I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8538 

To allow certain governmental pension plans to include firefighters, emergency 

medical technicians, and paramedics, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 6, 2020 

Mr. HOLDING (for himself, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. MURPHY

of North Carolina, Ms. FOXX of North Carolina, Mr. PRICE of North 

Carolina, Mr. WALKER, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. 

HUDSON, and Mr. BUDD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To allow certain governmental pension plans to include firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. GOVERNMENTAL PENSION PLANS MAY IN2 CLUDE CERTAIN FIREFIGHTERS, EMER3 GENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS, AND PARA4 MEDICS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 414 of 

6 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to govern7 mental plans) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(d) GOVERNMENTAL PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, 

10 the term ‘governmental plan’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a plan established and maintained for 

12 its employees by the Government of the United 

13 States, by the government of any State or polit14 ical subdivision thereof, or by any agency or in15 strumentality of any of the foregoing, 

16 ‘‘(B) any plan to which the Railroad Re17 tirement Act of 1935 or 1937 applies and which 

18 is financed by contributions required under that 

19 Act, 

20 ‘‘(C) any plan of an international organiza21 tion which is exempt from taxation by reason of 

22 the International Organizations Immunities Act 

23 (59 Stat. 669), or 

24 ‘‘(D) a plan which is established and main25 tained by an Indian tribal government (as de26 fined in section 7701(a)(40)), a subdivision of 


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•HR 8538 IH

1 an Indian tribal government (determined in ac2 cordance with section 7871(d)), or an agency or 

3 instrumentality of either, and all of the partici4 pants of which are employees of such entity 

5 substantially all of whose services as such an 

6 employee are in the performance of essential 

7 governmental functions but not in the perform8 ance of commercial activities (whether or not an 

9 essential government function). 

10 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR EMERGENCY RE11 SPONSE PROVIDERS.—For purposes of paragraph 

12 (1), a public safety agency (described in section 

13 501(c) and exempt from taxation under section 

14 501(a)) that employs emergency response providers 

15 (defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act 

16 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)), substantially all of whose 

17 services as emergency response providers are in the 

18 performance of firefighting services or out-of-hos19 pital emergency medical services for a political sub20 division of a State under a contract between such 

21 public safety agency and the political subdivision of 

22 a State, may opt to join the governmental plan of 

23 such State or political subdivision.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 this section shall apply to plan years beginning after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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