§ 7-448a — Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission.

(a) Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission. (1) On and after January 1, 2025, the general administration and responsibility for the proper operation of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund under part V of chapter 104 and the municipal employees' retirement system under this part is vested in a board of trustees to be known as the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall constitute a successor commission to the Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission, with respect to the provisions of part V of chapter 104 and this part, in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-38d and 4-39. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall be within the Retirement Services Division of the office of the State Comptroller for administrative purposes only. (2) The Retirement Services Division shall (A) provide record keeping, reporting and related administrative and clerical functions for the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission to the extent deemed necessary by the State Comptroller, (B) disseminate for said commission any required notices or rules or orders adopted, amended or repealed by said commission, and (C) provide staff for said commission subject to the provisions of subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 4-38f . The office of the State Comptroller shall include in its budget the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission's budgetary request, if any, as a separate part of such budget, exactly as prepared and submitted to the office by said commission. (3) The State Comptroller shall serve as secretary of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission and provide secretariat support to said commission. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall meet at least monthly and shall report to the Governor in accordance with the provisions of section 4-60 . (b) Members. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-9a , the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall consist of the following: (1) The State Comptroller, or the State Comptroller's designee, who shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio member and shall preside at meetings of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission; (2) The State Treasurer, or the State Treasurer's designee, who shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio member; (3) Four trustees who represent employees and shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of four nominees submitted to the Governor by a federation of labor organizations in the state that represent private and public employees and workers in the building trades, (A) one of whom shall be (i) a municipal public safety employee who is a member of the municipal employees' retirement system, or (ii) an elected leader of a labor organization representing such public safety employees, (B) two of whom shall be (i) a municipal employee, other than a public safety employee, who is a member of the municipal employees' retirement system, or (ii) an elected leader of a labor organization representing such municipal employees, and (C) one of whom shall be a retired member of the municipal employees' retirement system; (4) Four trustees who represent government employers, who shall not be required to represent or be in the active service of a participating municipality, as defined in section 7-425 , (A) one of whom shall represent a municipal employer and shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of an organization in the state that represents small towns, (B) two of whom shall represent municipal employers and shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of an organization in the state that represents municipalities, and (C) one of whom shall represent municipal housing authorities in the state and shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of an organization in the state that represents housing and redevelopment officials in the state; (5) Two trustees who shall be appointed by the State Comptroller, with the approval by simple majority of the trustees appointed under subdivisions (3) and (4) of this subsection, who possess expertise and experience in financial management, actuarial science or pension management; and (6) One neutral trustee who shall serve as the chairperson of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission and be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the trustees appointed under subdivisions (3) and (4) of this subsection. The chairperson shall cast a vote on a matter before said commission only in the event of a tie vote. (c) Trustee terms. (1) All initial appointments to the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall be made not later than October 1, 2024, and shall terminate, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, on September 30, 2028, regardless of when the initial appointment was made. (2) Two of the trustees appointed under subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section, two of the trustees appointed under subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section and one of the trustees appointed under subdivision (5) of subsection (b) of this section, as selected by the appointing authority, shall serve an initial term of two years, which shall terminate on September 30, 2026, regardless of when the initial appointment was made. (3) Subsequent terms shall be for four years. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term. (d) Trustees' fiduciary duties. Oath. (1) Each trustee shall act as a fiduciary with respect to the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system and the members of said fund and such retirement system. The trustees shall discharge their duties solely in the interest of the members and the beneficiaries and contingent annuitants of said fund and such retirement system, for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to such members, beneficiaries and annuitants and defraying reasonable expenses of administering said fund and such retirement system. (2) Each trustee shall, not later than ten days after appointment, take an oath of office that so far as it devolves upon the trustee, the trustee will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system and will not knowingly violate or willingly permit to be violated any provision of law applicable to said fund or such retirement system. (e) Fiduciary training for trustees. The State Comptroller shall establish an orientation program and fiduciary training for new trustees. Each trustee shall, not later than thirty days