classify 911 telecommunicators as Class B members of the South Dakota Retirement System.

26.877.12 101st Legislative Session 1174

2026 South Dakota Legislature
House Bill 1174

Introduced by: Representative Kull

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An Act to classify 911 telecommunicators as Class B members of the South Dakota 1
Retirement System. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 3
Section 1. That § 3-12C-101 be AMENDED: 4
3-12C-101. Terms used in this chapter mean: 5
(1) "Actuarial accrued liability," the present value of all benefits less the present value 6
of future normal cost contributions; 7
(2) "Actuarial experience analysis," a periodic report that reviews basic experience 8
data and furnishes actuarial analysis that substantiates the assumptions adopted 9
for the purpose of making an actuarial valuation of the system; 10
(3) "Actuarial valuation," a projection of the present value of all benefits and the 11
current funded status of the system, based upon stated assumptions as to rates of 12
interest, mortality, disability, salary progressions, withdrawal, and retirement as 13
established by a periodic actuarial experience analysis that takes into account the 14
census data of all active members, vested terminated members, retired members, 15
and their beneficiaries under the system; 16
(4) "Actuarial value of assets," equal to the fair value of assets; 17
(5) "Actuarially determined contribution rate," the fixed, statutory contribution rate, 18
no less than the normal cost rate with expenses assuming the minimum COLA, and 19
no greater than the normal cost rate with expenses assuming the maximum COLA; 20
(6) "Air rescue firefighter," an employee of the Department of the Military who is 21
stationed at Joe Foss Field, Sioux Falls, and who is directly involved in firefighting 22
activities on a daily basis; 23
(7) "Approved actuary," any actuary who is a member of the American Academy of 24
Actuaries or an associate or a fellow of the Society of Actuaries who meets the 25
qualification standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to issue actuarial 26
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opinions regarding the system, or any firm retaining the actuary on the firm's staff, 1
and who is appointed by the board to perform actuarial services; 2
(8) "Assumed rate of return," the actuarial assumption adopted by the board pursuant 3
to § 3-12C-227, as the annual assumed percentage return on trust fund assets, 4
compounded; 5
(9) "Beneficiary," the person designated by a member of the system to receive any 6
payments after the death of the member; 7
(10) "Benefits," the amounts paid to a member, spouse, child, or beneficiary as a result 8
of the provisions of this chapter; 9
(11) "Board," the Board of Trustees of the South Dakota Retirement System; 10
(12) "Calendar quarter," a period of three calendar months ending March thirty -first, 11
June thirtieth, September thirtieth, or December thirty-first of any year; 12
(13) "Campus security officer," an employee of the Board of Regents whose position is 13
subject to the minimal educational training standards established by the Law 14
Enforcement Officers Standards Commission, pursuant to chapter 23-3, who 15
satisfactorily completes the training required by chapter 23-3, within one year of 16
employment, and whose primary duty as a sworn law enforcement officer is to 17
preserve the safety of the students, faculty, staff, visitors, and the property of the 18
university. The employer shall file with the system evidence of the appointment as 19
a sworn law enforcement officer at the time of employment and shall file evidence 20
of satisfactory completion of the training program pursuant to chapter 23-3, within 21
one year of employment; 22
(14) "Certified school employee," any employee of a participating unit who is required 23
to have a certificate, as defined in § 13-42-1; 24
(15) "Class A credited service," service credited as a Class A member of the system; 25
(16) "Class A member," any member , other than a Class B member or a Class C 26
member, and who is either a foundation member or a generational member. A 27
member is a Class A member until proof is supplied to the executive director that 28
a member is a Class B member; 29
(17) "Class B credited service," service credited as a Class B member of the system; 30
(18) "Class B judicial member," any Class B member who is a justice, judge, or 31
magistrate judge; 32
(19) "Class B member," a member who is a justice, judge, state law enforcement officer, 33
magistrate judge, police officer, firefighter, county sheriff, deputy county sheriff, 34
correctional security staff, parole agent, air rescue firefighter, emergency medical 35
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services personnel, campus security officer, court services officer, juvenile 1
corrections agent, gaming enforcement agent, conservation officer, or park ranger, 2
and is either a foundation member or a generational member who is: 3
(a) An air rescue firefighter; 4
(b) A campus security officer; 5
(c) A conservation officer; 6
(d) Correctional security staff; 7
(e) A county sheriff; 8
(f) A court services officer; 9
(g) A deputy county sheriff; 10
(h) Emergency medical services personnel; 11
(i) A firefighter; 12
(j) A full-time 911 telecommunicator, as defined in § 34-45-22, provided that, 13
if the 911 telecommunicator is employed by a political subdivision of the 14
state, the political subdivision has adopted an ordinance designating 911 15
telecommunicators as Class B members; 16
(k) A gaming enforcement agent; 17
(l) A judge; 18
(m) A justice; 19
(n) A juvenile corrections agent; 20
(o) A magistrate judge; 21
