To amend sections 145.297, 145.298, and 145.38 of the Revised Code to require an analysis of each proposed retirement incentive plan for state retirement system members and to prohibit a person who participates in such a retirement incentive plan from being re-employed by the same employer.

Section 1. That sections 145.297, 145.298, and 145.38 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 145.297.  (A) As used in this section, "employing unit" means:

(1) A municipal corporation, agency of a municipal corporation designated by the legislative authority, park district, conservancy district, sanitary district, health district, township, department of a township designated by the board of township trustees, metropolitan housing authority, public library, county law library, union cemetery, joint hospital, or other political subdivision or unit of local government.

(2) With respect to state employees, any entity of the state including any department, agency, institution of higher education, board, bureau, commission, council, office, or administrative body or any part of such entity that is designated by the entity as an employing unit.

(3)(a) With respect to employees of a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services, that board.

(b) With respect to employees of a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, that board.

(c) With respect to other county employees, the county or any county agency designated by the board of county commissioners.

(4) In the case of an employee whose employing unit is in question, the employing unit is the unit through whose payroll the employee is paid.

(B) An Subject to division (C) of this section, an employing unit may establish a retirement incentive plan for its eligible employees. In the case of a county or county agency, decisions on whether to establish a retirement incentive plan for any employees other than employees of a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services or county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities and on the terms of the plan shall be made by the board of county commissioners. In the case of a municipal corporation or an agency of a municipal corporation, decisions on whether to establish a retirement incentive plan and on the terms of the plan shall be made by the legislative authority.

All terms of a retirement incentive plan shall be in writing.

A retirement incentive plan shall provide for purchase by the employing unit of service credit for eligible employees who elect to participate in the plan and for payment by the employing unit of the entire cost of the service credit purchased.

Every retirement incentive plan shall remain in effect for at least one year. The employing unit shall give employees at least thirty days' notice before terminating the plan.

Every retirement incentive plan shall include provisions for the timely and impartial resolution of grievances and disputes arising under the plan.

No employing unit shall have more than one retirement incentive plan in effect at any time.

(C)(1) Prior to implementing a retirement incentive plan under this section, the employing unit that proposes to establish the plan shall have the proposed plan analyzed in accordance with division (C)(2) of this section by a state university.

The university conducting the analysis shall be determined as follows:

(a) If the employing unit is a state agency or, if not a state agency, the employing unit's chief administrative office is located in any of the following counties, a department of the Ohio state university selected by the university president: Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Hocking, Knox, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, or Union;

(b) If the employing unit is not a state agency and the employing unit's chief administrative office is located in any of the following counties, a department of the university of Toledo selected by the university president: Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, or Wyandot;

(c) If the employing unit is not a state agency and the employing unit's chief administrative office is located in any of the following counties, a department of Cleveland state university selected by the university president: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Jefferson, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, or Wayne;

(d) If the employing unit is not a state agency and the employing unit's chief administrative office is located in any of the following counties, a department of Ohio university selected by the university president: Athens, Belmont, Gallia, Guernsey, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Scioto, Vinton, or Washington;

(e) If the employing unit is not a state agency and the employing unit's chief administrative office is located in any of the following counties, a department of the university of Cincinnati selected by the university president: Adams, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Pike, Preble, Ross, Shelby, or Warren.

(2) The analysis shall be completed not later than ninety days after submission to the university determined under division (C)(1) of this section and shall include both of the following:

(a) A cost-benefit analysis of the proposed retirement incentive plan that compares the projected long-term savings of the plan with the projected cost to the employing unit of purchasing the credit for participants;

(b) A recommendation, consistent with the findings under division (C)(2)(a) of this section, to the employing unit on the advisability of establishing the retirement incentive plan.

(3) The employing unit shall cooperate with the university conducting the analysis to the extent necessary for the university to complete the analysis.

(4) The employing unit is not required to follow the recommendation made under division (C)(2) of this section.

(5) Any analysis conducted under this division is a public record.

(D) Any classified or unclassified employee of the employing unit who is a member of the public employees retirement system shall be eligible to participate in the retirement incentive plan established by the employee's employing unit if the employee meets the following criteria:

(1) The employee is not any of the following:

(a) An elected official;

(b) A member of a board or commission;

(c) A person elected to serve a term of fixed length;

(d) A person appointed to serve a term of fixed length, other than a person appointed and employed by the person's employing unit.

