An Act To Expand the 1998 Special Retirement Plan To Include Detectives in the Office of Investigations within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0099
Committee Amendment CA_A_H249 (House)
Amends: 5 MRSA §17716, 5 MRSA §17851, 5 MRSA §17851-A, 5 MRSA §17852

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 67, L.D. 99, Bill, "An Act To Expand 
the 1998 Special Retirement Plan To Include Detectives in the Office of Investigations 
within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 
MRSA §17716, as amended by PL 2007, c. 491, §135, is further 
amended to read: 
§17716. Motor vehicle detectives 
A motor vehicle investigator detective, senior motor vehicle im'estigatol' detective, 
principal motor vehicle investigate!' detective or chief motor vehicle investigate!' 
detective who elects the retirement option provided in section 17851, subsection 14 shall 
contribute to the State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program or have pick-up 
contributions made by the employer as provided in section 17852, subsection 15. 
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §17851, sub-§14, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 402, §2, is amended 
to read: 
14. Motor vehicle detectives; option. A Except as provided in section 17851-A, a 
motor vehicle investigate!' detective, senior motor vehicle investigate!' detective, principal 
motor vehicle investigate!' detective or chief motor vehicle investigator detective qualifies 
for a service retirement benefit upon reaching 55 years of age after completing at least 25 
years of creditable service in that capacity if notice of election of the option and payment 
of employee contributions and actuarial costs are made as provided in section 17852, 
subsection 15.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 9 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 9. 5 MRSA §17851-A, sub-§6-B is enacted to read: 
6-B. Consequences of participation in retirement plan under section 17851, 
subsection 14. A member in the capacity specified in subsection 1, paragraph N who, 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT'~ "to H.P. 67, L.D. 99 
prior to July 1, 2018. elected the retirement option provided in section 17851. subsection 
is treated as follows under the 1998 Special Plan. 
A. A member who made the election at the time of first employment in a position 
covered under section 17851. subsection 14 is considered to be a member under the 
1998 Special Plan as of the date of hire. Beginning July 1, 2018. a member covered 
by this paragraph shall contribute to the State Employee and Teacher Retirement 
Program or have pick-up contributions made at a rate of 8.65% of earnable 
compensation until completion of 25 years of creditable service and shall contribute 
at a rate of 7.65% thereafter. 
B. A member who was serving in a position covered under section 17851. subsection 
at the time of the election and who elected to participate in the retirement option 
prospectively from the time of election is considered to be a member under the 1998 
Special Plan as of the effective date of the election. Beginning July 1, 2018. a 
member covered by this paragraph shall contribute to the State Employee and 
Teacher Retirement Program or have pick-up contributions made at a rate of 8.65% 
of earnable compensation until completion of 25 years of creditable service and shall 
contribute at a rate of 7.65% thereafter. 
C. A member who was serving in a position covered under section 17851, subsection 
at the time of the election and who elected to participate in the retirement option 
prospectively from the time of election and also elected to purchase credit for service 
earned while serving in the same capacity before exercising the election is considered 
to be a member under the 1998 Special Plan as of the beginning date of the service 
for which credit is purchased, as long as all of the payments required under section 
17852. subsection 15 are made before retirement. If all the required payments are not 
made before retirement, that member is considered to be a member under the 1998 
Special Plan as of the effective date of the election. Beginning July 1, 2018. for 
employees identified in subsection 1. paragraph N, a member covered by this 
paragraph shall contribute to the State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program or 
have pick-up contributions made at a rate of 8.65% of earnable compensation until 
completion of 25 years of creditable service and shall contribute at a rate of 7.65% 
thereafter. 
Employee contributions and actuarial and administrative costs paid to the State Employee 
and Teacher Retirement Program by a member covered by this subsection may not be 
returned to that member. except that these employee contributions may be refunded to a 
member who terminates service and requests a refund under section 17705-A. 
Sec. 10. 5 MRSA §17852, sub-§15, as amended by PL 2007, c. 491, §§171 and 
172, is further amended to read: 
15. Motor vehicle detectives; option. +he Except as provided in section 17851-A. 
the retirement benefit of a person who qualifies under section 17851, subsection 14 and 
who retires upon or after reaching 55 years of age is computed in accordance with 
subsection 1 if: 
A. The person was first employed as a motor vehicle investigator detective on or 
after October 1, 1997, elects the option provided in section 17851, subsection 14 and 
pays to the State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program an increased employee 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT"~" to H.P. 67, L.D. 99 
payroll contribution in an amount that equals the full actuarial cost of electing that 
option; or 
B. The person was first employed as a motor vehicle investigator detective before 
October 1, 1997, elects the option provided in section 17851, subsection 14 and pays 
to the State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program a single payment or periodic 
payments of a lump sum or a combination of single and periodic payments of that 
amount that equals the full actuarial cost of electing that option for service before that 
date. 
A person who requests calculation of the full actuarial cost, regardless of whether the 
person elects the option, must pay to the retirement system by a single lump sum payment 
the reasonable administrative costs of determining the full actuarial costs. Payment of the 
full actuarial cost related to service on or after October 1, 1997 is made as part of the 
employee payroll contribution. 
For the purposes of this subsection, "full actuarial cost" means that the person's payment 
or payments must fully offset any unfunded liability that would or does result from 
retirement under the option provided in section 17851, subsection 14 and must fully fund 
the cost of the person's retirement prior to normal retirement age so that an additional 
employer contribution is not required. 