(p) A park ranger; 22
(q) A parole agent; 23
(r) A police officer; or 24
(s) A state law enforcement officer; 25
(20) "Class B public safety member," any Class B member other than a justice, judge, 26
or magistrate judge; 27
(21) "Class C credited service," service credited as a Class C member of the system; 28
(22) "Class C member," any retiree, vested member, or other member of the cement 29
plant retirement plan including any retiree or any vested member; 30
(23) "Class D credited service," service credited as a Class D member of the system; 31
(24) "Class D member," any member who was a member of the Department of Labor 32
and Regulation employees' retirement plan as of June 30, 2020; 33
(25) "Classified employee," an employee: 34
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(a) Of a public school district who is not required by law to be a certified school 1
employee; 2
(b) Of a college or university under the control of the Board of Regents who is 3
not a faculty member or an administrator and comes within the provisions 4
of chapter 3-6D; 5
(c) Of a public corporation; 6
(d) Of a chartered governmental unit; or 7
(e) Who participates in the system and is not provided for elsewhere in this 8
chapter; 9
(26) "Comparable level position," a member's position of employment that is generally 10
equivalent to the member's prior position of employment in terms of required 11
education, required experience, required training, required work history, 12
geographic location, and compensation and benefits; 13
(27) "Conservation officer," an employee of the Department of Game, Fish and Parks 14
and the Division of Wildlife or Division of Custer State Park who is employed 15
pursuant to § 41-2-11 and whose position is subject to the education and training 16
requirements as to education and training provided for in chapter 23-3; 17
(28) "Consumer price index," the consumer price index for urban wage earners and 18
clerical workers calculated by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics; 19
(29) "Contributory service," service to a participating unit during which contributions 20
were made to a South Dakota Retirement System, which may not include years of 21
credited service as provided for in § 3-12C-509 or 3-12C-511; 22
(30) "Correctional security staff," the warden, deputy warden, and any other 23
correctional staff holding a security position, as verified by the Department of 24
Corrections and, approved by the Bureau of Human Resources and Administration 25
and the Bureau of Finance and Management, and determined by the board as Class 26
B members; 27
(31) "Court services officer," an individual appointed pursuant to § 26-7A-8; 28
(32) "Covered employment," a member's employment as a full -time employee of a 29
participating unit; 30
(33) "Deputy county sheriff," an individual who is: 31
(a) An employee of a county that is a participating unit; 32
(b) Appointed by the board of county commissioners, pursuant to §§ 7-12-9 33
and 7-12-10; and 34
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(c) Subject to the minimum educational and training standards established by 1
the Law Enforcement Officers Standards Commission, pursuant to chapter 2
23-3. 3
The term does not include jailers or clerks; and 4
(d) Not a clerk or a jailer appointed pursuant to §§ 7-12-9 and 7-12-10, unless 5
the participating unit has requested that the jailer be considered as a deputy 6
county sheriff and the board has approved the request; 7
(34) "Disability advisory committee," a committee composed of: 8
(a) The secretary of the Department of Human Services or the secretary's 9
designee; 10
(b) An attorney appointed by the executive director; and 11
(c) A physician appointed by the executive director; 12
(35) "Effective date of retirement," the first day of the month in which a retirement 13
benefit is payable; 14
(36) "Eligible retirement plan," a plan described in section 402(c)(8)(B) of the Internal 15
Revenue Code; 16
(37) "Eligible rollover distribution," any distribution to a member of accumulated 17
contributions pursuant to § 3-12C-602. The term does not include , excluding any 18
portion of a distribution that represents contributions made to the system on an 19
after-tax basis nor or distributions paid as a result of the member reaching the 20
required beginning date; 21
(38) “"Emergency medical services personnel, ”" an individual who is licensed by the 22
State Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners in accordance with chapter 36-23
4B and actively practices emergency medical services; 24
(39) "Employer," this state and any board, bureau, commission, or department, bureau, 25
board, or commission of this state, any political subdivision of this state, or any 26
public corporation of this state that elects to become a participating unit; 27
(40) "Employer contribution," an amount contributed by the employer of a contributing 28
member, excluding any member contribution made by an employer after June 30, 29
1984, pursuant to § 3-12C-401; 30
(41) "Equivalent public service," any public service other than as a justice, a judge, or 31
a magistrate judge and comparable to Class B service, as defined by this section, 32
if the service is in the employ of a public entity that is not a participating unit; 33
(42) "Executive director," the executive director of the South Dakota Retirement 34
System; 35
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(43) "Fair value of assets," the total assets of the system at fair market value for 1
securities traded on exchanges; for securities not traded on exchanges, a value 2
based on similar securities; and for alternative investments, reported net asset 3
value: 4
(a) Fair market value, for securities traded on exchanges; 5
