Chapter
510
2007 -- S 0619
Enacted 10/30/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO COURTS
AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - COURTS - PENSIONS AND BENEFITS -- DOMESTIC PARTNERS
Introduced By: Senators Connors, J Montalbano, Paiva-Weed, Perry, and C Levesque
Date Introduced: February 15, 2007
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 8-3-11, 8-3-13 and 8-3-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-3
entitled
"Justices of Supreme, Superior, and Family Courts" are hereby amended
to read as
follows:
8-3-11.
Allowances to surviving spouses or minor children of deceased justices
Allowances
to surviving spouses, domestic partners or minor children of deceased justices.
-
- (a) Whenever any justice of the supreme court, the
superior court, the family court, or the
district
court dies after retirement or during active service while eligible for
retirement, or during
active
service after having served fifteen (15) years or more in office, his or her
surviving spouse
or
domestic partner shall receive
annually thereafter, during his or her lifetime and so long as he
or she
remains unmarried or not in a domestic partnership, an amount equal to
one-half (1/2) of
the
annual payment that the justice was receiving by way of salary or retirement
pay at the time of
his or
her death. Whenever a justice of any of the courts shall die without having
become eligible
to
retire either under section 8-3-7 or 8-3-8 and has served seven (7) years or
more in office, his
or her
surviving spouse or domestic partner shall receive annually thereafter,
during his or her
lifetime
and so long as he or she remains unmarried or not in a domestic partnership,
one-third (
1/3) of
the annual salary that the justice was receiving at the time of his or her death.
Whenever a
justice
of the courts shall die without having become eligible to retire either under
section 8-3-7
or 8-3-8
and has not served seven (7) years in office, his or her surviving spouse or
domestic
partner shall receive annually thereafter, during his or her
lifetime and so long as he or she
remains
unmarried or not in a domestic partnership, one-fourth (1/4) of the
annual salary that the
justice
was receiving at the time of his or her death.
(b) In the event the deceased justice shall have no surviving spouse or
domestic partner,
or the
surviving spouse or domestic partner should predecease their minor
children, then the
benefits
conferred by this section shall be received in equal shares by the minor
children, if any,
until
each shall attain the age of twenty-one (21) years. Any justice of the courts
who retires
under
the provisions of section 8-3-7, 8-3-8, or 8-3-12 may at his or her option
elect to receive
three-fourths
(3/4) of his or her retirement pay, and where such option is exercised by
giving the
general
treasurer notice in writing thereof within two (2) years after the date of his
or her
retirement,
his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner or minor children shall
receive
annually
one-half (1/2) of his or her retirement pay during his or her lifetime so long
as he or she
remains
unmarried or not in a domestic partnerhip, or the children are under
twenty-one (21)
years of
age.
8-3-13.
Pension for surviving spouses of judges dying prior to May 10, 1974 Pension
for
surviving spouses or domestic partners of judges dying prior to May 10, 1974.
--
Whenever
any justice of the superior court, having served as a justice for at least
seven (7) years
who died
prior to May 10, 1974 during active service, his or her surviving spouse or
domestic
partner shall receive annually thereafter, during his or her
lifetime and so long as he or she
remains
unmarried or not in a domestic partnership, an amount equal to one-third
( 1/3) of the
annual
payment that the justice was receiving by way of salary or retirement pay at
the time of his
or her
death.
8-3-15.
Cost of living allowance. -- (a) All justices of the supreme court,
superior court,
family
court, or district court, or their surviving spouses or domestic partners,
who retire after
January
1, 1970 and who receive a retirement allowance pursuant to the provisions of
this title
shall,
on the first day of January next following the third anniversary date of
retirement, receive a
cost-of-living
retirement adjustment in addition to his or her retirement allowance in an
amount
equal to
three percent (3%) of the original retirement allowance. In each succeeding
year
thereafter
during the month of January, the retirement allowance shall be increased an
additional
three
percent (3%) of the original allowance, not compounded, to be continued during
the lifetime
of the
justice or his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner. For the
purpose of such
computation,
credit shall be given for a full calendar year regardless of the effective date
of the
retirement
allowance.
(b) Any justice who retired prior to January 31, 1977 shall be deemed for the
purpose of
this
section to have retired on January 1, 1977.
SECTION
2. Chapter 8-3 of the General Laws entitled "Justices of Supreme,
Superior,
and
Family Courts" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
8-3-19.
Domestic partner -- Definition. – For purposes of this chapter,
"domestic
partner"
shall be defined as a person who, prior to the decedent's death, was in an
exclusive,
intimate
and committed relationship with the decedent, and who certifies by affidavit
that their
relationship
met the following qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
3. Sections 8-8.2-11 and 8-8.2-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-8.2
entitled
"Traffic tribunal" are hereby amended to read as follows:
8-8.2-11.
Allowance to surviving spouses of deceased judges Allowance to surviving
spouses
or domestic partners of deceased judges. -- Whenever any judge of the administrative
adjudication
court or any judge of the administrative adjudication court who is reassigned
by this
chapter
to the traffic tribunal dies after retirement or during active service while
eligible for
retirement,
the spouse's judge's surviving spouse or domestic partner
shall receive annually
thereafter
during his or her lifetime and so long as he or she remains unmarried or not
in a
domestic
partnership, an amount equal to one
third (1/3) of the annual payment that the
administrative
judge was receiving by way of salary or retirement pay at the time of his or
her
death.
Whenever a judge of the administrative adjudication court or any judge of the
administrative
adjudication court who is reassigned by this act to the traffic tribunal shall
die
without
having become eligible to retire under section 8-8.2-6 and has served ten (10)
years or
more in
office, his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner shall receive
annually thereafter
during
the spouse's or domestic partner's lifetime and so long as he or she
remains unmarried or
not
in a domestic partnership, one fourth
(1/4) of the annual salary that the judge was receiving at
the time
of his or her death.
Any judge who retires under the provisions of section 8-8.2-6 may at his or her
option
elect to
receive three fourths (3/4) of his or her retirement pay, and where the option
is exercised
by
giving the general treasurer notice in writing thereof within two (2) years
after the date of his
or her
retirement, his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner shall
receive annually one half
(1/2) of
his or her retirement pay during the spouse's or domestic partner's
lifetime so long as he
or she
remains unmarried or not in a domestic partnership.
8-8.2-12.
Additional benefits payable to retired judges and their surviving spouses
Additional
benefits payable to retired judges and their surviving spouses or domestic
partners.
-- (a) All judges of the
administrative adjudication court and all judges of the
administrative
adjudication court who have been reassigned to the traffic tribunal, or their
surviving
spouses or domestic partners, who retire after January 1, 1970 and who
receive a
retirement
allowance pursuant to the provisions of this title, shall, on the first day of
January, next
following
the third anniversary of the retirement, receive a cost of living retirement
adjustment in
addition
to his or her retirement allowance in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of
the
original
retirement allowance. In each succeeding year thereafter during the month of
January, the
retirement
allowance shall be increased an additional three percent (3%) of the original
allowance,
compounded annually from the year cost of living adjustment was first payable
to be
continued
during the lifetime of the judge or his or her surviving spouse or domestic
partner. For
the
purpose of such computation, credit shall be given for a full calendar year
regardless of the
effective
date of the retirement allowance.
(b) Any judge who retired prior to January 31, 1980, shall be deemed for the
purpose of
this
section to have retired on January 1, 1980.
SECTION
4. Chapter 8-8.2 of the General Laws entitled "Traffic tribunal" is
hereby
amended
by adding thereto the following section:
8-8.2-20.
Domestic partner -- Definition. -- For purposes of this chapter,
"domestic
partner"
shall be defined as a person who, prior to the decedent's death, was in an
exclusive,
intimate
and committed relationship with the decedent, and who certifies by affidavit
that their
relationship
met the following qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
5. Section 11-41-31 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-41 entitled "Theft,
Embezzlement,
False Pretenses, and Misappropriation" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
11-41-31.
Pension revocation. -- (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any
person
who is convicted or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to any offense, and the
offense is
related
to his or her public office of employment pursuant to section 36-10.1-2, the
judge, as part
of any
sentence imposed, may revoke or reduce any retirement or any benefit or payment
to
which
the public official or public employee is otherwise entitled under titles 36,
16, 45, and 8,
under
chapter 30 of title 28, under chapter 43 of title 31 or under chapter 28 of
title 42.
