To amend sections 5505.01, 5505.162, 5505.163, and 5505.18 and to enact section 5505.178 of the Revised Code to revise the law governing the State Highway Patrol Retirement System.

Section 1. That sections 5505.01, 5505.162, 5505.163, and 5505.18 be amended and section 5505.178 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 5505.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Employee" means any qualified employee in the uniform division of the state highway patrol, any qualified employee in the radio division hired prior to November 2, 1989, and any state highway patrol cadet attending training school pursuant to section 5503.05 of the Revised Code whose attendance at the school begins on or after June 30, 1991. "Employee" includes the superintendent of the state highway patrol. In all cases of doubt, the state highway patrol retirement board shall determine whether any person is an employee as defined in this division, and the decision of the board is final.

(B) "Prior service" means all service rendered as an employee of the state highway patrol prior to September 5, 1941, to the extent credited by the board, provided that in no case shall prior service include service rendered prior to November 15, 1933.

(C) "Total service" means all service rendered by an employee to the extent credited by the board. Total service includes all of the following:

(1) Contributing service rendered by the employee since last becoming a member of the state highway patrol retirement system;

(2) All prior service credit;

(3) Restored service credit as provided in this chapter;

(4) Military service credit purchased under division (D) of section 5505.16 or section 5505.25 of the Revised Code;

(5) Credit granted under division (C) of section 5505.17 or section 5505.201, 5505.40, or 5505.402 of the Revised Code;

(6) Credit for any period, not to exceed three years, during which the member was out of service and receiving benefits under Chapters 4121. and 4123. of the Revised Code.

(D) "Beneficiary" means any person, except a retirant, who is in receipt of a pension or other benefit payable from funds of the retirement system.

(E) "Regular interest" means interest compounded at rates designated from time to time by the retirement board.

(F) "Plan" means the provisions of this chapter.

(G) "Retirement system" or "system" means the state highway patrol retirement system created and established in the plan.

(H) "Contributing service" means all service rendered by a member since September 4, 1941, for which deductions were made from the member's salary under the plan.

(I) "Retirement board" or "board" means the state highway patrol retirement board provided for in the plan.

(J) Except as provided in section 5505.18 of the Revised Code, "member" means any employee included in the membership of the retirement system, whether or not rendering contributing service.

(K) "Retirant" means any member who retires with a pension payable from the retirement system.

(L) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all the following credited to a member's individual account in the employees' savings fund:

(1) All amounts deducted from the salary of a the member and credited to the member's individual account in the employees' savings fund;

(2) All amounts paid by the member to purchase state highway patrol retirement system service credit pursuant to this chapter or other state law.

(M)(1) Except as provided in division (M)(2) of this section, "final average salary" means the average of the highest salary paid a member during any three consecutive or nonconsecutive years.

If a member has less than three years of contributing service, the member's final average salary shall be the average of the annual rates of salary paid to the member during the member's total years of contributing service.

(2) If a member is credited with service under division (C)(6) of this section or division (D) of section 5505.16 of the Revised Code, the member's final average salary shall be the average of the highest salary that was paid to the member or would have been paid to the member, had the member been rendering contributing service, during any three consecutive or nonconsecutive years. If that member has less than three years of total service, the member's final average salary shall be the average of the annual rates of salary that were paid to the member or would have been paid to the member during the member's years of total service.

(N) "Pension" means an annual amount payable by the retirement system throughout the life of a person or as otherwise provided in the plan. All pensions shall be paid in equal monthly installments.

(O) "Pension reserve" means the present value of any pension, or benefit in lieu of any pension, computed upon the basis of mortality and other tables of experience and interest the board shall from time to time adopt.

(P) "Deferred pension" means a pension for which an eligible member of the system has made application and which is payable as provided in division (A) or (B) of section 5505.16 of the Revised Code.

(Q) "Retirement" means termination as an employee of the state highway patrol, with application having been made to the system for a pension or a deferred pension.

(R) "Fiduciary" means any of the following:

(1) A person who exercises any discretionary authority or control with respect to the management of the system, or with respect to the management or disposition of its assets;

(2) A person who renders investment advice for a fee, direct or indirect, with respect to money or property of the system;

(3) A person who has any discretionary authority or responsibility in the administration of the system.

