Revision: Dec. 14, 2015, midnight
\t \t\tHB 1352-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2495
\t10/03
HOUSE BILL\t1352-FN
AN ACT\trelative to the penalty for retirement system employers' noncompliance with reporting requirements for retirees.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Byron, Hills. 20; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr. 21; Rep. Hansberry, Hills. 35
COMMITTEE:\tSpecial Committee on Public Employee Pension Plans
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill requires the penalty for retirement system employer noncompliance with the data reporting requirements be assessed only for willful or intentional violations.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2495
\t10/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to the penalty for retirement system employers' noncompliance with reporting requirements for retirees.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Retirement System Compensation Data Reporting; Penalty. Amend RSA 100-A:16, VII(b) to read as follows:
\t\t\t(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, employers shall be subject to a penalty of $25 per day for noncompliance with the data reporting requirements of subparagraph (a)[, including] which is determined to be willful or intentional. The penalty shall not be assessed for data that was not timely remitted or data that cannot be processed at the times designated by the board of trustees due to data reporting errors by the employer where such errors were not willful or intentional. The board may abate all or any part of the penalty [upon a showing that the employer did not willfully, intentionally, through gross negligence, or through a pattern of negligence fail to file the data as required].
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2495
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/3/15
HB 1352-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to the penalty for retirement system employers' noncompliance with reporting requirements for retirees.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Retirement System, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill will decrease state restricted revenue and county and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2016, FY 2017, FY 2018, and FY 2019. There will be no fiscal impact on state expenditures or county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire Retirement System states this bill changes the $25 data reporting penalty from being assessed based on late payment date to being assessed only when there is late payment with willful intent. The New Hampshire Retirement System anticipates this bill will decrease state revenue by an indeterminable amount because penalties would have to meet a higher standard. To the extent state revenue decreases, there would be a corresponding decrease in county and local expenditures as counties and municipalities would be paying fewer penalties. The following table shows the total dollar amount of penalties initially assessed, waived, in process, and amount paid from January through October 2015:
Penalties Initially Assessed | $21,875 | |
Approved Waivers | $11,500 | 52.6% |
Waivers Denied | $125 | 0.6% |
Penalties Paid | $1,050 | 4.8% |
Penalties Still in Waiver Process | $9,200 | 42.1% |
The New Hampshire Retirement System states the $25 penalty, stipulated in RSA 100-A:16, VII(b), will be repealed January 1, 2019, pursuant to House Bill 342 (Chapter 251, Laws of 2013).
The New Hampshire Municipal Association and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may decrease the amount and number of penalty assessments paid by municipalities and counties. The New Hampshire Municipal Association and New Hampshire Association of Counties state that requiring the New Hampshire Retirement System to demonstrate reporting errors were willful or intentional will reduce the number of penalties paid by municipalities and counties.
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill will have no impact on state expenditures. The Department of Administrative services states a system of control is in place to ensure timely compliance with data reporting requirements.