(b) (1) In determining whether the retirement or other benefit shall be revoked
or
reduced
the court shall consider and make a finding on the following factors:
(i) The fact that the allowance of retirement or other benefits or payments for
service
under
this title, under title 16, under title 45, under title 8, under chapter 30 of
title 28, under
chapter
43 of title 31, and under chapter 28 of title 42 presumes and requires that the
service shall
have
been honorably rendered;
(ii) The severity of the crime related to public office or public employment of
which the
public
official or public employee has been convicted or to which the public official
or public
employee
has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere;
(iii) The amount of monetary loss suffered by the public official's or public
employee's
employer
or by any other person as a result of the subject crime related to public
office or public
employment;
(iv) The degree of public trust reposed in the subject public official or
public employee
by
virtue of his or her public office or public employment; and
(v) Any other factors that, in the judgment of the superior court, justice may
require.
(2) If the superior court determines that the retirement or other benefits or
payments of a
public
official or public employee should be revoked or reduced under this chapter, it
may, in its
discretion
and after taking into consideration the status of the pension as marital
property and the
financial
needs and resources of any innocent spouse, dependent and/or designated
beneficiaries
of the
public official or public employee, order that some or all of the revoked or
reduced benefits
or
payments be paid to any innocent spouse, dependent or beneficiary as justice
may require.
(3) If the court determines that the retirement or other benefits or payments
of a public
official
or public employee should not be revoked or reduced under this chapter, it
shall order that
the
retirement or other benefits or payments be made to the public official or
public employee.
(c) Prior to revoking or reducing the benefit, the court shall order a
pre-sentence report
pursuant
to section 12-19-6.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an innocent party
from notifying
the
court by motion of an interest in the pension benefit.
(e)
For purposes of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as
a person who,
prior
to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed
relationship with the
decedent,
and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following
qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
6. Sections 16-16-1, 16-16-25, 16-16-26, 16-16-27 and 16-16-30 of the
General
Laws in Chapter 16-16 entitled "Teachers' Retirement" are hereby
amended to read as
follows:
16-16-1.
Definitions. -- (a) The following words and phrases used in this
chapter, unless
a
different meaning is plainly required by the context, have the following
meanings:
(1) "Active member" means any teacher as defined in this section for
whom the
retirement
system is currently receiving regular contributions pursuant to sections
16-16-22 and
16-16-22.1.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the words and phrases used in
this chapter,
so far
as applicable, have the same meanings as they have in chapters 8 to 10 of title
36.
(2) "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of annuity, benefit, or
retirement
allowance
from the retirement system as provided in this chapter.
(3) "Child" includes a stepchild of a deceased member who has been a
stepchild for at
least
one year immediately preceding the date on which the member died or an adopted
child of a
deceased
member without regard to the length of time the child has been adopted.
(4) "Former spouse divorced" means a person divorced from a deceased
member, but
only if
the person meets one of the following conditions:
(i) Is the mother or father of the deceased member's child(ren);
(ii) Legally adopted the deceased member's child(ren) while married to the
deceased
member
and while the child(ren) was under the age of eighteen (18) years; or
(iii) Was married to the deceased member at the time both of them legally
adopted a
child(ren)
under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(5) "Member" means any person included in the membership of the
retirement system
under
the provisions of this chapter.
(6) "Prior service" means service as a teacher rendered prior to the
first day of July,
1949,
certified on his or her prior service certificate and allowable as prior
service under the
provisions
of this chapter.
(7) "Retired teacher" means any teacher who retired prior to July 1,
1949, pursuant to the
provisions
of G.L. 1938, ch. 195, as amended, and who on June 30, 1949, was in receipt of
a
pension
under the provisions of that chapter.
(8) "Retirement system" and "system" means the employees'
retirement system of the
state of
Rhode Island created by chapter 8 of title 36, and "retirement board"
means the board
established
under that chapter.
(9) "Salary" or "compensation" includes any and all salary
paid for teaching services
regardless
of whether any part of the salary or compensation is derived from any state or
federal
grant or
appropriation for teachers' salaries, as the term is defined in section
36-8-1(7).
(10) "Service" means service as a teacher as described in subdivision
(12) of this section.
Periods
of employment as teacher, principal, assistant principal, supervisor,
superintendent, or
assistant
superintendent shall be combined in computing periods of service and
employment.
(11) "Spouse" means the surviving person who was married to a
deceased member, but
only if
the surviving person meets one of the following conditions:
(i) Was married to the deceased member for not less than one year immediately
prior to
the date
on which the member died;
(ii) Is the mother or father of the deceased member's child(ren);
(iii) Legally adopted the deceased member's child(ren) while married to the
deceased
member
and while the child(ren) was under the age of eighteen (18) years; or
(iv) Was married to the deceased member at the time both of them legally
adopted a
child(ren)
under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(12) "Teacher" means a person required to hold a certificate of
qualification issued by or
under the
authority of the board of regents for elementary and secondary education and
who is
engaged
in teaching as his or her principal occupation and is regularly employed as a
teacher in
the
public schools of any city or town in the state, or any formalized,
commissioner approved,
cooperative
service arrangement. The term includes a person employed as a teacher,
supervisor,
principal,
assistant principal, superintendent, or assistant superintendent of schools,
director,
assistant
director, coordinator, consultant, dean, assistant dean, educational
administrator, nurse
teacher,
and attendance officer or any person who has worked in the field of education
or is
working
in the field of education that holds a teaching or administrative certificate
and any
teacher
who serves during a school year at least three-quarters ( 3/4) of the number of
days that
the
public schools are required by law to be in session during the year. In
determining the number
of days
served by a teacher the total number of days served in any public school of any
city or
town in
the state may be combined for any one school year. The term also includes a
school
business
administrator whether or not the administrator holds a teaching or
administrative
certificate,
and also includes occupational therapists and physical therapists licensed by
the
department
of health and employed by a school committee in the state, or by any
formalized,
commissioner
approved, cooperative service arrangement.
(13) "Teaching" includes teaching, supervising, and superintending or
assistant
superintending
of schools.
(14) "Total service" means prior service as defined in subdivision
(6) of this section, plus
service
rendered as a member of the system on or after the first day of July, 1949.
(15)
For purposes of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as
a person who,
prior
to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed
relationship with the
decedent,
and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following
qualifications:
(i)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(ii)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(iii)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(iv)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(v)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(A)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(B)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(C)
two (2) of: (I) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (II) joint checking account;
(III) joint
credit
account; (IV) joint lease; and/or
(D)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
(b) The masculine pronoun wherever used shall also include the feminine
pronoun.
16-16-25.
Eligibility for survivor's benefits -- Payment. -- A member's
dependents or
survivors
shall be eligible to receive the benefits provided in sections 16-16-25 through
16-16-38
if the
member shall have made regular contributions to the teachers' survivors benefit
fund as
provided
in section 16-16-34 for a period of at least six (6) consecutive calendar
months prior to
his or
her death or retirement, as the case may be. These benefits shall be payable
the first of the
month
following that month in which eligibility for the benefits occurs and shall be
paid at the
same
time as the regular retirement allowance payments are made. No payment shall be
due for
the
month in which ineligibility occurs. No widow's or mother's or domestic
partner's benefit
payable
under sections 16-16-25 through 16-16-38 shall be reduced because of benefits
payable
to other
dependents of the deceased member under the provisions of sections 16-16-25
through
16-16-38.
16-16-26.
Spouse's benefits Spouse's or domestic partner's benefits. --
(a) Spouse's
and
domestic partner's benefits are
payable following the decease of a member as provided in
sections
16-16-25 through 16-16-38.
(b)
The spouse or domestic partner shall be entitled to benefits upon
attaining the age of
sixty
(60) years.
(c)
The spouse or domestic partner was living with the deceased member at
the time of
the
member's death. A spouse or domestic partner is deemed to have been
living with the
deceased
member if they were both members of the same household on the date of the
deceased
member's
death, or the spouse or domestic partner was receiving regular
contributions from the
deceased
member toward support on that date, or the deceased member had been ordered by
a
court to
contribute to the spouse's or domestic partner's support.
(d)
Remarriage of the spouse or domestic partner or establishment of a domestic
partnership shall render him or her ineligible to receive current
or future benefits under this
section.
(e)
The spouse or domestic partner of a member, as defined in this section,
shall be
entitled
to monthly benefits payable in accordance with the following table:
Highest
Spouse's or Domestic Partner's
Annual
Monthly Salary Minimum Benefit
$17,000
or less $750
$17,001
to $25,000 875
$25,001
to $33,000 1,000
$33,001
to $40,000 1,125
$40,001
and over 1,250
(f) A yearly cost-of-living adjustment for spouse's or domestic partner's
benefits shall be
based on
the annual social security adjustment.
