May, 1997

On May 22, 1997, Representatives Rob Portman (R-OH) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced H.R. 1740 that would make permanent the moratorium from the nondiscrimination rules for public pension plans. H.R. 1740 serves as a companion bill to S. 622 introduced in April by Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND).

Beginning with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and again with the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Congress has continued to set requirements for qualified retirement plans to meet strict nondiscrimination standards. While this may be appropriate for the private sector, state and local government retirement systems have been specially designed to cover the unique public sector work force which includes police, teachers and firefighters.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has consistently delayed enforcement of these rules for almost 20 years, but the rules themselves have not been made permanently inapplicable to public sector plans to comply until 1999.

If passed, S. 622 and H.R. 1740 would end nearly two decades of uncertainty surrounding how, and if, nondiscrimination tax rules would be applied to pension plans maintained by state and local governments. When introduced, S. 622 had 16 co-spon sors and H.R. 1740 34 co-sponsors, including 17 members of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the legislation.

Please call Jody Hedeman at the NAPO office for a complete list of co-sponsors of each bill, so that you can contact your members of Congress who have yet to sign on, and encourage them to do so.

As many of you already know, NAPO has been working diligently to pass the Public Safety Employer/Employee Act of 1997, H.R. 1173, into law. H.R. 1173 would provide collective bargaining rights for state and local public safety officers including law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services personnel.

Please contact your members of Congress to encourage them to sign on as co-sponsors of this critical legislation. For a complete list of current sponsors and co-sponsors, contact the NAPO office.

Here in Washington, D.C. and across the nation, members of law enforcement, their families and American citizens paid tribute to America’s Finest, our nation’s law enforcement officers. In 1962, Presi dent John F. Kennedy signed the law establishing National Police Week which starts on a Sunday, ends on a Saturday and includes May 15 - "Peace Officers Memorial Day."

One of the week’s most moving events is the Annual Candlelight Vigil held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. This year, the Ninth Annual Candle Light Vigil took place on Monday, May 12, 1997. Both NAPO President, Tom Scotto, an d NAPO Executive Director, Bob Scully were honored to read names of officers killed in the line of duty who were being added to the Memorial this year.

A total of 254 new names were added to the Memorial this year, with 116 of those names belonging to federal, state and local law enforcement officers who died in 1996. The Memorial now holds the names of 14,318 law enforcement officers.

The following day, both Tom Scotto and Bob Scully were on hand to kick-off the Concerns of Police Survivors’ (C.O.P.S.) Police Week activities at their annual breakfast.

With proceeds from our annual Top Cops AwardsÒ dinner, NAPO was able to financially support both the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund’s (NLEOMF) and the Concerns of Police Survivors’ Police Week activities.

Last Fall, Congress authorized the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) proposal to issue a half million commemorative coins recognizing the work of law enforcement officers.

The design of the coin, created in consultation with the U.S. Mint and the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, has been voted on and approved by NLEOMF. The coin will be issued for a one-year period expected to begin on December 15, 1997 at a cost of about $33.00 each. If you are interested in ordering a coin, please call the NLEOMF at (202) 737-3400.

NAPO members who attended our 1997 Legal & Legislative Rights Seminar are still sending in surveys to let us know how we did. Not only was this a successful seminar for NAPO, but also for NAPO members, m any of whom met with their members of Congress while in Washington, D.C. Several of these meetings had immediate results with members signing on as co-sponsors of legislation critical to NAPO.

Be sure to mark your calendars for our next Legal & Legislative Rights Seminar, April 18-22, 1998, at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Call Jacki Jackson at the NAPO office for more details.

Representative Susan Molinari (R-NY) announced that she plans to retire from the U.S. Congress to host "CBS News Saturday Morning" which will begin airing out of New York in September 1997.

Representative Molinari has been a long time friend of NAPO throughout her 7 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and we will surely miss her prominent presence in Washington, D.C.

Those of you who were able to attend our 1997 Legal & Legislative Conference most likely had the opportunity to meet Evelyn Kent, our new Top Cops event coordinator.

This year, the Top Cops nominations are once again of high quality. Our Awards Committee is now gearing up for the difficult decision process of selecting the Fourth Annual Top Cops AwardsÒ winners.

By the way, be sure to mark your calendars. Top Cops will be October 9, 1997 at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. Please contact Evelyn in the NAPO office for ticket and travel information. Proceeds from this event help NAPO support the N ational Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the Concerns for Police Survivors and NAPO’s National Law Enforcement Officers’ Rights Center.

We are in the process of producing a special video to be shown at the Top Cops AwardsÒ ceremony to commemorate the truly courageous career of law enforcement. Please contact Jody Hedeman at the NAPO office if you can help by sharing any "action" footage from your organization or local news. Your tapes will be returned. 

When meeting with law enforcement colleagues who are not yet NAPO members, bring along a copy of Challenge 2000, a 6-minute video explaining NAPO’s goals and accomplishments. Contact the NAPO office for VHS copi

When you receive press calls from your local media, after your interview is complete, suggest that they contact NAPO for a national perspective.

Leave a copy of our 1997 Resolutions with members of your state and local government, or candidates running for office. Let them know that what is important to NAPO is important to your organization too.

We need everyone’s help to continue to serve as the number one organization representing law enforcement officers in your nation’s capital.

The Bergenfield PBA Local #309 from Bergenfield, New Jersey has recently joined NAPO, contributing 47 members to our organization.

The President is Kenneth Otto, and the NAPO delegate is Hank Masterson. Welcome Aboard!

We’ve heard from several correctional officers who are members of NAPO that they would like to see the term "correctional officer" be included in the language of proposed legislation dealing with law enforcement issues.

Most laws and proposed bills refer to the definition of law enforcement officer as defined in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. "A law enforcement officer means an individual in crime and juvenile deli nquency control or reduction, or enforcement of the laws, including, but not limited to, police, corrections, probation, parole, and judicial officers."

NAPO member Douglas S. Rosemeyer passed away on May 12, 1997. Doug was the past president of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association and was responsible for affiliating the WPPA with NAPO and hosting N APO’s 12th Annual Convention in Madison, Wisconsin in August 1990.

Also in our thoughts is Dennis Flaherty of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, whose mother, Helen Flaherty passed away on May 22, 1997 after losing her struggle with lung cancer.

Our sympathies go out to both the Rosemeyer and Flaherty families.

NAPO’s General Counsel since 1995, William J. Johnson, returned to Florida and is now with the Florida Police Benevolent Association in Tallahassee. He assisted NAPO in launching the foundation for the Right s Center and we will surely miss him.

The search for his replacement is ongoing and should be finalized before the NAPO Convention in August.

Please be sure that NAPO is included on your mailing list for newsletters, bulletins, press releases and other publications.

This will help us to best address your organization’s needs. Please send them to the attention of:

Please feel free to contact any members of the NAPO staff when you have questions.

Robert T. Scully
Executive Director

Jacki Jackson
Administrative Assistant, Conventions & Seminars

Jody Hedeman
Director of Communications & Development

Evelyn Kent
Top Cops Event Coordinator

Gwen Wilson
Accountant