(2) The employee is or will be eligible to retire under section 145.32, 145.34, 145.37, or division (A) of section 145.33 of the Revised Code on or before the date of termination of the retirement incentive plan. Service credit to be purchased for the employee under the retirement incentive plan shall be included in making such determination.

(3) The employee agrees to retire under section 145.32, 145.34, 145.37, or division (A) of section 145.33 of the Revised Code within ninety days after receiving notice from the public employees retirement system that service credit has been purchased for the employee under this section.

(4) The employee agrees not to be re-employed by the employing unit for which the retirement incentive plan was established.

Participation in the plan shall be available to all eligible employees except that the employing unit may limit the number of participants in the plan to a specified percentage of its employees who are members of the public employees retirement system on the date the plan goes into effect. The percentage shall not be less than five per cent of such employees. If participation is limited, employees with more total service credit have the right to elect to participate before employees with less total service credit. In the case of employees with the same total service credit, employees with a greater length of service with the employing unit have the right to elect to participate before employees with less service with the employing unit. Employees with less than eighteen months of service with the employing unit have the right to elect to participate only after all other eligible employees have been given the opportunity to elect to participate. For the purpose of determining which employees may participate in a plan, total service credit includes service credit purchased by the employee under this chapter after the date on which the plan is established.

A retirement incentive plan that limits participation may provide that an employee who does not notify the employing unit of the employee's decision to participate in the plan within a specified period of time will lose priority to participate in the plan ahead of other employees with less seniority. The time given to an employee to elect to participate ahead of other employees shall not be less than thirty days after the employee receives written notice that the employee may participate in the plan.

(D)(E) A retirement incentive plan shall provide for purchase of the same amount of service credit for each participating employee, except that the employer may not purchase more service credit for any employee than the lesser of the following:

(1) Five years of service credit;

(2) An amount of service credit equal to one-fifth of the total service credited to the participant under this chapter, exclusive of service credit purchased under this section.

For each year of service credit purchased under this section, the employing unit shall pay an amount equal to the additional liability resulting from the purchase of that year of service credit, as determined by an actuary employed by the public employees retirement board.

(E)(F) Upon the election by an eligible employee to participate in the retirement incentive plan, the employee and the employing unit shall agree upon a date for payment or contracting for payment in installments to the public employees retirement system of the cost of the service credit to be purchased. The employing unit shall submit to the public employees retirement system a written request for a determination of the cost of the service credit, and within forty-five days after receiving the request, the board shall give the employing unit written notice of the cost.

The employing unit shall pay or contract to pay in installments the cost of the service credit to be purchased to the public employees retirement system on the date agreed to by the employee and the employing unit. The payment shall be made in accordance with rules adopted by the public employees retirement board. The rules may provide for payment in installments and for crediting the purchased credit to the employee's account upon the employer's contracting to pay the cost in installments. The board shall notify the member when the member is credited with service purchased under this section. If the employee does not retire within ninety days after receiving notice that the employee has been credited with the purchased service credit, the system shall refund to the employing unit the amount paid for the service credit.

No payment made to the public employees retirement system under this section shall affect any payment required by section 145.48 of the Revised Code.

(G) An employee who participates in a retirement incentive plan may not be employed after retirement by the employing unit for which the plan was established.

Sec. 145.298.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "State employing unit" means an employing unit described in division (A)(2) of section 145.297 of the Revised Code.

(2) "State institution" means a state correctional facility, a state institution for the mentally ill, or a state institution for the care, treatment, and training of the mentally retarded.

(B) In the event of a proposal to close a state institution or lay off, within a six-month period, a number of persons employed at an institution that equals or exceeds the lesser of fifty or ten per cent of the persons employed at the institution, the employing unit responsible for the institution's operation shall establish a retirement incentive plan for persons employed at the institution.

(C) In the event of a proposal, other than a proposal described in division (B) of this section, to lay off, within a six-month period, a number of employees of a state employing unit that equals or exceeds the lesser of fifty or ten per cent of the employing unit's employees, the employing unit shall establish a retirement incentive plan for employees of the employing unit.

(D)(1) A retirement incentive plan established under this section shall be consistent with the requirements of section 145.297 of the Revised Code, except as provided in division (D)(2) of this section and except that the plan shall go into effect at the time the layoffs or proposed closings are announced and shall remain in effect until the date of the layoffs or closings.