16-16-27.
Family benefits. -- (a) Family benefits shall be payable upon the
decease of
the
member as provided in sections 16-16-25 through 16-16-38 if at the time of the
member's
death
the surviving spouse or domestic partner:
(1)
Has in his or her care a child of the deceased member entitled to child
benefits;
(2)
Is not entitled to a spouse's or domestic partner's benefit as provided
in this chapter;
and
(3)
Was living with the deceased member at the time of his or her death.
(b)
Family benefits shall be payable in accordance with the following table. The
monthly
benefit
shall be equal to the benefit that would be available to a spouse or
domestic partner under
section
16-16-26 multiplied by the following percentages:
Parent
Parent Parent One Two Three
and
1 and 2 and more Child Children or more
Child
Children than 2 Alone Alone Children
Children
Alone
150%
175% 175% 75% 150% 175%
(c) Family benefits as set forth in this section are payable to the former
spouse or to a
former
domestic partner divorced of a
deceased member, if the former spouse or to a former
domestic
partner divorced:
(1)
Has in his or her care a child of the deceased member who is his or her son,
daughter,
or
legally adopted child entitled to child benefits payable on the basis of the
deceased member's
salary;
(2)
Was receiving from the deceased member, pursuant to agreement or court order,
at
least
one-half (1/2) of his or her support at the time of the deceased member's
death;
(3)
Is not entitled to a spouse's or domestic partner's benefit as provided
in sections 16-
16-25
through 16-16-38.
(d)
The family monthly benefit shall be payable in accordance with the table set
forth in
this
section. A spouse or domestic partner who no longer qualifies for
benefits under this section
because
his or her child or children have attained the age of eighteen (18) years or
twenty-three
(23)
years and a full time student shall be entitled to receive monthly benefits
upon attaining sixty
(60)
years of age in accordance with the benefits set forth in section 16-16-26. The
family
benefits
provided under this section shall cease upon the remarriage of the surviving
spouse or
domestic
partner or establishment of a domestic partnership.
16-16-30.
Parent's benefits. -- (a) Parent's benefits are payable to the parent
or parents
of a
deceased member if the member did not leave a widow, widower, or child who
could ever
qualify
for monthly benefits on the member's wages and the parent:
(1) Has reached the age of sixty (60) years;
(2) Has not remarried or entered into a domestic partnership after the
death of the
member;
(3) Was receiving at least one-half (1/2) of his or her support from the member
at the
time of
the member's death and filed proof of his or her support within two (2) years
of the date
of
death; and
(4) Is not entitled to a federal or state old age benefit based on his or her
own earnings
equal to
or greater than the amount he or she would be entitled to as the dependent
parent of the
deceased
member.
(b) A parent's benefit shall be payable monthly in accordance with the benefits
set forth
in
section 16-16-26.
SECTION
7. Sections 28-30-17 and 28-30-18 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-30
entitled
"Workers' Compensation Court" are hereby amended to read as follows:
28-30-17.
Allowance to surviving spouses of deceased judges Allowance to surviving
spouses
and domestic partners of deceased judges. -- (a) Whenever any judge of the workers'
compensation
court dies after retirement or during active service while eligible for
retirement or
during
active service after having served fifteen (15) years or more in office, his or
her surviving
spouse or
domestic partner shall receive annually thereafter during his or her
lifetime and so long
as he or
she remains unmarried or not in a domestic partnership, an amount equal
to one-half (
1/2) of the
annual payment that the judge was receiving by way of salary or retirement pay
at the
time of
his or her death.
(b) Whenever a judge of the workers' compensation court dies without having
become
eligible
to retire either under section 28-30-15 or 28-30-16 and has served seven (7)
years or more
in
office, his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner shall receive
annually thereafter during
his or
her lifetime and so long as he or she remains unmarried or not in a domestic
partnership
one-third
( 1/3) of the annual salary that the judge was receiving at the time of his or
her death.
(c) Any judge who retires under the provisions of section 28-30-15 or 28-30-16
may at
his or
her option elect to receive three-fourths ( 3/4) of his or her retirement pay,
and where that
option
is exercised by giving the general treasurer notice in writing within two (2)
years after the
date of
his or her retirement, his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner
or minor children
shall
receive annually one-half (1/2) of his or her retirement pay during his or her
lifetime so long
as spouse
he or she remains unmarried or not in a domestic partnership or
the children are
under
twenty-one (21) years of age.
(d) Whenever a judge of the workers' compensation court dies without having
become
eligible
to retire either under section 28-30-15 or 28-30-16 and has not served seven
(7) years in
office,
his or her surviving spouse or domestic partner shall subsequently
receive annually during
his or
her lifetime and so long as he or she remains unmarried or not in a domestic
partnership,
one
fourth (1/4) of the annual salary that the judge was receiving at the time of
his or her death.
(e) In the event the deceased judge has no surviving spouse or domestic
partner or the
surviving
spouse or domestic partner predeceases their minor children, the
benefits conferred by
this
section shall be received in equal shares by the minor children, if any, until
each attains the
age of
twenty-one (21) years.
28-30-18.
Additional benefits payable to retired judges and their surviving spouses
Additional
benefits payable to retired judges and their surviving spouses or domestic
partners.
-- (a) All judges of the workers'
compensation court, or their surviving spouses or
domestic
partners, who retire after January 1,
1970 and who receive a retirement allowance
pursuant
to the provisions of this title, shall, on the first day of January next
following the third
anniversary
date of their retirement, receive a cost of living retirement adjustment in
addition to
his or
her retirement allowance in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the
original
retirement
allowance. In each succeeding subsequent year during the month of January the
retirement
allowance shall be increased an additional three percent (3%) of the original
allowance,
compounded annually from the year the cost of living adjustment was first
payable to
be
continued during the lifetime of that judge or his or her surviving spouse or
domestic partner.
For the
purpose of that computation, credit shall be given for a full calendar year
regardless of the
effective
date of the retirement allowance.
(b) Any judge who retired prior to January 31, 1980, shall be deemed for the
purpose of
this
section to have retired on January 1, 1980.
SECTION
8. Chapter 28-30 of the General Laws entitled "Workers' Compensation
Court"
is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
28-30-24.
Domestic partner -- Definition. -- For purposes of this chapter,
"domestic
partner"
shall be defined as a person who, prior to the decedent's death, was in an
exclusive,
intimate
and committed relationship with the decedent, and who certifies by affidavit
that their
relationship
met the following qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
9. Sections 30-22-1 and 30-22-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 30-22
entitled
"Extension of Veterans' Benefits" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
30-22-1.
World War II veterans. -- The provisions of all of the statutes of this
state
granting
benefits or privileges to veterans of any war in which the United States of
America has
heretofore
been engaged, or to the widow or widower or domestic partner or other
surviving kin
of
deceased veterans of that war, shall hereafter be construed to provide for like
benefits and
privileges
for any veteran of world war II who has heretofore or may hereafter be
honorably
discharged
from the armed forces of this nation, and to the widow or widower or
domestic partner
or other
surviving kin of deceased veteran of that war.
30-22-3.
Veterans of undeclared wars or campaigns. -- The provisions of all of
the
statutes
of this state granting benefits, privileges or bonuses to veterans of any war
in which the
United
States of America has heretofore been engaged, or to the widow or widower or
domestic
partner or other surviving kin of deceased veterans of that
war, shall hereafter be construed to
provide
for like benefits, privileges and bonuses for any man or woman of the armed
forces who
has been
engaged heretofore, is now, or may hereafter be engaged in the active conduct
of and/or
fighting
in the Korean campaign or the conflict in Viet Nam or any following campaign or
war,
declared
or undeclared, which the armed forces of the United States of America conduct
or in
which
those forces have a part, and who, having been actively engaged as hereinbefore
described,
has
heretofore or may hereafter be honorably discharged from the armed forces of
this nation, and
to the
widow or widower or domestic partner or other surviving kin of any such
deceased veteran
of that
campaign or war.
SECTION
10. Chapter 30-22 of the General Laws entitled "Extension of Veterans'
Benefits"
is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
30-22-6.
Domestic partner defined. -- For purposes of this chapter,
"domestic partner"
shall
be defined as a person who, prior to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive,
intimate and
committed
relationship with the decedent, and who certifies by affidavit that their
relationship
met
the following qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
11. Sections 36-10-9.1, 36-10-18, 36-10-19.1 and 36-10-20 of the General
Laws in
Chapter 36-10 entitled "Retirement System-Contributions and Benefits"
are hereby
amended
to read as follows:
36-10-9.1.
