| Senate Bill 267 01/08/2009 Update Even though Senate Bill 267 will become law the 91st day after Governor Strickland signs it OPERS board will actually determine when OPERS will begin to observe the new law. The date of compliance chosen by the board is dependent on several factors and, as such, an estimated timeframe cannot be given to members at this time. Please forward any questions about this change through the KB issue log. Senate Bill 267 has passed and will go to the Governor for signature sometime later this month with an effective date 90 days after the Governor signs the bill and files it with the Secretary of State. Below is a brief summary of the provisions in the bill that impact OPERS: •Recognition of Public Safety Division - The bill recognizes in statute the two existing sub-groups in the OPERS law enforcement (LE) division by creating a public safety officer division. It includes in the new public safety division officers whose primary duties are other than to preserve the peace, protect life and property, and enforce Ohio laws and all Hamilton County Municipal Court bailiffs. •Service credit conversion - The bill permits the OPERS Board to establish-by rule-a program under which an OPERS member may convert up to five years of service credit for non-law enforcement (or public safety) service to credit for service as a law enforcement officer by paying not less than 100% of the additional liability resulting from the conversion. If a rule is adopted, the bill specifies certain additional requirements that must be met in the conversion. •LE member contribution rate - The bill authorizes the OPERS Board to establish LE member contribution rate as the rate established for public safety officers plus an additional percentage, which is initially 1% of members' earnable salaries but may be increased by the Board to not more than 2%. •Municipal Public Safety Directors in the LE program - Beginning on the bill's effective date, municipal public safety directors will no longer participate in LE division and, instead, these members will contribute to regular PERS. Medicare Part B reimbursement - The bill limits monthly reimbursement by OPERS for Medicare Part B premiums to an amount determined by both the Board that is not less than $96.40, except that the reimbursement cannot exceed the amount paid for coverage. The bill requires the recipient of the reimbursement to report to OPERS the amount paid for the coverage. |