Chapter 086
2003 -- H 5646
Enacted 07/02/03
A N A C T
RELATING
TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES- ELECTION WORKERS
Introduced
By: Representative Gordon D. Fox
Date
Introduced: February 11, 2003
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 36-7-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-7 entitled "Federal
Old-
Age
and Survivors' Insurance" is hereby amended to read as follows:
36-7-2.
Definitions. -- For the purposes of sections 36-7-1 -- 36-7-31 and
36-7-35, the
following
terms shall have the meanings indicated unless different meanings are clearly
expressed
or
required by the context:
(1) "Agency of the state" shall mean:
(i) All departments, divisions, agencies, and instrumentalities of the state
which are not
juristic
entities, legally separate and distinct from the state;
(ii) Civilian employees of the Rhode Island national guard; or
(iii) Any instrumentality of the state such as fire districts, water districts,
water
authorities,
sewer commissions and authorities, housing authorities, or other
instrumentality of
the
state which are a juristic entity and legally separate and distinct from the
state and if the
employees
of the instrumentality are not by virtue of their relation to juristic entity
employees of
the
state. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, examples of those
agencies would be
the
Kent County water authority, the Providence housing authority, the Blackstone
Valley sewer
district
commission, and other like instrumentalities of the state.
(2) "City or town" shall mean:
(i) Any city or town of the state of Rhode Island, inclusive of any department,
division,
agency,
board, commission, or bureau thereof;
(ii) Any instrumentality of a city or town which is a juristic entity and
legally separate
and
distinct from the city or town and if its employees are not by virtue of their
relation to the
juristic
entity employees of the city or town; or
(iii) Any instrumentality of two or more citizens and/or towns which is a
juristic entity as
provided
in subdivision (ii) hereof.
(3) "Coverage group" shall mean:
(i) All employees of the state other than those engaged in performing service
in
connection
with a proprietary function;
(ii) All employees of a city or town other than those engaged in performing
service in
connection
with a single proprietary function;
(iii) All employees of the state engaged in performing service in connection
with a single
proprietary
function;
(iv) All employees of an agency of the state;
(v) All employees of a city or town of the state engaged in performing service
in
connection
with a single proprietary function. If under the preceding sentence an employee
would
be
included in more than one coverage group by reason of the fact that he or she
performs service
in
connection with two (2) or more proprietary functions or in connection with
both a proprietary
function
and a nonproprietary function, he or she shall be included in only one coverage
group.
The
determination of the coverage group in which the employee shall be included
shall be made
in
such manner as may be specified in the agreement. Members of retirement systems
shall
constitute
separate coverage groups as provided in section 36-7-10.
(4) "Employee" shall mean any officer or employee of any city, town,
or agency of the
state
receiving salaries or wages for employment.
(5) "Employment" shall mean any service performed by an employee for
wages as a
member
of a coverage group as herein defined, including service of an emergency
nature, service
in
any class or classes of elective positions and service in part-time positions,
but excluding the
following:
(i) Service in a position the compensation for which is on a fee basis;
(ii) Service performed by election officials or election workers for each
calendar quarter
year
2003 in
which the remuneration paid for that service is less than fifty dollars
($50.00) one
thousand
two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250), and for each calendar year after 2003 in
which the
remuneration
paid is less than the adjusted amount in accordance with section 218(c)(8)(B)
of the
Social
Security Act;
(iii) Service which under the federal Social Security Act may not be included
in an
agreement
between the state and the secretary entered into under this chapter;
(iv) (A) Service which, in the absence of an agreement entered into under
sections 36-7-
1 --
36-7-31, would constitute "employment" as defined in the federal
Social Security Act.
Service
which under the federal Social Security Act may be included in an agreement
only upon
certification
by the governor in accordance with section 218(d)(3) of the federal Social
Security
Act,
42 U.S.C. section 418(d)(3), shall be included in the term
"employment" if and when the
governor
issues, with respect to that service, a certificate to the secretary, pursuant
to section 36-
7-19.
(B) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, if pursuant to section 141 of P.L.
92-603, 42
U.S.C.
section 418, the state agreement with the federal government referred to in
section 36-7-3
is
modified appropriately at any time prior to January 1, 1974, the term
"employment" with
respect
to any coverage group specified in the modification shall, effective after the
effective date
specified
in the modification, include services in designated part-time positions but not
services
performed
in the employ of a school, college, or university by a student who is enrolled
and
regularly
attending classes at that school, college, or university.
(6) "Federal Insurance Contributions Act" shall mean subchapter A of
chapter 9 of the
federal
Internal Revenue Code of 1939, subchapters A and B of chapter 21 of the federal
Internal
Revenue
Code of 1954, and subchapters A and B of chapter 21 of the federal Internal
Revenue
Code
of 1986 as those codes have been and may from time to time be amended; and the
term
"employee
tax" shall mean the tax imposed by section 1400 of the code of 1939,
section 3101 of
the
code of 1954, and section 3101 of the code of 1986.
(7) "Federal Social Security Act", 42 U.S.C. section 301 et seq.,
shall mean the act of
congress
approved August 14, 1935, officially cited as the "Social Security
Act", including any
amendments
thereto, and any regulations, directives, or requirements interpretative or
implementive
thereof.
(8) "Part-time employment" shall mean any employment by those who
work on a
regularly
scheduled basis regardless of hours.
(9) "Retirement board" shall mean the retirement board as provided in
chapter 8 of this
title.
(10) "Secretary", except when used in the title "secretary of
the treasury", shall mean the
secretary
of health and human services and any individual to whom the secretary of health
and
human
services has delegated any of his or her functions under the federal Social
Security Act, 42
U.S.C.
section 301 et seq., with respect to coverage under that act of employees of
states and their
political
subdivisions.
(11) "Sick pay" shall mean the amount of any payment (including any
amount paid by an
employer
for insurance or annuities, or into a fund to provide for any sick pay) made
to, or on
behalf
of, an employee or any of his or her dependents under a plan or system
established by an
employer
which makes provision for his employees generally (or for his or her employees
generally
and their dependents) or for a class or classes of his employees (or for a
class or classes
of
his employees and their dependents), on account of sickness or accident
disability.
(12) "State" shall mean the state of Rhode Island.
(13) "Wages" or "salaries" shall mean all compensation
received by an employee for
employment
as defined herein, including the cash value of all remuneration received by an
employee
in any medium other than cash, except that this term shall not include that
part of the
renumeration
which, even if it were for "employment" within the meaning of the
Federal
Insurance
Contributions Act, 26 U.S.C. section 3101 et seq., would not constitute
"wages" within
the
meaning of that act.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage and shall apply retroactively to
January
1, 2003.
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LC02212
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