A person who makes the election provided in section 17851, subsection 14 at any time 
after the date on which the person is first employed as a motor vehicle investigator 
detective must include interest, at a rate to be set by the board not to exceed regular 
interest by 5 or more percentage points, applied as of the date on which the person was 
first employed in that capacity to the contributions the person would have paid or had 
picked up by the employer had the person elected that option at the date of first 
employment. 
This subsection takes effect October 1, 1997, Election to retire under this subsection is a 
one-time irrevocable election. A person who was first employed as a motor vehicle 
investigator detective on or after October 1, 1997 must make the election no later than 90 
days after the date of first employment. 
A person who was first employed in that 
capacity before October 1, 1997 must make the election no later than January 1, 1998. 
Sec. 11. 5 MRSA §17852, sub-§16, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 401, §3, is 
amended to read: 
16. Motor vehicle detectives exercising option; retirement before 55 years of 
age, FeP Except as provided in section 17851-A, for a person exercising the option 
provided in section 17851, subsection 14 who makes the payments required in subsection 
and who retires before reaching 5 5 years of age, the retirement benefit is determined 
as follows. 
A. For members with 10 years of creditable service on July 1, 1993, the retirement 
benefit is determined in accordance with subsection 1, except that: 
(1) The amount arrived at under subsection 1 is reduced by applying to that 
amount the percentage that a life annuity due at 5 5 years of age bears to the life 
annuity due at the age of retirement; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMIITEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 67, L.D. 99 
(2) For the purpose of making the computation under subparagraph (1), the 
board-approved tables of annuities in effect at the date of the member's retirement 
are used. 
For the purpose of calculating creditable service under this subsection only, 
"creditable service" includes time during which a member participated in the 
voluntary cost-savings plan or the voluntary employee incentive program, authorized 
by Public Law 1989, chapter 702, Part F, section 6 and Public Law 1991, chapter 
591, Part BB and chapter 780, Part VV; 10 years of combined creditable service 
under this Part and Title 3, chapter 29; or creditable service available to a member 
that the member was eligible to purchase on June 30, 1993 and that the member does 
purchase in accordance with rules adopted by the board. 
B. For members who do not have 10 years of creditable service on July 1, 1993, the 
retirement benefit is determined in accordance with subsection 1, except that the 
benefit is reduced by 6% for each year that the person's age precedes 55 years of age. 
Sec. 12. Transition. If a motor vehicle detective in the employment of the office 
of investigations within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor 
Vehicles on July 1, 2018 elects to participate in the 1998 Special Plan of the Maine 
Public Employees Retirement System, as provided in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, 
section 17851-A, subsection 1, that detective must make that election no later than 
December 1, 2018. 
Sec. 13. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF 
Administration - Motor Vehicles 0077 
Initiative: Moves funds from All Other to Personal Services to fund the additional cost for 
detectives employed in the office of investigations within the Department of the Secretary 
of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, on July 1, 2018 to participate in the 1998 Special 
Plan on a prospective basis. 
HIGHWAY FUND 
Personal Services 
All Other 
HIGHWAY FUND TOTAL 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
$0 
2018-19 
$8,314 
($8,314) 
$0 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. The amendment clarifies 
7 
that a motor vehicle detective in the employment of the office of investigations within the 
8 
Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles on July 1, 2018 must 
make the election to participate in the 1998 Special Plan no later than December 1, 2018. 
The amendment also makes technical changes and corrects cross-references in.the current 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
, (:' 
r,'1; :1 
-~ "' 
,• '" 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT«/)» to H.P. 67, L.D. 99 
retirement provisions applicable to detectives in the employment of the office of 
investigations within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles. 
The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section to the bill. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/08/17 ~ae 
LD99 
LR 443(02) 
An Act To Expand the 1998 Special Retirement Plan To Include Detectives in the Office of 
Investigations within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles)\ 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment A' CH-!J L}~ 
Committee: Appropriations and Financial Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2017-18 
FY 2018-19 
Projections 
FY 2019-20 
Projections 
FY 2020-21 
Net Cost (Savings) 
Highway Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
Highway Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
Allowing detectives employed in the office of investigations within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau 
of Motor Vehicles, on or after July 1, 2018 to participate in the 1998 Special Plan of the Maine Public Employees 
Retirement System will increase both the normal cost and unfunded actuarial liability components of the employer 
retirement rate, resulting in increased employer contributions to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System for 
detectives beginning in fiscal year 2018-19. 
This legislation includes a transition provision for those detectives hired by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles prior to 
July l, 2018 which allows these employees to elect to participate in the 1998 Special Plan by December 1, 2018. 
Based on an analysis performed by the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, this fiscal note assumes that 7 of 
the 11 eligible detectives will elect to participate in the 1998 Special Plan as soon as the option becomes available and 
the remaining detectives will opt to stay in the State Regular Plan. 
The Depattment of the Secretary of State has indicated that it will pay for the cost of this provision within its 
proposed budgeted resources for fiscal year 2018-19. This bill includes a Highway Fund allocation of $8,314 to the 
Personal Services line category and a deallocation of $8,314 to the All Other line category within the Department of 
the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles in fiscal year 2018-19 in order for the department to self-fund the 
cost of this legislation. 
LR0443(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of2 
If any of the detectives hired by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles prior to July 1, 2018 who choose to remain in the State 
Regular Plan eventually retire or otherwise vacate their positions, any newly hired detectives will be placed in the 
1998 Special Plan. The additional cost to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to fill these positions at the higher employer 
contribution rate is estimated to be between $2,000 and $3,000 per position annually. When this additional cost will 
be incurred and which fund will be impacted cannot be determined at this time. 
LR0443(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 2 of2