to $25,000 $963 25
143	143	$25,001 to $33,000 $1,100 26
144	144	$33,001 to $40,000 $1,238 27
145	145	$40,001 and over $1,375 28
146	146	(f) The former spouse divorced shall be entitled to monthly benefits, payable in accordance 29
147	147	with the table provided in subsection (e) of this section, only if there are no dependent children, 30
148	148	parents, or other spouse or domestic partner entitled to benefits. 31
149	149	(f)(g) A yearly cost-of-living adjustment for spouse's, former spouse divorced, or domestic 32
150	150	partner's benefits shall be based on the annual social security adjustment. 33
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154	154	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 1
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156	156	LC000245
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161	161	EXPLANATION
162	162	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
163	163	OF
164	164	A N A C T
165	165	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' RETIREMENT
166	166	***
167	167	This act would, for purposes of teachers' retirement benefits, amend the definition of 1
168	168	"former spouse divorced" to include someone who was married to a deceased member for ten (10) 2
169	169	or more years and the deceased member was required by court order to contribute support to the 3
170	170	person post-divorce and would include the classification of "former spouse divorced" in the spouse 4
171	171	and domestic partner's benefits statute. 5
172	172	This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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