(2) A retirement incentive plan established under this section due to the proposed closing of a state institution by the department of mental health prior to July 1, 1997, shall be consistent with the requirements of section 145.297 of the Revised Code, except as follows:

(a) The employing unit shall purchase at least three years of service credit for each participating employee, except that it shall not purchase more service credit than the amount allowed by division (D)(E) of section 145.297 of the Revised Code;

(b) The plan shall go into effect at the time the proposed closing is announced and shall remain in effect at least until the date of the closing.

(3) If the employing unit already has a retirement incentive plan in effect, the plan shall remain in effect at least until the date of the layoffs or closings. The employing unit may revise the existing plan to provide greater benefits, but if it revises the plan, it shall give written notice of the changes to all employees who have elected to participate in the original plan, and it shall provide the greater benefits to all employees who participate in the plan, whether their elections to participate were made before or after the date of the revision.

Sec. 145.38.  (A) As used in this section and sections 145.381 and 145.384 of the Revised Code:

(1) "PERS retirant" means a former member of the public employees retirement system who is receiving one of the following:

(a) Age and service retirement benefits under section 145.32, 145.33, 145.331, 145.34, or 145.46 of the Revised Code;

(b) Age and service retirement benefits paid by the public employees retirement system under section 145.37 of the Revised Code;

(c) Any benefit paid under a PERS defined contribution plan.

(2) "Other system retirant" means both of the following:

(a) A member or former member of the Ohio police and fire pension fund, state teachers retirement system, school employees retirement system, state highway patrol retirement system, or Cincinnati retirement system who is receiving age and service or commuted age and service retirement benefits or a disability benefit from a system of which the person is a member or former member;

(b) A member or former member of the public employees retirement system who is receiving age and service retirement benefits or a disability benefit under section 145.37 of the Revised Code paid by the school employees retirement system or the state teachers retirement system.

(B)(1) Subject to this section and, section 145.381 of the Revised Code, and division (G) of section 145.297 of the Revised Code, a PERS retirant or other system retirant may be employed by a public employer. If so employed, the PERS retirant or other system retirant shall contribute to the public employees retirement system in accordance with section 145.47 of the Revised Code, and the employer shall make contributions in accordance with section 145.48 of the Revised Code.

(2) A public employer that employs a PERS retirant or other system retirant, or enters into a contract for services as an independent contractor with a PERS retirant, shall notify the retirement board of the employment or contract not later than the end of the month in which the employment or contract commences. Any overpayment of benefits to a PERS retirant by the retirement system resulting from delay or failure of the employer to give the notice shall be repaid to the retirement system by the employer.

(3) On receipt of notice from a public employer that a person who is an other system retirant has been employed, the retirement system shall notify the retirement system of which the other system retirant was a member of such employment.

(4)(a) A PERS retirant who has received a retirement allowance for less than two months when employment subject to this section commences shall forfeit the retirement allowance for any month the PERS retirant is employed prior to the expiration of the two-month period. Service and contributions for that period shall not be included in calculation of any benefits payable to the PERS retirant, and those contributions shall be refunded on the retirant's death or termination of the employment.

(b) An other system retirant who has received a retirement allowance or disability benefit for less than two months when employment subject to this section commences shall forfeit the retirement allowance or disability benefit for any month the other system retirant is employed prior to the expiration of the two-month period. Service and contributions for that period shall not be included in the calculation of any benefits payable to the other system retirant, and those contributions shall be refunded on the retirant's death or termination of the employment.

(c) Contributions made on compensation earned after the expiration of the two-month period shall be used in the calculation of the benefit or payment due under section 145.384 of the Revised Code.

(5) On receipt of notice from the Ohio police and fire pension fund, school employees retirement system, or state teachers retirement system of the re-employment of a PERS retirant, the public employees retirement system shall not pay, or if paid, shall recover, the amount to be forfeited by the PERS retirant in accordance with section 742.26, 3307.35, or 3309.341 of the Revised Code.

(6) A PERS retirant who enters into a contract to provide services as an independent contractor to the employer by which the retirant was employed at the time of retirement or, less than two months after the retirement allowance commences, begins providing services as an independent contractor pursuant to a contract with another public employer, shall forfeit the pension portion of the retirement benefit for the period beginning the first day of the month following the month in which the services begin and ending on the first day of the month following the month in which the services end. The annuity portion of the retirement allowance shall be suspended on the day services under the contract begin and shall accumulate to the credit of the retirant to be paid in a single payment after services provided under the contract terminate. A PERS retirant subject to division (B)(6) of this section shall not contribute to the retirement system and shall not become a member of the system.

