Section 13.50. Joint survey committee on retirement systems.

 

(1)   Creation. There is created a joint survey committee on retirement systems composed of 10 members, as follows:

(a) Two majority party senators, one minority party senator, 2 majority party representatives to the assembly and one minority party representative to the assembly, appointed as are the members of standing committees in their respective houses.

(b) An assistant attorney general to be appointed by the attorney general.

(c) A member of the public who is not a participant in any public retirement system in this state, to be selected by the governor. It is the intent of the legislature that the member appointed under this paragraph shall represent the interests of the taxpayers of this state and shall not be representative of public employee or employer interests.

(d) The commissioner of insurance or an experienced actuary in the commissioner's office designated by the commissioner.

(e) The secretary of employee trust funds or his or her designee.

(1m)   Officers. The officers of this committee shall be a senate cochairperson and vice cochairperson, and an assembly cochairperson and vice cochairperson selected as are the officers of standing committees in their respective houses, and a secretary elected by the committee from among its nonlegislator members.

(2)   Terms of committee. Each appointment under sub. (1) (a) , (b) and (c) shall be for a period of 4 years and until a successor is appointed and qualified. Any member shall cease to be a member of the committee upon losing the status upon which the appointment was based.

(3)   Membership compatible with other public office. Membership on the committee shall not be incompatible with any other public office.

(4)   Staff. The legislative council staff shall provide staff to assist the committee in the performance of its functions. The committee may contract for actuarial assistance outside the classified service.

(5)   Committee action. All actions of the committee shall require the approval of a majority of all the members.

(6)   Powers and duties. The committee shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) No bill or amendment thereto creating or modifying any system for, or making any provision for, the retirement of or payment of pensions to public officers or employees, shall be acted upon by the legislature until it has been referred to the joint survey committee on retirement systems and such committee has submitted a written report on the bill or amendment. Such report shall pertain to the probable costs involved, the effect on the actuarial soundness of the retirement system and the desirability of such proposal as a matter of public policy.

(am) The cochairpersons of the joint survey committee on retirement systems or the cochairpersons of the joint committee on finance, with respect to any bill or amendment specified in par. (a) , or the presiding officer of either house of the legislature, with respect to any bill or amendment specified in par. (a) that is pending in his or her house, may make a determination, based on any available information, that the bill or amendment may have a significant fiscal impact on the costs, actuarial balance or goals of the Wisconsin Retirement System and order the attachment of an independent actuarial opinion on such impact. The cochairpersons or presiding officer ordering such an opinion shall direct the staff under sub. (4) to obtain the opinion. The staff shall make payment for the opinion from the appropriation under s. 20.765 (3) (ec) .

(b) No bill or amendment thereto creating or modifying any system for the retirement of public employees shall be considered by either house until the written report required by par. (a) and the actuarial opinion ordered under par. (am) , if any, have been submitted to the chief clerk. Each such bill or amendment shall then be referred to a standing committee of the house in which introduced. The report of the joint survey committee and actuarial opinion, if any, shall be printed as an appendix to the bill and attached thereto as are amendments.

1971 c. 270 s. 104 ; 1973 c. 163 ; 1975 c. 224 , 249 ; 1977 c. 196 s. 131 ; 1977 c. 325 ; 1981 c. 96 ; 1991 a. 39 , 116 , 316 ; 2003 a. 33 ; 2005 a. 25 , 316 . A bill would probably result in a valid law even if the procedures specified in sub. (6) were disregarded by the legislature. When an act is passed by both houses, in accordance with constitutional requirements, the courts will not inquire into whether statutory legislative procedures were followed. 63 Atty. Gen. 305.