Opinion ID: 1890662
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Revocation of Mr. DiPrete's Pension and Retirement Benefits

Text: It has been said that [g]ood laws are the products of bad morals. [6] PEPRRA was adopted because of the unfortunate misconduct of public officials. The General Assembly graciously opened the public coffers to those individuals who have served this state with honor and provided for pensions and other benefits to them and their spouses upon retirement. The General Assembly, however, wisely enacted PEPRRA to assure that the misdeeds of a distinct minority cannot continue to harm the citizens of this state. Knowing that he was accruing a pension and other retirement benefits while governor, Mr. DiPrete chose to mark his gubernatorial tenure with conduct that was deceitful, dishonest and corrupt. We will not require the Retirement Board of the State of Rhode Island to now reward Mr. DiPrete for his service to this state. 1. Applicability of PEPRRA According to Mr. DiPrete, in P.L. 1996, ch. 292, the General Assembly expressed its intent that PEPRRA be applied only to offenses committed after August 6, 1996. Thus, he contends, because he committed all his crimes before that date, he is not subject to pension and benefit revocation under PEPRRA. After reviewing PEPRRA and P.L.1996, ch. 292, we, like the trial justice, disagree. This Court conducts a de novo review of a Superior Court trial justice's statutory interpretation. Champlin's Realty Associates, L.P. v. Tillson, 823 A.2d 1162, 1165 (R.I.2003). Our ultimate goal in construing a statute is to give effect to the General Assembly's intent. Id. We presume that the General Assembly intended to attach significance to every word, sentence and provision of a statute. Id. When presented with a clear and unambiguous enactment, there is no room for statutory construction, and the statute will be literally applied, attributing the plain and ordinary meaning to its words. Interstate Navigation Co. v. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, 824 A.2d 1282, 1287 (R.I.2003). When the statute is susceptible to more than one plausible interpretation, however, this Court will endeavor by every rule of statutory construction to ascertain the intent of the General Assembly. See State v. Cause, 478 A.2d 198, 201 (R.I.1984). The General Assembly enacted PEPRRA in 1992 to provide the Retirement Board with a statutory mechanism to initiate a civil action to revoke or reduce a public official/employee's retirement benefits whenever such person, after January 1, 1993; is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to any crime related to his or her public office or public employment. Section 36-10.1-3(b), as enacted by P.L. 1992, ch. 306, art. 1, § 8. In determining the appropriate sanction under PEPRRA, a trial justice is obligated to undertake a multi-factored analysis to decide`    [w]hether the retirement or other benefits or payments to which the public official or public employee is otherwise entitled should be revoked or diminished and, if so,    in what amount or by what proportion such revocation or reduction should be ordered.' Retirement Board of the Employees' Retirement System of the State and City of Cranston v. Azar, 721 A.2d 872, 876 (R.I.1998) (quoting § 36-10.1-3(c)(1)(ii) and (iii)). That determination must be made after considering the severity of the crime, any monetary loss suffered by the public as a result of the public official/employee's criminal acts, the degree of public trust reposed in the public official/employee and other factors as justice may require. Section 36-10.1-3(c). In 1996, the General Assembly revisited the issue of pension revocation in P.L.1996, ch. 292. Chapter 292, entitled An Act Relating to Retirement System  Pensions (chapter 292 or the act), was put into effect to serve two functions. First, in § 1 of chapter 292, the General Assembly enacted G.L.1956 § 11-41-31 to authorize a trial justice to directly reduce or revoke a public official/employee's retirement benefits as part of a sentence imposed after a conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a criminal charge related to the official/employee's public office or employment. Such revocation or reduction under § 11-41-31 could be imposed without any action from the Retirement Board. In determining whether the retirement or other benefit shall be revoked or reduced the court shall consider and make a finding based on the same factors applicable to an action brought under PEPRRA, namely: the severity of the crime, the amount of loss suffered by the public as a result of the crime, the degree of public trust reposed in the public official/employee, and any other factors that justice may require. Section 11-41-31(B). If the court declines to