(7) As used in this division, "employment" includes service for which a PERS retirant or other system retirant, the retirant's employer, or both, have waived any earnable salary for the service.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(3) of this section, this division applies to both of the following:

(a) A PERS retirant who, prior to September 14, 2000, was subject to division (C)(1)(b) of this section as that division existed immediately prior to September 14, 2000, and has not elected pursuant to Am. Sub. S.B. 144 of the 123rd general assembly to cease to be subject to that division;

(b) A PERS retirant to whom both of the following apply:

(i) The retirant held elective office in this state, or in any municipal corporation, county, or other political subdivision of this state at the time of retirement under this chapter.

(ii) The retirant was elected or appointed to the same office for the remainder of the term or the term immediately following the term during which the retirement occurred.

(2) A PERS retirant who is subject to this division is a member of the public employees retirement system with all the rights, privileges, and obligations of membership, except that the membership does not include survivor benefits provided pursuant to section 145.45 of the Revised Code or, beginning on the ninetieth day after September 14, 2000, any amount calculated under section 145.401 of the Revised Code. The pension portion of the PERS retirant's retirement allowance shall be forfeited until the first day of the first month following termination of the employment. The annuity portion of the retirement allowance shall accumulate to the credit of the PERS retirant to be paid in a single payment after termination of the employment. The retirement allowance shall resume on the first day of the first month following termination of the employment. On termination of the employment, the PERS retirant shall elect to receive either a refund of the retirant's contributions to the retirement system during the period of employment subject to this section or a supplemental retirement allowance based on the retirant's contributions and service credit for that period of employment.

(3) This division does not apply to any of the following:

(a) A PERS retirant elected to office who, at the time of the election for the retirant's current term, was not retired but, not less than ninety days prior to the primary election for the term or the date on which a primary for the term would have been held, filed a written declaration of intent to retire before the end of the term with the director of the board of elections of the county in which petitions for nomination or election to the office are filed;

(b) A PERS retirant elected to office who, at the time of the election for the retirant's current term, was a retirant and had been retired for not less than ninety days;

(c) A PERS retirant appointed to office who, at the time of appointment to the retirant's current term, notified the person or entity making the appointment that the retirant was already retired or intended to retire before the end of the term.

(D)(1) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, a PERS retirant or other system retirant subject to this section is not a member of the public employees retirement system, and, except as specified in this section does not have any of the rights, privileges, or obligations of membership. Except as specified in division (D)(2) of this section, the retirant is not eligible to receive health, medical, hospital, or surgical benefits under section 145.58 of the Revised Code for employment subject to this section.

(2) A PERS retirant subject to this section shall receive primary health, medical, hospital, or surgical insurance coverage from the retirant's employer, if the employer provides coverage to other employees performing comparable work. Neither the employer nor the PERS retirant may waive the employer's coverage, except that the PERS retirant may waive the employer's coverage if the retirant has coverage comparable to that provided by the employer from a source other than the employer or the public employees retirement system. If a claim is made, the employer's coverage shall be the primary coverage and shall pay first. The benefits provided under section 145.58 of the Revised Code shall pay only those medical expenses not paid through the employer's coverage or coverage the PERS retirant receives through a source other than the retirement system.

(E) If the disability benefit of an other system retirant employed under this section is terminated, the retirant shall become a member of the public employees retirement system, effective on the first day of the month next following the termination with all the rights, privileges, and obligations of membership. If such person, after the termination of the disability benefit, earns two years of service credit under this system or under the Ohio police and fire pension fund, state teachers retirement system, school employees retirement system, or state highway patrol retirement system, the person's prior contributions as an other system retirant under this section shall be included in the person's total service credit as a public employees retirement system member, and the person shall forfeit all rights and benefits of this section. Not more than one year of credit may be given for any period of twelve months.

(F) This section does not affect the receipt of benefits by or eligibility for benefits of any person who on August 20, 1976, was receiving a disability benefit or service retirement pension or allowance from a state or municipal retirement system in Ohio and was a member of any other state or municipal retirement system of this state.

(G) The public employees retirement board may adopt rules to carry out this section.

Section 2. That existing sections 145.297, 145.298, and 145.38 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.