I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 331 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify that federally recognized Indian 
tribal governments are to be regulated under the same government em-
ployer rules and procedures that apply to Federal, State, and other 
local government employers with regard to the establishment and mainte-
nance of employee benefit plans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 25, 2005 
Mr. HAYWORTH (for himself and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify 
that federally recognized Indian tribal governments are 
to be regulated under the same government employer 
rules and procedures that apply to Federal, State, and 
other local government employers with regard to the 
establishment and maintenance of employee benefit 
plans. 
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 ‘‘Governmental Pension 
Plan Equalization Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF ‘‘GOVERNMENTAL PLAN’’ DEFI-
NITIONS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 
1986.—Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (definition of governmental plan) is amended by add-
ing at the end thereof the following new sentence: ‘‘The 
term ‘governmental plan’ also includes a plan established 
or maintained for its employees by an Indian tribal gov-
ernment (as defined in section 7701(a)(40)), a subdivision 
of an Indian tribal government (determined in accordance 
with section 7871(d)), an agency or instrumentality of an 
Indian tribal government or a subdivision thereof, or an 
entity established under tribal, Federal, or State law 
which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the fore-
going.’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN-
COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Section 3(32) of the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1002(32)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new sentence: ‘‘The term ‘governmental plan’ 
also includes a plan established or maintained for its em-
ployees by an Indian tribal government (as defined in sec-
tion 7701(a)(40) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986),
a subdivision of an Indian tribal government (determined 
in accordance with section 7871(d) of such Code), an 
agency or instrumentality of an Indian tribal government 
or subdivision thereof, or an entity established under trib-
al, Federal, or State law which is wholly owned or con-
trolled by any of the foregoing.’’. 
SEC. 3. EXTENSION TO ALL GOVERNMENTAL PLANS OF 
CURRENT MORATORIUM ON APPLICATION OF 
CERTAIN NONDISCRIMINATION RULES APPLI-
CABLE TO STATE AND LOCAL PLANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) Subparagraph (G) of section 401(a)(5) and 
subparagraph (H) of section 401(a)(26) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 are each amended by 
striking ‘‘section 414(d))’’ and all that follows and 
inserting ‘‘section 414(d)).’’. 
(2) Subparagraph (G) of section 401(k)(3) of 
such Code and paragraph (2) of section 1505(d) of 
the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 are each amended 
by striking ‘‘maintained by a State or local govern-
ment or political subdivision thereof (or agency or 
instrumentality thereof)’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The heading for section 401(a)(5)(G) of 
such Code is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(G) GOVERNMENTAL PLANS.—’’. 
(2) The heading for section 401(a)(26)(H) of 
such Code is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(H) EXCEPTION
FOR
GOVERNMENTAL 
PLANS.—’’. 
(3) Section 401(k)(3)(G) of such Code is 
amended by inserting ‘‘Governmental plan.—’’ after 
‘‘(G)’’. 
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION THAT TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS ARE 
SUBJECT TO THE SAME DEFINED BENEFIT 
PLAN RULES AND REGULATIONS APPLIED TO 
STATE AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, 
THEIR POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS. 
(a) AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 
1986.— 
(1) POLICE
AND
FIREFIGHTERS.—Subpara-
graph (H) section 415(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (defining participant) is amended— 
(A) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘State or po-
litical subdivision’’ and inserting ‘‘State, Indian 
tribal government (as defined in section 
7701(a)(40)), or any political subdivision’’, and 
(B) in clause (ii)(I) by striking ‘‘State or 
political subdivision’’ both places it appears and
inserting ‘‘State, Indian tribal government (as 
so defined), or any political subdivision’’. 
(2) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PLANS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of 
section 415(b)(10) of such Code (relating to 
limitation to equal accrued benefit) is amend-
ed— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘, Indian tribal gov-
ernment 
(as 
defined 
in 
section 
7701(a)(40)),’’ after ‘‘State’’, 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘any’’ before ‘‘polit-
ical subdivision’’, and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘any of’’ before ‘‘the 
foregoing’’. 
(B) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The 
heading for section 415(b)(10) of such Code is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(10) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATE, INDIAN TRIB-
AL, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PLANS.—’’. 
(3) GOVERNMENT PICK UP CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
Paragraph (2) of section 414(h) of such Code (relat-
ing to designation by units of government) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘State or political subdivision’’ insert-
ing ‘‘State, Indian tribal government (as defined in 
section 7701(a)(40)), or any political subdivision’’.
(b) AMENDMENTS TO EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN-
COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Section 4021(b) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1321(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘plan.’’ and 
inserting ‘‘plan; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(14) established and maintained for its em-
ployees by an Indian tribal government (as defined 
in section 7701(a)(40) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986), a subdivision of an Indian tribal govern-
ment (determined in accordance with section 
7871(d) of such Code), an agency or instrumentality 
of an Indian tribal government or subdivision there-
of, or an entity established under tribal, Federal, or 
State law which is wholly owned or controlled by any 
of the foregoing.’’. 
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this Act shall apply to 
years beginning before, on, or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
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