disturb the retirement or other benefits pursuant to this section, it shall order that the retirement or other benefits or payments be made to the public official or public employee. Id. The second function of P.L.1996, ch. 292 was to amend PEPRRA to dovetail with the newly enacted § 11-41-31. Section two of chapter 292 recites § 36-10.1-3 in its entirety, as amended by the act. Without altering any of the existing provisions of PEPRRA, the General Assembly added language that directs the Retirement Board to institute revocation or reduction proceedings if no finding is made by the judge in the criminal action pursuant to section 11-41-31. P.L.1996, ch. 292, § 2 (§ 36-10.1-3(B)). [7] The only other addition to PEPRRA made by chapter 292 is a tangential reference to § 11-41-31 in § 36-10.1-3(A), stating that a pension revocation or reduction must be done in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or section 11-41-31 if, after [January 1, 1993], such public official or public employee is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to any crime related to his or her public office or public employment. P.L.1996, ch. 292, § 2 (§ 36-10.1-3(A)). (Emphasis indicates language added by P.L.1996, ch. 292, § 2.). Mr, DiPrete's argument that PEPRRA cannot apply to him is based on language contained in § 3 of chapter 292. Public Law 1996, ch. 293, § 3 provides: This act shall take effect upon passage and shall be applied only to those offenses which occur after the date of the passage of this act, which was August 6, 1996. This Court does not construe P.L.1996, ch. 292 to limit the applicability of PEPRRA by creating a window for a dishonorable public official to crawl through without accountability. Rather, it is apparent that the prospective nature of chapter 292 pertains only to the application of § 11-41-31 and the related provisions of PEPRRA added by the act. There is no indication that the General Assembly intended to reduce the reach of PEPRRA through P.L.1996, ch. 292. To the contrary, throughout the amendatory process, the General Assembly retained the original mandate of PEPRRA that a post-January 1, 1993, plea or conviction shall result in pension revocation or reduction. The 1993 date would lose all force and effect if PEPRRA could not be applied to Mr. DiPrete, who pled guilty to his crimes in 1998. Additionally, the General Assembly declared that this act shall apply only to those offenses which occur after August 6, 1996. P.L.1996, ch. 292, § 3. Chapter 292 dealt with two separate statutory schemes: PEPRRA and § 11-41-31. By limiting the time restriction in § 3 to this act, the General Assembly referred only to the provisions enacted under chapter 292 itself. If the General Assembly intended to attribute a new effective date of PEPRRA then it specifically would have provided language to that effect. Rather, by saying that this act shall be limited to a certain time period, the General Assembly clearly intended that limitation to apply to chapter 292, which enacted § 11-41-31 and amended PEPRRA only to define when the Retirement Board must seek pension revocation. Moreover, the focus of P.L.1996, ch. 292 was on the enactment of § 11-41-31, which provided yet another tool to revoke or reduce an errant official's pension. Chapter 292, as it pertains to PEPRRA, merely sets forth the instance when the Retirement Board is required to initiate the revocation or reduction action. The act does not affect the unaltered portions of PEPRRA. Provisions of an original act that are repeated in an amendment are considered to be a continuation of the original law. 1A Statutes and Statutory Construction, § 22:33 at 392-93 (Norman J. Singer 6th rev. ed. 2000). Thus, rights and liabilities accrued under the provisions of the original act [that] are reenacted are not affected by the amendment. Id. at 395-96. None of the substantive provisions of PEPRRA was altered by chapter 292. The unaltered portions of PEPRRA became the law when it was enacted in 1992 (P.L.1992, ch. 306, art. 1, § 8) and remained law after the enactment of P.L. 1996, ch. 292. Consequently, P.L.1996, ch. 292 has no bearing on Mr. DiPrete's liability under PEPRRA as it existed before minor amendments. He is subject to pension revocation as a result of his 1998 pleas. 2. Preclusion Next, Mr. DiPrete contends that, by virtue of the 1998 plea agreement, the Retirement Board was collaterally and equitably estopped from bringing this revocation action. Both of those estoppel arguments are based on language in the plea agreement that provided that no fines, restitution or forfeitures would be imposed. According to Mr. DiPrete, the Retirement Board cannot attempt to revoke his pension after explicitly agreeing not to do so. We are of the opinion that no such agreement was made.