Retirement on service allowance -- Legislators. -- (a) Every person who
shall
have served as a member of the senate or of the house of representatives, or in
combination
of both
the senate and the house of representatives, and/or other employment as defined
in section
36-9-20,
and/or including up to four (4) years of military service as defined in section
36-9-31,
for a
period in the aggregate of eight (8) years, and having attained the age of
fifty-five (55) years
shall be
entitled to receive a retirement allowance, as in section 36-10-10.1 upon
application
therefor
to the retirement board; provided, however, that any person who shall have
served as a
member
of the senate or of the house of representatives, or in combination of both the
senate and
the
house of representatives, and/or other employment as defined in section
36-9-20, and/or
including
up to four (4) years of military service as defined in section 36-9-31, for a
period in the
aggregate
of twenty (20) years or more shall be entitled to receive a retirement
allowance as in
section
36-10-10.1 regardless of his or her age upon completion of the twenty (20)
years;
provided
further, however, that if any person who shall have served as a member of the
senate or
the
house of representatives, or in combination of both the senate or the house of
representatives,
and/or
other employment as defined in section 36-9-20, for a period in the aggregate
of eight (8)
years
dies leaving a surviving spouse or domestic partner, the benefit as
provided by section 36-
10-10.1
shall be payable to his or her spouse or domestic partner to be
continued for his or her
lifetime
or remarriage or establishment of a domestic partnership.
(b) No legislator shall be eligible for benefits under this section unless the
legislator shall
have
served a minimum of four (4) years as a member of the senate or the house of
representatives
or in combination of both the senate and the house of representatives.
(c) Except as hereinafter provided, any legislator, elected at the general
election in 1988
or
thereafter to serve as a member of the general assembly shall not be eligible
for benefits under
subsection
(a) of this section unless the legislator shall have served a minimum of eight
(8) years
as a
member of the senate or the house of representatives or in combination of both
the senate and
the
house of representatives; provided however, that the provisions of this
subsection shall not
apply to
any legislator who was elected to serve as a member of the general assembly
prior to the
general
election of 1988.
(d) Service credits earned prior to January 5, 1993, by a person as a member of
the
senate
or of the house of representatives or in combination of both the senate and the
house of
representatives
may be utilized by that person for any retirement purpose permitted under
current
law.
(e) Service credits earned on or after January 5, 1993, by a person as a member
of the
senate
or of the house of representatives or in combination of both the senate and the
house of
representatives
may be utilized by that person only for the purposes of section 36-10-10.1.
36-10-18.
Optional benefits. -- (a) A beneficiary, or, if the beneficiary be an
incompetent,
then the beneficiary's spouse or domestic partner or if there is no
spouse or domestic
partner, a guardian of the beneficiary's estate, may elect to
receive the benefit in a retirement
allowance,
payable throughout life, or the beneficiary may then elect to receive the
actuarial
equivalent,
at that time, of the beneficiary's retirement allowance in a lesser retirement
allowance
as
determined by actuarial calculation, which shall be payable throughout life
with the provision
that:
(1) Option 1. - Upon the beneficiary's death, the beneficiary's lesser
retirement allowance
shall be
continued throughout the life of and paid to such person having an insurable
interest in
the
beneficiary's life, as the beneficiary, the beneficiary's spouse or domestic
partner, or the
beneficiary's
guardian so electing, shall nominate by written designation duly acknowledged
and
filed
with the retirement board at the time of his or her retirement.
(2) Option 2. - Upon the beneficiary's death, one-half (1/2) of the
beneficiary's lesser
retirement
allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such person,
having an
insurable
interest in the beneficiary's life, as the beneficiary, the beneficiary's
spouse or domestic
partner, or the beneficiary's guardian so electing, shall
nominate by written designation duly
acknowledged
and filed with the retirement board at the time of the beneficiary's
retirement.
(b) (1) For purposes of any election under this section or section 36-10-19.1,
the
member,
member's spouse or domestic partner, or guardian, as the case may be,
may designate
more
than one person to receive benefits after the member's death, provided that the
designation
shall
specify the portion of the actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement
allowance to be
paid to
each person, and provided further that the aggregate actuarial value of the
portions shall
not
exceed the actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement benefit determined:
(i) In the case of an election under this section) as of the date of the
member's retirement;
or
(ii) In the case of an election under section 36-10-19.1 as of the member's
date of death.
(2) A member selecting more than one person to receive benefits under this
section or
section
36-10-19.1 may only select beneficiaries from among his or her children,
adopted
children,
step-children, and/or spouse or domestic partner.
36-10-19.1.
Optional annuity protection -- In service. -- (a) Upon the death of a
member
having at least ten (10) years of membership service, the spouse or domestic
partner of
the
member shall have the option to elect to receive option one as provided in
section 36-10-18(a)
in lieu
of a return of contributions, provided the spouse or domestic partner is
the designated
beneficiary
of the member's retirement account. The election shall be based upon the amount
of
retirement
allowance or actuarial equivalent that may accrue at the date of death of the
member.
(b) The election under option one of section 36-10-18(a) for a person other
than the
spouse or
domestic partner of the member may be made by the member, while in service,
provided
the member has at least ten (10) years of membership service and before
retirement, on
a form
prescribed by the retirement board. The election shall be based upon the amount
of
retirement
allowances or actuarial equivalents that may accrue at the date of death of the
member,
provided
that the election form is executed and filed with the retirement board prior to
the date of
death.
The election may be revoked or modified by the member at any time prior to the
date of
retirement
on a form prescribed by the retirement board.
(c) Upon the death of a member, the option shall become effective thirty (30)
days after
the
first day of the calendar month next following the date of death of the member
if death occurs
while in
an employee status. Should death occur while in an inactive member status, the
option
under
this section shall become payable on the first of the month next succeeding
that in which
the
designated beneficiary attains the age of sixty (60) years.
36-10-20.
Accidental death benefits. -- Upon the accidental death of a member
while in
service
before retirement, provided that evidence shall be submitted to the retirement
board
proving
that the death of the member was the natural and proximate result of an
accident while in
the
performance of duty at some definite time and place, and that the death was not
the result of
willful
negligence on his or her part, his or her accumulated contributions, including
interest on
all
contributions to the date of death of the member, shall be paid to the person
having an
insurable
interest in his or her life as the member shall have nominated by written
designation
duly
executed and filed with the retirement board, or if the member has filed no
nomination or if
the
person so nominated shall have died, then to the estate of the deceased member,
and upon
application
by or on behalf of the dependents of the deceased member the retirement board
shall
grant a
benefit equal to one-half (1/2) of the rate of annual compensation of the
member at date of
death:
(1) To the member's widow or widower or domestic partner for life unless
he or she
remarries
or enters into a domestic partnership;
(2) If there be no widow, or widower or domestic partner or if the widow
or widower or
domestic
partner dies or remarries or
enters into a domestic partnership before any child of the
deceased
member shall have attained the age of eighteen (18) years, then to the member's
child or
children
under the age of eighteen (18) years, divided in such manner as the retirement
board in
its
discretion shall determine, to continue as a joint and survivor annuity equal
to one-half (1/2) of
the
member's rate of annual compensation at the date of death until every child
dies or attains the
age of
eighteen (18) years; or
(3) If there be no widow or widower or domestic partner or child under
the age of
eighteen
(18) years surviving the deceased member, then to his or her dependent father
or mother
as the
deceased member shall have nominated by written designation duly acknowledged
and
filed
with the retirement board; or, if there be no nomination, then to his or her
dependent father
or to
his or her dependent mother as the retirement board in its discretion shall
direct, to continue
for
life.
SECTION
12. Chapter 36-10 of the General Laws entitled "Retirement System-
Contributions
and Benefits" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
36-10-40.
Domestic partner -- Definition. -- For purposes of this chapter,
"domestic
partner"
shall be defined as a person who, prior to the decedent's death, was in an
exclusive,
intimate
and committed relationship with the decedent, and who certifies by affidavit
that their
relationship
met the following qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
13. Sections 36-10.1-2 and 36-10.1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-10.1
entitled
"Rhode Island Public Employee Pension Revocation and Reduction Act"
are hereby
amended
to read as follows:
36-10.1-2.
