HB 487 — Shorter Separation for Retired Assistant District Attorneys and Assistant Public Defenders.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 21 HOUSE BILL 487 Committee Substitute Favorable 4/9/25 Short Title:

Representatives Carson Smith and Wheatley (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Pensions and Retirement, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House March 25, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ALLOW CERTAIN RETIRED ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS AND RETIRED ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDERS TO RETURN TO WORK FOR THE STATE AFTER A TWO-MONTHTHIRTY-DAY SEPARATION.

retirement, except that in the case of a member who earnedis ata leastretired five years of membership service as an assistant district attorney or retired assistant public defender, as certified by the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Conference of District Attorneys, or the Director of Indigent Services, the period of separation required is two30 monthsdays. if the beneficiary becomes employed by the Judicial Branch.

AAmember memberwhois who is a full-timefull-timefacultymember facultyofThe memberUniversityofNorth of The University of North Carolina may effect a retirement allowance under this Chapter, notwithstanding the six-month requirement above, provided the member immediately enters the University's Phased Retirement Program for Tenured Faculty as that program existed on May 25, 2011.

"(d) If a beneficiary who retired on an early or service retirement allowance under this Chapter is reemployed by, or otherwise engaged to perform services for, an employer participating in the Retirement System on a part-time, temporary, interim, or on a fee for service basis, whether contractual or otherwise at any time during (i) the six months immediately following the effective date of retirement, retirement or, (ii) ififthe thebeneficiaryis beneficiarya earnedretired at least five years of membership service as an assistant district attorney or retired assistant public defender, as certified by the Administrative30 Officedays of the Courts, the Conference of District Attorneys, or the *H487-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Director of Indigent Services, the two months immediately following the effective date of retirementretirement, if the beneficiary becomes employed by the Judicial Branch, then the option of the following subdivisions that has the lesser financial impact on the member, as determined by the Retirement System, shall be applied:

…." *H487-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 SECTION 1.(c) G.S.

In such event, the long-term disability benefit shall be restored retroactively to the date of cessation." Page 2 House Bill 487-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 SECTION 2.(a) The State Treasurer shall seek a favorable private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service to determine thatif thisSection act1 doesof notthis jeopardizeact jeopardizes the status of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System.

TheSECTION State2.(b) TreasurerIf shallthe submitInternal aRevenue requestService fordetermines thethat privateSection letter1 rulingof requiredthis act jeopardizesthestatusoftheTeachers'andStateEmployees'RetirementSystemofNorthCarolina Page 2 House Bill 487-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 under the Internal Revenue Code, then Section 1 of this sectionact byis Januaryrepealed 1,on 2026,the orlast withinday 120of daysthe month following the month of thisreceipt sectionof becomingthat law,determination whicheverby isthe later.State Treasurer.

SECTIONUpon 2.(b)receipt Ifof that determination, the State Treasurer hasshall metnotifythe theRevisor obligationof underStatutes Section 2(a) of thisthe act,determination and the Internaldate Revenueof Servicereceipt. declines to make a private letter ruling or does not issue a response byDecember 17, 2026, then this act is repealed.

TheWithin three business days of receipt of the determination, the State Treasurer shall notifynotifyall employers of the Revisorrepeal of StatutesSection that1 theof Internalthis Revenueact Serviceand declinedshall topublicly makenotice athe privatereceipt letterof rulingthis orinformation didon notthe issueDepartment aof response.State Treasurer's website.

Within three business days ofofreceipt notifyingofthenoticefrom thetheStateTreasurer,an Revisoremployershall ofnotifyall Statutes,former theassistant Statedistrict Treasurerattorneys shalland notifyformer allassistant employerspublic ofdefenders thereemployed repealby ofthat thisemployer actof and shall publicly notice the receiptrepeal of thisSection information1 on the Department of Statethis Treasurer'sact. website.

WithinSECTION three2.(c) businessNotwithstanding daysanyother ofreceiptprovision ofthenoticefromof theStateTreasurer,anlaw employershallto notifyallthe formerassistantcontrary, districtattorneysin andformerassistantpublicdefendersreemployedbythatemployeroftherepealorder to pay costs associated with the administration of the provisions of this act.act, the Retirement Systems Division of the Department of State Treasurer mayincrease receipts from the retirement assets of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System or pay costs associated with the administration directly from the retirement assets.

SECTION 2.(c)3. If the Internal Revenue Service issues any determination other than a favorable determination that this act does not jeopardize the status of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System of North Carolina under the Internal Revenue Code, then this act is repealed on the last day of the month following the month of receipt of that determination by the State Treasurer.

UponEffective receiptJuly of1, that2025, determination,there theis Stateappropriated Treasurerfrom shallthe notifyGeneral Fund to the RevisorDepartment of StatutesState Treasurer the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for the determination2025-2026 andfiscal year to be used to obtain the dateprivate letter ruling required under Section 2 of receipt.this act.

Within three business days of receiving a determination other than a favorable determination, the State Treasurer shall notify all employers of the repeal of this act and shall publicly notice the receipt of this information on the Department of State Treasurer's website.

Within three business days of receipt of the notice from the State Treasurer, an employer shall notify all former assistant district attorneys and former assistant public defenders reemployed by that employer of the repeal of this act.

SECTION 2.(d) Notwithstanding anyother provision of law to the contrary, in order to pay costs associated with the administration of the provisions of this act, the Retirement Systems Division of the Department of State Treasurer mayincrease receipts from the retirement assets of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System or pay costs associated with the administration directly from the retirement assets.

SECTION 2.(e) This section is effective when it becomes law.

SECTION3.(a) TheAdministrativeOfficeoftheCourtsandtheDirectorofIndigent Services shall certify monthly to the Retirement System that a member is employed as an assistant district attorneyor assistant public defender and the total amount of membership service they have earned as an assistant district attorney or assistant public defender.

SECTION 3.(b) Any beneficiary who earned at least five years of membership serviceas an assistant district attorneyorassistant publicdefender,that is subsequentlyemployed by the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Conference of District Attorneys, or the Director of Indigent Services, shall not be eligible to elect into a position that would lead the beneficiary to be eligible to accrue any benefits under G.S.

135-3.

Notwithstanding G.S.

135-6(a) and G.S.

135-2, any failure of the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Conference of District Attorneys, or the Director of Indigent Services to comply with the foregoing shall be corrected bytheExecutiveDirectoroftheRetirementSystemasmaybeappropriateunderStateandfederal law.

Any costs of the correction, as determined by the Executive Director of the Retirement System,shallbethesoleresponsibilityoftheAdministrativeOfficeoftheCourts,theConference of District Attorneys, or the Director of Indigent Services, as appropriate, and shall be transferred to the Pension Accumulation Fund under G.S.

135-8 under rules adopted by the Board of Trustees.

Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of State Treasurer the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in House Bill 487-Second Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used to obtain the private letter ruling required under Section 2 of this act.

SECTION 5.

Page 4 House Bill 487-Second487-First Edition Page 3