Board Rules - Chapter 1 Procedures

1-1 Rulemaking
1-2 Appeals to the Board
1-3 Confidentiality of Records
1-4 Charges for Documents
1-5 Board Election Procedures
1-6 Board Member Designees

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1-1 Rulemaking

(1) Pursuant to section 104.1063, RSMo, the board of trustees of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System (MOSERS) "is authorized to promulgate rules to properly administer the system and govern its own proceedings."

(2) Rules may be promulgated by the board of trustees of MOSERS, or may be amended or repealed, in whole or in part, at any meeting of the board of trustees. Proposed rulemaking (which includes making new rules and any amendment or repeal of an existing rule) shall be posted on MOSERS' Internet web site for a comment period of 30 days following adoption by the board of trustees. The adopted rule shall become effective at the end of the comment period. If comments are received during the comment period, staff shall report the comments to the board of trustees at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. The board may modify or rescind the adopted rule in response to the comments. Any modifications shall be effective immediately after the board considers the comments unless the board elects to rescind the adopted rule or further extend the comment period for the proposed rule.

(3) The executive director of MOSERS shall keep all rules and regulations promulgated by the board of trustees on file in his or her office and shall make a copy of those rules and regulations available to any interested party upon request. The executive director shall make all proposed and current rules and regulations available on MOSERS' Internet web site.

1-2 Appeals to the Board

(1) Members, beneficiaries, survivors, retirees, judges, administrative law judges and employers may request review by the board of trustees of the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS) of decisions by the executive director of MOSERS, or his/her designee, concerning eligibility for and/or the amount of benefits, service, contributions, refunds, and membership.

(2) Requests.

(A) The request for review must be stated in writing and addressed to the executive director or the board of trustees. The request must state what decision the board of trustees is being asked to review and what action the board of trustees is being asked to take.

(B) The request must be made within sixty (60) days after the administrative decision has been mailed or otherwise communicated to the party making the request for review.

(3) The review will be held at the next regularly scheduled board meeting that is at least thirty (30) days after the date on which the request for review is received unless another date is mutually agreed to by the parties. The party requesting review (the appellant) will be notified in writing of the date on which the board of trustees will conduct the review.

(4) MOSERS' staff will prepare background material for the board of trustees, which will include documentation necessary for the board to review the decision, and at a minimum will include copies of correspondence, applicable statutes and regulations, and a summary of the issues and decision of the executive director of MOSERS or his/her designee. The background material will be supplied to the appellant at the same time it is provided to the board of trustees. Any requirements of law prohibiting reproduction or distribution of material will be observed.

(5) Reviews.

(A) Reviews will be held on an informal basis. No formal rules of evidence will be applied.

(B) The appellant may present additional documentation and testimony for the board of trustees to consider. Attendance by the appellant is not required, however, and the appellant may submit the additional information without being present at the meeting.

(C) The appellant must provide any documentation to be considered at least seven (7) days before the meeting.

(6) Presentations.

(A) The board of trustees shall determine in its sole discretion the amount of time the appellant will have to make a presentation.

(B) The appellant may have another individual make the presentation, or assist in making the presentation, of information to the board of trustees. The appellant also may have additional witnesses at the board meeting, who can provide information to the board of trustees.

(C) Presentation of requests for review and of the information provided in connection with those requests will be conducted in closed session and all records related to the request for review will be maintained as closed records to preserve confidentiality of member information.

(7) After consideration of the background material and the appellant's information, the board of trustees will vote to confirm, reverse, or amend the administrative decision. Deliberations and voting will occur after the appellant and any representatives or witnesses have left the meeting and while the board of trustees is still in closed session. Normally the vote will occur at the same meeting as the review, but the board of trustees may request additional information or may require additional time to review information presented at the meeting. In those instances, the board of trustees will make its decision at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

(8) The decision of the board of trustees will be communicated to the appellant in writing by the executive director of MOSERS. The notice of the decision will contain a statement of the decision and a brief explanation of the reasons for the decision.

1-3 Confidentiality of Records

Upon receiving a written request that states the name, address, and telephone number of the person making the request, MOSERS will provide the following information with regard to retirement, basic life insurance, or long-term disability benefits administered and distributed by MOSERS: name, department, benefit amount, and length of service of any member who is or may receive retirement, basic life insurance, or long-term disability benefits or person receiving survivor or period certain annuity benefits (all of whom shall hereinafter be referred to as "benefit recipients"). All other individually identifiable records of benefit recipients shall be kept confidential unless:

• The benefit recipient consents in writing to the release of the information
• The information is requested by the benefit recipient's legal representative
• The information is requested pursuant to a subpoena or other legal process as provided by law including, but not limited to sections 104.312 or 104.1051
• The information is requested in writing by a state agency in connection with personnel management or the administration of state benefit programs and the director or other authorized personnel of the state agency agrees in writing to use the information only for the requested purpose and to otherwise keep the information confidential.
  
