Pension Review Commission. The bill creates an income tax credit that is available for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2023, but prior to January 1, 2025, for a qualifying public service retiree, which means a full-time Colorado resident individual who is:

• 55 years of age or older at the end of the 2023 or 2024 income tax year; and
• A retiree of a Colorado public pension plan administered pursuant to the Colorado Revised Statutes or a retiree of a public pension plan administered by a local government of the state of Colorado.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits state money from being used to further certain social, political, or ideological interests beyond what controlling state and federal law require. Sections 1 to 3 of the bill apply this prohibition to the public employees' retirement association (PERA) by requiring PERA to make investments solely on financial factors and prohibiting PERA from investing in an entity with a stated purpose to further certain social, political, or ideological interests beyond what federal and state law require (nonfinancial commitment). Section 1 also:

• Requires that PERA ensure that a designated agent commits to following guidelines that match PERA's obligation to act solely on financial factors prior to PERA entrusting member funds to the designated agent;
• Requires that a designated agent ensure that a proxy advisor or other service provider has committed to following guidelines that match PERA's obligation to act solely on financial factors prior to the designated agent following a recommendation of the proxy advisor or service provider; and
• Gives the attorney general the authority to enforce these investment requirements.

Section 2 requires PERA to invest solely in the financial interest of PERA members and beneficiaries. Section 3 clarifies that the fiduciary duties of PERA's board of trustees include the obligation to act in the financial interest of PERA members and benefit recipients. Section 4 requires a government contract to include a verification that a company entering into a government contract does not, and will not during the term of the contract, engage in an economic boycott of another company to further certain social, political, or ideological interests. Section 4 prohibits a person from penalizing a financial institution for complying with the non-economic boycott verification requirement. Section 4 also gives the attorney general the authority to enforce the newly created article. Section 5 requires the state treasurer to make investments solely on financial factors, prohibits the state treasurer from investing in entities with a stated nonfinancial commitment, and gives the attorney general authority to enforce these investment requirements. Sections 6 to 10 make conforming amendments.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law authorizes the board of the fire and police pension association (FPPA) to grant compounding cost of living adjustments (COLAs). The act authorizes the board of FPPA, within certain limits, to also grant noncompounding COLAs.

APPROVED by Governor March 23, 2023

EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023

NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Currently, a member of any public employee retirement association (member) and the member's ex-spouse can agree to divide the member's monthly retirement benefits under a defined benefit plan pursuant to a divorce. If the member and the ex-spouse agree to divide the monthly benefit payment between them, the ex-spouse is entitled to receive a share of the monthly benefits until the ex-spouse dies.

For a member who receives a defined benefit administered by the public employees' retirement association (PERA) on and after specified dates, the bill requires the PERA member and the ex-spouse to agree to terminate the ex-spouse's monthly PERA benefits if the ex-spouse remarries. The bill specifies certain information that must be included in the written agreement dividing the PERA member's benefits and specifies that the terminated monthly benefit will accrue to the retired PERA member.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law allows only specified employees to participate in the public employees' retirement association's (PERA) defined contribution plan. Employer and member contribution rates for PERA's defined contribution plan are fixed in statute and vary per division. Members of the school division or the Denver public schools (DPS) division of PERA are not able to enroll in the defined contribution plan and are enrolled in the defined benefit plan administered by PERA.

The bill requires the PERA board to establish and administer a flexible defined contribution plan and gives PERA members who are hired on or after January 1, 2024, and who are members of the school division or DPS division (eligible employees), the option to participate in the flexible defined contribution plan. If an eligible employee opts to participate in the flexible defined contribution plan, the eligible employee may determine the employee's contribution rate. Employers of eligible employees who opt into the flexible defined contribution plan are required to contribute an amount equal to 6.5% of the member's salary toward the member's account, and contribute an amount equal to 15% of the member's salary to the defined benefit plan.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The length of the bill summary for this bill requires it to be published on a separate page here:

https://leg.colorado.gov/sb23-016-bill-summary

APPROVED by Governor May 11, 2023

EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023

NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

To recompense the public employees' retirement association (PERA) for the cancellation of a previously scheduled July 1, 2020, direct distribution of $225 million, House Bill 22-1029, concerning a requirement that the state make an additional direct distribution to the public employees' retirement association to fully recompense the association for the cancellation of a previously scheduled July 1, 2020, direct distribution, required an additional direct distribution to PERA. However, the additional direct distribution did not fully recompense PERA for the cancellation of the previously scheduled direct distribution. To fully recompense PERA, the act requires the state treasurer to issue a warrant to PERA that consists of the balance of the PERA payment cash fund plus $10 million paid from the general fund. The PERA payment cash fund is repealed, effective July 1, 2023.

APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023

EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 2009, the general assembly enacted legislation to merge the Denver public schools retirement system into the public employees' retirement association (PERA), effective January 1, 2010. The merger legislation created a Denver public schools (DPS) division within PERA and set the employer and member contribution rates for that division. The merger legislation also required PERA to calculate a true-up beginning January 1, 2015, and every fifth year thereafter, to determine whether the DPS employer contribution rate must be adjusted to assure the equalization of the DPS division's ratio of unfunded actuarial accrued liability over payroll to the PERA school division's ratio of unfunded actuarial accrued liability over payroll at the end of the 30-year period that began on January 1, 2010 (equalization of the 2 divisions). If necessary, the PERA board is required to recommend that the general assembly adjust the DPS total employer rate to assure the equalization of the 2 divisions.

The general assembly enacted the last true-up for the equalization of the 2 divisions in 2015. In furtherance of the true-up for the equalization of the 2 divisions, beginning on July 1, 2023, the bill reduces the total employer contribution rate for the DPS division from 10.4% to 7.15% of salary. The bill does not alter the employer or member contribution rate for any other division of PERA.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Statutory Revision Committee. House Bill 22-1034 merged 3 retirement plans administered by the fire and police pension association, the statewide defined benefit plan, the statewide hybrid plan, and the social security supplemental plan, into a single statewide retirement plan. House Bill 22-1034 accomplished the merger in part by repealing several statutes and relocating some of the substantive provisions of those statutes into new statutes. In doing so, certain statutory cross references were not properly updated to reflect the repeals and relocations. The bill updates the obsolete statutory cross references.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)