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<section article="gsp" article_name="State Personnel and Pensions" number="21-704" title_number="21" title_name="State Retirement and Pension System" subtitle_number="7" subtitle_name="Forfeiture of Benefits">
  <level label="a">
    <text>If the final adjudication of charges results in conviction of a public employee, the public employee’s retirement allowance shall be forfeited in whole or in part in accordance with this section.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>On conviction of a public employee, the Attorney General or State’s Attorney shall file a complaint in circuit court to forfeit the public employee’s benefits in whole or in part.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Notice of the complaint filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be served on:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>the public employee;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>any known spouse of the public employee;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>any known dependents of the public employee;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>the public employee’s designated beneficiaries;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>any former spouse who has been assigned benefits under an existing domestic relations order; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>the State Retirement Agency.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Notwithstanding § 4–312 of the General Provisions Article, on written request, the State Retirement Agency shall provide the Attorney General or State’s Attorney with available information from the retirement records of the public employee to assist the Attorney General or State’s Attorney in providing the notice required under this subsection.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The court shall enter an order requiring the forfeiture, in whole or in part, of the public employee’s benefits if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the public employee was convicted of a qualifying crime;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the public employee was a member of the Employees’ Pension System or the Employees’ Retirement System; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>the qualifying crime for which the public employee was convicted was committed while the public employee was an active member of the Employees’ Pension System or the Employees’ Retirement System.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>Only service credit in the State system in which the public employee is a member when the qualifying crime is committed is eligible for forfeiture under this section.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>An order requiring forfeiture of benefits shall indicate the amount of benefits to be forfeited.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>When determining the amount of benefits to be forfeited, the court shall consider:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>the severity of the crime;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>the amount of monetary loss suffered by the State, a county, a political subdivision, or a person as a result of the crime;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>the degree of public trust placed in the public employee;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>the financial needs and resources of the public employee;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>the financial needs and resources of the public employee’s spouse, children, or other dependents;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>any interest in benefits of a former spouse established under an existing domestic relations order; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>any other factors the court determines relevant.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>If the court enters an order requiring the forfeiture of benefits, the court may enter a domestic relations order that provides that some or all of the forfeited benefits be paid to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent for purposes of child support, alimony, or marital property rights.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>When determining whether to enter a domestic relations order under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the court shall consider whether the public employee’s spouse, former spouse, children, or dependents were culpable or complicit in the commission of the qualifying crime.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The court may not order benefits to be paid to a public employee’s spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent in a manner that is inconsistent with the payment of benefits in the State system in which the public employee was a member.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>An order requiring a forfeiture of benefits issued under this section may not impair or alter an existing domestic relations order providing benefits to a former spouse of a public employee.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A public employee’s interest in a benefit of a former spouse established by a domestic relations order may not be subject to a forfeiture or reduction under this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>Benefits available to a public employee as a beneficiary may not be subject to a forfeiture under this subtitle.</text>
  </level>
</section>
