Current Status Bill Number:3465 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19970218 Primary Sponsor:Hodges All Sponsors:Hodges and Harrell Drafted Document Number:dka\4051mm.97 Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Finance Committee 06 SF Date of Last Amendment:19970429 Subject:Retirement System, preretirement death benefits, survivor of employee who dies violent death in line of duty
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19970501 Introduced, read first time, 06 SF
referred to Committee
House 19970430 Read third time, sent to Senate
House 19970429 Amended, read second time
House 19970417 Committee report: Favorable with 30 HWM
amendment
House 19970218 Introduced, read first time, 30 HWM
referred to Committee
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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED
April 29, 1997
H. 3465
S. Printed 4/29/97--H.
Read the first time February 18, 1997.
TO AMEND SECTION 9-1-1770, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFITS FOR A STATE EMPLOYEE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A FIFTY PERCENT DEATH BENEFIT TO ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS WHEN THE EMPLOYEE DIES A VIOLENT DEATH WHILE PERFORMING STATE DUTIES; TO AMEND SECTION 9-1-1680, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO EXEMPTION OF STATE RETIREMENT BENEFITS FROM CERTAIN TAX LIABILITY, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE NONTAXABILITY OF THE PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFITS PAYABLE TO ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS OF A STATE EMPLOYEE WHO DIES A VIOLENT DEATH WHILE PERFORMING STATE DUTIES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-111-110, RELATING TO TUITION WAIVERS FOR CHILDREN OF CERTAIN STATE EMPLOYEES, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE SURVIVING CHILDREN OF A STATE EMPLOYEE WHO DIES A VIOLENT DEATH WHILE PERFORMING STATE DUTIES.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 9-1-1770 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 458 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 9-1-1770. (A) Effective July 1, 1968, there shall be is created the Preretirement Death Benefit Program, which shall be effective as of that date to all employers under the system, except counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions, as well as and to those state departments, agencies, or other institutions which pay directly to the system the total employer contributions for the participating members in their employ.
(B) The program shall be is available to those employers exempted in the preceding paragraph subsection (A) by written application of such the employer. Applications shall be are an irrevocable commitment to participate under the program. For applications received by the system prior to before October 1, 1968, the effective date of the coverage shall be is July 1, 1968. For all other applications the effective date shall be is the next July first next following the date of receipt by the system of the application.
(C)(1) Upon receipt of proof, satisfactory to the board, of the death of a contributing member in service who had completed at least one full year of membership in the system or of the death of a contributing member as a result of an injury arising out of and in the course of the performance of his duties regardless of length of membership, as of the effective date of his employer's participation, there must be paid to the person he nominated or designated for the refund of his accumulated contributions, unless he has nominated a different beneficiary by written designation filed with the board, in the event of his death pursuant to Section 9-1-1650, if the that person
is living at the time of the member's death, otherwise to the member's estate, a death benefit equal to the annual earnable compensation of the member at the time his death occurs. The death benefit is payable apart and separate from the payment of the member's accumulated contributions on his death pursuant to Sections 9-1-1650 or 9-1-1660. For purposes of this section, a member is considered to be in service at the date of his death if he has not retired and if within ninety days of his death was the last day the member he was employed in a continuous, regular pay status, while earning regular or unreduced wages and regular or unreduced retirement service credit, whether the member he was physically working on that day or taking continuous accrued annual leave or sick leave while receiving a full salary, occurred not more than ninety days before the date of his death and he has not retired.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of item (1) of this subsection, upon receipt of the proper proof of death of an eligible member in service whose death was a natural and proximate result of an act by a person of criminal violence, which constitutes a felony under the 1976 Code, incurred while undergoing a hazard peculiar to the member's employment or while in the actual performance of his state duty, except that the death was without wilful negligence on the part of the deceased, and upon the finding and certification by the board that the death occurred on or after January 1, 1996, there must be paid to the member's surviving spouse, a pension of fifty percent of the member's compensation at the time of death. If there is no surviving spouse, or if the surviving spouse dies before the youngest child of the deceased member reaches the age of eighteen, the pension is paid to the children, divided in a manner as the board determines, to continue for the benefit of the children until every child dies or reaches the age of eighteen. If no spouse or children under the age of eighteen years survive the death of the member, the pension must be paid to the member's surviving father or mother, or both, as the board may direct, to continue for life. If the member at the time of his death does not leave a surviving spouse, or children under the age of eighteen, or surviving parents, no death benefit is payable under this section. The death benefit is payable apart and separate from the payment of any other benefits payable at the member's death pursuant to the provisions of Section 9-1-1650 or 9-1-1660.
(D) The board is authorized to may take such necessary action as may be necessary to provide the death benefit under this section in the form of group life insurance upon a determination that to do so would guarantee a more favorable tax treatment of the benefit to beneficiaries to whom such benefit is payable and taxable.
(E) Upon the death of a retired member on or after July 1, 1985, whose most recent employer before retirement is covered by the Group Life Insurance Program, there must be paid to the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries, if living at the time of the retired member's death, otherwise to the retired member's estate, a death benefit of:
(1) one thousand dollars if the retired member had ten years of creditable service but less than twenty years,;
(2) two thousand dollars if the retired member had twenty years of creditable service but less than thirty,; and
(3) three thousand dollars if the retired member had at least thirty years of creditable service at the time of retirement, provided the retired member's most recent employer prior to retirement is covered by the Group Life Insurance Program."
SECTION 2. Section 9-1-1680 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 189 of 1989, is further amended to read:
"Section 9-1-1680. (A) The right of a person to an annuity or a retirement allowance or to the return of contributions, an annuity, or a retirement allowance itself, any an optional benefit, or any other right a accrued or accruing to any a person under the provisions of this chapter, except as provided in subsection (B) of this section, and the monies of the system created under the provisions of this chapter or any a private retirement system operated by a municipality, are exempted from any a state or municipal tax, except the taxes imposed pursuant to Chapters 7, 15, and 16 of Title 12, and exempted from levy and sale, garnishment, attachment, or any other process, and are unassignable except as specifically otherwise provided in this chapter.
(B) The right of a person to a preretirement death benefit pursuant to Section 9-1-1770(C)(2) and the monies of the system created under the provisions of this chapter for that purpose are exempted from a state and municipal tax, from levy and sale, garnishment, attachment, and other process, and are unassignable except as specifically otherwise provided in this chapter."
SECTION 3. Section 59-111-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-111-110. No tuition shall be charged for a period of four school years by any A state-supported college or university or any state-supported vocational or technical school shall not charge tuition for a period of four school years of undergraduate education for children of firemen, both regularly employed and members of volunteer organized units, organized rescue squad members, members of the Civil Air Patrol, law enforcement officers, or corrections officers, as defined herein in this article, including reserve and auxiliary units of counties or municipalities who become totally disabled or are killed in line of duty, or state teachers and employees, who are killed or become permanently and totally disabled as defined by the State Retirement System while performing their employment duties for the State of South Carolina or its political subdivisions, where the death or disability occurred as a result of a criminal act by another person against the employee, and the criminal act is a felony under the 1976 Code, or die a violent death while performing the state's duties on or after July 1, 1964 January 1, 1996."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.