SF 2318 (LSB 5553SV (2) 83)

SENATE FILE 2318

BY  COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 2213)

A BILL FOR

An Act concerning and affecting veterans and military members, related to employment benefits, professional licensing, and interest rate limit enforcement, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR MILITARY MEMBERS
    Section 1.  Section 8A.402, subsection 2, paragraph f, Code Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   f.  (1)  Develop, in consultation with the department of veterans affairs, programs to inform state employees who are members of the national guard or organized reserves of the armed forces of the United States, and their families, of their rights and benefits while the member is deployed in active federal service.
   (2)  Develop, in consultation with the department of veterans affairs, programs to inform members of the national guard or organized reserves of the armed forces of the United States returning to Iowa following active federal service about job opportunities in state government.
    Sec. 2.  Section 97A.10, Code 2009, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   97A.10  Purchase of service credit for military service.
   1.  An active member of the system who has been a member of the retirement system five or more years may elect to purchase up to five years of service credit for military service, other than military service required to be recognized under Internal Revenue Code § 414(u) or under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, that will be recognized by the retirement system for purposes of calculating a member’s benefit, pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 415(n) and the requirements of this section.
   2.  a.  A member seeking to purchase service credit pursuant to this section shall file a written application with the system requesting an actuarial determination of the cost of a purchase of service credit. Upon receipt of the cost estimate for the purchase of service from the system, the member may make contributions to the system in an amount equal to the actuarial cost of the service credit purchase.
   b.  For purposes of this subsection, the actuarial cost of the service credit purchase is an amount determined by the system in accordance with actuarial tables, as reported to the system by the system’s actuary, which reflects the actuarial cost necessary to fund an increased retirement allowance resulting from the purchase of service credit.
   3.  The system shall ensure that the member, in exercising an option provided in this section, does not exceed the amount of annual additions to a member’s account permitted pursuant to § 415 of the Internal Revenue Code.
   4.  The board of trustees shall adopt rules providing for the implementation and administration of this section.

DIVISION II
LICENSING AND PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  29A.103A  Professional liability insurance.

   An obligation or liability of a service member to pay a premium for professional liability insurance coverage shall be stayed for the service member during military service and the service member shall be allowed to continue coverage and resume payment upon completion of military service, without penalty.
    Sec. 4.  MILITARY SERVICE LICENSING WORKGROUP.  The department of workforce development and the department of veterans affairs shall establish a workgroup to identify licensing requirements for workforce shortage areas and to study, in conjunction with the relevant licensing entities, whether comparable military training could substitute for current licensing requirements. The workgroup shall submit any findings, including any recommendations for legislative action to allow flexible licensing requirements for veterans, to the general assembly by January 1, 2011.

DIVISION III
CONSUMER CREDIT TERMS —— ENFORCEMENT
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  535.18  Consumer credit terms for service members —— enforcement.

   The superintendent of banking and the superintendent of credit unions, as applicable, shall have the authority to enforce the consumer protection provisions of 10 U.S.C. § 987 concerning limitations on terms of consumer credit extended to service members and their dependents.
EXPLANATION
   This bill makes changes concerning and affecting veterans and military members.
   Division I concerns employment benefits for military members.
   Code section 8A.402, concerning the duties of the department of administrative services relative to human resource management, is amended to provide that the department establish programs to inform state employees who are military members, and their families, of their rights and benefits while the service member is deployed.
   Code section 97A.10 is rewritten to allow an active member of the peace officers’ retirement system to purchase service credit for military service that is not otherwise required to be recognized by federal law upon payment of the actuarial cost of the service purchase.
   Division II concerns professional liability insurance and licensing.
   New Code section 29A.103A adds a provision to the Iowa National Guard Civil Relief Act to provide that a service member’s obligation or liability to pay a premium for professional liability insurance coverage shall be stayed during military service and that the service member shall be allowed to continue coverage and resume payment upon completion of military service without penalty.
   The division also establishes a department of workforce development and department of veterans affairs workgroup to identify licensing requirements for workforce shortage areas and to study, in conjunction with the relevant licensing entities, whether comparable military training could substitute for current licensing requirements. This portion of the division directs the workgroup to report any need for legislative action to the general assembly by January 1, 2011.
   Division III of the bill provides that the superintendent of banking and the superintendent of credit unions shall have the authority to enforce the percentage rate limitation imposed as a restriction or safeguard for military personnel under 10 U.S.C. § 987.