The following bills were recommended by FPPA and were sponsored by members of the Pension Reform Commission during the 2007 session Colorado General Assembly.

The purpose of these summaries are informational and cannot be relied upon as the ultimate declaration of benefits under a plan or the law in Colorado. In some cases the information below is prior to any consequential amendments. Please consult the actual legislation.

For more information about the following bills:

• Click here to view and/or download the 2007 Legislative Agenda Handout.
• click on the State of Colorado Legislative Web Site at: http://www.state.co.us/ . Once there, click on either the bills for the House or Senate and you will be taken to a list of bills and their current status.
• or call FPPA at (303) 770-3772 for more information.

House Bill 07-1030
Contribution Timing

Passed through the House and Senate and signed by Governor Ritter: March 29, 2007

House Sponsorship
Representative Jim Riesberg, Sponsor

Senate Sponsorship
Senator Jack Taylor, Co-Sponsor

• The legislation would require employers to remit payment of contributions within 10 days of the date of payment of salary for FPPA plans. 
• Currently certain plans provide for payment within 10 days after the last day of the pay period.  Currently, departments that pay salaries more than once a month may make contributions by the 10^th day of the following month.  This legislation makes payment for all plans consistent and easier to handle administratively.

Passed through the House and Senate and signed by Governor Ritter: March 14, 2007

House Sponsorship
Representative Larry Liston, Sponsor

Senate Sponsorship
Senator Lois Tochtrop, Co-Sponsor

• For members who are single when they retire under the SWDB or are awarded a disability benefit and choose a single life annuity and who subsequently marry and who wish to choose a new benefit option, the legislation requires that the member to do so within six months of the date of marriage. 
• It also sets a deadline for any such existing retired members who were initially single at retirement and subsequently became married, who have not chosen a new benefit option, of January 1, 2008 or the option is lost.  
• The language also requires that a retiree to survive for 6 months after the date of marriage when an option change is made in order for the survivor benefit to be payable.

Passed through the House and Senate and signed by Governor Ritter: March 29, 2007

House Sponsorship
Representative Anne McGihon, Sponsor

Senate Sponsorship
Senator Lois Tochtrop, Co-Sponsor

• The proposed legislation would provide for an offset for any member or survivor who becomes eligible for a death and disability benefit and who also receives a benefit from a defined benefit plan.  (This could occur if a member takes an early retirement from one department and subsequently works for a money purchase plan department and then becomes disabled or dies.)
• FPPA proposed to simplify the definition of “dependent child” to any child under the age of 23.  However, the Senate Local Government Committee removed this change from the bill and it will not be included in the final legislation.
  • This amendment would have only impacted the pre-2002 occupational disability retirees and survivors who receive a tiered benefit based on whether they have children. The administrative burden of tracking compliance with the current definition outweighs the additional benefit costs.
• Finally, the legislation would change how the income offset is calculated for permanent occupational disabilities.
  • The base salary used would be the previous base salary multiplied by the change in CPI each year instead of the actual base salary used by the department over time.
  • This simplifies the process significantly and will reduce the error rate.
  • Collecting base salary information for disabled members from departments each year has proved time consuming and subject to errors.