(S)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, "salary" means all compensation, wages, and other earnings paid to a member by reason of employment but without regard to whether any of the compensation, wages, or other earnings are treated as deferred income for federal income tax purposes. Salary includes all of the following:

(a) Payments for shift differential, hazard duty, professional achievement, and longevity;

(b) Payments for occupational injury leave, personal leave, sick leave, bereavement leave, administrative leave, and vacation leave used by the member;

(c) Payments made under a disability leave program sponsored by the state for which the state is required by section 5505.151 of the Revised Code to make periodic employer and employee contributions to the retirement system.

(2) "Salary" does not include any of the following:

(a) Payments resulting from the conversion of accrued but unused sick leave, personal leave, compensatory time, and vacation leave;

(b) Payments made by the state to provide life insurance, sickness, accident, endowment, health, medical, hospital, dental, or surgical coverage, or other insurance for the member or the member's family, or amounts paid by the state to the member in lieu of providing that insurance;

(c) Payments for overtime work;

(d) Incidental benefits, including lodging, food, laundry, parking, or services furnished by the state, use of property or equipment of the state, and reimbursement for job-related expenses authorized by the state including moving and travel expenses and expenses related to professional development;

(e) Payments made to or on behalf of a member that are in excess of the annual compensation that may be taken into account by the retirement system under division (a)(17) of section 401 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 401 (a)(17), as amended;

(f) Payments made under division (B), (C), or (E) of section 5923.05 of the Revised Code, Section 4 of Substitute Senate Bill No. 3 of the 119th general assembly, Section 3 of Amended Substitute Senate Bill No. 164 of the 124th general assembly, or Amended Substitute House Bill No. 405 of the 124th general assembly.

(3) The retirement board shall determine by rule whether any compensation, wages, or earnings not enumerated in this division are salary, and its decision shall be final.

(T) "Actuary" means an individual who satisfies all of the following requirements:

(1) Is a member of the American academy of actuaries;

(2) Is an associate or fellow of the society of actuaries;

(3) Has a minimum of five years' experience in providing actuarial services to public retirement plans.

Sec. 5505.162.  (A) On application for retirement as provided in section 5505.16 of the Revised Code, a member of the state highway patrol retirement system may elect, on a form provided by the state highway patrol retirement board, to receive a the pension that the member is eligible to receive on retirement under that section in one of the following forms:

(1) A single lifetime pension or he may elect, on a form provided by the state highway patrol retirement board, to receive the;

(2) The actuarial equivalent of this the single lifetime pension that the member may elect under division (A)(1) of this section in a lesser annual amount payable for his the member's life and continuing after his the member's death to a surviving designated beneficiary under one of the following optional plans, provided the annual amount payable to the designated beneficiary shall not exceed the annual amount payable to such retiring member, the amount is certified by the actuary employed by the system to be the actuarial equivalent of his the member's pension, and the amount is approved by the board:

(1)(a) Option 1. His The member's lesser pension shall be paid for life to his the member's sole beneficiary designated at the time of retirement.

(2)(b) Option 2. One-half or some other portion of his the member's lesser pension shall be paid for life to his the member's sole beneficiary designated at the time of his retirement.

(3)(c) Option 3. Upon his death before the expiration of a certain period from his the member's retirement date as elected by him the member and approved by the board, his the member's lesser pension shall be continued for the remainder of such period to the beneficiaries, and in such order, as designated by him the member in writing and filed with the board. No monthly payments shall be paid to joint beneficiaries, but they may jointly receive the present value of any remaining payments in a lump sum settlement. If all designated beneficiaries die before the expiration of such period, the present value of all the payments yet remaining in the period shall be paid to the estate of the beneficiary last receiving such payments.

(3) If the member has attained age fifty-one with at least twenty-five years' total service or fifty-two with at least twenty years' total service, a pension consisting of both a partial benefit lump sum in an amount the member designates that constitutes a portion of the single lifetime pension the member may elect under division (A)(1) of this section and the actuarial equivalent of the remainder of the single lifetime pension payable for the member's life, provided an actuary employed by the system certifies the actuarial equivalent and the board approves the partial benefit lump sum payment and the amount to be paid as the actuarial equivalent.

The amount designated by a member shall be not less than six times the monthly amount that would be payable to the member as a single lifetime pension under division (A)(1) of this section and not more than sixty times that amount.

