Chapter 383
2009 -- H 5613 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 01/05/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
INSURANCE -- TEACHERS' HEALTH INSURANCE
Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Gallison, and Malik
Date Introduced: February 25, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 28-9.3-2 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-9.3 entitled "Certified
School Teachers'
Arbitration" is hereby amended to read as follows:
28-9.3-2.
Right to organize and bargain collectively. -- (a)
The certified teachers in the
public school system in any city, town, or regional school
district have the right to negotiate
professionally and to bargain collectively with their respective
school committees and to be
represented by an association or labor organization in the
negotiation or collective bargaining
concerning hours, salary, working conditions, and all other
terms and conditions of professional
employment.
(b) For purposes of
this chapter, "certified teachers" means certified
teaching personnel
employed in the public school systems in the state of
including support personnel whose positions require a
professional certificate issued by the state
department of education and personnel licensed by the department
of health; or other non-
administrative professional employees.
(c) Superintendents,
assistant superintendents, principals, and assistant principals, and
other supervisors above the rank of assistant principal,
are excluded from the provisions of this
chapter.
(d) Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (a), collective bargaining agreements
shall not provide for benefits for health care
("benefit plans") for certified employees unless such
benefit plans are authorized in accordance with chapter
27-73. Active employees whose
collective bargaining agreements expire on or after July 1, 2010
shall, upon expiration of such
collective bargaining agreements, receive coverage under benefit
plans authorized in accordance
with chapter 27-73.
SECTION 2. Section 28-9.4-3 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-9.4 entitled "Municipal
Employees'
Arbitration" is hereby amended to read as follows:
28-9.4-3.
Right to organize and bargain collectively. – (a)
The municipal employees of
any municipal employer in any city, town, or regional
school district shall have the right to
negotiate and to bargain collectively with their respective
municipal employers and to be
represented by an employee organization in the negotiation or
collective bargaining concerning
hours, salary, working conditions, and all other terms and
conditions of employment.
(b) Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (a), for those municipal employees who
are employed by school districts, collective bargaining
agreements shall not provide for benefits
for health care ("benefit plans") for school
district employees unless such benefit plans are
authorized in accordance with chapter 27-73. School district
employees whose collective
bargaining agreements expire on or after July 1, 2010 shall,
upon expiration of such collective
bargaining agreements, receive benefit plans authorized in
accordance with chapter 27-73.
SECTION 3. Title 27 of the General Laws entitled
"INSURANCE" is hereby amended
by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
73
27-73-1. Title and purpose.
– (a) This chapter shall be known and may
be cited as the
“
(b) The purpose of
this chapter is to create uniform medical and prescription drug benefit
plan designs for
27-73-2. Program implementation.
– (a) Upon implementation of the uniform
health
care benefit plan designs or at such other time as
specified herein or as specified in sections
28-9.3-2 and 28-9.4-3, all public school districts and
charter schools shall implement one or more
benefit plan design(s) authorized in accordance with this
chapter.
(b) Upon expiration
of collective bargaining agreements, only benefit plan designs
approved by the board in accordance with this chapter may be
specified in future collective
bargaining agreements.
(c) Choice of benefit
plan designs from those approved in accordance with section 27-73-
4, medical insurance cost-sharing, payment for waiving
medical insurance, eligibility for
receiving benefits, and providing benefits for retirees shall
continue to be negotiated pursuant to
sections 28-9-3 and 28-9-4.
(d) Each
municipality, district or charter school, may, at its
discretion, contract for and
manage benefit plans under this chapter, either directly or
indirectly, through municipal, district
or charter arrangements with insurance purchasing collaboratives or joint purchasing groups.
27-73-3. Board of directors established. –
(a) There is established the board of directors
of the
(b) The board shall
consist of twelve (12) members, as follows:
(1) Two (2) members
shall be appointed by the president of the
of Teachers and Health Professionals and may be active
or retired teachers or officials from the
union;
(2) Two (2) members
shall be appointed by the president of the National Education
Association of
(3) One member shall
be appointed by the president of RI Council 94 of the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees;
(4) One member shall
be appointed by the president of the Laborers International
of
(5) Two (2) members
shall be appointed by the president of the
of School Committees;
(6) Two (2) members
shall be appointed by the
Association;
(7) Two (2) members
shall be appointed by the president of the
of School Business Managers; and
(c) Each appointing
authority may remove or replace any member appointed by that
appointing authority at any time.
(d) Members of the
board shall serve without compensation.
(e) The board shall
be initially convened by the
or before September 15, 2009.
(f) A technical
advisory committee to the board shall be created concurrently with the
board. The advisory committee shall receive adequate notice
to be in attendance and to provide a
report at each of the board meetings. The advisory committee
shall be composed of one
representative of each of the following: the department of
elementary and secondary education,
the department of administration, the League of Charter
Schools and each of the municipal
insurance purchasing collaboratives.
The department of administration representative shall serve
as chair and convener of the advisory committee.
27-73-4. Powers, duties, and functions of
the board. – (a) The
board shall have the
following powers, duties and functions relative to active
full-time certified employees pursuant to
section 28-9.3-2, and active full-time school district
employees pursuant to section 28-9.4-3:
(1) To design and
approve, with input and recommendations from the technical advisory
committee, medical benefits plan designs and prescription drug
coverage plan designs in
accordance with the following:
(i)
To design at least six (6) uniform benefit plan designs for all
school employees.
(ii) Benefit plan
designs shall include at least one managed care option, at least four (4)
preferred provider organization (PPO) options, and at least one
health savings account (HSA)
compatible high deductible health plan (HDHP) option.
(iii) The actuarial
value of any of the approved benefit plan designs may not be greater
than the actuarial value of the state employee health plan
in effect as of the date the plan designs
are approved.
(iv)
The PPO options shall reflect four (4) different levels of plan
design, with a
minimum actuarial difference between each of the plan designs
of seven and one-half percent
(7.5%).
(v) The actuarial
value of the lowest board-approved benefit plan design shall not be
greater than the actuarial value of the public school
employee benefit plan design with the lowest
actuarial value in effect in the state on January 1, 2010.
(b) To monitor the
implementation of the uniform benefit plan designs and to recommend
modifications to such benefit plan designs as appropriate.
(c) To report to the
governor and general assembly on or before April 15, 2010, with
recommendations on the means, feasibility and benefits of developing
a statewide health benefit
purchasing arrangement for public school employees.
27-73-5. Officers, quorum, meetings.
– (a) The board shall elect from its own
membership such officers as it sees fit;
(b)
Seven (7) members of the board in office shall constitute a quorum;
(c) Decisions of the
board shall be made by a majority vote of the members present;
(d) Meetings may be
called by the chair, or at the written request of four (4) members;
(e) The board shall
hold regular meetings at least once every month, and those meetings
shall be open to the public in accordance with chapter
42-46 ("Open Meetings").
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01289/SUB A
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