reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
16 V.S.A. § 1944b
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1944b. Retired Teachers' Health and Medical Benefits Fund

§ 1944b. Retired Teachers' Health and Medical Benefits Fund|(a) There is established the Retired Teachers' Health and Medical Benefits Fund (Benefits Fund) to pay retired teacher health and medical benefits, including prescription drug benefits, when due in accordance with the terms established by the Board of Trustees of the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont pursuant to subsection 1942(p) and section 1944e of this title. The Benefits Fund is intended to comply with and be a tax exempt governmental trust under Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Benefits Fund shall be administered by the Treasurer.(b) The Benefits Fund shall consist of:  (1) all monies remitted to the State on behalf of the members of the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont for prescription drug plans pursuant to the Employer Group Waiver Plan with Wrap pursuant to the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003; (2) any monies appropriated by the General Assembly for the purpose of paying the health and medical benefits for retired members and their dependents provided by subsection 1942(p) and section 1944e of this title; (3) any monies pursuant to subsection (e) of this section; and (4) [Repealed.] (5) any monies pursuant to section 1944d of this title.   (c) No employee contributions shall be deposited in the Benefits Fund.(d) The Treasurer may invest monies in the Benefits Fund in accordance with the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 434 or, in the alternative, may enter into an agreement with the Vermont Pension Investment Committee to invest such monies in accordance with the standards of care established by the prudent investor rule under 14A V.S.A. § 902, in a manner similar to the Committee's investment of retirement system monies. Interest earned shall remain in the Benefits Fund, and all balances remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried over to the following year. The Treasurer's annual financial report to the Governor and the General Assembly shall contain an accounting of receipts, disbursements, and earnings of the Benefits Fund.(e) [Repealed.](f) Contributions to the Benefits Fund shall be irrevocable and it shall be impossible at any time prior to the satisfaction of all liabilities, with respect to employees and their beneficiaries, for any part of the corpus or income of the Benefits Fund to be used for, or diverted to, purposes other than the payment of retiree postemployment benefits to members and their beneficiaries and reasonable expenses of administering the Benefits Fund and related benefit plans.(g) [Repealed.]  (Added 2013, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § E.514.1; amended 2015, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2017, No. 85, § E.515.1; 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 19; 2019, No. 6, § 90, eff. April 22, 2019; 2019, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § A.38, eff. June 30, 2020.)
16 V.S.A. § 1944c
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1944c. Employer charges for federal grants or reimbursements

§ 1944c. Employer charges for federal grants or reimbursements|(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, effective on July 1, 2015, the employer retirement costs and administrative operating expenses related to the retirement plans applicable to those teachers whose funding is provided from federal grants or through federal reimbursement shall be paid by local school systems or educational entities that participate in the Vermont Teachers' Retirement Fund from those federal monies.(b) The percentage rates to be applied shall be determined by an actuary approved by the Board of Trustees of the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont and shall be applied to the total earnable compensation of members prepared by the actuary in compliance with subsection 1942(r) of this title. The Secretary of Education shall annually provide an accounting of federal grants and federal reimbursements, by school system, upon which payment by the participating schools shall be determined.(c) The State Treasurer and the Secretary of Education shall establish procedures for the collection and deposit of those monies in the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont. The Secretary of Education may delay implementation upon review of the federal grant program to permit timely and accurate claims for reimbursement of retirement expenses under a particular federal program in order to receive funding under that program. The Secretary of Education shall provide an annual report to the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the House Committee on Education regarding progress in implementation of this section. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made under this subsection. (Added 2013, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § E.514.3; amended 2017, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 22, eff. May 21, 2018.)
16 V.S.A. § 1944d
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1944d. Employer annual charge for teacher health care

§ 1944d. Employer annual charge for teacher health care|(a) Beginning on July 1, 2018, the employer of teachers who become members of the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont on or after July 1, 2015 shall pay an annual assessment of $1,275.00 for each such teacher to the Benefits Fund.(b) Beginning on July 1, 2019, and each year thereafter, the annual assessment shall be adjusted to account for inflation, as approved annually by the Board of Trustees. (Added 2013, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § E.514.4 ; amended 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § E.515.2.)
16 V.S.A. § 1945
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1945. Application of other laws