(b) A value based on similar securities, for securities not traded on exchanges; 6
and 7
(c) The reported net asset value, for alternative investments; 8
(44) "Fair value funded ratio," the fair value of assets divided by the actuarial accrued 9
liability; 10
(45) "Fiduciary," any person who: 11
(a) Exercises any discretionary authority or control over the management of 12
the system or the management or disposition of the system's assets; 13
(b) Renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation, direct or 14
indirect, or has any authority or responsibility to do so; or 15
(c) Has any discretionary authority or responsibility in the administration of the 16
system; 17
(46) "Foundation member," any member of the system whose contributory service 18
began before July 1, 2017; 19
(47) "Firefighter," any full-time firefighter who works at least twenty hours a week and 20
at least six months a year . The term does not include , excluding any volunteer 21
firefighter; 22
(48) "Full-time employee," any employee who is considered full -time by the 23
participating unit and is customarily employed by the participating unit for twenty 24
hours or more a week and at least six months a year, regardless of classification 25
of employment as seasonal, temporary, leased, contract, or any other designation; 26
(49) "Fund," the public employees' retirement fund or funds established for the 27
administration of this chapter; 28
(50) "Gaming enforcement agent," any employee of the South Dakota Commission on 29
Gaming who is appointed pursuant to § 42-7B-56 and who must, as a condition of 30
employment, be law enforcement certified; 31
(51) "Generational member," any member of the system whose contributory service 32
began after June 30, 2017; 33
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(52) "Health care provider," a physician or other health care practitioner who is licensed, 1
registered, certified, or otherwise authorized by law to provide specified health 2
services; 3
(53) "Juvenile corrections agent," a designee of the secretary of corrections who is 4
charged with the care, custody, and control of juveniles committed to the 5
Department of Corrections until the age of twenty-one, or a person who is charged 6
with the care, custody, and control of juveniles at a juvenile corrections facility 7
under the control of a participating unit; 8
(54) "Law enforcement officer," any agent of the Division of Criminal Investigation, 9
officer of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, police officer, county sheriff, or deputy 10
county sheriff; 11
(55) "Member," any individual who is contributing or has made contributions to the 12
system and is either a foundation member or generational member . An, provided 13
that an individual's membership ceases when the individual withdraws the 14
individual's accumulated contributions after termination of employment; 15
(56) "Member contribution," any amount contributed by a member, including any 16
member contribution made by an employer after June 30, 1984, pursuant to § 3-17
12C-401; 18
(57) "Military service," a period of active duty with the United States Army, the United 19
States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Marine Corps, or the 20
United States Coast Guard, from which duty the member received an honorable 21
discharge or an honorable release; 22
(58) "Municipality," any incorporated municipal government under chapter 9-3, or any 23
chartered governmental unit, as provided for in S.D. Const., Art. IX; 24
(59) "Noncontributory service," for any foundation member, service delineated in 25
subdivisions 3-12C-502(2), (5), (7), and (8), and for any generational member, 26
service pursuant to § 3-12C-514; 27
(60) "Normal cost," the expected long -term cost of the system benefits and expenses 28
expressed as a percentage of payroll; 29
(61) "Normal retirement," the termination of employment and application for benefits 30
by a member with three or more years of contributory service or noncontributory 31
service on or after the member's normal retirement age; 32
(62) "Other public benefits," eighty percent of the primary insurance amount or primary 33
social security benefits that would be provided under federal social security; 34
(63) "Other public service," service: 35
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(a) For the government of the United States, including military service; 1
(b) For the government of any state or political subdivision thereof of a state; 2
(c) For any agency or instrumentality of the government of the United States 3
or the government of a state or political subdivision of a state; or 4
(d) As an employee of an association of government entities described in this 5
subdivision; 6
(64) "Park ranger," an employee of the Department of Game, Fish and Parks within the 7
Division of Parks and Recreation and whose position is subject to the education and 8
training requirements as to education and training provided for in chapter 23-3, 9
and whose primary duty is law enforcement in the state park system; 10
(65) "Parole agent," an employee of the Department of Corrections employed pursuant 11
to § 24-15-14, who directly supervises parolees on a daily basis; 12
(66) "Participating unit," this state, any board, bureau, commission, or department, 13
bureau, board, or commission of this state, and any political subdivision or public 14
corporation of this state that has employees who are members of the system; 15
(67) "Plan year," a period extending from July first of one calendar year through June 16
thirtieth of the following calendar year; 17
(68) "Police officer," any employee in the police department of any participating 18
