Section 3103. As used in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act:

1. “Amendment” means any amendment, including a substitute bill, made to a retirement bill by any committee of the House or Senate, any conference committee of the House or Senate or by the House or Senate;

2. “RB number” means that number preceded by the letters “RB” assigned to a retirement bill by the respective staffs of the Oklahoma State Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives when the respective staff office prepares a retirement bill for a member of the Legislature;

3. “Legislative Actuary” means the firm or entity that enters into a contract with the Legislative Service Bureau pursuant to Section 452.15 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes to provide the actuarial services and other duties provided for in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act;

4. “Nonfiscal amendment” means an amendment to a retirement bill having a fiscal impact, which amendment does not change any factor of an actuarial investigation specified in subsection A of Section 3109 of this title;

5. “Nonfiscal retirement bill” means a retirement bill:

6. “Reduction-in-cost amendment” means an amendment to a retirement bill having a fiscal impact which reduces the cost of the bill as such cost is determined by the actuarial investigation for the bill prepared pursuant to Section 3109 of this title;

7. “Retirement bill” means any bill or joint resolution introduced or any bill or joint resolution amended by a member of the Oklahoma Legislature which creates or amends any law directly affecting a retirement system. A retirement bill shall not mean a bill or resolution that impacts the revenue of any state tax in which a portion of the revenue generated from such tax is earmarked for the benefit of a retirement system;

8. “Retirement bill having a fiscal impact” means any retirement bill creating or establishing a retirement system and any other retirement bill other than a nonfiscal retirement bill; and

9. “Retirement system” means the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, the Uniform Retirement System for Justices and Judges, the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, or a retirement system established after January 1, 2006.

Section 50–101. As used in this article:

1. “System” means the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System and all predecessor municipal Police Pension and Retirement Systems;

2. “Article” means Article 50 of this title;

3. “State Board” means the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board;

4. “Fund” means the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Fund;

5. “Officer” means any duly appointed and sworn full-time officer of the regular police department of a municipality whose duties are to preserve the public peace, protect life and property, prevent crime, serve warrants, enforce all laws and municipal ordinances of this state, and any political subdivision thereof, and who is authorized to bear arms in the execution of such duties;

6. “Member” means all eligible officers of a participating municipality and any person hired by a participating municipality who is undergoing police training to become a permanent police officer of the municipality. Effective July 1, 1987, a member does not include a “leased employee” as defined under Section 414(n)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with the participating municipality that the individual's services are to be performed as a leased employee or an independent contractor shall not be a member regardless of any classification as a common law employee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other governmental agency, or any court of competent jurisdiction. A member shall include eligible commissioned officers of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission who elect to participate in the System pursuant to Section 50–111.5 of this title;

7. “Normal retirement date” means the date at which the member is eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member's accrued retirement benefit. Such date shall be the first day of the month coinciding with or following the date the member completes twenty (20) years of credited service. If the member's employment continues past the normal retirement date of the member, the actual retirement date of the member shall be the first day of the month after the member terminates employment with more than twenty (20) years of credited service;

8. “Credited service” means the period of service used to determine the eligibility for and the amount of benefits payable to a member. Credited service shall consist of the period during which the member participated in the System or the predecessor municipal systems as an active employee in an eligible membership classification, plus any service prior to the establishment of the predecessor municipal systems which was credited under the predecessor municipal systems or credited service granted by the State Board;

9. “Participating municipality” means a municipality which is making contributions to the System on behalf of its officers. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission shall be treated in the same manner as a participating municipality only regarding those members who elect to participate in the System pursuant to Section 50–111.5 of this title;

10. “Permanent total disability” means incapacity due to accidental injury or occupational disease, to earn any wages in the employment for which the member is physically suited and reasonably fitted through education, training or experience. Further, the member must be declared one hundred percent (100%) impaired as defined by the “American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment” on the basis of a physical medical examination by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state, as selected by the State Board;

