HOUSE BILL No. 5339

 

October 23, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Meltzer, Amos, Nofs, Miller, Wenke, Robertson, Schuitmaker, Knollenberg, Brandenburg and Stakoe and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 350, entitled

 

"Public employee retirement benefits forfeiture act,"

 

by amending sections 3 and 4 (MCL 38.2703 and 38.2704), section 4

 

as amended by 1996 PA 467.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 3. A member or retirant who is convicted of or who enters

 

a nolo contendere plea accepted by a court for a felony arising out

 

of his or her service as a public employee is considered to have

 

breached the public trust and may shall have his or her rights to

 

an otherwise vested retirement benefit and all accumulated

 

contributions standing to that person's credit in the retirement

 

system forfeited as provided in this act. This act applies only to

 

the retirement system of which the person was a member or retirant

 

at the time the felony was committed and only to the retirement

 


system established by the entity affected by the felony.

 

     Sec. 4. (1) If a member or retirant is convicted of or enters

 

a nolo contendere plea accepted by the court for a felony arising

 

out of his or her service as a public employee, the court may shall

 

order forfeiture as provided in this section. If a court orders

 

forfeiture under this section, the The order shall contain all of

 

the following, as applicable:

 

     (a) The portion of the member's or retirant's retirement

 

benefit under a retirement system established by that person's

 

employer at the time the act or acts that resulted in the felony

 

were committed that accrued to that member or retirant on or after

 

the date the first act that resulted in the felony was committed is

 

forfeited.

 

     (b) The member's or retirant's accumulated contributions

 

standing to that person's credit in the individual account

 

established for that purpose in the retirement system shall be

 

refunded to the member or retirant.

 

     (c) The retirement system shall pay to an individual, if any,

 

who would otherwise be a beneficiary of the member or retirant

 

whose retirement benefit is being forfeited under this act an

 

actuarially equivalent monthly retirement allowance at the age that

 

member or retirant would have become eligible for unreduced

 

retirement benefits under that retirement system.

 

     (d) The retirement system shall not provide hospitalization

 

and medical coverage insurance to the member or retirant whose

 

retirement benefit is being forfeited under this act and but shall

 

provide hospitalization and medical coverage insurance to his or

 


her beneficiaries in the same manner and under the same

 

restrictions as is provided to other retirants and beneficiaries of

 

that retirement system.

 

     (2) If a court enters an order described in subsection (1),

 

the clerk of the court shall deliver the order to the retirement

 

system.