(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the powers and duties of the Public Employee Retirement Commission under the act of December 18, 1984 (P.L. 1005, No. 205),¹ known as the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act,” shall be transferred to the Department of the Auditor General in accordance with this section. The transferred duties shall be independent of the Department of the Auditor General's existing audit functions and shall be segregated in a departmental bureau separate from the bureau that performs audit functions as of the effective date of this section.

(b) Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this section, the Department of the Auditor General shall provide notice of the transfer of powers and duties under this section to all of the following:

(c) The following shall be transferred to the Department of the Auditor General which are used or held in connection with the powers and duties transferred under this section:

(d) The responsibility of municipalities to file and report materials and to otherwise comply with the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act” shall remain in effect after the effective date of this section, except all filing and reporting under the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act” shall be made to the Department of the Auditor General in the manner directed by the Department of General Services. Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this section, the Auditor General shall submit to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and shall post on the Department of the Auditor General's publicly accessible Internet website, the manner of preparing the filings and reports required by the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act” and the method of delivering and submitting those filings and reports to the Department of the Auditor General.

(e) The Department of the Auditor General shall perform the cost certification procedures pursuant to the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act” and shall transmit its calculation and determination to the Office of the Budget for review and certification within ninety (90) days. After performing its review and certification, the Office of the Budget shall transmit its certification to the Department of the Auditor General for the performance of any additional functions that have been assigned to it under the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act” in accordance with this section by August 1 of each calendar year. The Department of the Auditor General shall maintain and post the reports required under the “Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act” on its publicly accessible Internet website.

(f) No bond or note issued to fund an unfunded actuarial accrued liability may be valid or obligatory in the hands of an original purchaser until certified copies of the ordinance or ordinances authorizing bonds or notes, the ordinance or resolution awarding the bonds or notes and the certificate of approval of the department have been filed with the Auditor General. Approval of the Auditor General shall be not be required.