Definitions. -- (a) "Crime related to public office or public
employment" shall
mean any
of the following criminal offenses:
(1) The committing, aiding, or abetting of an embezzlement of public funds;
(2) The committing, aiding, or abetting of any felonious theft by a public
officer or
employee
from his or her employer;
(3) Bribery in connection with employment of a public officer or employee; and
(4) The committing of any felony by a public officer or employee who, willfully
and
with the
intent to defraud, realizes or obtains, or attempts to realize or obtain, a
profit, gain, or
advantage
for himself or herself or for some other person through the use or attempted
use of the
power,
rights, privileges, duties, or position of his or her public office or
employment position.
(b) "Public official" or "public employee" shall mean any
current or former state or
municipal
elected official as defined in section 36-14-2(10), state or municipal
appointed official
as
defined in section 36-14-2(4), and any employee of state or local government,
of boards,
commissions
or agencies as defined in section 36-14-2(8)(i), (ii), who is otherwise
entitled to
receive
or who is receiving retirement benefits under this title, under title 16, under
title 45, under
title 8,
under chapter 30 of title 28, under chapter 43 of title 31, or under chapter 28
of title 42,
whether
that person is acting on a permanent or temporary basis and whether or not
compensated
on a
full-time or part-time basis. For the purposes of this chapter, all these
persons are deemed to
be
engaged in public employment.
(c) As used in this chapter, the phrase "pleads guilty or nolo
contendere" shall not
include
any plea of nolo contendere which does not constitute a conviction by virtue of
section
12-10-12
or 12-18-3.
(d)
For purposes of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as
a person who,
prior
to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed
relationship with the
decedent,
and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following
qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
36-10.1-3.
Revocation and reduction of benefits. -- (a) Notwithstanding any other
provision
of law, any retirement or other benefit or payment of any kind to which a
public official
or
public employee is otherwise entitled under this chapter, under title 16, under
title 45, under
title 8,
under chapter 30 of title 28, under chapter 43 of title 31, or under chapter 28
of title 42
shall be
revoked or reduced, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or
section 11-41-
31 if,
after January 1, 1993, the public official or public employee is convicted of
or pleads guilty
or nolo
contendere to any crime related to his or her public office or public
employment. Any
such
conviction or plea shall be deemed to be a breach of the public officer's or
public employee's
contract
with his or her employer.
(b) Whenever any public official or public employee is convicted of or pleads
guilty or
nolo
contendere to any crime related to his or her public office or public
employment, the
retirement
board, if no finding is made by the judge in the criminal action pursuant to
section 11-
41-31,
shall:
(1) Initiate a civil action in the superior court for the revocation or
reduction of any
retirement
or other benefit or payment to which the public official or public employee is
otherwise
entitled under this title, under title 16, under title 45, under title 8, under
chapter 30 of
title
28, under chapter 43 of title 31, or under chapter 28 of title 42.
(2) The superior court shall order the public official or employee to appear
and show
cause as
to why any retirement or other benefit or payment to which the public official
or public
employee
is otherwise entitled under this title, under title 16, under title 45, under
title 8, under
chapter
30 of title 28, under chapter 43 of title 31, or under chapter 28 of title 42
should not be
withheld
pending adjudication of the civil action in the superior court.
(3) Legal standing is hereby conferred upon the retirement board to initiate
and maintain
a civil
action, and jurisdiction over that civil action is hereby conferred upon the
superior court.
(c) (1) In any civil action under this chapter for the revocation or reduction
of retirement
or other
benefits or payments, the superior court shall determine:
(i) Whether the public employee has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo
contendere
to any
crime related to his or her public office or public employment and, if so;
(ii) Whether the retirement or other benefits or payments to which the public
official or
public
employee is otherwise entitled should be revoked or diminished and, if so;
(iii) In what amount or by what proportion such revocation or reduction should
be
ordered.
(2) In rendering its decision hereunder, the superior court shall consider and
address each
of the
following factors:
(i) The fact that the allowance of retirement or other benefits or payments for
service
under
this title, under title 16, under title 45, under title 8, under chapter 30 of
title 28, under
chapter
43 of title 31, and under chapter 28 of title 42 presumes and requires that the
service shall
have
been honorably rendered;
(ii) The severity of the crime related to public office or public employment of
which the
public
official or public employee has been convicted or to which the public official
or public
employee
has pled guilty or nolo contendere;
(iii) The amount of monetary loss suffered by the public official's or public
employee's
employer
or by any other person as a result of the subject crime related to public
office or public
employment;
(iv) The degree of public trust reposed in the subject public official or
public employee
by
virtue of his or her public office or public employment; and
(v) Any such other factors as, in the judgment of the superior court, justice
may require.
(d) If the superior court determines that the retirement or other benefits or
payments of a
public
official or public employee should be revoked or reduced under this chapter, it
may, in its
discretion
and after taking into consideration the financial needs and resources of any
innocent
spouse or
domestic partner, dependents and/or designated beneficiaries of the public
official or
public
employee, order that some or all of the revoked or reduced benefits or payments
be paid to
any
innocent spouse or domestic partner, dependent or beneficiary as justice
may require.
(e) If the superior court determines that the retirement or other benefits or
payments of a
public
official or public employee should not be revoked or reduced under this
chapter, it shall
order
that the retirement or other benefits or payments be made to the public
official or public
employee
as if the initiation of the civil action had not occurred.
SECTION
14. Section 42-28-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-28 entitled "State
Police"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
42-28-21.
Injury and death benefits. -- (a) If any member of the division whose
service
is
terminated on or after January 1, 1960 shall have in the course of performance
of his or her
duties
suffered injury causing disability or causing death, that member or his or her
surviving
dependent
relatives, whose dependence shall be determined from time to time by the
superintendent
subject to confirmation by the governor, shall be entitled to an annual pension
of
seventy-five
percent (75%) of the annual salary paid to that member at the time of his or
her
termination
of service by reason of injury or death. In the event that the member thus
disabled or
killed
in the performance of his or her official duties is the superintendent, then
confirmation and
determination
provided by this section shall be made by the governor. The provisions of
chapters
29 --
38, inclusive, of title 28, shall not apply to members of the division.
(b) Upon the death of a member due to any cause other than that incurred while
in the
course
of performance of his or her duties, occurring while in service or after
retirement, if that
member
shall have rendered at least ten (10) years of service as a member of the Rhode
Island
state
police, his or her surviving widow or domestic partner shall be entitled
to a widow's pension
equal to
two percent (2%) of his or her last annual salary as determined by the
provision of
section
42-28-22 as amended herein for each year of service as a member of the state
police,
subject
to a minimum pension of twenty-five percent (25%) of salary, and subject to the
following
conditions:
(1) The widow or widower or domestic partner shall have been married to or
a domestic
partner
of the member at least one year on
the date of death of the member or on the date of
retirement,
whichever first occurs, and in any event while the member was in active
service; (2)
the
widow shall be at least forty (40) years of age, otherwise payment of the
annuity shall be
deferred
until she attains such age; (3) the annuity shall terminate in any event when the
widow
he or
she remarries or enters into a
domestic partnership or dies.
(c) If a widow or widower or domestic partner shall have minor children
in his or her
care,
payment of the widow's annuity shall commence immediately regardless of
whether the
widow or
widower or domestic partner shall have attained age forty (40) years or
not. In such a
case,
the payment to the widow or widower or domestic partner shall be
increased one-third (1/3)
on account
of each minor child, provided that the maximum payment shall be fifty percent
(50%)
of
annual salary.
(d) Allowances on account of minor children shall terminate upon their
attainment of age
eighteen
(18) and if unemancipated and a full time student to age twenty-two (22) years,
death, or
marriage,
whichever first occurs. In the event a widow or widower or domestic partner
remarries
or
enters into a domestic partnership or
dies, payment on account of minor children shall be
increased
to twice the amounts previously payable on account of the children, subject to
a
combined
payment to all children equal to fifty percent (50%) of the final salary of the
member.
(e)
For purposes of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as
a person who,
prior
to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed
relationship with the
decedent,
and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following
qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
SECTION
15. Sections 45-19-4, 45-19-7, 45-19-8, 45-19-12, 45-19-12.2, 45-19-14 and
45-19-15
of the General Laws in Chapter 45-19 entitled "Relief of Injured and
Deceased Fire
Fighters
and Police Officers" are hereby amended to read as follows:
45-19-4.
