HB 493 Summary

• Adds 44 specified Florida State Hospital employee job classifications to the Special Risk Class effective January 1, 2019, including behavioral specialists, nurses, custodial workers, teachers, therapists, and food service workers who spend at least 65 percent of their time in direct patient or inmate contact.

• Requires these Florida State Hospital employees to meet certification and duty requirements similar to other special risk members, with positions ranging from dietary technicians to rehabilitation therapists.

• Clarifies that sheriffs and elected police chiefs are not required to meet law enforcement officer certification requirements for special risk membership.

• Updates cross-references in section 121.0515, Florida Statutes, from paragraph (3)(k) to paragraph (3)(j) throughout the statute.

• Declares that the bill serves an important state interest in providing fair, adequate, and actuarially sound retirement benefits to state and local government employees and their dependents.