Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2021                                     SB 230



       By Senator Hutson





       7-00106-21                                             2021230__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to the Special Risk Class of the
       Florida Retirement System; amending s. 121.0515, F.S.;
       adding employees of a water, sewer, or other public
       works department of a participating employer who work
       in certain hazardous conditions to the class as of a
       specified date; providing a declaration of important
       state interest; providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1.âSubsection (3) of section 121.0515, Florida
Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (i) is added to subsection
(2) of that section, to read:
       121.0515âSpecial Risk Class.â
       (2)âMEMBERSHIP.â
       (i)âEffective July 1, 2021, âspecial risk memberâ includes
any member who is employed in a water, sewer, or other public
works department and meets the special criteria set forth in
paragraph (3)(k).
       (3)âCRITERIA.âA member, to be designated as a special risk
member, must meet the following criteria:
       (a)âEffective October 1, 1978, the member must be employed
as a law enforcement officer and be certified, or required to be
certified, in compliance with s. 943.1395, except that; however,
sheriffs and elected police chiefs are not required to be
certified excluded from meeting the certification requirements
of this paragraph. In addition, the memberâs duties and
responsibilities must include the pursuit, apprehension, and
arrest of law violators or suspected law violators; or as of
July 1, 1982, the member must be an active member of a bomb
disposal unit whose primary responsibility is the location,
handling, and disposal of explosive devices; or the member must
be the supervisor or command officer of a member or members who
have such responsibilities. Administrative support personnel,
including, but not limited to, those whose primary duties and
responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal, and
personnel, are not included;
       (b)âEffective October 1, 1978, the member must be employed
as a firefighter and be certified, or required to be certified,
in compliance with s. 633.408 and be employed solely within the
fire department of a local government employer or an agency of
state government with firefighting responsibilities. In
addition, the memberâs duties and responsibilities must include
on-the-scene fighting of fires; as of October 1, 2001, fire
prevention or firefighter training; as of October 1, 2001,
direct supervision of firefighting units, fire prevention, or
firefighter training; or as of July 1, 2001, aerial firefighting
surveillance performed by fixed-wing aircraft pilots employed by
the Florida Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services; or the member must be the supervisor or
command officer of a member or members who have such
responsibilities. Administrative support personnel, including,
but not limited to, those whose primary duties and
responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal, and
personnel, are not included. All periods of creditable service
in fire prevention or firefighter training, or as the supervisor
or command officer of a member or members who have such
responsibilities, and for which the employer paid the special
risk contribution rate, are included;
       (c)âEffective October 1, 1978, the member must be employed
as a correctional officer and be certified, or required to be
certified, in compliance with s. 943.1395. In addition, the
memberâs primary duties and responsibilities must include be the
custody, and physical restraint if when necessary, of prisoners
or inmates within a prison, jail, or other criminal detention
facility, or while on work detail outside the facility, or while
being transported; or as of July 1, 1984, the member must be the
supervisor or command officer of a member or members who have
such responsibilities. Administrative support personnel,
including, but not limited to, those whose primary duties and
responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal, and
personnel, are not included; however, wardens and assistant
wardens, as defined by rule, are included;
       (d)âEffective October 1, 1999, the member must be employed
by a licensed Advance Life Support (ALS) or Basic Life Support
(BLS) employer as an emergency medical technician or a paramedic
and be certified in compliance with s. 401.27. In addition, the
memberâs primary duties and responsibilities must include on
the-scene emergency medical care or as of October 1, 2001,
direct supervision of emergency medical technicians or
paramedics, or the member must be the supervisor or command
officer of one or more members who have such responsibility.
Administrative support personnel, including, but not limited to,
those whose primary responsibilities are in accounting,
purchasing, legal, and personnel, are not included;
       (e)âEffective January 1, 2001, the member must be employed
as a community-based correctional probation officer and be
certified, or required to be certified, in compliance with s.
