View Daily Data Tracking History
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
S1174.......................................by COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEM - Amends existing law to provide that police, fire and ambulance dispatchers shall have police officer membership status for retirement purposes. 02/12 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/15 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
S1174|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1174 BY COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEM; AMENDING SECTION 59-1303, 3 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT POLICE, FIRE AND AMBULANCE DISPATCHERS SHALL 4 HAVE POLICE OFFICER MEMBERSHIP STATUS FOR RETIREMENT PURPOSES AND TO MAKE 5 A TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 59-1303, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 59-1303. ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS FOR POLICE OFFICER STATUS. (1) As used in 10 this chapter, each of the terms defined in this section shall have the meaning 11 given in this section unless a different meaning is clearly required by the 12 context. 13 (2) Police officer membership status for retirement purposes may be fixed 14 only by law, or by order of the retirement board. 15 (3) Members holding or filling the following positions or offices are 16 designated by law as police officer members for retirement purposes during the 17 time of their appointment to that position or during their term of office: 18 (a) (i) The director and deputy director of the department of law 19 enforcement, the administrator of the Idaho state police division and 20 the assistant director of the police services division. 21 (ii) Commissioned personnel of the state police division, police 22 services division and alcohol beverage control division holding posi- 23 tions which involve active law enforcement services, for which cur- 24 rent POST certification is required to continue in employment in the 25 position, POST instructors, and department of law enforcement train- 26 ing instructors. 27 (iii) Brand inspectors and brand inspector supervisors. 28 (iv) Employees of the department of law enforcement serving in posi- 29 tions of personnel management, accounting, data processing, clerical 30 services and in like general classifications found in departments 31 throughout state government and not within the scope of active law 32 enforcement service are not eligible for police officer member sta- 33 tus. 34 (b) (i) County sheriffs; 35 (ii) Deputy county sheriffs holding positions for which current POST 36 certification is necessary to continue in employment in the position, 37 the principal duties of which are active law enforcement service; 38 deputy county sheriffs holding positions which require accountability 39 for the safety and safekeeping of persons confined in a city or 40 county confinement facility or whose duties require active participa- 41 tion in county law enforcement activities pertaining to crime preven- 42 tion or reduction; deputy sheriffs, even though POST certified or 43 required to be POST certified, holding positions whose principal 2 1 full-time duties are those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenogra- 2 pher, animal control officer, records specialist, or duties not 3 within the scope of active law enforcement service are not eligible 4 for police officer member status. 5 (c) (i) City police chiefs; 6 (ii) City police officers holding positions for which current POST 7 certification is necessary to continue in employment in the position, 8 the principal duties of which are active law enforcement service; 9 city police officers holding positions which require accountability 10 for the safety and safekeeping of persons confined in a city or 11 county confinement facility or whose duties require active participa- 12 tion in city law enforcement activities pertaining to crime preven- 13 tion or reduction; police officers, even though POST certified or 14 required to be POST certified, holding positions whose principal 15 full-time duties are those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenogra- 16 pher, animal control officer, records specialist, or duties not 17 within the scope of active law enforcement service are not eligible 18 for police officer member status. 19 (d) Employees of the department of fish and game serving in a conserva- 20 tion officer position for which current POST certification is necessary to 21 continue in employment in that position and which position has as its pri- 22 mary accountability the enforcement of wildlife protection laws and regu- 23 lations. 24 (e) (i) The director of the department of correction, the deputy direc- 25 tor for probation and parole, and wardens of institutions; 26 (ii) Employees of the department of correction accountable for the 27 custody, safety, safekeeping or supervision of persons confined in a 28 department confinement facility and whose work station is located 29 within the confinement facility; 30 (iii) Probation and parole supervisors, probation and parole investi- 31 gators, and probation and parole officers; 32 (iv) Correctional peace officer training instructors; 33 (v) Employees of the department of correction serving in positions 34 of personnel management, accounting, data processing, clerical ser- 35 vices and in like general classifications found in departments 36 throughout state government and not within the scope of active law 37 enforcement service are not eligible for police officer member sta- 38 tus. 39 (f) Employees of the adjutant general and military division of the state 40 where military membership is a condition of employment. 