• Staff may mail non-commercial information to members on behalf of a state agency if the agency pays for the cost of the mailing.

MOSERS will send a copy of the written request to the benefit recipient after providing the information unless the request seeks general information about a large group of benefit recipients.

1-4 Charges for Documents

The board of trustees may impose a reasonable charge to cover the cost of furnishing copies of reports, records, and documents upon written request. The charge shall closely approximate the actual cost of locating documents and making copies, not to exceed one dollar ($1) per page.

1-5 Board Election Procedures

A - Nomination

(1) Election procedures will begin in November of the year preceding expiration of terms to ensure a smooth election process. Board election procedures, including a timeline of events, will be discussed with the Board prior to the year of the board election.

(2) There will be two nominating petitions: one for active employees and one for retirees.

(3) An eligible candidate for the active member position shall be a member of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System who is not receiving retirement benefits as of the last day of the month proceeding the month in which the election is to be held. In general, the candidate must be in “active” status (currently employed) on August 1st of the year of the board election. The following individuals will not be considered eligible candidates for the active member board election: a) retired members of the system, b) term-vested members of the system including the judicial and administrative law judges plan, c) active or retired members of the judicial and administrative law judges plan, d) members on long-term disability, and e) survivors of deceased members of the system including the judicial and administrative law judges plan.

(4) An eligible candidate for the retired member position shall be a member of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System who is receiving retirement benefits as of the last day of the month proceeding the month in which the election is to be held. In general, the candidate must be in “retired” status on August 1st of the year of the board election. The following individuals will not be considered eligible candidates for the retired member board election: a) active members of the system, b) term-vested members of the system including the judicial and administrative law judges plan, c) active or retired members of the judicial and administrative law judges plan, d) members on long-term disability, and e) survivors of deceased members of the system including the judicial and administrative law judges plan.

(5) Candidates will be nominated by means of nominating petitions.

(6) Valid nominating petitions for active employees must have in total at least one hundred (100) verified signatures of members eligible to sign the petition. Each line item on the active member petition signature sheet must indicate the members' name (printed clearly), signature, phone number, state agency where employed, and the last four digits of the members social security number. The following individuals will not be considered eligible to sign active member petitions: a) retired members of the system, b) term-vested members of the system including the judicial and administrative law judges plan, c) active or retired members of the judicial and administrative law judges plan, d) members on long-term disability, and e) survivors of deceased members of the system including survivors of members of the judicial and administrative law judges plan.

(7) Valid nominating petitions for retirees must have in total at least twenty-five (25) verified signatures of retirees eligible to sign the petition. Each line item on the retired member petition signature sheet must indicate the members' name (printed clearly), signature, phone number, state agency where the retiree was last employed, and the last four digits of the member’s social security number. The following individuals will not be considered eligible to sign retired member petitions: a) active members of the system, b) term-vested members of the system including the judicial and administrative law judges plan, c) active or retired members of the judicial and administrative law judges plan, d) members on long-term disability, and e) survivors of deceased members of the system including survivors of members of the judicial and administrative law judges plan.

(8) Each petition may have only one (1) candidate and an individual can only run for one position on the board.

(9) MOSERS staff members will include an article discussing the board election in both the active member and retired member newsletters.

(10) MOSERS staff will create a brochure to cover all aspects of the board election related to the nomination process. A brochure will be created for the active member election and a separate brochure will be created for the retired member election. Any brochure created must include the following language:

a) Board member candidates may not use interagency mail or send email from a computer provided by the state to distribute campaign materials,
b) State agencies, at their discretion, may allow the posting of campaign materials provided by the candidates on an equal time basis, and
c) Board member candidates may not use state resources (equipment, personnel, and supplies) for campaign purposes.

(11) Interested board member candidates will be instructed to contact MOSERS to obtain a brochure which will contain all of the instructions, forms, and requirements necessary to be placed on the board election ballot. MOSERS staff members will produce nominating petitions for potential candidates and make the petitions available to any member wishing to file for the election. Additional information such as annual reports and summaries of Board and committee responsibilities will be furnished along with each nominating petition and will be included in the board election brochure.

(12) MOSERS staff shall set the time period when nomination petitions shall be filed and the manner in which petitions must be filed.

