HomeMy WebLinkAbout15-049 CC Resolution RESOLUTION NO. 15-49
' A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TEMECULA ADOPTING PROCEDURES FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ("ACA")
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMECULA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE
AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Recitals. The City Council of the City of Temecula does hereby
find, determine and declare:
A. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA") was enacted on
March 23, 2010 to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health
insurance.
B. The ACA added Section 4980 Shared Responsibility for Employers
Regarding Health Care Coverage (Section 4980H) and Section 6056 Certain
Employers Required to Report On Health Insurance Coverage (Section 6056) to Title 26
of the United States Code, the Internal Revenue Code.
' C. Section 4980H imposes an assessable payment on an applicable large
employer when (1) it fails to offer "substantially all' of its full-time employees (and their
dependents) the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage or offers coverage
to "substantially all' of its full-time employees (and their dependents), but that coverage
is either "unaffordable" or does not provide "minimum value" and (2) any full-time
employee is certified to the employer as having received a subsidy for coverage through
the exchange ("Assessable Payment').
D. Section 6056 requires an applicable large employer to file with the Internal
Revenue Service an annual return for each full-time employee.
Section 2. ACA Impact on City of Temecula. The City of Temecula ("City") is
considered an applicable large employer subject to the requirements of the ACA
because it employed an average of at least 50 full-time employees (including full-time
equivalents) on business days during the preceeding calendar year.
A. The Department of Treasury issued final regulations regarding Section
4980H that permit the City to adopt the Look Back Measurement Method Safe Harbor in
order to determine the status of an employee as "full-time" for the purposes of reporting
and calculating the Assessable Payment, if any (79 Federal Register 8544, 8586,
February 12, 2014), calculating penalties, reporting to the IRS, and to evaluate the full-
time status of its temporary (or project) employees to determine eligibility for an offer of
' health care coverage.
Resos 15-49 1
B. The City intends to adopt the provisions of the Look Back Measurement
Method Safe Harbor in order to determine the full-time status of its employees for
reporting purposes and for purposes of the Assessable Payment.
C. The Department of Treasury issued final regulations regarding Section
4980H that permit the City to use one of three affordability safe harbors for any
reasonable category of employees as long as the safe harbor is applied on a uniform
and consistent basis for all employees in the category (79 Federal Register 8544, 8599-
8601, February 12, 2014).
D. The City intends to use the affordability safe harbors as contemplated in
the final regulations.
E. The City intends to use good faith efforts to comply with legal
requirements under ACA despite that they have not yet been fully developed.
F. The City expects that further guidance and regulations may be issued
regarding the ACA.
Section 3. Establishment of Look Back Safe Harbor and Affordability Safe
Harbors. The City hereby establishes the Look Back Measurement Method Safe
Harbor with regard to all employees for the purpose of identifying full-time employees
' for IRS reporting purposes.
A. The City does not establish the Look Back Measurement Method Safe
Harbor for the purpose of determining eligibility for an offer of medical coverage for
represented and unrepresented employees who are employed in positions on the
Schedule of Authorized Positions. All represented employees' eligibility for an offer of
medical coverage shall continue to be governed by the terms of any applicable
memorandum of understanding.
B. For each reasonable category of employees, the City in its sole discretion,
but on a uniform and consistent basis for all of the employees in a reasonable category,
will apply one of the three affordability safe-harbors (i.e. Form W-2 Safe Harbor, Rate of
Pay Safe Harbor, or Federal Poverty Line Safe Harbor) to determine the affordability of
the minimum value coverage that it offers its full-time employees.
C. The City Council delegates authority to the City Manager (or his/her
designee) to create, modify or amend an Administrative Guideline that establishes
procedures to implement the provisions of the Look Back Measurement Method Safe
Harbor and affordability safe harbors in accordance with and as permitted by Section
4980H to ensure the City's compliance with Sections 4980H and 6056 of the Internal
Revenue Code.
Resos 15-49 2
D. The Administrative Guideline will define measurement periods, identify
' safe harbor methods, govern the measurement and tracking of employees' hours,
outline the methods for IRS reporting, and/or otherwise establish procedures to ensure
compliance with Sections 4980H and 6056.
Section 4. Certification. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this
Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of
Temecula this 25th day of August, 2015.
Jeff Comerchero, Mayor
Ra di Johl-Olson, City Clerk
[SEAL]
Resos 15-49 3
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
' COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss
CITY OF TEMECULA )
I, Randi Johl-Olson, City Clerk of the City of Temecula, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Resolution No. 15-49 was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of the
City of Temecula at a meeting thereof held on the 25th day of August, 2015, by the
following vote:
AYES: 4 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Edwards, McCracken, Naggar,
Comerchero
NOES: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: 1 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Rahn
Randi Johl-Olson, City Clerk
1
1
Resos 15-49 4