Annuities to dependents of deceased police officers and appropriations to
nondependent
parents of police officers. --
(a) If an active or retired member of the police force
of a
city or town is killed or dies from injuries received while in the performance
of his or her
duty as
a member, or dies of a heart condition or any condition derived from
hypertension while
still a
member, there shall be paid out of the police officer's relief fund of Rhode
Island to the
following
dependents of the deceased person, the following sums of money:
(1) To the widow or widower or domestic partner an annuity not exceeding
three
thousand
six hundred dollars ($3,600) a year, payable in the number of regular
installments
determined
by the board and continuing as long as he or she remains unmarried or not in
a
domestic
partnership and commencing with the
date of death but not more than six (6) months
prior to
the date of filing of the petition by the widow or widower or domestic
partner; provided,
that if
the member died more than six (6) months prior to the filing of the petition
then the
payments
are to commence no sooner than six (6) months prior to the date of petition;
(2) An additional annuity of twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) a year, payable in
the
number
of regular installments determined by the board, for each child of the deceased
person
during
the time that the child is under the age of eighteen (18) years, or over the
age and
physically
or mentally incapacitated from earning. If there is any child and no widow or
widower
or
domestic partner or the widow or
widower or domestic partner dies later, the sum and the
annuity
that would have been payable to the widow or widower or domestic partner
had there
been one
or had he or she lived, to or for the benefit of the child or of the children,
in equal
shares,
during the time previously stated;
(3) If there is any child and the widow or widower or domestic partner
remarries or
enters
in a domestic partnership, in lieu of
the previously stated annuity to him or her, an annuity
not
exceeding twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) to or for the benefit of each child
during the time
previously
stated;
(4) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner and no child the
total sum of ten
thousand
dollars ($10,000) payable in a lump sum for the benefit of the father and/or
mother of
the
deceased, if not dependent upon him or her for support at the time of his or
her death; and
(5) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner and no child,
the sum of three
thousand
six hundred dollars ($3,600) payable in regular installments by the board of
police
officer's
relief to or for the benefit of the father or mother of the deceased, if
dependent upon him
or her
for support at the time of his or her death, and commencing with the date of
death but not
more
than six (6) months prior to the date of filing the petition; provided, that if
the member died
more
than six (6) months prior to the filing of the petition then the payments are
to commence no
sooner
than six (6) months prior to the date of the petition and continuing so long as
the
beneficiary
is unable to support himself or herself and does not remarry or enter into a
domestic
partnership, an annuity not exceeding three thousand six hundred
dollars ($3,600) a year, payable
in
regular installments determined by the board. The amount of the annuity shall,
from time to
time, be
determined within the limits previously stated by the board.
(b) For the purpose of this section the words "police officer" mean
and include any
active
or retired member of the state police or the police of any city or town
regularly employed
at a
fixed salary or wage.
(c) The provisions of this section apply in the case of any dependent receiving
benefits in
accordance
with the provisions of this section as it was in effect prior to April 25,
1960.
(d) The provisions of this section apply in the case of any active or retired
police officer
who from
and after January 1, 1935, was killed or died from injuries received while in
the
performance
of duty, or dies of a heart condition or any condition derived from
hypertension.
(e) The amount of the annuity shall not be reduced by reason of receipt of an
annuity
and/or
other payments to any beneficiaries from any other source.
(f) Upon the death of a member, the police chief shall immediately notify the
widow or
widower or
domestic partner of the member by registered or certified mail, return
receipt
requested,
of the widow or widower's or domestic partner's possible eligibility for
benefits under
this
chapter and the time restriction for filing a claim for these benefits.
(g)
For purposes of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as
a person who,
prior
to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed
relationship with the
decedent,
and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following
qualifications:
(1)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(2)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(3)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(4)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(5)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(i)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account;
(C)
joint
credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or
(iv)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
45-19-7.
Appropriations for relief of fire fighters and dependents. -- The
general
assembly
shall annually appropriate any sum that it deems necessary for the relief of
any fire
fighter
and for the relief of the widow or widower or domestic partner and
children of any fire
fighter
killed in the performance of his or her duty. The controller, upon the receipt
of proper
vouchers
approved by the director of labor and training or the director's authorized
agent, is
hereby
authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer
for the
payment
of the sum or sums that may be required from time to time.
45-19-8.
Administration of fire fighter's relief. -- The fund shall be used for
the relief
of fire
fighters, injured in the performance of their duty at a fire or in going to or
returning from
the
fire, and for the relief of the widows, widowers, or domestic partners
and children of fire
fighters
killed in the performance of their duty, in the manner and to the amount determined
by
the
board of fire fighter's relief in the department of labor and training, which
board shall
administer
the fund for the relief of fire fighters as provided in this chapter.
45-19-12.
Annuities to dependents of deceased fire fighters and appropriations to
nondependent
parents of deceased fire fighters. -- (a) If an active or retired member of the fire
force of
a city or town or fire fighter for the town of North Smithfield is killed or
dies from
injuries
received while in the performance of his or her duty as a member or dies of a
heart
condition,
respiratory ailments, or any condition derived from hypertension while still a
member,
there
shall be paid out of the fire fighter's relief fund of Rhode Island to the
following dependents
of the
deceased person, the following sums of money:
(1) To the widow or widower or domestic partner an annuity not exceeding
three
thousand
six hundred dollars ($3,600) a year, payable in the number of regular
installments
determined
by the board and continuing as long as he or she remains unmarried or not in
a
domestic
partnership and commencing with the
date of death but not more than six (6) months
prior to
the date of filing of the petition by the widow or widower or domestic partner;
(2) An additional annuity of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) a year,
payable
in the
number of regular installments determined by the board, for each child of the
deceased
person
during the time that the child is under the age of eighteen (18) years, or over
the age and
physically
or mentally incapacitated from earning;
(3) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner and no child,
the total sum of ten
thousand
dollars ($10,000), payable in a lump sum for the benefit of the father and/or
mother of
the
deceased, if not dependent upon him or her for support at the time of his or
her death;
(4) If there is any child and no widow or widower or domestic partner or
the widow or
widower or
domestic partner dies later, the sum and the annuity that should have been
payable to
the
widow or widower or domestic partner had there been one or had he or she
lived, to or for the
benefit
of the child or of the children, in equal shares during the previously stated
time;
(5) If there is any child, and the widow or widower or domestic partner
remarries or
enters
into a domestic partnership, in lieu
of the previously stated annuity to him or her, an
annuity
not exceeding one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) to or for the benefit
of each
child
during the time previously stated; and
(6) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner and no child,
the sum of three
thousand
six hundred dollars ($3,600) payable in regular installments by the board of
fire fighter's
relief,
to or for the benefit of the father or mother of the deceased, if dependent
upon him or her
for
support at the time of his or her death, and commencing with the date of death
but not more
than six
(6) months prior to the date of filing of the petition and continuing so long
as the
beneficiary
is unable to support himself or herself and does not remarry or enter into a
domestic
partnership, an annuity not exceeding three thousand six hundred
dollars ($3,600) a year, payable
in the
number of regular installments determined by the board.
(b) The amount of the annuity shall, from time to time, be determined within
the limits
previously
stated by the board.
(c) The provisions of this section shall in the case of any active or retired
member of the
fire
force of any city or town or fire fighter for the town of North Smithfield who,
from and after
January
1, 1935, is killed or dies from injuries received while in the performance of
his or her
duty, or
dies of a heart condition, respiratory ailments, or any condition derived from
hypertension.
The provisions of this section shall only be construed to apply prospectively.
(d) The amount of the annuity shall not be reduced by reason of receipt of any
annuity
and/or
other payments to any beneficiary from any other source.
(e) Upon the death of a member, the fire chief shall immediately notify the
widow or
widower or
domestic partner of the member, in writing, by registered or certified
mail, return
receipt
requested, of the widow or widower's or domestic partner's possible
eligibility for benefits
under
this chapter and the time restriction for filing a claim for the benefits.
45-19-12.2.
Annuities to dependents of deceased auxiliary and volunteer fire fighters
and
appropriations to nondependent parents of deceased auxiliary and volunteer fire
fighters.