(13) Each candidate must submit the following written statements:

a) A summary of information regarding his or her background (which may include years of service, department experience, reasons for wanting to serve, etc.) and qualifications, not to exceed three hundred (300) words. Formatting of this information will be under the direction of MOSERS staff members.
b) Copies of the Campaign finance disclosure forms sent to the Missouri State Ethics Commission which show amounts and sources of all contributions received and amounts and receipts of all expenditures, pursuant to Section 104.460, RSMo. The candidates are required to file such campaign finance disclosure forms pursuant to Section 104.460 RSMo.

(14) MOSERS staff is required to establish procedures to ensure candidate information is true and accurate prior to submitting the candidate information to the third-party election administrator. These procedures will include validation of the signatures on the candidate petition forms.

(15) If only one (1) valid nominating petition is filed for any vacancy, the person nominated will be declared elected.

(16) If at least one (1) valid nominating petition is not filed for each vacancy to be filled, this process shall be repeated for that vacancy.

B - Election Ballots and Results

(1) Election ballots will be created, printed, mailed, counted, and the results certified by a thirdparty election administrator. The procedures to be used by the third-party election administrator for mailing the ballots will be created by MOSERS staff members.

(2) The third-party election administrator will be selected after the completion of a bid process conducted by MOSERS staff members.

(3) MOSERS staff members will provide the third-party election administrator with a list of approved candidates, the candidate biographies, and all other materials that will appear in the election ballots.

(4) Ballots for the election of active employee board members shall be distributed through the United States Postal Service to each eligible voter at his or her home address of record with the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System. The third-party election administrator shall not change the address of the member prior to mailing the ballot. The ballots will be mailed by the third-party election administrator by August 15th in the year of the board election. An eligible voter for the active member position shall be a member of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System who is not receiving retirement benefits as of the last day of the month proceeding the month in which the election is to be held. Active member ballots will not be sent to the following individuals: term-vested members, long-term disability recipients, members of the judicial plan, members of the administrative law judges’ plan, retired members, and survivors. Ballots will be mailed in envelopes with a return address belonging to the third-party administrator so that live ballots are not returned to MOSERS if the postal service is unable to deliver the envelope.

(5) Ballots for the election of the retiree board member shall be distributed through the United States Postal Service to each eligible member at his or her home address of record with the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System. The third-party election administrator shall not change the address of the member prior to mailing the ballot. The ballots will be mailedby the third-party election administrator by August 15th in the year of the board election. An eligible voter for the retired member position shall be a member of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System who is receiving retirement benefits as of the last day of the month proceeding the month in which the election is to be held. Retiree member ballots will not be sent to the following individuals: term-vested members, long-term disability recipients, members of the judicial plan, members of the administrative law judges’ plan, active members, and survivors. Ballots will be mailed in envelopes with a return address belonging to the third-party administrator so that live ballots are not returned to MOSERS if the postal service is unable to deliver the envelope.

(6) Any election ballots returned by the post office (due to bad address) to the third-party election administrator shall be forwarded to the correct address and any related postage expense will be borne by MOSERS. The correct address will also be submitted to MOSERS for address updating purposes.

(7) Names of candidates will be listed on the election ballot or in a supplemental publication in random order at the discretion of the third-party administrator. In no event will names of candidates be placed in alphabetical order on the election ballot or in a supplemental publication.

(8) Each ballot will include instructions for marking and returning the paper ballot and include instructions for voting using the Internet and telephone, if Internet and telephone voting procedures are used. Signatures will not be required on any completed ballot. The voter will only be required to use the last four digits of their social security number as their “signature” on their ballot.

(9) Completed paper election ballots must be sent through the United States Postal Service to the third-party election administrator. Any ballots received by MOSERS will be considered invalid, marked “void,” and sent to the third-party election administrator for archive purposes only.

(10) Completed paper election ballots must be postmarked by August 31st in the year of the board election and be received by the third-party election administrator by September 13th in the year of the board election. Internet and telephone balloting will cease on the close of business on August 31st in the year of the board election.

(11) Paper, phone, and internet ballots for active employees will allow selection of two (2) employee candidates to become board members. The two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be declared elected. If a tie shall occur between two (2) or more candidates receiving an identical number of votes, the winner shall be determined by a toss of a coin.

(12) Paper, Internet, and phone ballots for retirees will allow selection for one (1) retiree candidate to become a board member. The one (1) candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be declared elected. If a tie shall occur between two (2) or more candidates receiving an identical number of votes, the winner shall be determined by a toss of a coin.

