To allow certain governmental pension plans to include firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-hr-8538
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Holding, George [R-NC-2]
Introduced: 2020-10-06
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Federal-Indian relations

First responders and emergency personnel

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

State and local government operations

Tax-exempt organizations
Latest action: action_date: 2020-10-06
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-10-06
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This bill expands the coverage of tax-exempt governmental pension plans to include emergency response providers, such as firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics,</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8538 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. Governmental pension plans may include certain firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics (a) In general Subsection (d) of section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to governmental plans) is amended to read as follows: (d) Governmental plan (1) In general For purposes of this part, the term governmental plan means— (A) a plan established and maintained for its employees by the Government of the United States, by the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or by any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing, (B) any plan to which the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 or 1937 applies and which is financed by contributions required under that Act, (C) any plan of an international organization which is exempt from taxation by reason of the International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669), or (D) a plan which is established and maintained by an Indian tribal government (as defined in section 7701(a)(40)), a subdivision of an Indian tribal government (determined in accordance with section 7871(d)), or an agency or instrumentality of either, and all of the participants of which are employees of such entity substantially all of whose services as such an employee are in the performance of essential governmental functions but not in the performance of commercial activities (whether or not an essential government function). (2) Special rule for emergency response providers For purposes of paragraph (1), a public safety agency (described in section 501(c) and exempt from taxation under section 501(a)) that employs emergency response providers (defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 101 )), substantially all of whose services as emergency response providers are in the performance of firefighting services or out-of-hospital emergency medical services for a political subdivision of a State under a contract between such public safety agency and the political subdivision of a State, may opt to join the governmental plan of such State or political subdivision. . (b) Effective date The amendment made by this section shall apply to plan years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.