A member who has attained the age of fifty-one with twenty-five years of service who elects a partial benefit lump sum may designate an amount that does not exceed an amount equal to one month's pension for each month of service beyond twenty-five years. A member who has attained the age of fifty-two with twenty years of service who elects a partial benefit lump sum may designate an amount that does not exceed an amount equal to one month's pension for each month of service beyond twenty years.

(B)(1) The death of a spouse designated as beneficiary or the death of any other designated beneficiary following retirement shall cancel any optional plan of payment selected under division (A)(2) of this section to provide continuing lifetime benefits to such designated beneficiary and return the member to the equivalent of his the member's single lifetime pension, as determined by the board, to be effective the month following receipt by the board of notice of the death.

(2) On divorce, annulment, or marriage dissolution, a member receiving a pension under a plan that provides for continuation of all or part of the pension after his death for the lifetime of his the member's surviving spouse may, with the written consent of the spouse or pursuant to an order of the court with jurisdiction over the termination of the marriage, elect to cancel the plan and receive the equivalent of his the member's single lifetime pension as determined by the board. The election shall be made on a form provided by the board and shall be effective the month following its receipt by the board.

(C) Following marriage or remarriage, a member may elect a new optional plan of payment under division (A)(2) of this section based on the actuarial equivalent of his the member's single lifetime pension as determined by the board. The plan shall become effective the first day of the month following receipt by the board of an application on a form approved by the board.

(D) A member who has elected an optional plan under division (A)(2) of this section may, with the written consent of the designated beneficiary, cancel the optional plan and receive the single lifetime pension payable throughout his life he that the member would have received had he not elected the optional plan the member elected the single lifetime pension under division (A)(1) of this section, if he the member makes a request to cancel the optional plan not later than one year after the date on which the member first receives a payment under the plan. Cancellation of the optional plan shall be effective the month after acceptance of the request by the board. No payment or adjustment shall be made in the single lifetime pension payable throughout the member's life to compensate for the lesser pension he the member received under the optional plan.

The request to cancel the optional plan shall be made on a form provided by the board and shall be valid only if the completed form includes a signed statement of the designated beneficiary's understanding of and consent to the cancellation. The designated beneficiary's signature shall be verified by the board prior to its acceptance of the cancellation.

(E) Any option elected and payments made under division (A)(2) of this section shall be in addition to any pension payable to the member's surviving spouse, children, or parents under section 5505.17 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5505.163.  (A) A retirant who retired prior to September 21, 1994, under section 5505.16 of the Revised Code may elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of the retirant's pension in a lesser amount payable for the remainder of the retirant's life and continuing after death to the retirant's surviving designated beneficiary under one of the optional plans described in division (A)(1), (2), or (3)(a), (b), or (c) of section 5505.162 of the Revised Code, provided the annual amount payable to the designated beneficiary shall not exceed the annual amount payable to the retirant, the amount is certified by the actuary employed by the state highway patrol retirement system to be the actuarial equivalent of the retirant's pension, and the state highway patrol retirement board approves the amount.

(B) A retirant interested in making the election authorized by division (A) of this section shall file a notice of interest with the board not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section June 30, 2000. The board shall advise the retirant with respect to the choices available under the optional plans and have a determination made of the monthly pension payable under the optional plan elected by the member for inclusion in the statement to be filed under division (C) of this section.

(C) To make the election authorized by division (A) of this section, a retirant shall file a statement, on a form provided by the board, indicating that the retirant elects to participate in the optional plan specified in the statement. The form must be filed with the board not later than one hundred twenty days after the effective date of this section June 30, 2000.

(D) A notice or statement mailed to the board shall be considered to have been filed on its postmark date.

(E) Any option elected and payments made under this section shall be in addition to any pension payable to the retirant's surviving spouse, children, or parents under section 5505.17 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5505.178. Except as provided in division (A)(3) of section 5505.162 of the Revised Code, all pensions shall be paid in equal monthly installments.

Sec. 5505.18.  As used in this section, "member" does not include state highway patrol cadets attending training schools pursuant to section 5503.05 of the Revised Code.

(A) Upon the application of a member of the state highway patrol retirement system, a person acting on behalf of a member, or the superintendent of the state highway patrol on behalf of a member, a member who becomes totally and permanently incapacitated for duty in the employ of the state highway patrol may be retired by the board.

