Sponsored by:
Assemblyman VINCENT MAZZEO
District 2 (Atlantic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Caputo
SYNOPSIS
Permits prosecutors to enroll in Prosecutors Part of PERS.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning enrollment in the Prosecutors Part of the Public Employees’ Retirement System and amending P.L.2001, c.366.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2001, c.366 (C. 43:15A-156) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, prosecutors shall be members of the Prosecutors Part, established pursuant to P.L.2001, c.366 (C.43:15A-155 et seq.), of the Public Employees' Retirement System, established pursuant to P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-1 et seq.), [if enrolled in the part prior to the effective date of P.L.2010, c.1,] and shall be subject to the same membership and benefit provisions as State employees, except as provided by P.L.2001, c.366. Membership in the retirement system shall be a condition of employment for service as a prosecutor [for a prosecutor enrolled in the part prior to the effective date of P.L.2010, c.1]. Any service credit which has been established in the Public Employees' Retirement System by a prosecutor prior to the effective date of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall be established in the Prosecutors Part without further assessment of cost to the prosecutor; provided, however, any service credit which has been established in the Public Employees' Retirement System by a member of the retirement system in any position prior to service as a county prosecutor, nominated and appointed pursuant to Article VII, Section II, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, shall be established in the Prosecutors Part without further assessment of cost to the prosecutor.
[A prosecutor who becomes a member of the retirement system on or after the effective date of P.L.2010, c.1 shall not be a member of the Prosecutors Part and the provisions of P.L.2001, c.366 (C.43:15A-155 et seq.) shall not apply to such prosecutor or the prosecutor's beneficiary.]
b. All outstanding obligations, such as loans, purchases and other arrearage, shall be satisfied by a prosecutor as previously scheduled for payment to the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(cf: P.L.2010, c.1, s.30)
2. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill allows prosecutors hired on or after May 21, 2010 to enroll in the Prosecutors Part of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) which was originally established on January 7, 2002, but closed to new members on May 21, 2010. The bill restores equity among all prosecutors by enrolling them in the same part of the PERS. The bill will empower the Attorney General and County Prosecutors throughout the State to attract skilled and diverse attorneys and retain experienced prosecutors committed to promoting public safety and seeking equal justice under the law.
Any service credit accrued in regular PERS as a prosecutor prior to the effective date of this bill would be established in the Prosecutors Part without further assessment or cost to the prosecutor, in accordance with the original provisions of P.L.2001, c.366 (C.43:15A-155 et seq.).