[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1309 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1309

To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
to provide for the preemption of State law in certain cases relating to 
                         certain church plans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 30, 1999

 Mr. Sessions introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
to provide for the preemption of State law in certain cases relating to 
                         certain church plans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Church Plan Parity and Entanglement 
Prevention Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. COVERAGE IN CERTAIN CASES OF CERTAIN CHURCH PLANS UNDER 
              PROVISIONS OF ERISA SUPERSEDING CERTAIN STATE LAWS.

    Section 4 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(29 U.S.C. 1003) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting before the semicolon 
        the following: ``, except that section 514 shall apply as 
        provided for in subsection (c) with respect to a church plan to 
        the extent that such section provides for the superseding of 
        State insurance law and such plan meets the requirements of 
        subsection (c)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) A church plan meets the requirements of this subsection 
if--
            ``(A) the plan is established and maintained by a church or 
        a convention or association of churches, including an 
        organization described in section 3(33)(C)(i);
            ``(B) such church, convention or association of churches, 
        or organization has engaged in substantial operations for more 
        than 5 years in connection with the administration or funding 
        of 1 or more employee benefit plans; and
            ``(C) such church, convention or association of churches, 
        or organization has filed with the Secretary before the end of 
        each plan year to which this subsection applies an affidavit of 
        a fiduciary attesting that the plan (including any trust 
        forming a part of the plan) meets the requirements of this 
        subsection, specifying the name of the plan, the address of the 
        principal place of business of the plan, the name of the plan 
        administrator, the address of the plan administrator, the total 
        number of participants, and providing such additional 
        information as the Secretary may determine by regulation may be 
        provided without significant burden to the plan.
The Secretary shall consult with the National Association of Insurance 
Commissioners in issuing regulations under subparagraph (C).
    ``(2) The requirements of this subsection shall be construed so as 
to maintain a rebuttable presumption against the superseding of State 
law.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `church plan' 
excludes any other entity, irrespective of any affiliation with the 
plan (or with a trust forming a part of the plan), to the extent that 
such entity's principal purpose or function is other than the 
administration or funding of benefits under an employee benefit plan 
for the employees of a church or convention or association of churches.
    ``(4) Except as specifically provided in paragraph (5), nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to affect any State law--
            ``(A) to the extent that it applies to an insurance 
        company, or insurer, including a health maintenance 
        organization or provider service organization; or
            ``(B) which is enacted for the purpose of the regulation of 
        the business of insurance, except to the extent that such law 
        is applied directly to a church plan meeting the requirements 
        of this subsection (or any trust forming a part of the plan).
    ``(5) This title shall supersede any provision of State law which, 
solely because a church plan meeting the requirements of this 
subsection (or a trust forming a part of such plan) does not comply 
with a State law otherwise superseded by this title, prohibits--
            ``(A) an agent or broker, otherwise authorized to engage in 
        the sale of insurance within a State, from engaging in a sale 
        of insurance in connection with a church plan meeting the 
        requirements of this subsection (or a trust forming a part of 
        such a plan);
            ``(B) an insurer, otherwise authorized to engage in the 
        sale of stop-loss insurance, from issuing a stop-loss policy in 
        connection with a church plan meeting the requirements of this 
        subsection (or a trust forming a part of such a plan); or
            ``(C) a service provider, otherwise authorized to engage in 
        the provision of services within a State, from providing 
        services in connection with a church plan meeting the 
        requirements of this subsection.
    ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to--
            ``(A) alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or 
        supersede any other law of the United States or any rule or 
        regulation issued under any such law;
            ``(B) alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or 
        supersede any law of any State, or any rule or regulation 
        issued under any such law, unless specifically so provided in 
        this subsection;
            ``(C) alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or 
        supersede any State law to the extent that it imposes 
        requirements on policies or contracts of insurance purchased by 
        church plans meeting the requirements of this subsection; or
            ``(D) alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or 
        supersede any State law which applies to a function other than 
        the function of operating a church plan meeting the 
        requirements of this subsection.
    ``(7) For purposes of this subsection, the terms `State' and `State 
law' have the meanings provided such terms under section 514(c).''.

SEC. 3. NO INFERENCE.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to raise any inference with 
respect to the applicability to any church plan (or trust forming a 
part of a church plan) of any State law which is not expressly 
superseded by reason of the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>