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Senate Commerce sends bill clarifying PERSI volunteer rules to Senate floor
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 55 to clarify when retired public employees may serve as unpaid volunteers without jeopardizing Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho benefits.
BOISE — The Idaho Senate Commerce Committee voted to send House Bill 55 to the Senate floor with a “do pass” recommendation after hearing testimony that the measure would allow some retirees to volunteer without threatening their retirement benefits.
Representative Sean Deigert (R.-Dist. 23) told the committee the bill clarifies existing language in PERSI (the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho) that treats retirees who return to work or assist an agency as having to maintain “total separation” under the so-called rule of 90. “Where the problem exists is when our good folks in PERSI retire at the rule of 90, they're told to have total separation, which means a blackout for 90 days,” Deigert said, describing cases in which retirees who sought only to help incoming employees could risk a complaint and an agency review.
The bill defines “bona fide volunteer” to mean a retired member who provides unpaid assistance “without any expectation of any kind of compensation of any kind,” Deigert said. Mike Hampton, director of PERSI, told the committee the language is intended to prevent retirees from being used as a means to circumvent retirement rules. “So somebody's not coming in and trying to circumvent retirement to collect their benefit,” Hampton said.
Supporters said the change is intended to preserve institutional knowledge by enabling experienced staff and volunteer leaders—such as long-serving school staff and fire chiefs—to help successors on a strictly volunteer basis. Deigert said educators and fire department leaders had raised concerns that a retired chief or teacher could not, for example, answer a question about where a key or file was kept without risking a complaint that would trigger a PERSI review.
No members of the public testified on the bill. Senator Ward Engelking moved to send the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; Senator Burnt seconded the motion. The committee approved the motion by voice vote. The committee record shows the motion carried and House Bill 55 will be sent to the full Senate with a due-pass recommendation.
The bill's text, as presented in committee, establishes the volunteer standard and instructs PERSI to treat such service as noncompensatory and not to count toward additional PERSI service credit. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the hearing transcript.