41 (g) Magistrates of the district court; justices of the supreme court, 42 judges of the court of appeals, and district judges who have made an elec- 43 tion under section 1-2011, Idaho Code; and court employees designated by 44 court order to have primary responsibility for court security or transpor- 45 tation of prisoners. 46 (h) Paramedics and paramedic trainees. 47 (i) Criminal investigators of the attorney general's office, and criminal 48 investigators of a prosecuting attorney's office. 49 (j) The director of security and the criminal investigators of the Idaho 50 state lottery. 51 (k) Police, fire and ambulance dispatchers. 52 (4) A member may be designated by the retirement board as a police offi- 53 cer member for retirement purposes if the position held is one in which the 54 principal duties involve hazardous law enforcement duties. 55 (a) For purposes of this section, "hazardous law enforcement duties" 3 1 means principal duties which: 2 (i) Will reasonably expect to increase the probability of early 3 superannuation; 4 (ii) Is associated with life-threatening risk or presents a position 5 of peril either to the member or to others, or which can place the 6 public safety in jeopardy; and 7 (iii) Either compels others to observe the law, pertains to crime 8 prevention, or pertains to crime reduction, including police, courts, 9 prosecution, correction, or rehabilitation. 10 (b) If continued employment in a position is conditioned on maintaining 11 current POST certification, such condition shall be evidence to be consid- 12 ered that the employee is a police officer member for retirement purposes. 13 (i) After July 1, 1985, a requirement for POST certification for 14 classified state employees may be made only by the personnel commis- 15 sion. 16 (c) Occasional assignments to hazardous law enforcement duties do not 17 create a condition for designation as a police officer member for retire- 18 ment purposes. 19 (5) Any employer or agency that believes that any employee, not specifi- 20 cally designated as a police officer by law, is incorrectly classified as a 21 nonpolice officer member, may petition the retirement board for inclusion of 22 that employee's position as one to be filled by a police officer member for 23 retirement purposes. The petition shall be in writing and shall explain in 24 detail the principal duties of the position and include written evidence which 25 establishes that the criteria of subsection (4) of this section 26 are met. The board shall review the petition and evidence, together with such 27 information and evidence as may be presented by the staff of the retirement 28 system. The board may decide the matter based upon the information supplied, 29 may request additional information, or may request an oral presentation before 30 the board. The decision of the board shall be final, but a similar petition 31 may be resubmitted after six (6) months. 32 (6) On and after July 1, 1985, no active member shall be classified as a 33 police officer for retirement purposes unless the employer shall have certi- 34 fied to the board, on a form provided by the board, that such member is an 35 employee whose primary position with the employer is one designated as such 36 within the meaning of this chapter, and the board shall have accepted such 37 certification. Acceptance by the board of an employer's certification shall in 38 no way limit the board's right to review and reclassify the position for 39 retirement purposes based upon an audit or other relevant information pre- 40 sented to the board. 41 (7) An active member classified as a police officer for retirement pur- 42 poses whose position is reclassified to that of a general member for retire- 43 ment purposes as a result of a determination that the position does not meet 44 the requirements of this chapter for police officer status for retirement pur- 45 poses shall become a general member but shall not lose retirement benefits 46 earned and accrued prior to the reclassification. If that member continues to 47 be employed in that same position until retired, that member then will be 48 deemed to be a police officer member for the purposes of retirement eligibil- 49 ity.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS09045 For retirement purposes only, this bill would re-define emergency dispatchers under the additional definitions for Police Officer Status. Emergency dispatchers often suffer from the same types of high stress that police officers do, and therefore should be considered in the same light regarding retirement. FISCAL NOTE The fiscal impact is difficult, but should be minimal. Currently there are approximately 320 employees in this category statewide. annually, only a few of these would become eligible to retire earlier. Exact calculations will be undertaken by PERSI. CONTACT: Senator Jack Riggs 332-1337 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE S1174