Committee reports bill allowing Capitol Police to join state police retirement plan

Counsel described a committee substitute for Senate Bill 676 that would let Capitol Police officers move from the Public Employees Retirement System into the West Virginia State Police retirement system (Trooper Plan B).

The committee substitute would give current Capitol Police officers until Aug. 31 to make the election and requires a makeup contribution calculated by the retirement board to account for differences in employee contributions. Counsel also said new hires would be automatic participants in the trooper Plan B system. "Once enacted, the Capitol Police officers would have until August 31 this year to make the election," counsel said.

The substitute adds a clarification that transferring officers must pay the difference in employee contributions between what they paid in PERS and what they would have paid if they had been in Trooper Plan B during the transferred year. It also specifies that a retired Plan B officer who returns to work as a Capitol Police officer would have their annuity suspended, consistent with rules for other retirees returning to covered employment. Counsel stated the change would be "relatively cost neutral to the state."

Vice Chairman moved the committee substitute be reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass; the committee agreed by voice vote and the substitute was reported. The motion to adopt the committee substitute on the floor of the committee was also approved by voice vote earlier in the discussion.

The substitute was presented by counsel from the committee on pensions; no roll-call vote or individual tallies were recorded in the transcript. The next procedural step is that the bill will be placed on the full Senate calendar for further consideration.