Bill > SB200

Introduced Session

Legislative Counsel's Digest: Existing federal law provides for individual retirement accounts and individual 1 retirement annuities by which persons may save money for retirement under 2 favorable income tax treatment. (26 U.S.C. 408, 408A) This bill establishes the 3 Nevada Employee Savings Trust under the direction of a board of trustees with the 4 power to establish a similar program and to encourage private employees to 5 establish such accounts. 6 Section 19of this bill creates the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Employee 7 Savings Trust and establishes its membership. Section 20of this bill establishes 8 certain powers and duties of the Board. In particular, section 20authorizes and 9 empowers the Board to: (1) design, establish and operate the Nevada Employee 10 Savings Trust Program; and (2) adopt regulations, rules and procedures for the 11 establishment and operation of the Program and to take such other actions 12 necessary or desirable to establish and operate the Program. 13 Section 21of this bill requires the State Treasurer to provide staff support to 14 the Board within the limits of appropriations and authorizes the State Treasurer to 15 provide administrative support to the Board. 16 Section 22of this bill provides that an act or undertaking of the Board does not 17 constitute a debt of the State of Nevada, or any political subdivision thereof, or a 18 pledge of the full faith and credit of the State of Nevada, or of any political 19 subdivision thereof, and is payable solely from the assets controlled by the Board. 20 Section 22also prohibits the Board from imposing any obligations on the State or 21 pledging the credit of the State. 22 Section 23of this bill establishes certain attributes that the Board must include 23 in the Program, including: (1) that covered employers must automatically enroll all 24 covered employees in the Program unless a covered employee opts out of the 25 Program; (2) that contributions to a covered employee s Individual Retirement 26 Account must be withheld from the employee s compensation at the rate set by the 27 Board unless the employee elects not to contribute or to contribute at a different 28 rate; (3) that a covered employee may withdraw up to $1,000 of contributions to 29 meet a financial or other emergency; and (4) that the Board must prepare 30 informational materials, disclosure statements, forms and instructions concerning 31 the Program for distribution by covered employers to covered employees. 32 Section 24of this bill creates the Nevada Employee Savings Trust 33 Administrative Fund in the State Treasury, specifies the sources of money that must 34 be deposited in the Fund and requires the Board to use money in the Fund solely to 35 pay the administrative costs and expenses of the Board and the Program. 36 Section 25of this bill authorizes the Board to borrow money or enter into 37 certain long-term procurement contracts with financial providers until the Board 38 determines that the Program is financially self-sustaining. 39 Section 26of this bill creates the Nevada Employee Savings Trust as an 40 instrumentality of the State and requires the Board to appoint a Trustee of the Trust. 41 Section 26requires that the assets of all Individual Retirement Accounts 42 established by covered employees through the Program be allocated to the Trust 43 and invested, managed and administered for the exclusive purposes of providing 44 benefits to the covered employees and defraying the reasonable expenses of the 45 Board, Program and Trust. Section 26also establishes certain investment 46 guidelines and practices. 47 Section 27of this bill provides that, except to the extent necessary to 48 administer the Program, personal information relating to individual participants in 49 the Program and information relating to individual accounts established or 50 maintained through the Program is confidential and must be maintained as 51 confidential, unless the person who provides the information or is the subject of the 52 information expressly agrees in writing to the disclosure of the information. 53 Section 28of this bill provides a grant of immunity from civil liability to 54 covered employers for the consequences of various decisions made by employees 55 or the Board in connection with the Program, including, for example, an 56 employee s decision to participate in or opt out of the Program, an investment 57 decision made by the participant or the Board or a loss, failure to realize a gain or 58 other adverse consequence incurred by a person as a result of participating in the 59 Program. Section 28also provides that a covered employer or other employer must 60 not be deemed to be a fiduciary in relation to the Program. 61 Section 29of this bill absolves the State and any employee or officer thereof, 62 the Board and any member of the Board or employee thereof and the Program from 63 any responsibility or civil liability for the actions of certain other persons in 64 connection with the Program, including, for example, a person s failure to comply 65 with provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, the payment of benefits or a loss, 66 failure to realize a gain or other adverse consequence incurred by a person as a 67 result of participating in the Program. Section 29also provides that the debts, 68 contracts and obligations of the Board, Program or Trust are not the debts, contracts 69 and obligations of the State, and neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of 70 the State is pledged directly or indirectly to the payment of the debts, contracts and 71 obligations of the Board, Program or Trust. 72 Section 30of this bill provides that members of the Board, the Trustee and 73 certain other persons involved in the administration of the Trust are fiduciaries with 74 respect to the participants in the Program. 75 Section 31of this bill prohibits members of the Board, its staff and persons 76 who serve as administrators of the Program from engaging in certain financial 77 transactions in connection with the Program. 78 Section 32of this bill requires the Board to obtain an annual independent audit 79 of the Board, Program and Trust and to annually submit audited financial reports to 80 the Governor, State Controller and Legislature. 81 SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Title 31 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1 thereto a new chapter to consist of the provisions set forth as 2 sections 2to 33, inclusive, of this act. 3 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 4 requires, the words and terms defined in sections 3 to 18, 5 inclusive, of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those 6 sections. 7 Sec. 3. Administrative Fund means the Nevada Employee 8 Savings Trust Administrative Fund created by section 24 of this 9 act. 10 Sec. 4. Board means the Board of Trustees of the Nevada 11 Employee Savings Trust created by section 19 of this act. 12 Sec. 5. Compensation means compensation within the 13 meaning of section 219(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code that is 14 received by a covered employee from a covered employer. 15 Sec. 6. Contribution rate means the percentage of a 16 covered employee s compensation that is withheld from his or her 17 compensation and paid to the Individual Retirement Account 18 established or maintained for the covered employee through the 19 Program. 20

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Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D)*,  Dallas Harris (D)*, 

(No further action taken.) (on 06/01/2021)

Official Document