The following is a recap of PERS-related bills from the 2016 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature that were approved by Governor Phil Bryant.
House Bill 114 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant April 18 and renames the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) Building as the “Timothy Alan (Tim) Ford Building” to pay tribute to the late Tim Ford who served as speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1988 to 2004.
House Bill 899 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant April 11 and makes numerous technical amendments to the laws governing the administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS). Below is an unofficial summary of House Bill 899 prepared by MRPEA. Questions regarding this PERS-sponsored legislation should be directed to PERS at 601-359-3589 or 800-444-7377.
Summary of House Bill 899 (2016) as Approved by the Governor
House Bill 1605 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant May 3 and authorizes the Adams County Board of Supervisors to settle claims for obligations of the former Natchez Regional Medical Center for unfunded employer retirement plan contributions owed to PERS.
House Bill 1630 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant May 13 and is the appropriation bill for the administration of PERS for fiscal year 2017.
Senate Bill 2064 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant April 6 and provides in pertinent part that a teacher, assistant teacher, or other employee whose salary and fringe benefits are paid from state funds allocated for the Distance Learning Collaborative Program shall only be classified as a state or local school district employee eligible for state health insurance benefits or membership in PERS if the person’s employer is already a public school district or an agency or instrumentality of the state and the employee would be eligible for such benefits in the normal course of business.
Senate Bill 2161 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant April 14 and provides that, for the purpose of eligibility for participation in PERS, a public charter school is considered to be a political subdivision of the state, and employees in public charter schools are eligible for participation in PERS if the public charter school governing board chooses to participate.
Senate Bill 2362 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant May 6 and specifically exempts trust fund accounts maintained by PERS and protected under Section 272A of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 from the provision of the Mississippi Budget Transparency and Simplification Act of 2016 that requires special fund agencies to be funded through general fund appropriation.
Senate Bill 2924 (2016) was approved by Governor Bryant May 13 and makes an additional appropriation to PERS for fiscal year 2016 to defray the expenses of the actuarial costs associated with the accrual of leave for Jackson County and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office employees.