§ 1945. Application of other laws|No other provision of law in any other statute that provides wholly or partly at the expense of the State of Vermont for pensions or retirement benefits for teachers of the State, their widows, or other dependents, shall apply to members or beneficiaries of the Retirement System hereby established, their widows, or other dependents.
16 V.S.A. § 1946
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1946. Exemption of member's interest; assignment

§ 1946. Exemption of member's interest; assignment|That portion of the compensation of a member deducted or to be deducted under this chapter, the rights of a member or beneficiary to an annuity, pension, or retirement allowance hereunder, and all a member's rights in the assets of the System, shall be exempt from taxation, including income tax, and from the operation of any laws relating to bankruptcy or insolvency, and shall not be attached or taken upon execution or other process of any court. No assignment by a member or beneficiary of any part of the assets to which he or she is or may be entitled, or of any right to or interest in the assets, shall be valid except as specifically provided in this chapter. (Amended 2007, No. 13, § 34.)
16 V.S.A. § 1946a
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1946a. Tax exemption for member of retirement system of another state or political subdivision thereof

§ 1946a. Tax exemption for member of retirement system of another state or political subdivision thereof|Payments received by a member of a retirement system of another state or political subdivision thereof, whether called a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or any other name, shall be exempt from taxation, including income tax, provided that such member was at the time of retirement a member of the teaching or supervising staff covered by such retirement system. The term "teaching or supervising staff" shall include the superintendent, assistant superintendents, principals, supervisors, assistant supervisors, directors, assistant directors, examiners, supervising school physicians, supervisors of health education, supervising nurses, and all other persons permanently employed in giving or supervising instruction in a public day school, normal school, teachers' college, or other educational institution located in, and supported and controlled by, any state or political subdivision thereof.
16 V.S.A. § 1947
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1947. Penalty

§ 1947. Penalty|Whoever with intent to deceive shall make any statements or reports required under this chapter that are untrue, or shall falsify or permit to be falsified any record or records of the System, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable therefor under the laws of this State.
16 V.S.A. § 1948
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1948. Errors

§ 1948. Errors|Should any mistake be made, or should any change or error in the records result in any member or beneficiary receiving from the System more or less than he or she would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the Board shall have the power, in its discretion, to correct such mistake or such error, and as far as practicable, to adjust the payments in such a manner that the actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which such member or beneficiary was correctly entitled shall be paid or in such a manner that the impact upon the fund is de minimis. (Amended 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 22.)
16 V.S.A. § 1951
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1951. Group A members; limit on contributions

§ 1951. Group A members; limit on contributions|Contributions in the form of a deduction from compensation under section 1944 of this title shall cease for any Group A member who attains 25 years of creditable service and the member shall continue to accrue creditable service, without such a contribution, at the rate of one and two-thirds percent until the member retires. (Added 1989, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; amended 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 23.)
16 V.S.A. § 1953
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 55 - State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont|§ 1953. Prior service credit

§ 1953. Prior service credit|A teacher who has ceased being a member upon reemployment is entitled to prior service credit upon depositing in the Pension Fund the contributions that would have been deducted from the teacher's compensation had he or she remained a member with interest as set forth in section 1944 of this title. The teacher, in order to qualify for the prior service credit, shall also deposit in the Fund a sum equal to the contributions that would have been contributed by the State had the teacher remained a member with interest as set forth in section 1944 of this title. (Added 2005, No. 104 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2007, No. 13, § 35; 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 24.)
16 V.S.A. § 1983
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 1983. Right to be heard

§ 1983. Right to be heard|Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any individual or organization representative, subject to reasonable rules of procedure that may be adopted by the school board, from appearing before the school board to be heard, but not to negotiate, on any matters of school district operation. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 174, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.)
16 V.S.A. § 1984
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 1984. Access to new teachers or administrators in bargaining unit

