N.J. Admin. Code § 11:15-5.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 11:15-5.4 - General requirements

(a) Every joint insurance fund shall be subject to and operate in compliance with the provisions of the "Public Schools Contracts Law" (18A:18A-1 et seq.), and the applicable regulations of the State Investment Council governing the investment of surplus public monies of the State.

(b) All monies, assessments, funds and other assets of a joint insurance fund shall be under the exclusive control of its board of trustees.

(c) A joint insurance fund shall be governed by the "Public School Contracts Law" (18A:18A-1 et seq.), and all other applicable laws in the purchase of any goods, materials, supplies and services.

(d) Each joint insurance fund shall adopt a resolution designating a public depository or depositories for its monies. The resolution shall also designate a person to be custodian of funds for the joint insurance fund and shall authorize the custodian to invest temporarily free balances of any claim/trust or administrative accounts periodically as authorized by law. The custodian shall periodically report to the fund commissioners on investment and interest income.

(e) The board of trustees shall annually prepare, not later than the time required by law for the preparation of the budget for school boards, the proposed budget for the fund's subsequent year. The budget shall identify the proposed items and amounts of expenditure for its operations in the aggregate and allocated by member; the anticipated amounts and sources of assessments and other income to be received during the fiscal year; and the status of the self-insurance or loss retention trust accounts maintained by the joint insurance fund. The budget shall be prepared on a basis that does not recognize investment income or discounting of claim reserves, but recognizes all anticipated or forecasted losses and administrative expenses associated with that fiscal year.

1. A copy of the fund's proposed budget or any amendments thereto shall be made available to each member of the joint insurance fund at least two weeks prior to the time scheduled for its adoption. No budget or amendment shall be adopted until a public hearing has been held giving all members of the joint insurance fund the opportunity to present comments or objections.

2. Not later than June 30 of each year, the trustees shall adopt by majority vote the budget for the fund's operations for the subsequent fiscal year.

3. A copy of each adopted budget shall be filed with the governing body of each participating member and the Commissioner within 30 days of its adoption, including a certification by an actuary that the budget is actuarially sound with respect to funding for the claim or loss retention fund accounts.

4. An adopted budget may be amended by majority vote of the membership or majority vote of a quorum of the board of trustees of the joint insurance fund.

5. A copy of any amendment to a fund budget shall be filed quarterly with the governing body of each participating member.

6. A copy of any amendment to a fund budget shall be filed with the Commissioner within 30 days of the adoption of any budget amendment which either singly or cumulatively with other adopted budget amendments changes the total budget five percent from the original budget or the latest filed amended budget.

(f) All books, records, files, documents and equipment of the joint insurance fund are the property of the fund and, except as provided at 11:15-5.2 1(e), shall be retained by the fund administrator or program manager at the discretion of the board of trustees. All books, records, files and documents of the fund shall be retained for not less than five years.

(g) Each fund shall maintain written minutes of its meetings and shall make the minutes available to the Commissioner upon request.

(h) A joint insurance fund shall provide its members with periodic reports covering the activities and status of the fund for the reporting period. The reports shall be made at least quarterly and may be made more frequently at the discretion of the trustees and shall include, but not be limited to, the minutes, the administrator's report and a summation of fund activity, including comments on previously reported claims and newly reported claims, and any other information required by the trustees, but excluding any closed session minutes of portions of a meeting as provided in N.J.S.A. 10:4-12b. The Department may require that the reports be submitted to the Department if it is deemed necessary to ensure compliance with these reporting requirements. The reports shall also be made available to the Department for review during any examination of the joint insurance fund. The Department may also require that copies of closed session minutes be filed for its review. Copies of closed session minutes filed with the Department shall be held confidential by the Department and shall not be subject to public inspection or copying pursuant to the "Right-to-Know" law, 47:1A-1 et seq.

(i) All officers, employees and agents, including the administrator, servicing organization and program manager of the joint insurance fund, on the final day of their contract or employment shall surrender and deliver to their successors all accounts, funds, property, records, books and any other material relating to their contract or employment.

(j) Each fund shall cover a minimum of 1,000 employees in a self-funded health care plan providing hospital, surgical and medical benefits. A fund may cover less than 1,000 employees with the approval of the Commissioner if he or she determines that the proposed risk retention is actuarially sound in relationship to the projected employee participation.

N.J. Admin. Code § 11:15-5.4