An act relating to Vermont State Employees' Retirement System Group G membership

The short-form introductory section was removed, including the sponsor line (Rep. Satcowitz of Randolph), committee referral block, subject line, and statement of purpose.

An outdated or erroneous alternate title referencing 'authorizing officers of the Town of Randolph Police Department to enroll in Group C' was removed, leaving only the correct title: 'An act relating to Vermont State Employees' Retirement System Group G membership.'

The header changed from 'BILL AS PASSED BY THE HOUSE AND SENATE H.519 2025 Page 1 of 18' to 'AS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE H.519 2026 Page 1 of 12', reflecting the unofficial version label and corrected session year.

The bill title changed from 'authorizing officers of the Town of Randolph Police Department to enroll in Group C' to 'Vermont State Employees' Retirement System Group G membership,' broadening the stated scope from a single municipality to the statewide retirement system.

In the definition of Group G member (F)(i), the employment cutoff date for existing members making an irrevocable election to prospectively join Group G was changed from June 30, 2022 to June 30, 2023, giving employees one additional year of coverage under the prior group before being required to elect into Group G.

New normal retirement date provisions (subdivisions i through iii) were added for Department of Corrections facility employees, DOC employees providing direct security and treatment services to offenders in the community, employees of justice-involved youth facilities, and Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital employees. These set specific age-and-service combinations for normal retirement: those first included before July 1, 2008 can retire at 62 with 5 years or after 30 years of service; those first included on or after July 1, 2008 must reach 65 with 5 years, attain 87 points (age plus service), or reach 55 with 20 years; new members on or after July 1, 2023 must reach 55 with 20 years or 65 with 5 years.

The normal retirement date subsections were renumbered from (v) through (ix) to (i) through (ix) to accommodate the new provisions, and cross-references in Section 2 (retirement allowance formulas) were updated to match the new numbering.

A short form section was added identifying Representative Satcowitz of Randolph as sponsor, listing subject matter (municipal government, police, law enforcement, retirement), and stating the bill's purpose as authorizing Town of Randolph Police Department officers to enroll in Group C.

The legislative session year in the header was corrected from 2026 to 2025, and page count changed from 9 to 10 pages.

An additional title line was added: 'An act relating to authorizing officers of the Town of Randolph Police Department to enroll in Group C of the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System,' making explicit a specific local application alongside the broader Group G membership framework.

The bill's scope expanded from a single municipality (Town of Randolph) to a statewide system covering all sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, municipal law enforcement officers, Department of Corrections facility employees, justice-involved youth facility employees, and Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital patient care staff.

The original purpose of authorizing Town of Randolph Police Department officers to enroll in Group C was entirely removed and replaced with the broader Group G framework.

A new definition of 'Group G member' was added to 3 V.S.A. section 455, with three tiers: (i) correctional/psychiatric facility employees who joined on or after July 1, 2023 or were members as of June 30, 2022; (ii) sheriffs and qualifying deputy sheriffs who joined on or after January 1, 2025 or were members as of December 31, 2024; and (iii) municipal law enforcement officers who join on or after January 1, 2027 or are members as of December 31, 2026.

Eligibility for Group G requires Level II or Level III law enforcement officer certification from the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and that law enforcement duties be the primary function of employment. Full-time state-compensated deputy sheriffs whose primary function is transports are explicitly excluded.

Multiple normal retirement date formulas were added for different subgroups, ranging from age 55 with 20 years of service to age 65 with 5 years of service, and an 87-point age-plus-service formula for certain groups.

Retirement benefit formulas were established: 2.5 percent of average final compensation times years of Group G service, with a maximum of 50 percent of average final compensation for some subgroups and 60 percent for others.

A one-time irrevocable election window was created for municipal law enforcement officers to transfer to Group G by December 1, 2026, with participation effective January 1, 2027. The Office of the State Treasurer must establish a list of newly eligible positions by September 1, 2026. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.

Municipal employers must notify the Office of the State Treasurer within 30 days of any change in a law enforcement officer's Group G eligibility.