after appointment, complete such program and training and shall annually complete continuing education hours, as required by the State Comptroller, in financial management, actuarial science or pension management. The State Comptroller shall publish the activities and courses the State Comptroller deems acceptable for purposes of fulfilling the continuing education requirement under this subsection. (f) Quorum. A majority of the members of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty authorized or imposed by law. (g) Trustee compensation. The trustees of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall serve without compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. (h) Management and control of assets. All assets of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system shall be held in trust by the State Treasurer, who shall act as a fiduciary of said fund and such retirement system. The State Treasurer shall manage and control such assets, except as the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission or a municipal retirement plan expressly may otherwise provide. The State Treasurer shall discharge the State Treasurer's duties solely in the interest of the members and the beneficiaries and contingent annuitants of said fund and such retirement system, for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to such members, beneficiaries and annuitants, by diversifying the investments of said fund and such retirement system so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless, under the circumstances, it is clearly prudent not to do so. (i) Powers and duties. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall have general supervision of the operation of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system and shall conduct the business and activities of said fund and such retirement system in accordance with the provisions of part V of chapter 104 and this part, as applicable, and applicable law. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall act, in conducting the business of said fund and such retirement system, including said commission's supervisory functions: (1) With the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims; (2) in accordance with strict fiduciary standards and responsibilities; and (3) in accordance with the provisions of the general statutes and applicable collective bargaining agreements. (j) Allocation and delegation of fiduciary responsibilities. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission may, by resolution or regulation, allocate fiduciary responsibilities and various administrative duties to committees or subcommittees of said commission and may delegate such responsibilities and duties to the Retirement Services Division of the office of the State Comptroller or to other individuals the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission deems appropriate or necessary, provided such delegation is consistent with the provisions of this section. (k) Hearings. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission may hold hearings when said commission deems them necessary in the performance of its duties. The hearings shall be governed by rules and regulations adopted by said commission and said commission shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. (l) General counsel. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission may hire a general counsel who shall serve at the pleasure of said commission, have offices in the Retirement Services Division of the office of the State Comptroller and perform duties as directed by said commission. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission may obtain such additional legal advice and assistance as it deems advisable. (m) Disclosure and reporting. (1) All municipal retirement plans, descriptions and reports and all legal, financial and actuarial documents dealing with the general operations of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system shall be available for inspection and copying by members of said fund or such retirement system, as applicable, and their representatives. The cost of any copying shall be borne by the member or representative but shall not exceed twenty-five cents per page. (2) The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall notify members of any substantial statutory amendments to the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund or to the municipal employees' retirement system, not later than two hundred ten days after the effective date of such amendments. (3) Not later than December 31, 2025, and annually thereafter, the State Treasurer shall publish and forward to the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission a consolidated report showing the fiscal transactions of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system for the preceding fiscal year, including gain or loss by category of security, a reconciliation of assets showing the progression of the funds of said fund and such retirement system from one year to the next, the amount of the accumulated cash and securities of said fund and such retirement system and the last balance sheet showing the financial condition of said fund and such retirement system by means of an actuarial valuation of their assets and liabilities. Assets shall be shown at book and market value and by type or term of investment. Gain or loss shall be reported by category of security type. The reporting requirement under this subdivision shall be satisfied if the State Treasurer completes an Internal Revenue Service form 5500 and submits it to the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission, provided the information included therein is sufficient to allow the computation of the investment yields of the funds of said fund and such retirement system on an annual basis. (n) Regulations. The Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission may adopt such regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, as are necessary to carry out the provisions of part V of chapter 104 and this part and may establish rules and regulations that said commission deems necessary or desirable to facilitate the proper administration of the Policemen and Firemen Survivors' Benefit Fund and the municipal employees' retirement system. Rules and regulations established by the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Commission shall be binding upon all parties dealing with said commission and all persons claiming any benefits from said fund or such retirement system. See Sec. 4-38f for definition of “administrative purposes only”.

Legislative History

(P.A. 24-151, S. 82.) History: P.A. 24-151 effective July 1, 2024.