Session of 2000
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1643
By Senators Hensley, Barone, Biggs, Downey, Feleciano,
Gilstrap,
Gooch, Goodwin, Jones, Petty, Steineger and
Stephens
3-13
11 A PROPOSITION to amend
article 15 of the constitution of the state of
12 Kansas by adding a new
section thereto, relating to public retirement
13 systems.
14
15 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas, two-thirds of the
16 members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the Senate and two-
17 thirds of the
members elected (or appointed) and qualified to the House
18 of Representatives
concurring therein:
19
Section 1. The following proposition to amend the
constitution of the
20 state of Kansas shall be submitted to the
qualified electors of the state
21 for their approval or rejection: Article 15
of the constitution of the state
22 of Kansas is hereby amended by adding a new
section 16 thereto to read
23 as follows:
24 ``§
16. Public retirement systems. (a) Public
retirement sys-
25 tems shall be funded
on an actuarially sound basis. Public retire-
26 ment system assets,
including income and actuarially required con-
27 tributions, shall not
be encumbered, diverted, reduced or
28 terminated and shall
be held in trust to provide benefits to partic-
29 ipants and
participants' beneficiaries and to defray administrative
30 expenses.
31 (b) The
governing boards of public retirement systems shall
32 administer the
systems, including actuarial determinations, as fi-
33 duciaries of systems
participants and participants' beneficiaries.
34
(c) Membership in any public retirement system shall be
an
35 enforceable
contractual relationship and the accrued benefits of
36 membership shall not
be diminished or impaired.''
37 Sec. 2. The
following statement shall be printed on the ballot with
38 the amendment as a whole:
39 ``Explanatory
statement. This amendment would require public
40 retirement systems to
be funded on an actuarially sound basis. The
41 assets shall be held
in trust to provide benefits to participants and
42 beneficiaries and
defray administrative costs and shall not be used
43 for any other purpose.
The governing boards of public retirement
2
1 systems are
fiduciaries for the participants and beneficiaries. Mem-
2 bership in a
public retirement system would be an enforceable con-
3 tractual
relationship and accrued benefits could not be diminished
4 or impaired.
5 ``A vote
for this proposition would provide constitutional protec-
6 tion for
participants and beneficiaries of public retirement systems
7 by requiring
actuarially sound funding, trust nature of funds to pro-
8 vide benefits
and defray administrative costs, fiduciary responsibil-
9 ity of boards of
public retirement systems and public retirement
10 system memberships as
an enforceable contractual relationship with
11 unimpairable accrued
benefits.
12 ``A vote against
this proposition would retain the current status
13 of law and not provide
these additional constitutional protections to
14 participants and
beneficiaries of public retirement systems.''
15 Sec.
3. This resolution, if approved by two-thirds of the
members
16 elected (or appointed) and qualified to the
House of Representatives, and
17 two-thirds of the members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the
18 Senate shall be entered on the journals,
together with the yeas and nays.
19 The secretary of state shall cause this
resolution to be published as pro-
20 vided by law and shall cause the proposed
amendment to be submitted
21 to the electors of the state at the general
election in the year 2000 unless
22 a special election is called at a sooner
date by concurrent resolution of
23 the legislature, in which case it shall be
submitted to the electors of the
24 state at the special election.
25