This bill is the unanimous recommendation of the Task Force to Study Parity and Portability of Retirement Benefits for State Law Enforcement Officers, Municipal and County Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters.

Part A creates a state subsidy for the cost of retiree health insurance for municipal and county law enforcement officers and firefighters who retire from certain Maine State Retirement System retirement plans. To pay for the subsidy, the bill creates a dedicated account funded from 2 sources: a 0.50% premium tax on certain types of property and casualty insurance policies, including homeowners insurance and commercial and personal car insurance, and a contribution of 1.5% of compensation from active municipal and county law enforcement officers and firefighters who participate in certain retirement plans and are likely to be eligible for the subsidy upon retirement. Officers and firefighters are eligible for the subsidy only if they have retired from a Maine State Retirement System retirement plan that provides for retirement after 25 years of service, with a benefit of at least 50% of average final compensation and a cost-of-living adjustment, or a better Maine State Retirement System retirement plan. The bill requires the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to report on revenue and funding of the subsidy to the Legislature in 2011. It also requires the Bureau of Insurance in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation to submit a report to the Second Regular Session of the 122nd Legislature setting forth options for collecting contributions toward the cost of the retiree health insurance from businesses that do not purchase insurance for the types of property and casualty risks described in the bill.

Part B allows state, county and municipal law enforcement officers and firefighters who change employers to purchase portability of their retirement benefits, if they are changing retirement plans and the plan to which they are moving does not provide portability. Portability would allow a person to count all or a portion of years of service from an earlier retirement plan when calculating a benefit or meeting the years-of-service requirement in a later retirement plan, and to count compensation from all years of service in determining average final compensation, one of the factors in calculating a retirement benefit. This provision would apply only to persons moving among the types of Maine State Retirement System retirement plans described above.