(13) The designated election administrator shall open the paper ballots, administer the Internet and phone balloting procedures, and record all votes.

(14) Results of the election will be certified to the Executive Director by the third-party election administrator by the next business day after count completion. The election results will be discussed during the board meeting immediately following the end of the election.

(15) Election ballots will be maintained by the third-party election administrator for a period of 60 days to allow for recounts. After 60 days, all ballots (paper, Internet, and telephone) will be destroyed.

(16) Newly elected board members will begin their terms in January of the year following the election year.

C - Invalid Ballots

(1) The following are declared to be invalid ballots and shall not be counted in the election:

a) Votes cast for individuals not listed as candidates on the official ballot.
b) Ballots submitted by a person who is not an eligible voter as defined above.
c) If more than one (1) ballot is received from the same voter.
d) Votes cast in excess of that allowed on the paper ballot.
e) If the same candidate is voted for more than once by the same voter.
f) If the paper ballot is not forwarded through the United States Postal Service.
g) Ballots not received within the time period prescribed.
h) Paper ballots not mailed in the valid pre-addressed and stamped return envelope that is furnished.
i) Ballots of voters that did not properly identify themselves on the ballot.
j) Internet or telephone ballots not cast in the manner described by the third party administrator.
k) Ballots received by MOSERS by any method (mail, facsimile, email, hand-delivered, etc).

(2) Ballots may be changed or corrected prior to mailing in the official return envelope by personally requesting a new ballot from the designated election administrator in exchange for the original ballot.

(3) At the discretion of the Board of Trustees, any or all election procedures delegated to the Executive Director may be contracted to an individual or firm qualified to carry out such procedure(s). The Executive Director may also delegate board election responsibilities to appropriate MOSERS staff members.

D - Qualifications for Board Candidates

(1) A candidate who is running for a position on the board as an active member must be employed on January 1 of each year following the election. Failure to be employed at that time will result in an automatic disqualification.

(2) A candidate who is running for a position on the board as a retiree must be retired on January 1 of each year following the election. Failure to be retired at that time will result in an automatic disqualification.

(3) A board member representing active members who terminates employment while serving on the board will be considered to have resigned from the board. The board will appoint an active member to serve the balance of the board member’s term in accordance with Section 104.450, RSMo.

(4) A retired board member who becomes employed in a MOSERS' benefit eligible position while serving on the board will be considered to have resigned from the board. The board will appoint a retiree member to serve the balance of the retiree's term in accordance with Section 104.450 RSMo.

(5) It will be automatic grounds for disqualification if it is determined that a candidate knowingly submitted false information in the election process.

E - Vacancies

If a vacancy occurs for a seat that is normally filled by an election, the vacancy will be filled in accordance with Section 104.450, RSMo.

1-6 Board Member Designees

(1) The commissioner of administration may delegate his/her duties as a member of MOSERS board of trustees to a subordinate who has taken the same oath as the Commissioner pursuant to subsection 4 of section 37.010, RSMo. The commissioner will advise the board chair of any such delegation.

(2) The assistant treasurer appointed by the treasurer pursuant to section 30.120, RSMo, may assume the treasurer’s duties as a member of MOSERS board of trustees in the treasurer’s absence.

37.010. Commissioner of administration, compensation, oath of office, duties --vacancy, governor to serve.--

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4. The commissioner of administration shall provide the governor with such assistance in the supervision of the executive branch of state government as the governor requires and shall perform such other duties as are assigned to him by the governor or by law. The commissioner of administration shall work with other departments of the executive branch of state government to promote economy, efficiency and improved service in the transaction of state business. The commissioner of administration, with the approval of the governor, shall organize the work of the office of administration in such manner as to obtain maximum effectiveness of the personnel of the office. He may consolidate, abolish or reassign duties of positions or divisions combined within the office of administration, except for the division of personnel. He may delegate specific duties to subordinates. These subordinates shall take the same oath as the commissioner and shall be covered by the bond of the director or by separate bond as required by the governor.

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30.120. Treasurer to appoint assistant treasurer and other clerical employees --fix compensation--liable for acts of assistant treasurer.--

The state treasurer shall have the power to appoint and fix the compensation of one assistant treasurer and the clerks and other employees that are necessary in the performance of his duties under the law. Each appointment, with the oath of office endorsed thereon, shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state, before the appointee enters upon his duties. The assistant treasurer shall be competent to perform and, when appointed, may perform the duties of the office. The treasurer, and his sureties on his official bond, shall be liable for the official acts, misfeasance or defalcation of the assistant treasurer.