§ 5 §17103 — Duties of the board of trustees

In addition to other duties set out in this Part, the board shall have the following duties.
1.
Operation of retirement system.
The board shall have responsibility for the proper operation of the retirement system and for making this Part effective.
2.
Policy-making and supervision.
The board shall formulate policies and exercise general supervision under this Part.
3.
Meeting.
The board shall meet as it determines necessary for the transaction of such business as may properly come before it.
4.
Rules.
Subject to the limitations of this Part, and subject to the requirements of chapter 375, subchapter II, to the extent those requirements are applicable, the board shall, from time to time, establish rules for the administration of the funds created by this Part and for the transaction of business, including rules establishing the requirements for a beneficiary to qualify as a full-time student.
5.
Determination of employee.
In all cases of doubt, the board shall determine whether any person is an employee.
6.
Rights, credits, privileges and membership eligibility; decisions.
The board shall in all cases make the final and determining administrative decision in all matters affecting the rights, credits and privileges of all members of all programs of the retirement system whether in participating local districts or in the state service. The board shall also in all cases make the final and determining administrative decision on membership eligibility based on employee membership elections as reported by the employer pursuant to section 17054‑A, the applicable retirement system laws and rules and the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and United States Treasury regulations applicable to governmental qualified defined benefit plans. The board otherwise has no jurisdiction to hear a matter or make an administrative decision regarding a claim of an employee of a local plan for which membership is optional pursuant to section 18252, if that claim applies to a time when the employee was not a member of the retirement system.
6-A.
Communication between the board and members of the retirement system.
Communications between the board and members of the retirement system are governed by this subsection.
7.
Administrative and financial decisions.
The board shall make the final decision on all matters pertaining to administration, actuarial assumptions, actuarial recommendations and the reserves and the investments of the retirement system and direct cash receipts as it considers appropriate, notwithstanding section 131. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board, as the employer of the staff of the retirement system and as the executive body, shall establish policies and make decisions on matters pertaining to the administration and operations of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System as an independent agency, including, but not limited to, personnel and payroll, accounting and financial matters, acquisition and disposition of capital assets and data processing. The board may delegate these duties and responsibilities as it considers appropriate. Board policies regarding the operation of its administrative offices must be consistent with applicable state and federal health and safety requirements.
8.
Chief executive officer.
The board shall appoint a chief executive officer, whose salary must be set by the board subject to the requirements of Title 2, section 6‑D.
9.
Review of statutory amendments.
The board shall review all amendments to this Part that are proposed to be enacted by the Legislature and shall report to the proper legislative committee or authority on the impact of each of those amendments on the retirement system.
10.
Review of special resolves.
The board shall review, in the manner described in subsection 9, all special resolves or other legislation which propose to grant benefits to be paid to any person by the retirement system and to which the person would not be entitled under the provisions of this Part but for the enactment of the special resolve or other legislation.
11.
Report to Legislature.
The board shall make a written report to the appropriate legislative committee on or before March 1st of each year that must contain:
12.
Defined contribution, deferred compensation and tax sheltered annuity plans.
The board shall establish one or more defined contribution, deferred compensation or tax sheltered annuity plans consistent with the applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and may, with employer agreement, offer participation in such plans to employees eligible for membership in a retirement program of the retirement system and to employees of the Maine Retirement Savings Board.
13.
Budget.
By June 15th, annually, the board shall adopt an operating budget for the subsequent fiscal year.
14.
Collective bargaining agreements.

Legislative History

PL 1985, c. 801, §§5, 7 (NEW). PL 1987, c. 247, §§5,6 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 483, §§A27-30,A63 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 677, §§1,3 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 387, §A4 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 410, §§L18-22 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 595, §4 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 651, §3 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 58, §3 (REV). PL 2007, c. 249, §10 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 491, §77 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 322, §§2-4 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 384, §1 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 385, §§4, 5 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 88, §§11-13 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 548, §§10-17 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 167, §15 (AMD).