ASSEMBLY STATE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 805

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

      The Assembly State Government Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 805.

      This bill allows a criminal investigator in the Division of Criminal Justice in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety enrolled in the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) who, at the time that the board of trustees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) approved that title for coverage under the PFRS, held the title of criminal information analyst in the Division and was under 35 years of age, but whose subsequent appointment to that title pursuant to the conversion of analyst positions in the Division to investigative positions did not, due to an administrative procedural delay, become effective until the person had attained the age of 35 years and so become ineligible for PFRS enrollment, to transfer from the PERS to the PFRS. Any service credit which has been established in the PERS by the transferred employee shall be established in the PFRS. The transferring employee is to be responsible for payment of the amount by which the person's contributions as a member of the PERS are exceeded by the contributions for which the person would, if enrolled in the PFRS, have been liable during the period between the date on which the person's appointment as a criminal investigator became effective and the date on which the person is enrolled as a PFRS member under the legislation, plus regular interest.

      At its meeting of July 12, 1996, the Pension and Health Benefits Review Commission recommended that the Legislature enact this bill and counterpart legislation (S-853) pending in the Senate "to rectify an inequity due to a unique circumstance."

      This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 1996 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.