Section 2603 - Advisory Council(a) The Advisory Council to the State Workers' Insurance Board is hereby continued.(b) The advisory council shall be appointed by the board and shall be composed of five members, with one member representing each of the following:(1) The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry or its successor organization.(2) The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or its successor organization.(3) Insureds of the fund with premiums of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less annually.(4) Insureds of the fund with premiums of more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) annually.(5) The board. The member of the advisory council representing the board shall serve as chair of the advisory council. The member representing the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry shall be selected from a list of persons recommended by that organization or its successor. The member representing the AFL-CIO shall be selected from a list of persons recommended by that organization or its successor.
(c) Each member shall serve a term of two (2) years, commencing on January 1 of each odd-numbered year, and shall serve until the board appoints a successor. The board shall make initial appointments within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this section.(d) Members of the advisory council shall receive no compensation; each member, however, shall be entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable and legitimate expenses incurred in the performance of his duties.(e) The advisory council shall have the following powers and duties: (1) Commission, in its discretion, an actuarial study of the fund no more than once a year.(2) Review any actuarial studies of the fund commissioned by the board under section 1511(b) . (3) Request and receive from the board copies of or access to audits of the fund.(4) Recommend to the board annually the amount of surplus in the fund, if any, which is safely distributable.(5) Recommend to the board annually the form in which any safely distributable surplus should be distributed if the board has determined that a safely distributable surplus exists.(6) Request assistance from the board as may be necessary to fulfill the advisory council's statutory obligations under this section. The advisory council shall make no recommendation to the board unless that recommendation reflects the votes of a majority of advisory council members. Should a majority of the advisory council's members vote to commission an actuarial study of the fund independent of the board's actuarial study, the board shall pay for the reasonable and customary expense associated with the preparation of such a study.1915, June 2, P.L. 736, No. 338, § 1503, added 1996, June 24, P.L. 350, No. 57, § 29, imd. effective.