-- (a) If an active member of a
volunteer or auxiliary fire force or volunteer crash rescue
or
ambulance corps is killed or dies from injuries received while in the
performance of his or her
duty
there, shall be paid out of the fire fighter's relief fund of Rhode Island to
the following
dependents
of the deceased person, the following sums of money:
(1) To the widow or widower or domestic partner beginning at the death,
an annuity not
exceeding
three thousand six hundred dollars ($3,600) a year, payable in regular
installments as
may be
determined by the board and continuing as long as he or she remains unmarried or
not in
a domestic
partnership;
(2) An additional annuity of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) a year,
payable
in
regular installments determined by the board, for each child of the deceased
person during the
time
that the child is under the age of eighteen (18) years, or over that age and
physically or
mentally
incapacitated from earning;
(3) If there is any child and no widow or widower or domestic partner or
the widow or
widower or
domestic partner dies later, the sum and annuity that should have been
payable to the
widow or
widower or domestic partner had there been one or had he or she lived,
to or for the
benefit
of the child or of the children, in equal shares during the previously stated
time;
(4) If there is any child and the widow or widower or domestic partner
remarries or
enters
into a domestic partnership, in lieu
of the previously stated annuity to him or her, an
annuity not
exceeding one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) to or for the benefit of
each
child
during the previously stated time;
(5) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner and no child,
the total sum of ten
thousand
dollars ($10,000) payable in a lump for the benefit of the father and/or mother
of the
deceased,
if not dependent upon him or her for support at the time of his or her death;
and
(6) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner and no child,
the sum of three
thousand
six hundred dollars ($3,600) payable in regular installments by the board of
fire fighter's
relief,
to or for the benefit of the father or mother of the deceased, if dependent
upon him or her
for
support at the time of his or her death, and beginning at the death and
continuing so long as
the
beneficiary is unable to support himself or herself and does not remarry or
enter into a
domestic
partnership, an annuity not exceeding
three thousand six hundred dollars ($3,600) a
year,
payable in regular installments determined by the board.
(b) The provisions of this section shall be retroactive to July 1, 1988.
45-19-14.
Appropriations by towns to dependents of deceased police officers and fire
fighters.
-- The several cities and towns
are authorized and empowered to make a special
appropriation
to surviving widows or widowers or domestic partners, or other surviving
dependents,
of a deceased fire fighter or police officer who has been in the service of a
city or
town for
a period of at least two (2) years and has lost his or her life, or received
injuries resulting
in
permanent disability, or incurred illness resulting in death, while in the line
of duty as a fire
fighter
or police officer. This appropriation may be in addition to any service pension
granted to
the
widows or widowers or domestic partners of any fire fighters or police
officers under the
provisions
of any law or any ordinance of any city or town; provided, that the
appropriation does
not
exceed the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for any one person.
45-19-15.
Extension of provisions to widows or widowers of other deceased police
officers
and fire fighters
Extension of provisions to widows or widowers or domestic
partners
of other deceased police officers and fire fighters. -- The legislative body of any city
or town
may, by ordinance, provide that the provisions of sections 45-19-4 and 45-19-12
apply in
the case
of any unremarried widow or widower or domestic partner, of any police
officer or fire
fighter
which police officer or fire fighter died while in service or was retired from
the police or
fire
force of a city or town on pensions prior to his or her death. The annuities
shall be paid to the
widow or
widower or domestic partner by the proper authority of the city or town
in which the
police
officer or fire fighter was employed at the time of his or her retirement.
SECTION
16. Sections 45-21-2, 45-21-25, 45-21-30, 45-21-51 and 45-21-51.1 of the
General
Laws in Chapter 45-21 entitled "Retirement of Municipal Employees"
are hereby
amended
to read as follows:
45-21-2.
Definitions. -- The following words and phrases as used in this chapter
have the
following
meanings unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:
(1) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts deducted
from the
compensation
of a member and credited to his or her individual account in the members'
contribution
reserve account.
(2) "Actuarial reserve" means the present value of all payments to be
made on account of
any
annuity, retirement allowance, or benefit, computed upon the basis of mortality
tables
adopted
by the retirement board with regular interest.
(3) "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of a retirement
allowance, annuity, or
other
benefit as provided by this chapter.
(4) "Effective date of participation" means the date on which the
provisions of this
chapter
have become applicable to a municipality accepting the provisions of the
chapter in the
manner
stated in section 45-21-4.
(5) "Employee" means any regular and permanent employee or officer of
any
municipality,
whose business time at a minimum of twenty (20) hours a week is devoted to the
service
of the municipality, including elective officials and officials and employees
of city and
town
housing authorities. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the term
"employee", for the
purposes
of this chapter, does not include any person whose duties are of a casual or
seasonal
nature.
The retirement board shall decide who are employees within the meaning of this
chapter,
but in
no case shall it deem as an employee any individual who annually devotes less
than twenty
(20)
business hours per week to the service of the municipality and who receives
less than the
equivalent
of minimum wage compensation on an hourly basis for his or her services, except
as
provided
in section 45-21-14.1. Casual employees mean those persons hired for an
occasional
period
to perform special jobs or functions not necessarily related to the work of
regular
employees.
Any commissioner of a municipal housing authority, or any member of a part-time
state
board commission, committee or other authority is not deemed to be an employee
within the
meaning
of this chapter.
(6) "Final compensation" means the average annual compensation, pay,
or salary of a
member
for services rendered during the period of three (3) consecutive years within
the total
service
of the member when the average was highest, and as the term average annual
compensation
is further defined in section 36-8-1(4).
(7) "Fiscal year" means the period beginning on July 1 in any year
and ending on June
30 of
the next succeeding year.
(8) "Full actuarial costs" or "full actuarial value" mean
the lump sum payable by a
member
claiming service credit for certain employment for which payment is required,
which is
determined
according to the age of the member and his or her annual rate of compensation
at the
time he
or she applies for service credit, and which is expressed as a rate percent of
the annual
rate of
compensation to be multiplied by the number of years for which he or she claims
the
service
credit, as prescribed in a schedule adopted by the retirement board, from time
to time, on
the
basis of computation by the actuary.
(9) "Governing body" means any and all bodies empowered to
appropriate monies for,
and
administer the operation of, the units as defined in subdivision (1) of this
section.
(10) "Member" means any person included in the membership of the
retirement system
as
provided in section 45-21-8.
(11) "Municipality" means any town or city in the state of Rhode
Island, any city or town
housing
authority, fire, water, sewer district, regional school district, public
building authority as
established
by chapter 14 of title 37, or any other municipal financed agency to which the
retirement
board has approved admission in the retirement system.
(12) "Participating municipality" means any municipality which has
accepted this
chapter,
as provided in section 45-21-4.
(13) "Prior service" means service as a member rendered before the
effective date of
participation
as defined in this section, certified on his or her prior service certificate,
and
allowable
as provided in section 45-21-15.
(14) "Regular interest" means interest compounded annually as
determined by the
retirement
board based upon the experience of the system.
(15) "Retirement allowance" or "annuity" means the amounts
paid to any member of the
municipal
employees' retirement system of the state of Rhode Island, or a survivor of the
member,
as provided in this chapter. All retirement allowances or annuities shall be
paid in equal
monthly
installments for life, unless otherwise specifically provided.
(16) "Retirement board" means the state retirement board created by
chapter 8 of title 36.
(17) "Retirement system" means the "municipal employees'
retirement system of the
state of
Rhode Island" as defined in section 45-21-32.
(18) "Service" means service as an employee of a municipality of the
state of Rhode
Island
as defined in subdivision (5).
(19) "Total service" means prior service as defined in subsection
(13) plus service
rendered
as a member on or after the effective date of participation.
(20) "Active member" means any employee of a participating
municipality as defined in
this
section for whom the retirement system is currently receiving regular
contributions pursuant
to
sections 45-21-41, 45-21-41.1 or 45-21.2-14.
(21)
For purposes of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as
a person who,
prior
to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed
relationship with the
decedent,
and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following
qualifications:
(i)
both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(ii)
neither partner was married to anyone else;
(iii)
partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in
the
state
of Rhode Island;
(iv)
partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the
time of
death;
and
(v)
partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of
the
following:
(A)
domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(B)
joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;
(C)
two (2) of: (I) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (II) joint checking account;
(III) joint
credit
account; (IV) joint lease; and/or
(D)
the domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement
contract or life insurance.
45-21-25.
Accidental death benefits. -- Upon the accidental death of a member
before
retirement;
provided, that evidence is submitted to the retirement board proving that the
death of
the
member was the natural and proximate result of an accident while in the
performance of duty
at some
definite time and place, and that the death was not the result of willful
negligence on the
member's
part, the member's accumulated contributions shall be paid to the member's
estate, or to
the
person having an insurable interest in the member's life that the member has
nominated by
written
designation, duly executed and filed with the retirement board, and, upon
application by
or on
behalf of the dependents of the deceased member, the retirement board shall
grant a benefit
equal to
one-half ( 1/2) the rate of compensation of the member in effect at the date of
death:
(1) To his or her widow or widower or domestic partner, to continue for
life unless he or
she
remarries or enters into a domestic partnership; or
(2) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner, or if the widow
or widower or
domestic
partner dies or remarries or
enters into a domestic partnership before any child of the
deceased
member has attained the age of eighteen (18) years, then to his or her child or
children
under
that age, divided in any manner that the retirement board in its discretion
determines, to
continue
as a joint and survivor annuity of one-half ( 1/2) of that compensation until
every child
dies or
attains that age; or
(3) If there is no widow, widower, or domestic partner or child under
the age of eighteen
(18)
years surviving the deceased member, then to his or her dependent father or
mother, as the
deceased
member has nominated by written designation, duly acknowledged and filed with
the
retirement
board; or if there is no nomination, then to his or her dependent father or to
his or her
dependent
mother, as the retirement board in its discretion directs, to continue for
life.
