I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2222
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and 
the Internal Revenue Code to allow for alienation of benefits to satisfy 
court judgments, decrees, or orders requiring restitution for embezzle-
ment of State or local government funds. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2003
Mr. BUYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Secu-
rity Act and the Internal Revenue Code to allow for 
alienation of benefits to satisfy court judgments, decrees, 
or orders requiring restitution for embezzlement of State 
or local government funds.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Employer’s Res-
titution Act of 2003’’ .
SEC. 2. ALIENATION OF PENSION PLAN BENEFITS TO SAT-
ISFY COURT JUDGMENTS, DECREES, OR OR-
DERS REQUIRING RESTITUTION FOR EMBEZ-
ZLEMENT OF STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
FUNDS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT 
INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 206(d) of the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1056(d)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(6)(A) Paragraph (1) shall apply to the creation, as-
signment, or recognition of a right to any benefit payable 
with respect to a participant pursuant to an embezzlement 
restitution order, except that paragraph (1) shall not 
apply if the order is determined to be a qualified embezzle-
ment restitution order. Each pension plan shall provide 
for the payment of benefits in accordance with the applica-
ble requirements of any qualified embezzlement restitution 
order. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph—
‘‘(i) the term ‘qualified embezzlement restitu-
tion order’ means an embezzlement restitution 
order—
‘‘(I) which creates or recognizes the exist-
ence of an aggrieved State or local govern-
ment’s right to, or assigns to an aggrieved 
State or local government the right to, receive 
all or a portion of the benefits payable with re-
spect to a participant under a plan, and 
‘‘(II) with respect to which the require-
ments of subparagraphs (C) and (D) are met, 
and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘embezzlement restitution order’ 
means an order arising under a judgment of convic-
tion of an individual by a court of competent juris-
diction of the crime of embezzlement in violation of 
the applicable laws of the United States or of any 
State or political subdivision thereof, which provides 
for restitution to the government of any State or po-
litical subdivision thereof of losses sustained by such 
government in connection with embezzlement of the 
funds of such government by such individual. 
‘‘(C) A qualified embezzlement restitution order 
meets the requirements of this subparagraph only if such 
order clearly specifies—
‘‘(i) the name and the last known mailing ad-
dress (if any) of the participant and the name and 
mailing address of each aggrieved State or local gov-
ernment covered by the order,