The medical or psychological examination of a member who has applied for disability retirement shall be conducted by a competent physician health-care professional or physicians professionals appointed by the board. The physician health-care professional or physicians professionals shall file a written report with the board containing the following information:

(1) Whether the member is totally incapacitated for duty in the employ of the patrol;

(2) Whether the incapacity is expected to be permanent;

(3) The cause of the member's incapacity.

The board shall determine whether the member qualifies for disability retirement and its decision shall be final. The board shall consider the written medical or psychological report, opinions, statements, and other competent evidence in making its determination. If the incapacity is a result of heart disease or any cardiovascular disease of a chronic nature, which disease or any evidence of which was not revealed by the physical examination passed by the member on entry into the patrol, the member is presumed to have incurred the disease in the line of duty as a member of the patrol, unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence.

(B)(1) A member whose retirement on account of disability incurred in the line of duty shall receive the applicable pension provided for in section 5505.17 of the Revised Code, except that if the member has less than twenty-five years of contributing service, the member's service credit shall be deemed to be twenty-five years for the purpose of this provision. In no case shall the member's disability pension be less than sixty-one and one-quarter per cent or exceed the lesser of seventy-nine and one-quarter per cent of the member's final average salary or the limit established by section 415 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415, as amended.

(2) A member whose retirement on account of disability incurred not in the line of duty shall receive the applicable pension provided for in section 5505.17 of the Revised Code, except that if the member has less than twenty years of contributing service, the member's service credit shall be deemed to be twenty years for the purpose of this provision. In no case shall the member's disability pension exceed the lesser of seventy-nine and one-quarter per cent of the member's final average salary or the limit established by section 415 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415, as amended.

(C) The state highway patrol retirement board shall adopt rules requiring a disability pension recipient, as a condition of continuing to receive a disability pension, to agree in writing to obtain any medical or psychological treatment recommended by the board's physician health-care professional and submit medical or psychological reports regarding the treatment. If the board determines that a disability pension recipient is not obtaining the medical or psychological treatment or the board does not receive a required medical or psychological report, the disability pension shall be suspended until the treatment is obtained, the report is received by the board, or the board's physician health-care professional certifies that the treatment is no longer helpful or advisable. Should the recipient's failure to obtain treatment or submit a medical or psychological report continue for one year, the recipient's right to the disability benefit shall be terminated as of the effective date of the original suspension.

(D) A member placed on a disability pension who has not attained the age of fifty-five years shall be subject to an annual medical or psychological re-examination by physicians health-care professionals appointed by the board, except that the board may waive the medical re-examination if the board's physicians health-care professionals certify that the member's disability is ongoing. If any member placed on a disability pension refuses to submit to a medical or psychological re-examination, the member's disability pension shall be suspended until the member withdraws the refusal. If the refusal continues for one year, all the member's rights under and to the disability pension shall be terminated as of the effective date of the original suspension.

(E) Each recipient of a disability pension who has not attained the age of fifty-five years shall file with the board an annual statement of earnings, current medical or psychological information on the recipient's condition, and any other information required in rules adopted by the board. The board may waive the requirement that a disability benefit recipient file an annual statement of earnings or current medical or psychological information if the board's physician health-care professional certifies that the recipient's disability is ongoing.

The board shall annually examine the information submitted by the recipient. If a recipient refuses to file the statement or information, the disability pension shall be suspended until the statement and information are filed. If the refusal continues for one year, the right to the pension shall be terminated as of the effective date of the original suspension.

(F)(1) Except as provided in division (F)(2) of this section, a retirant who has been on disability pension, and who has been physically or psychologically examined and found no longer incapable of performing the retirant's duties, shall be restored to the rank the retirant held at the time the retirant was pensioned and all previous rights shall be restored, including the retirant's civil service status, and the disability pension shall terminate. Upon return to employment in the patrol, the retirant shall again become a contributing member of the retirement system, the total service at the time of the retirant's retirement shall be restored to the retirant's credit, and the retirant shall be given service credit for the period the retirant was in receipt of a disability pension. The provisions of division (F)(1) of this section shall be retroactive to September 5, 1941.

(2) The state highway patrol is not required to take action under division (F)(1) of this section if the retirant was dismissed or resigned in lieu of dismissal for dishonesty, misfeasance, malfeasance, or conviction of a felony.

(G) The board may adopt rules to carry out this section, including rules that specify the types of health-care professionals the board may appoint for the purpose of this section.

Section 2. That existing sections 5505.01, 5505.162, 5505.163, and 5505.18 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.