AB 199

Under current law, participants under the Wisconsin Retirement System

(WRS) whose principal duties involve law enforcement or fire suppression or

prevention and require frequent exposure to a high degree of danger or peril and a

high degree of physical conditioning are classified as protective occupation

participants. Current law specifically classifies police officers, fire fighters, and

various other individuals as protective occupation participants. Under the WRS, the

normal retirement age of a protective occupation participant is lower than that of

other participants and the percentage multiplier used to calculate retirement

annuities is higher for protective occupation participants than for other participants.

This bill classifies all of the following state employees as protective occupation

participants for the purposes of the WRS:

1. Members of the Parole Commission.

2. State employees who are employed at state correctional institutions, juvenile

correctional facilities, the mental health institutes at Mendota and Winnebago, the

Wisconsin Resource Center, or secure mental health units or facilities for sexually

violent persons.

3. Psychologists employed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) who

perform duties related to sexually violent person commitments.

4. Corrections classification specialists employed by DOC who perform duties

related to sexually violent person commitments.

5. Clerical employees employed at probation, extended supervision, and parole

offices.

Because this bill relates to public employee retirement or pensions, it may be

referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems for a report to be

printed as an appendix to the bill.