Current Legislation - Feb. 27, 2012

S-447 (Turner) was released from the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee.  The bill, supported by NJEA, requires spousal consent for a member of the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), the Judicial Retirement System (JRS) or the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) to elect a retirement benefit which would be payable for the life of the member only and would terminate when the member dies without a refund of any kind to the spouse.  This requirement is similar to what is required under federal law (ERISA) for private pension plans.  The legislation now moves to the full Senate. 

S-2 (Sweeney, Kyrillos, O’Toole).  This bill clarifies the powers of the Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization, and Consolidation Commission (LUARCC) to recommend the consolidation or merger of municipalities and autonomous agencies, as well as the sharing of services between municipalities or between municipalities and other public entities.  The bill was released from the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee 3-2-0.  The bill, which NJEA opposed, would suspend tenure and civil services provisions for certain employees for up to twelve months to implement a shared services agreement.  The legislation now moves to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.