11. “Permanent partial disability” means permanent disability which is less than permanent total disability as defined in this section. The member must be declared no greater than ninety-nine percent (99%) impaired as defined by the “American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment” on the basis of a physical medical examination by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state, as selected by the State Board;

12. “Permanent in-line disability” means incapacity to earn any wages as a certified, commissioned police officer due to accidental injury or occupational disease, incurred while in, and in consequence of, the performance of duty as an officer when a police officer serving in any capacity at a regular police department of a participating municipality becomes so physically or mentally disabled, as determined by an independent medical examiner, psychiatrist, or psychologist selected by the State Board, while in, and in consequence of, the performance of authorizing activities while on duty as an officer that he or she is unable to perform the required duties of a police officer;

13. “Beneficiary” means a member's surviving spouse or any surviving children, including biological and adopted children, at the time of the member's death. The surviving spouse must have been married to the member for the thirty (30) continuous months immediately preceding the member's death, provided a surviving spouse of a member who died while in, and as a consequence of, the performance of the member's duty for a participating municipality, shall not be subject to the thirty-month marriage requirement for survivor benefits. A surviving child of a member shall be a beneficiary until reaching eighteen (18) years of age or twenty-two (22) years of age if the child is enrolled full time and regularly attending a public or private school or any institution of higher education. Any child adopted by a member after the member's retirement shall be a beneficiary only if the child is adopted by the member for the thirty (30) continuous months preceding the member's death. Any child who is adopted by a member after the member's retirement and such member dies accidentally or as a consequence of the performance of the member's duty as a police officer shall not be subject to the thirty-month adoption requirement. This definition of beneficiary shall be in addition to any other requirement set forth in this article;

14. “Executive Director” means the managing officer of the System employed by the State Board;

15. “Eligible employer” means any municipality with a municipal police department;

16. “Entry date” means the date as of which an eligible employer joins the System. The first entry date pursuant to this article shall be January 1, 1981;

17. “Final average salary” means the average paid base salary of the member for normally scheduled hours over the highest salaried thirty (30) consecutive months of the last sixty (60) months of credited service. Effective July 1, 2016, the following shall apply in computing final average salary:

18. “Accrued retirement benefit” means two and one-half percent (2 1/2%) of the member's final average salary multiplied by the member's years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years;

19. “Normal disability benefit” means the greater of:

20. “Limitation year” means the year used in applying the limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which year shall be the calendar year;

21. “Paid base salary” means, effective July 1, 2016, any compensation described in subparagraph a of this paragraph that is not described in subparagraph b of this paragraph.

22. “Actuarial equivalent” means equality in value of the aggregate amounts expected to be received based on interest rate and mortality assumptions set by the State Board, in a manner that precludes employer discretion, and based upon recommendations from independent professional advisors, and which shall be published annually in the actuarial report.

Section 50–115. A. The State Board is authorized to pay a disability benefit to a member of the System or a pension to the beneficiaries of such member eligible as hereinafter provided, not exceeding the accrued retirement benefit of the member, except as otherwise provided in this article. Such disability benefit shall be payable immediately upon determination of eligibility. Any preexisting condition identified at the time of any initial or subsequent membership shall be used to offset the percentage of impairment to the whole person in determining any disability benefit. Once the initial disability benefit has been awarded by the Board on the basis of the percentage of impairment to the whole person, the member shall have no further recourse to increase the awarded percentage of impairment.

B. In order for any member to be eligible for any disability benefit, or the member's beneficiaries to be eligible for a pension, the member must have complied with any agreement as to contributions by the member and other members to any funds of the System where said the agreement has been made as provided by this article; and the State Board must find:

1. That the member incurred a permanent total disability or a permanent partial disability or died while in, and in consequence of, the performance of duty as an officer; or

2. That such member has served ten (10) years and incurred a permanent total disability or a permanent partial disability or has died from any cause.