45-21-30.
Optional benefits on service retirement. -- (a) A beneficiary, or, if
the
beneficiary
is an incompetent, then his or her spouse or domestic partner, or if he
or she has no
spouse or
domestic partner, a guardian of the beneficiary's estate, may elect to
receive a benefit in
a
retirement allowance, payable throughout life, or the beneficiary may then
elect to receive the
actuarial
equivalent, at that time, of the beneficiary's retirement allowance in a lesser
retirement
allowance
as determined by actuarial calculation, which shall be payable throughout life
with the
provision
that:
(1) Option 1. - A reduced retirement allowance payable during the beneficiary's
life, with
the
provisions that after the beneficiary's death, it shall continue during the
life of and be paid to
the
person that the beneficiary has nominated by written designation duly
acknowledged and filed
with the
retirement board at the time of retirement; or
(2) Option 2. - A reduced retirement allowance payable during the beneficiary's
life, with
the
provision that after the beneficiary's death an allowance equal to one-half (
1/2) of the
beneficiary's
reduced allowance shall continue during the life of and be paid to the person
that the
beneficiary
has nominated by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board
at
the time
of retirement.
(b) This section does not apply to any person who elects the social security
supplemental
option
related in section 45-21-17.2.
(c) This section is exempt from the provisions of sections 45-13-6 -- 45-13-10.
45-21-51.
Persons eligible for optional benefits -- Time of election -- Modification or
revocation
-- Effective date. -- (a) The
optional provisions of section 45-21-30 are applicable
only to
a member applying for a service retirement allowance and an accidental
disability
retirement
allowance and an ordinary disability retirement allowance or any inactive
member
applying
for retirement under vested rights. The election under option 1 or 2 is made at
the time
of
retirement of the member as part of his or her application for a retirement
allowance. The
election
is based upon the amount of retirement allowances that may accrue at the date
of death of
the
member, and may be revoked or modified by the member at any time after
retirement on a
form
prescribed by the retirement board, provided that during this time, the named
beneficiary
has not
been divorced from the member or entered into a domestic partnership.
The option in the
case of
death of a retired member becomes effective on the next day following the death
of the
member
and payment of benefits made in accordance with the provisions of this section,
subject
to the
limitations prescribed in section 45-21-30; provided, further, that this
section does not
apply to
anyone who elects the social security supplemental option as provided by
section 45-21-
17.2.
(b) This section is exempt from the provisions of sections 45-13-6 -- 45-13-10.
45-21-51.1.
Optional annuity protection -- Election of option by member. -- (a)
Upon
death of
a member having at least ten (10) years of membership service, the spouse or
domestic
partner of the member has the option to elect to receive
option one as provided in section 45-21-
30 in
lieu of a return of contributions, provided the spouse or domestic partner
is the designated
beneficiary
of the member's retirement account. The election is based upon the amount of
retirement
allowance or actuarial equivalent that may accrue at the date of death of the
member.
(b) The election under option one for a person other than the spouse of the
member may
be made
by the member, while in service; provided, that the member has at least ten
(10) years of
membership
service and before retirement, on a form prescribed by the retirement board.
The
election
is based upon the amount of retirement allowances or actuarial equivalents that
may
accrue
at the date of death of the member; provided, that the election form is
executed and filed
with the
retirement board prior to the date of death. The election may be revoked or
modified by
the
member at any time prior to the date of retirement, on a form prescribed by the
retirement
board.
(c) Upon the death of a member, the option becomes effective thirty (30) days
after the
first day
of the next calendar month following the date of death of the member if death
occurs
while in
an employee status. Should death occur while in an inactive member status, the
option
under
this section becomes payable on the first day of the next succeeding month that
in which
the
designated beneficiary attains the age of sixty (60) years.
SECTION
17. Section 45-21.1-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-21.1 entitled
"Municipal
Fire Fighters' Pensions" is hereby amended to read as follows:
45-21.1-1.
Benefits. – (a) Whenever, under any general law or special act,
any town or
city has
established a pension system for the fire fighters of the town or city, funded
in whole or
in part
by contributions from those fire fighters, then upon the death of a fire
fighter, whether
before
or after his or her retirement, there is due from the fire fighter's pension
fund of the town
or city
to the person or persons as he or she has nominated by written designation,
and, if no
designation
was made, to the widow or widower or domestic partner of the fire
fighter, if any, an
amount
equal to the total contributions made to the pension fund by the deceased fire
fighter less
any
benefits received by the fire fighter from the fund. If there is no designation
and no widow or
widower or
domestic partner surviving the fire fighter, payments under the provisions
of this
section
are paid to the estate of the deceased fire fighter in an amount equal to the
total
contributions
made to the pension fund by the deceased fire fighter less any benefits
received by
the fire
fighter from the fund; provided, that if the amount due to the estate of a
deceased fire
fighter
under the provisions of this section is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less,
then, in lieu of
making
the payment due under the provisions of this section to the estate, the payment
may be
made to
the widow or widower or domestic partner (for his or her sole use) of
the deceased fire
fighter;
and provided, further, that this section does not apply in the case of any
pension fund
which
provides benefits for the dependents or survivors of a deceased fire fighter.
(b)
The term "domestic partner" shall have the same meaning as that
provided for in
section
45-21-2.
SECTION
18. Sections 45-21.2-11 and 45-21.2-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-
21.2
entitled "Optional Retirement for Members of Police Force and Fire
Fighters" are hereby
amended
to read as follows:
45-21.2-11.
Accidental death benefits. -- Upon the accidental death of a member
before
retirement;
provided, that evidence shall be submitted to the retirement board proving that
the
death of
the member was a natural and proximate result of an accident while in the
performance
of duty
at some definite time and place, and that the death was not the result of
willful negligence
on the
member's part, that member's accumulated contribution shall be paid to that
member's
estate,
or to the person having an insurable interest in the member's life as the
member nominated
by
written designation, duly executed and filed with the retirement board, and
upon application
by or on
behalf of the dependents of the deceased member, the retirement board shall
grant a
benefit
equal to one-half ( 1/2) of the rate of compensation of the member in effect at
the date of
death:
(1) To his or her widow or widower or domestic partner to continue for
life unless he or
she
remarries or enters into a domestic partnership, together with an amount
equal to ten percent
(10%) of
the rate of compensation for each child of the member under the age of eighteen
(18),
subject
to a total family benefit of sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of
salary; or
(2) If there is no widow or widower or domestic partner or if the widow
or widower or
domestic
partner dies or remarries or
enters into a domestic partnership before any child of the
deceased
member has attained the age of eighteen (18), then to the member's child or
children
under
that age, a benefit for each of fifteen percent (15%) of the rate of
compensation of the
member
subject to a total family benefit of fifty percent (50%) of salary.
45-21.2-12.
Ordinary death benefit. -- Upon death of a member occurring while in
service
and prior to retirement from any cause other than accidental death arising
directly out of
and in
the course of employment, a payment shall be made consisting of:
(1) The sum of eight hundred dollars ($800) for each year of service subject to
a
minimum payment
of four thousand dollars ($4,000) and a maximum payment of sixteen
thousand
dollars ($16,000); and
(2) An annuity to his or her widow or widower or domestic partner to
continue for life
unless
he or she remarries or enters into a domestic partnership equal to
thirty percent (30%) of
the rate
of compensation plus an allowance of ten percent (10%) of the compensation on
account
of each
child of the member under age eighteen (18), subject to a total family benefit
of fifty
percent
(50%) of final compensation; or if there is no widow or widower or domestic
partner, or
if the
widow or widower or domestic partner dies or remarries or enters into
a domestic
partnership before any child of the deceased member has attained
the age of eighteen (18) years,
then an
annuity with respect to each child of fifteen percent (15%) of the member's
final
compensation
subject to a maximum family benefit of fifty percent (50%) of final
compensation.
(3) The benefit under subsection (2) of this section is not payable if the
member elected
the
provisions of section 45-21.2-21.
SECTION
19. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02036
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