§ 1984. Access to new teachers or administrators in bargaining unit|.(a) A school board shall provide a teachers' or administrators' organization that is the exclusive representative of the teachers or administrators in a bargaining unit with an opportunity to meet with each newly hired teacher or administrator in the bargaining unit to present information about the teachers' or administrators' organization.(b)(1) The meeting shall occur during the new teacher's or administrator's orientation or, if the school board does not conduct an orientation for newly hired teachers or administrators, within 30 calendar days from the date on which the teacher or administrator was hired.  (2) If the meeting is not held during the new teacher's or administrator's orientation, it shall be held during the new teacher's or administrator's regular work hours and at his or her regular worksite or a location mutually agreed to by the school board and the teachers' or administrators' organization. (3) The employee organization shall be permitted to meet with the employee for not less than 60 minutes. (4) The teacher or administrator shall be paid for attending the meeting at his or her regular rate of pay.   (c)(1) Within 10 calendar days after hiring a new teacher or administrator, the school board shall provide the teachers' or administrators' organization, as appropriate, with his or her name, job title, worksite location, work telephone number and e-mail address, home address, personal e-mail address, home and personal cellular telephone numbers, and date of hire to the extent that the school board is in possession of such information.  (2) The teachers' or administrators' home address, personal e-mail address, and home and personal cellular telephone numbers shall be kept confidential by the employer and the teachers' or administrators' organization and shall be exempt from copying and inspection under the Public Records Act.   (d) The school board shall provide the teachers' or administrators' organization with not less than 10 calendar days' notice of an orientation for newly hired teachers or administrators in its bargaining unit. (Added 2019, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. Jan. 1, 2021.)
16 V.S.A. § 1985
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 1985. Annual list of teachers or administrators in bargaining unit

§ 1985. Annual list of teachers or administrators in bargaining unit|.(a) Annually, or on a more frequent basis if mutually agreed to by the school board and the teachers' or administrators' organization, the school board shall provide the teachers' or administrators' organization that is the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit with a list of all teachers or administrators in that bargaining unit.(b) The list shall include, as appropriate, each teacher's or administrator's name, work location, job classification, and contact information. As used in this section, "contact information" includes a teacher's or administrator's home address, personal e-mail address, and home and personal cellular telephone numbers to the extent that the school board is in possession of such information.(c) To the extent possible, the list shall be in alphabetical order by last name and provided in electronic format.(d) The list shall be kept confidential by the school board and the teachers' or administrators' organization and shall be exempt from copying and inspection under the Public Records Act. (Added 2019, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff. Jan. 1, 2021.)
16 V.S.A. § 1991
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 1991. Selection of representation

§ 1991. Selection of representation|(a) Teachers and administrators may select organizations to represent them on their negotiations council in collective negotiations with the school board negotiations council. The school board shall recognize an organization as the exclusive representative of the teachers or of the administrators in the school district when that organization has proved its claim to sole and exclusive representative status of the respective group as provided in this chapter. The superintendent, the assistant superintendent, and the principal shall not serve as negotiating agents for the teachers' organization.(b) When close or disputed questions of eligibility to vote and inclusion in the unit to be represented by the teachers' organization arise, the general principle to be adhered to shall be that eligibility to vote and inclusion in that negotiating unit will be limited to all teachers in the school district under contract and actually engaged in full-time or part-time positions that are not that of administrator.(c) The organizations selected to represent teachers or administrators shall represent without discrimination or prejudice all of those eligible for inclusion in the negotiating unit without regard to organizational affiliation or membership. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2007, No. 82, § 30; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 175, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.)
16 V.S.A. § 2001
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2001. Good faith

§ 2001. Good faith|The negotiations councils of the school board and of the recognized teachers' or administrators' organization shall meet together at reasonable times, upon request of either party, and shall negotiate in good faith on all matters properly before them under the provisions of this chapter. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2007, No. 82, § 31.)
16 V.S.A. § 2002
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2002. Access to materials and facilities

§ 2002. Access to materials and facilities|The school board shall permit teachers, administrators, and their respective organizations access at reasonable times to areas in which teachers and administrators work, and to use institutional bulletin boards, mail boxes, or other communication media subject to reasonable regulation by the school board, and to use school facilities at reasonable times for the purpose of meetings concerned with the exercise of rights guaranteed by this chapter. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969.)
16 V.S.A. § 2003
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2003. Time to begin