C. In the event of the death of any member who has been awarded a disability benefit or is eligible therefor as provided in this article, the member's beneficiary shall be paid the benefit.

D. 1. As of the date of determination by the State Board that a member is physically or mentally disabled and that the disability is permanent and partial or permanent and total as was incurred while in, and in consequence of, the performance or duty as an officer has a permanent in-line disability, the member shall be awarded a normal disability benefit on the basis of the percentage of impairment to the whole person, as defined by the most current standards of the impairment as outlined in the “American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment”, as provided in the following table or as prescribed by paragraph 2 of this subsection with respect to injuries sustained as a result of a violent act:

2. If an injury to a member results from a violent act as defined by this paragraph while in the performance of his or her duties as a police officer, the State Board shall make a determination that the member has sustained a one-hundred-percent disability and shall make the benefit award in accordance with that standard. As used in this paragraph, “violent act” means a violent attack upon the member by means of a dangerous weapon, including, but not limited to, a firearm, knife, automobile, explosive device or other dangerous weapon.

E. If the participating municipality denies a disabled member the option of continuing employment instead of retiring on a disability pension, then the burden of proof rests with the participating municipality to show cause to the State Board that there is no position as a sworn officer within the police department of that municipality which the member can fill.

F. Upon determination by the State Board that a member is physically or mentally disabled and that the disability is permanent and total and that the member has completed ten (10) years of credited service and is disabled by any cause, the member shall receive a disability benefit on the basis of the member's accrued retirement benefit. A permanent and total impairment equates to one hundred percent (100%) of accrued retirement benefit.

G. Upon determination by the State Board that a member is physically or mentally disabled and that the disability is permanent and partial and that the member has completed ten (10) years of credited service as a member and is disabled from any cause, the member shall be awarded a disability benefit on the basis of the member's years of credited service as a member and the percentage of impairment to the whole person, as defined by the most current standards of the impairment as outlined in the “American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment”, on the basis of the following table:

1% to 24% impaired = 25% of accrued retirement benefit

25% to 49% impaired = 50% of accrued retirement benefit

50% to 74% impaired = 75% of accrued retirement benefit

75% to 99% impaired = 90% 100% of accrued retirement benefit.

H. Before making a finding as to the disability of a member, the State Board shall require that, if the member is able, the member shall make a certificate as to the disability which shall be subscribed and sworn to by the member. It shall also require a certificate as to such disability to be made by some physician licensed to practice in this state as selected by the State Board. The State Board may require other evidence of disability before making the disability benefit. The salary of any such member shall continue while the member is so necessarily confined to such hospital bed or home and necessarily requires medical care or professional nursing on account of such sickness or disability for a period of not more than six (6) months, after which said the period the other provisions of this article may apply. The State Board, in making disability benefits, shall act upon the written request of the member or without such request, if it deem it for the good of the police department. Any disability benefits shall cease when the member receiving same shall be restored to active service at a salary not less than three-fourths (3/4) of the member's average monthly salary.

I. Any member of a police department of any municipality who, in the line of duty, has been exposed to hazardous substances, including but not limited to chemicals used in the manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance or chemicals resulting from the manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance, or to blood-borne pathogens and who is later disabled from a condition that was the result of such exposure and that was not revealed by the physical examination passed by the member upon entry into the System shall be presumed to have incurred such disability while performing the officer's duties unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence. The presumption created by this subsection shall have no application whatever to any workers' compensation claim or claims, and it shall not be applied or be relied upon in any way in workers' compensation proceedings. All compensation or benefits due to any member pursuant to the presumption created by this subsection shall be paid solely by the system.

J. If the requirements of Section 50–114.4 of this title are satisfied, a member who, by reason of disability, is separated from service as a public safety officer with the member's participating municipality, may elect to have payment made directly to the provider for qualified health insurance premiums by deduction from his or her monthly disability benefit, after December 31, 2006, in accordance with Section 402(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.