municipality, holding the rank of patrol officer or probationary patrol officer, or 19
holding a higher rank, and whose position is subject to the minimum educational 20
and training standards established by the Law Enforcement Officers Standards 21
Commission pursuant to chapter 23-3. The term does not include a civilian 22
employee of a police department nor any individual employed by a municipality 23
whose services as a police officer require less than twenty hours a week and six 24
months a year. If , including a jailer if a municipality that is a participating unit 25
operates a city jail, and the participating unit may elects to request that any 26
appointment of the jailer appointed, pursuant to § 9-29-25, to be considered a 27
police officer, subject to the approval of the board , and excluding any civilian 28
employee of a police department and any individual employed by a municipality 29
whose services as a police officer are performed for less than twenty hours a week 30
and six months a year; 31
(69) "Political subdivision," any municipality, school district, county, chartered 32
governmental unit, public corporation or entity, and special district created for any 33
governmental function; 34
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(70) "Present value of all benefits," the present value of all benefits expected to be paid 1
to all retired, terminated, and active members and beneficiaries, based on past 2
and future credited service and future compensation increases; 3
(71) "Projected compensation," a deceased or disabled member's final average 4
compensation multiplied by the COLA commencing each July first for each complete 5
twelve-month period elapsed between the date of the member's death or disability, 6
whichever occurred earlier, and the date the member would attain normal 7
retirement age or the benefit commences, whichever occurred earlier; 8
(72) "Projected service," the credited service plus the service that the member would 9
have been credited with at normal retirement age had the member continued in 10
the system and received credit at the same rate the member was credited during 11
the year covered by the compensation that was used in the calculation of the 12
disability or family benefit; 13
(73) "Qualified military service," service in the uniformed services, as defined in 14
§ 414(u)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code; 15
(74) "Retiree," any foundation or generational member who retires with a lifetime 16
benefit payable from the system; 17
(75) "Retirement," the severance of a member from the employ of a participating unit 18
with a retirement benefit payable from the system; 19
(76) "Retirement benefit," the monthly amount payable upon the retirement of a 20
member; 21
(77) "Single premium," the lump -sum amount paid by a supplemental pension 22
participant pursuant to a supplemental pension contract in consideration for a 23
supplemental pension benefit; 24
(78) "Social investment," investment, divestment, or prohibition of investment of the 25
assets of the system for purposes other than maximum risk -adjusted investment 26
return, which other purposes include ideological purposes, environmental 27
purposes, political purposes, religious purposes, or purposes of local or regional 28
economic development, or any other purpose other than maximum risk -adjusted 29
investment return; 30
(79) "State employee," an employee of any board, bureau, commission, or department 31
of this state; 32
(80) "Supplemental pension benefit," any single -premium immediate pension benefit 33
payable pursuant to §§ 3-12C-1504 and 3-12C-1505; 34
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(81) "Supplemental pension contract," any agreement between a participant and the 1
system upon which a supplemental pension is based, including the amount of the 2
single premium, the type of pension benefit, and the monthly supplemental pension 3
payment amount; 4
(82) "Supplemental pension contract record," the record of: 5
(a) Each supplemental pension participant reflecting relevant participant data; 6
(b) A designation of any a beneficiary, if any; 7
(c) The amount of the participant's funds moneys rolled into the fund; 8
(d) The provisions of the participant's supplemental pension contract; and 9
(e) Any supplemental pension payments made pursuant to the contract; 10
(83) "Supplemental pension participant," any member who is a retiree receiving a 11
benefit from the system, or, if the member is deceased, the member's surviving 12
spouse who is receiving a benefit from the system, and who chooses to purchase 13
a supplemental pension benefit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. For 14
purposes of this chapter, "participant" means the same meaning as "supplemental 15
pension participant"; 16
(84) "Supplemental pension spouse," any individual who was married to a supplemental 17
pension participant at the time the participant entered into the supplemental 18
pension contract; 19
(85) "System," the South Dakota Retirement System created in this chapter; 20
(86) "Trustee," a member of the Board of Trustees; and 21
(87) "Unfunded actuarial accrued liability," the actuarial accrued liability less the 22
actuarial value of assets. 23
Section 2. That § 34-45-22 be AMENDED: 24
34-45-22. The term, 911 telecommunicator, as used in §§ For purposes of §§ 3-25
12C-101 and 34-45-22 to 34-45-32, inclusive, "911 telecommunicator" means any 26
employee of the state, or any political subdivision thereof of the state , whose primary 27
full-time or part -time duties are receiving, processing, and transmitting public safety 28
information received through a 911 emergency reporting system as defined in § 34-45-1. 29