943.1395. In addition, the memberâs primary duties and
responsibilities must be the supervised custody, surveillance,
control, investigation, and counseling of assigned inmates,
probationers, parolees, or community controllees within the
community; or the member must be the supervisor of a member or
members who have such responsibilities. Administrative support
personnel, including, but not limited to, those whose primary
duties and responsibilities are in accounting, purchasing, legal
services, and personnel management, are not included, except
that; however, probation and parole circuit and deputy circuit
administrators are included;
       (f)âEffective January 1, 2001, the member must be employed
in one of the following classes and must spend at least 75
percent of his or her time performing duties that which involve
contact with patients or inmates in a correctional or forensic
facility or institution:
       1.âDietitian (class codes 5203 and 5204);
       2.âPublic health nutrition consultant (class code 5224);
       3.âPsychological specialist (class codes 5230 and 5231);
       4.âPsychologist (class code 5234);
       5.âSenior psychologist (class codes 5237 and 5238);
       6.âRegional mental health consultant (class code 5240);
       7.âPsychological Services DirectorâDCF (class code 5242);
       8.âPharmacist (class codes 5245 and 5246);
       9.âSenior pharmacist (class codes 5248 and 5249);
       10.âDentist (class code 5266);
       11.âSenior dentist (class code 5269);
       12.âRegistered nurse (class codes 5290 and 5291);
       13.âSenior registered nurse (class codes 5292 and 5293);
       14.âRegistered nurse specialist (class codes 5294 and
5295);
       15.âClinical associate (class codes 5298 and 5299);
       16.âAdvanced practice registered nurse (class codes 5297
and 5300);
       17.âAdvanced practice registered nurse specialist (class
codes 5304 and 5305);
       18.âRegistered nurse supervisor (class codes 5306 and
5307);
       19.âSenior registered nurse supervisor (class codes 5308
and 5309);
       20.âRegistered nursing consultant (class codes 5312 and
5313);
       21.âQuality management program supervisor (class code
5314);
       22.âExecutive nursing director (class codes 5320 and 5321);
       23.âSpeech and hearing therapist (class code 5406); or
       24.âPharmacy manager (class code 5251);
       (g)âEffective October 1, 2005, through June 30, 2008, the
member must be employed by a law enforcement agency or medical
examinerâs office in a forensic discipline recognized by the
International Association for Identification and must qualify
for active membership in the International Association for
Identification. The memberâs primary duties and responsibilities
must include the collection, examination, preservation,
documentation, preparation, or analysis of physical evidence or
testimony, or both, or the member must be the direct supervisor,
quality management supervisor, or command officer of one or more
individuals with such responsibility. Administrative support
personnel, including, but not limited to, those whose primary
responsibilities are clerical or in accounting, purchasing,
legal, and personnel, are not included;
       (h)âEffective July 1, 2008, the member must be employed by
the Department of Law Enforcement in the crime laboratory or by
the Division of State Fire Marshal in the forensic laboratory in
one of the following classes:
       1.âForensic technologist (class code 8459);
       2.âCrime laboratory technician (class code 8461);
       3.âCrime laboratory analyst (class code 8463);
       4.âSenior crime laboratory analyst (class code 8464);
       5.âCrime laboratory analyst supervisor (class code 8466);
       6.âForensic chief (class code 9602); or
       7.âForensic services quality manager (class code 9603);
       (i)âEffective July 1, 2008, the member must be employed by
a local government law enforcement agency or medical examinerâs
office and must spend at least 65 percent of his or her time
performing duties that involve the collection, examination,
preservation, documentation, preparation, or analysis of human
tissues or fluids or physical evidence having potential
biological, chemical, or radiological hazard or contamination,
or use chemicals, processes, or materials that may have
carcinogenic or health-damaging properties in the analysis of
such evidence, or the member must be the direct supervisor of
one or more individuals having such responsibility. If a special
risk member changes to another position within the same agency,
he or she must submit a complete application as provided in
paragraph (4)(a); or
       (j)âThe member must have already qualified for and be
actively participating in special risk membership under
paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c), must have
suffered a qualifying injury as defined in this paragraph, must
not be receiving disability retirement benefits as provided in
s. 121.091(4), and must satisfy the requirements of this
paragraph.
