Authority: Title 9.1, Chapter 4; Title 51.1, Chapters 1, 2, 2.1, and 3, Code of Virginia.

A. The Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System is hereby authorized to charge a participation fee to each employer served by the Virginia Retirement System for any services provided pursuant to Title 51.1, Code of Virginia. The fee shall be utilized to pay the administrative expenses of all administrative services, including non-retirement programs. Retirement contributions required by the board shall be reduced to pay such fees in a manner prescribed by the Board of Trustees.

B. State agencies and institutions of higher education shall make payments to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) for VRS-administered benefits no less often than monthly.

C.1. Out of this appropriation, $80,000 the first year and $80,000 the second year from the general fund is provided for expenses associated with the Volunteer Firefighters' and Rescue Squad Workers' Service Award Fund.

2. Gains forfeited prior to July 1, 2016 pursuant to § 51.1-1206, Code of Virginia, and the accumulated earnings thereon shall be used to provide the reimbursement described in § 51.1-1200, Code of Virginia. All future gains forfeited pursuant to § 51.1-1206, Code of Virginia, shall also be used to provide the reimbursement described in § 51.1-1200, Code of Virginia.

D. The Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System shall provide notification to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee when a political subdivision becomes more than 60 days in arrears in their contributions to the Virginia Retirement System. Such notification shall occur within 15 days of when the 60 day period has occurred.

E.1. Pursuant to the administration of Chapter 4 of Title 9.1, Code of Virginia, the following provisions are effective July 1, 2017:

2. For purposes of this Item, employer contributions for coverage provided to members of the National Guard and Virginia Defense Force on active duty shall be paid by the Department of Military Affairs.

3. In addition to any other benefit provided by law, an additional death benefit in the amount of $20,000 for the surviving spouses and dependents of certain members of the National Guard and United States military reserves killed in action in any armed conflict on or after October 7, 2001, are payable pursuant to § 44-93.1.B., Code of Virginia, from the Line of Duty Death and Health Benefits Trust Fund. The Virginia Retirement System, with support from the Department of Military Affairs, shall determine eligibility for this benefit.

4. Funding for the inclusion of a member of any fire company providing fire protection services for facilities of the Virginia National Guard or the Virginia Air National Guard will be paid by the Department of Military Affairs out of its appropriation in Item 463 of this act.

5. Any locality that has established a trust, trusts, or equivalent arrangements for the purpose of accumulating and investing assets to fund post-employment benefits other than pensions under § 15.2-1544, Code of Virginia, may fund Line of Duty Act benefits from the assets of the trust, trusts, or equivalent arrangements.

F. Annually by February 1st, the Virginia Retirement System shall submit to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security the names of individuals who were determined to be deceased persons, as defined in § 9.1-400 of the Code of Virginia, in the previous calendar year. The name of any individual whose claim has been filed, but not yet approved, may be submitted in a subsequent year by the Virginia Retirement System once the claim is approved. The Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security shall be authorized to share the list as necessary for the purposes of the names being inscribed on the Virginia Public Safety Memorial and honored at the Annual Memorial Service. As provided in § 9.1-408 of the Code of the Virginia, the list otherwise shall be deemed confidential, shall be exempt from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and shall not be released in whole or in part.

G. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 9.l-401(C), Code of Virginia, any disabled person, as defined in § 9.1-400(B), Code of Virginia, who was injured in the line-of-duty in February 2016 but whose date of disability for purposes of the Line-of-Duty Act is in March 2019, shall not be subject to subdivision 4 of such subsection. Also, the spouse of such person as of the date of disability shall be considered an "eligible spouse" for purposes of continued health coverage pursuant to § 9.1-401, Code of Virginia, and will not be subject to the provisions of that definition that disqualify a spouse who ceases to be married to a disabled person, as defined in §9.1-400, Code of Virginia, or the spouse of a deceased person who remarries at any time.

H. The Virginia Retirement System and the Department of Human Resource Management shall report annually on or before January 1 to the Governor and the Virginia General Assembly the detailed aggregate of eligibility determinations for employees in accordance with § 9.1-400. This report shall tabulate claims data, types of injuries and associated costs with provided benefits. In accordance with § 9.1-408, the name of the employer or employee shall not appear in such publications and all documents to determine eligibility shall remain confidential.

I. The Director of the Virginia Retirement System shall convene a workgroup including staff from the House Appropriations Committee, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, and the office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to examine the impact the hybrid retirement system has had on judicial appointments. The review shall also include an analysis of the structure of other states' retirement benefits for judges, specifically looking at other states which provide a hybrid benefit, and options for modifying the current benefit structure for judges including an analysis of the project cost and impact on the unfunded liability of the potential changes. The workgroup shall provide a report to the General Assembly and Governor by December 1, 2024.