STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Swift, Assemblymen Clifton, S.Kean, McGuckin, Rumpf, Guardian, Assemblywoman Dunn, Assemblymen Atkins, Tully, Assemblywomen Swain, Quijano, Assemblymen McClellan, Simonsen, Rodriguez, Moen, Assemblywoman Bagolie and Assemblyman Torrissi
SYNOPSIS
Reinstates automatic COLA for retirement benefits of members of the State-administered retirement systems.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning cost-of-living adjustments for retirement benefits of members of the State-administered retirement systems, and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.18A:66-56 is amended to read as follows:
18A:66-56. a. (1) Subject to the provisions of chapter 70 of the laws of 1955, the general responsibility for the proper operation of the teachers' pension and annuity fund shall be vested in the board of trustees, and, as specified, in the committee established pursuant to subsection b. of this section. Subject to the limitations of the law, the board shall annually establish rules and regulations for the administration and transaction of the boards and committees business and for the control of the funds created by this article. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with those adopted by the other pension funds within the Division of Pensions and Benefits in order to permit the most economical and uniform administration of all such retirement systems. The committee shall adopt such regulations as provided in subsection b. of this section.
(2) The membership of the board shall consist of the following:
(a) The State Treasurer or the deputy State Treasurer, when designated for that purpose by the State Treasurer;
(b) Two trustees appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall serve for a term of office of three years and until their successors are appointed, and who shall be private citizens of the State of New Jersey and who are neither an officer thereof nor active or retired members of the system, except that of the two trustees initially appointed by the Governor pursuant to P.L.1992, c.41 (C.43:6A-33.1 et al.), one shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for a term of three years;
(c) Three trustees from among the active or retired members of the retirement system, elected by the membership or by the delegates elected for this purpose by the membership, one of whom shall be elected each year for a three-year term commencing on January 1, following such election in such manner as the board of trustees may prescribe. If the board of trustees determines that the election of trustees under this subsection is to be made by delegates elected by the membership, it shall prescribe that those delegates shall be chosen from among active and retired members of the retirement system;
(d) One trustee not an active or retired teacher nor an officer of the State, elected by the other trustees, other than the State Treasurer, for a term of three years.
(3) A vacancy occurring in the board of trustees shall be filled in the same manner as provided in this section for regular appointment or election to the position where the vacancy exists, except that a vacancy occurring in the trustees elected from among the active or retired members of the retirement system shall be filled for the unexpired term.
Each member of the board shall, upon appointment or election, take an oath of office that, so far as it devolves upon him, he will diligently and honestly administer the board's affairs, and that he will not knowingly violate or willfully permit to be violated any provision of law applicable to this article. The oath shall be subscribed to by the member making it, certified by the officer before whom it is taken and filed immediately in the office of the Secretary of State.
Each trustee shall be entitled to one vote in the board and a majority of all the votes of the entire board shall be necessary for a decision by the board of trustees at a meeting of the board or committee. The board shall keep a record of all its proceedings, which shall be open to public inspection.
The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for any necessary expenditures. No employee shall suffer loss of salary or wages through serving on the board.
(4) The State Treasurer shall designate a medical board after consultation with the Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits, subject to veto by the board for valid reason. It shall be composed of three physicians who are not eligible to participate in the retirement system. The medical board shall pass upon all medical examinations required under the provisions of this article, shall investigate all essential statements and certificates by or on behalf of a member in connection with an application for disability retirement, and shall report in writing to the retirement system its conclusions and recommendations upon all matters referred to it.
b. There is established a committee to be composed of eight members, four of whom shall be appointed by the Governor as representatives of public employers whose employees are enrolled in the retirement system, three of whom shall be appointed by the head of the union representing the greatest number of members of the retirement system having union membership, and one of whom shall be appointed by the head of the union representing the second greatest number of members of the retirement system having union membership. The members of the committee shall not be appointed until the system, or part of the system, attains the target funded ratio.
The members of the committee shall serve for a term of three years and until a successor is appointed and qualified. Of the initial appointments by the Governor, two members shall serve for two years and until a successor is appointed and qualified, and one shall serve for one year and until a successor is appointed and qualified. Of the initial appointments by the head of the union representing the greatest number of members of the retirement system, one member shall serve for two years and until a successor is appointed and qualified, and one shall serve for one year and until a successor is appointed and qualified.
The members of the committee shall select a chairperson from among the members, who shall serve for a term of one year, with no member serving more than one term, until all the members of the committee have served a term in a manner alternating among the employer representatives and employee representatives, unless the committee determines otherwise with regard to this process.
The provisions of paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section, and N.J.S.18A:66-60, shall apply to the committee and its members, as appropriate.
Upon the convening of any meeting of the committee, the members shall consider a motion to assume the authority pr