       1.âThe ability to qualify for the class of membership
defined in paragraph (2)(h) occurs when two licensed medical
physicians, one of whom is a primary treating physician of the
member, certify the existence of the physical injury and medical
condition that constitute a qualifying injury as defined in this
paragraph and that the member has reached maximum medical
improvement after August 1, 2008. The certifications from the
licensed medical physicians must include, at a minimum, that the
injury to the special risk member has resulted in a physical
loss, or loss of use, of at least two of the following: left
arm, right arm, left leg, or right leg; and that:
       a.âThe That this physical loss or loss of use is total and
permanent, unless except if the loss of use is due to a physical
injury to the memberâs brain, in which event the loss of use is
permanent with at least 75 percent loss of motor function with
respect to each arm or leg affected.
       b.âThe That this physical loss or loss of use renders the
member physically unable to perform the essential job functions
of his or her special risk position.
       c.âThat, Notwithstanding the this physical loss or loss of
use, the individual can perform the essential job functions
required by the memberâs new position, as provided in
subparagraph 3.
       d.âThat Use of artificial limbs is not possible or does not
alter the memberâs ability to perform the essential job
functions of the memberâs position.
       e.âThat The physical loss or loss of use is a direct result
of a physical injury and not a result of any mental,
psychological, or emotional injury.
       2.âFor the purposes of this paragraph, the term âqualifying
injuryâ means an injury sustained in the line of duty, as
certified by the memberâs employing agency, by a special risk
member that does not result in total and permanent disability as
defined in s. 121.091(4)(b). An injury is a qualifying injury if
the injury is a physical injury to the memberâs physical body
resulting in a physical loss, or loss of use, of at least two of
the following: left arm, right arm, left leg, or right leg.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an injury
that would otherwise qualify as a qualifying injury is not
considered a qualifying injury if and when the member ceases
employment with the employer for whom he or she was providing
special risk services on the date the injury occurred.
       3.âThe new position, as described in sub-subparagraph 1.c.,
that is required for qualification as a special risk member
under this paragraph is not required to be a position with
essential job functions that entitle an individual to special
risk membership. Whether a new position as described in sub
subparagraph 1.c. exists and is available to the special risk
member is a decision to be made solely by the employer in
accordance with its hiring practices and applicable law.
       4.âThis paragraph does not grant or create additional
rights for any individual to continued employment or to be hired
or rehired by his or her employer that are not already provided
by state law within the Florida Statutes, the State
Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, if
applicable, or any other applicable state or federal law; or
       (k)âEffective July 1, 2021, the member must be employed in
a water, sewer, or other public works department of a
participating employer and must perform duties that include
working in hazardous conditions, such as responding to a
chemical release or spill; working in a confined space with
oxygen deficiencies or poisonous gases; cutting cement pipes or
materials containing asbestos; pouring lead joints; working with
toxic or hazardous chemicals or toxic, hazardous, or industrial
wastewater which requires the use of a respirator or a self
contained breathing apparatus; or working in a confined space
where there is a clear and present safety or health hazard that
poses an imminent risk to the life and safety of the member.
       Section 2.âThe Legislature finds that a proper and
legitimate state purpose is served when employees and retirees
of the state and its political subdivisions, and the dependents,
survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees and retirees, are
extended the basic protections afforded by governmental
retirement systems. These persons must be provided benefits that
are fair and adequate and that are managed, administered, and
funded in an actuarially sound manner, as required by s. 14,
Article X of the State Constitution and part VII of chapter 112,
Florida Statutes. Therefore, the Legislature determines and
declares that this act fulfills an important state interest.
       Section 3.âThis act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
Statutes affected: 
S 230 Filed: 121.0515