A bill for an act
relating to retirement; Public Employees Retirement Association statewide volunteer
firefighter plan; revising the authorized allocation of fire state aid; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 477B.04, subdivision 3; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 477B.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 477B.04, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
(a) new text beginThis paragraph applies new text endif the municipality or the
independent nonprofit firefighting corporation is covered by the statewide volunteer
firefighter plan deleted text beginunder chapter 353Gdeleted text endnew text begin. If this paragraph applies and the executive director of
the Public Employees Retirement Association has not approved an aid allocation plan under
section 477B.041new text end, the executive director deleted text beginof the Public Employees Retirement Associationdeleted text end
must credit the fire state aid against future municipal contribution requirements under section
353G.08 and must notify the municipality or the independent nonprofit firefighting
corporation of the fire state aid so credited at least annually.new text begin If this paragraph applies and
the executive director has approved an aid allocation plan under section 477B.041, the
executive director must allocate fire state aid in the manner described under section 477B.041.
new text end
(b) If (1) the municipality or the independent nonprofit firefighting corporation is not
covered by the statewide volunteer firefighter plan and is affiliated with a duly incorporated
firefighters relief association, (2) the relief association has filed a financial report with the
municipality pursuant to section 424A.014, subdivision 1 or 2, whichever applies, and (3)
there is not an aid allocation agreement under section 477B.042 in effect, then the treasurer
of the municipality must, within 30 days after receipt, transmit the fire state aid to the
treasurer of the relief association. If clauses (1) and (2) are satisfied and there is an aid
allocation agreement under section 477B.042 in effect, then fire state aid must be transmitted
as described in that section. If the relief association has not filed a financial report with the
municipality, then, regardless of whether an aid allocation agreement is in effect, the treasurer
of the municipality must delay transmission of the fire state aid to the relief association until
the complete financial report is filed.
(c) The treasurer of the municipality must deposit the fire state aid money in the municipal
treasury if (1) the municipality or independent nonprofit firefighting corporation is not
covered by the statewide volunteer firefighter plan, (2) there is no relief association organized,
(3) the association has dissolved, or (4) the association has been removed as trustees of state
aid. The money may be disbursed from the municipal treasury only for the purposes and in
the manner set forth in section 424A.08 or for the payment of the employer contribution
requirement with respect to firefighters covered by the public employees police and fire
retirement plan under section 353.65, subdivision 3.
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This section is effective for aids payable in 2022 and thereafter.
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For the purposes of this section, unless the language or
context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended, the following terms have the
meanings given to them:
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(1) "Active volunteer firefighter" means a member of the statewide volunteer firefighter
plan as defined in section 353G.01, subdivision 8.
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(2) "Chief petitioning firefighter" means an active volunteer firefighter who, on behalf
of petitioning firefighters, submits a petition to stop an aid allocation plan under subdivision
6 to the executive director.
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(3) "Combination department" means a municipality or independent nonprofit firefighting
corporation which, during the previous calendar year and on January 1, 2021:
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(i) employed one or more firefighters covered by the statewide volunteer firefighter
plan; and
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(ii) contributed on behalf of one or more firefighters to the public employees police and
fire retirement plan under chapter 353.
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(4) "Covered period" means the period covered by the aid allocation plan beginning
with the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the plan is approved
and continuing for not more than three years.
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(5) "Executive director" means the executive director of the Public Employees Retirement
Association.
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(6) "Reimbursement amount" means the amount calculated under subdivision 4, which
reimburses a combination department for employer contributions made to the public
employees police and fire retirement plan on behalf of covered firefighters.
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(7) "Total state aid" means the combined total of fire state aid and police and firefighter
supplemental state aid payable to the Public Employees Retirement Association on behalf
of a combination department on October 1 under sections 477B.04, subdivision 1, and
423A.022, subdivision 4, respectively.
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Beginning on March 1 of each year, a
combination department may submit to the executive director an aid allocation plan that
conforms with the requirements in this paragraph. The aid allocation plan must:
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(1) be approved by the governing body of the combination department;
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(2) be in writing and specify:
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(i) the percentage of the fire state aid, dollar amount, or formula for determining the
amount of fire state aid that will be transmitted to the combination department as the
reimbursement amount; and
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(ii) the covered period;
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(3) be signed by the municipal clerk or secretary; and
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(4) include the date that notice was provided to firefighters under subdivision 7.
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The executive director shall approve an aid
allocation plan submitted by a combination department if:
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(1) the aid allocation plan is submitted on or after March 1;
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(2) the aid allocation plan meets the requirements in subdivision 2; and
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(3) within 45 days after receipt of the aid allocation plan, the executive director has not
received a petition to stop aid allocation described in subdivision 6.
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(a) Fire state
aid covered by an approved aid allocation plan must be deposited in accordance with this
subdivision. Within 30 days after receipt of the fire state aid, the executive director must
transmit the reimbursement amount to the combination department. The reimbursement
amount must not exceed the smallest of the following amounts:
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(1) the percentage, dollar amount, or formula specified by the combination department
under subdivision 2;
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(2) the combination department's total employer contribution to the public employees
police and fire retirement plan on behalf of firefighters during the preceding calendar year;
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(3) the amount of fire state aid payable to the Public Employees Retirement Association
on behalf of the combination department on October 1 of the current calendar year under
section 477B.04, subdivision 1;
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(4) the amount determined by subtracting from the combination department's total state
aid the combination department's annual funding requirement under section 353G.08 as
calculated on or before August 1 for the current year; or
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(5) the amount determined by subtracting from the combination department's total state
aid the amount required to increase the funding ratio of the combination department's account
to not less than 100 percent as of the date of the valuation used to determine the funding
requirement under clause (4).
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(b) After transmitting the reimbursement amount, the executive director must immediately
credit any remaining fire state aid against the combination department's annual funding
requirement under section 353G.08. The executive director must notify the combination
department of