This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing the Maine Public Employees Retirement System.
1. It establishes a definition of "duly acknowledged."
2. It establishes a definition of "survive" or "surviving."
3. It removes the minimum waiting period for a member to receive a refund of contributions.
4. It removes the requirement for continuous service before a member can be eligible for disability retirement benefits without meeting preexisting condition criteria.
5. It provides more flexibility in how overpayments of disability benefits are recovered.
6. It clarifies the definition of "earnable compensation."
7. It clarifies membership eligibility for coaches and adult education employees.
8. It clarifies procedural requirements before initiating court action to recover overpaid benefits.
9. It corrects a cross-reference and adds a cross-reference that was omitted from a previously enacted law.
10. It clarifies termination of employment requirements for retirees to be restored to service.
11. It clarifies the payment of group life insurance benefits.
12. It permits the chief administrative officer of a participating local district to clarify ambiguities in actions taken by the governing body regarding plan participation.
13. It changes what constitutes a quorum for the Participating Local District Advisory Committee.
14. It repeals the requirement for a minimum percentage of members of a local district in order to participate in the group life insurance program.
15. It removes or updates obsolete, unclear or inconsistent language.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1947, HP 1306: 3.805, 4.1201, 4.1305, 4.1353, 4.1357, 5.17001, 5.17054, 5.17107, 5.17705, 5.17804, 5.17851, 5.17859, 5.17924, 5.17930, 5.18057, 5.18306, 5.18363, 5.18404, 5.18504, 5.18506, 5.18524, 5.18530, 5.18657, 5.18662, 5.18802