SF 33 (LSB 1077XS (2) 91)

SENATE FILE 33

BY  McCLINTOCK

A BILL FOR

An Act providing credit for accrued sick leave for certain law enforcement officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  70A.23A  Credit for accrued sick leave —— law enforcement officers.
   1.  For purposes of this section:
   a.  “Eligible law enforcement officer” means a law enforcement officer eligible to receive retirement benefits under an eligible retirement system on or after July 1, 2025.
   b.  “Eligible retirement system” means a retirement system authorized under chapter 97B or 411.
   c.  “Law enforcement officer” means a law enforcement officer, as defined in section 80B.3, who is not authorized to receive credit for accrued sick leave as provided in section 70A.23.
   2.  An eligible law enforcement officer, excluding a law enforcement officer covered under a collective bargaining agreement which provides otherwise, who retires and has applied for retirement benefits under an eligible retirement system, or who dies while in active employment, shall be credited with the number of accrued days of sick leave of the law enforcement officer. The law enforcement officer, or the law enforcement officer’s estate, shall receive a cash payment of the monetary value of the officer’s accrued sick leave balance, not to exceed two thousand dollars. The value of the officer’s accrued sick leave balance shall be calculated by multiplying the number of hours of accrued sick leave by the officer’s regular hourly rate of pay at the time of retirement.
   3.  a.  An eligible law enforcement officer, excluding an officer covered under a collective bargaining agreement which provides otherwise, who retires and receives a payment as provided in subsection 2, shall be entitled to elect to have the officer’s available remaining value of sick leave used to pay the employer’s share for the officer’s continuation of group health insurance coverage pursuant to the requirements of this subsection.
   b.  An eligible law enforcement officer’s available remaining value of sick leave shall be available to pay for that portion of the officer’s group health insurance premium that would otherwise be paid for by the employer if the officer were still employed by the employer. The benefits provided for in this subsection have no cash value and are not transferable to any other person, including the retiree’s spouse. Payment of group health insurance premiums pursuant to this subsection continues until the earliest of when the eligible law enforcement officer’s available remaining value of sick leave is exhausted, the officer otherwise becomes eligible for federal Medicare program benefits, or the officer dies. In addition, a law enforcement officer electing benefits pursuant to this subsection who is reinstated or reemployed in a permanent full-time or permanent part-time position by the law enforcement officer’s previous government employer forfeits any remaining benefits for payment of group health insurance benefits, and such law enforcement officer is not eligible for restoration of the unused sick leave accrued during the law enforcement officer’s prior employment with the employer.
    Sec. 2.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides credit for accrued sick leave for certain retired law enforcement officers.
   The bill defines an “eligible law enforcement officer” as a law enforcement officer who is eligible to receive retirement benefits under a retirement system under Code chapter 97B or 411 on or after July 1, 2025. The bill defines “law enforcement officer” to mean as provided in Code section 80B.3, excluding those authorized to receive credit for accrued sick leave under Code section 70A.23.
   The bill provides that an eligible law enforcement officer, excluding officers covered under a collective bargaining agreement which provides otherwise, who retires or is eligible to retire and dies while in active employment, can receive a cash payment of up to $2,000 for the officer’s unused sick leave. The bill further provides that the remaining value of sick leave shall be available to pay for that portion of the officer’s group health insurance premium that would otherwise be paid for by the employer if the officer were still employed by the employer.
   The payment of premiums from accrued sick leave continues until the balance of the law enforcement officer’s banked value of eligible accrued sick leave is exhausted, the retiree otherwise becomes eligible for Medicare, or the officer dies. In addition, the bill provides that if the law enforcement officer returns to permanent full-time or part-time employment with the officer’s previous government employer, any unused sick leave balances are forfeited and the officer is not eligible for restoration of the unused sick leave accrued during the prior employment.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.