§ 2003. Time to begin|The teacher or administrator organizations holding exclusive negotiating rights shall make a request for commencement of negotiations either to their school board or to the school board negotiations council no later than 120 days prior to the earliest school district annual meeting conducted within the supervisory union. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2007, No. 82, § 32.)
16 V.S.A. § 2004
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2004. Agenda

§ 2004. Agenda|(a) The school board, through its negotiations council, shall, upon request, negotiate with representatives of the teachers' or administrators' organization negotiations council on matters of salary, related economic conditions of employment, the manner in which it will enforce an employee's obligation to pay the agency fee, procedures for processing complaints and grievances relating to employment, and any mutually agreed-upon matters not in conflict with the statutes and laws of the State of Vermont.(b) As used in this section, the terms "salary" and "related economic conditions of employment" shall not include health care benefits or coverage other than stand-alone vision and dental benefits. Health care benefits and health coverage, excluding stand-alone vision and dental benefits but including health reimbursement arrangements and health savings accounts, shall not be subject to collective bargaining pursuant to this chapter, but shall be determined pursuant to chapter 61 of this title. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2005, No. 25, § 3; 2007, No. 82, § 33; 2013, No. 37, § 12; 2017, No. 74, § 23; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § H.19, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)
16 V.S.A. § 2005
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2005. Written agreement

§ 2005. Written agreement|The negotiations councils for the school board and the teachers' or administrators' organization shall enter into a written agreement or agreements incorporating matters agreed to in negotiation. The written agreement shall incorporate by reference the terms of the agreement entered into pursuant to chapter 61 of this title. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2007, No. 82, § 34; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § H.20, eff. Jan. 1, 2020; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 91.)
16 V.S.A. § 2006
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2006. Mediator

§ 2006. Mediator|If, after negotiation has taken place on all matters properly before them, the negotiations councils for the school board and teachers' or administrators' organization are unable to reach agreement on specific negotiable items, they may jointly agree upon the services and person of a mediator for the purpose of assisting them in reconciling their differences and resolving the controversy on terms that are mutually acceptable. If agreement cannot be reached upon the person of a mediator, either party may request mediation upon any and all unresolved issues to be conducted by the American Arbitration Association or its designee. The parties shall meet with the mediator and make such information available as required. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2007, No. 82, § 35.)
16 V.S.A. § 2007
2021 Vermont Statutes|Title 16 - Education|Chapter 57 - Labor Relations for Teachers and Administrators|§ 2007. Fact-finding committee

§ 2007. Fact-finding committee|(a) If mediation fails to resolve outstanding differences or is not requested and a continuing disagreement persists, either party may, after negotiation on all matters properly before them, request that any or all unresolved issues be submitted to a fact-finding committee by notifying the other party of their intention and setting forth in writing the issues to be submitted to fact-finding.(b) The fact-finding committee, which shall be activated as soon as practicable upon request, shall be composed of one member selected by the school board negotiations council, one member selected by the negotiations council for the teachers' or administrators' organization, and one member who shall serve as chair, to be chosen by the other two members. In the event that agreement cannot be reached on a third member for the fact-finding committee, the American Arbitration Association shall be asked to appoint the third member.(c) The fact-finding committee shall convene as soon as practicable after its appointment, hold informal hearings as necessary, and provide adequate opportunity to all parties to testify fully on, and present evidence regarding, their respective positions. All parties to the dispute shall furnish the fact-finding committee upon its request all records, papers, and information in their possession pertaining to any matter properly in issue before the fact-finding committee. The fact-finding committee shall make a written report and shall deliver it to both parties recommending a reasonable basis for the settlement of the disagreement within 30 days after the appointment of all members of the committee.(d) The report of the fact-finding committee shall be advisory only and shall not be binding on either party. The report shall be made public by the fact-finding committee if the issues in dispute have not been resolved within ten days of the delivery of the report.(e) All expenses of fact-finding and mediation shall be borne jointly by the parties to the dispute. (Added 1969, No. 127, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1969; amended 2007, No. 82, § 36.)