ASSEMBLY, No. 117
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman JONES
An Act concerning the forfeiture of retirement benefits by members of public pension funds or retirement systems and supplementing Title 43 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The receipt of a public pension or retirement benefit is hereby expressly conditioned upon the rendering of honorable service by a public officer or employee.
b. The board of trustees of any State or locally-administered pension fund or retirement system created under the laws of this State is authorized to order the forfeiture of all or part of the pension or retirement benefit of any member of the fund or system for misconduct occurring during the member's public service which renders the member's service or part thereof dishonorable.
c. In evaluating a member's misconduct to determine whether it constitutes a breach of the condition that public service be honorable and whether forfeiture or partial forfeiture of earned pension or retirement benefits is appropriate, the board of trustees shall consider and balance the following factors in view of the goals to be achieved under the pension laws:
(1) the member's length of service;
(2) the basis for retirement;
(3) the extent to which the member's pension has vested;
(4) the duties of the particular member;
(5) the member's public employment history and record covered under the retirement system;
(6) any other public employment or service;
(7) the nature of the misconduct or crime, including the gravity or substantiality of the offense, whether it was a single or multiple offense and whether it was continuing or isolated;
(8) the relationship between the misconduct and the member's public duties;
(9) the quality of moral turpitude or the degree of guilt or culpability, including the member's motives and reasons, personal gain and similar considerations;
(10) the availability and adequacy of other penal sanctions; and
(11) other personal circumstances relating to the member which bear upon the justness of forfeiture.
d. Whenever a board of trustees determines, pursuant to this section, that a partial forfeiture of earned pension or retirement benefits is warranted, it shall order that benefits be calculated as if the accrual of pension rights terminated as of the date the misconduct first occurred or, if termination as of that date would in light of the nature and extent of the misconduct result in an excessive pension or retirement benefit or in an excessive forfeiture, a date reasonably calculated to impose a forfeiture that reflects the nature and extent of the misconduct and the years of honorable service.
2. A county or municipal prosecutor shall inform the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety in writing whenever a prosecution is commenced, or a conviction entered, against any person who the prosecutor knows, or has reason to believe, is a member of a State or locally-administered pension fund or retirement system for any crime or offense. The director shall compile this information and similar information from the records of the division and the records of any other jurisdiction or law enforcement agency which may be available to the division and transmit it to the Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits. The Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits shall determine whether a particular officer or employee is a member of a State or locally-administered pension fund or retirement system and, if so, shall forward the information to the board of trustees of that fund or system for the board's consideration pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of this act.
3. Whenever any State or local public employer takes formal disciplinary action against an officer or employee who is a member of any State or locally-administered pension fund or retirement system by removing that officer or employee from office or employment, it shall inform the board of trustees of the fund or system of its action in writing so that the board may consider the member's conduct pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would codify in the statutes the essence of the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision in Uricoli v. Police and Firemen's Retirement System, 91 N.J. 62 (1982). It provides that the receipt of a public pension is expressly predicated upon the rendering of honorable service by a public officer or employee. The bill authorizes the board of trustees of any public pension fund or retirement system to order the forfeiture of all or part of the pension or retirement benefit of a member for misconduct occurring during public service which renders the service or part thereof dishonorable.
The bill establishes 11 factors which a board of trustees is to consider and balance in view of the goals of the pension statutes when determining whether forfeiture or partial forfeiture is appropriate, taking account of the goals to be achieved under the pension laws. These factors are:
(1) the member's length of service;
(2) the basis for retirement;
(3) the extent to which the member's pension has vested;
(4) the duties of the particular member;
(5) the member's public employment history and record covered under the retirement system;
(6) any other public employment or service;
(7) the nature of the misconduct or crime, including the gravity or substantiality of the offense, whether it was a single or multiple offense and whether it was continuing or isolated;
(8) the relationship between the misconduct and the member's public duties;
(9) the quality of moral turpitude or the degree of guilt or culpability, including the member's motives and reasons, personal gain and similar considerations;
(10) the availability and adequacy of other penal sanctions; and
(11) other personal circumstances relating to the member which bear upon the justness of forfeiture.
The bill also provides that when a board of trustees determines that partial-forfeiture is appropriate, it shall order that benefits be calculated as if the accrual of pension rights terminated as of the date the misconduct first occurred, or such other date as required to effectuate a forfeiture that fairly reflects both the nature and extent of the employee's misconduct and the honorable service rendered by the employee.
Finally, the bill establishes a procedure whereby the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice would collect and transmit, through the Division of Pensions and Benefits, to the appropriate board of trustees information concerning the prosecution or conviction of a State or local government employee who is a member of a public pension fund or retirement system. State and local public employers would be required to inform the board of trustees of a public pension fund or retirement system whenever an officer or employee who is a member of the fund or system is removed from office or employment. The information received would be reviewed by the board of trustees to determine whether a forfeiture should be imposed.
The bill would further specify that the State or a local public employer would only notify the board of trustees of a public pension fund or retirement system of a formal disciplinary action against an officer or employee if it removed that officer or employee from office or employment.
Provides for the forfeiture of retirement benefits by members of public retirement systems under certain circumstances; establishes procedure for informing retirement systems of criminal charges and disciplinary actions against members.