1. (1) The board of trustees may:

   1. (a) Invest and reinvest the assets of the firefighters' pension trust fund in annuity and life insurance contracts of life insurance companies in amounts sufficient to provide, in whole or in part, the benefits to which all of the participants in the firefighters' pension trust fund shall be entitled under the provisions of this chapter and pay the initial and subsequent premiums thereon.

   2. (b) Invest and reinvest the assets of the firefighters' pension trust fund in:

      1. Time or savings accounts of a national bank, a state bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or a savings, building and loan association insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

      2. Obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the Government of the United States.

      3. Bonds issued by the State of Israel.

      4. Bonds, stocks, or other evidences of indebtedness issued or guaranteed by a corporation organized under the laws of the United States, any state or organized territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, provided:

      a. The corporation is listed on any one or more of the recognized national stock exchanges and holds a rating in one of the three highest classifications by a major rating service; and

      b. The board of trustees shall not invest more than 5 percent of its assets in the common stock or capital stock of any one issuing company, nor shall the aggregate investment in any one issuing company exceed 5 percent of the outstanding capital stock of that company or the aggregate of its investments under this subparagraph at cost exceed 30 percent of the assets of the fund. This paragraph shall apply to all boards of trustees and participants. However, in the event that a municipality or special fire control district has a duly enacted pension plan pursuant to, and in compliance with, s. 175.351, and the trustees thereof desire to vary the investment procedures herein, the trustees of such plan shall request a variance of the investment procedures as outlined herein only through a municipal ordinance, special act of the Legislature, or resolution by the governing body of the special fire control district; where a special act, or a municipality by ordinance adopted prior to October 1, 1986, permits a greater than 30-percent equity investment, such municipality shall not be required to comply with the aggregate equity investment provisions of this paragraph. Investments shall not be made in any stocks, bonds, or other securities owned or controlled by a government other than that of the United States or the several states.

   3. (c) Issue drafts upon the firefighters' pension trust fund pursuant to this act and rules and regulations prescribed by the board of trustees. All such drafts shall be consecutively numbered, be signed by the chair and secretary, and state upon their faces the purpose for which the drafts are drawn. The treasurer or depository of each municipality or special fire control district shall retain such drafts when paid, as permanent vouchers for disbursements made, and no money shall be otherwise drawn from the fund.
   4. (d) Convert into cash any securities of the fund.
   5. (e) Keep a complete record of all receipts and disbursements and of the board's acts and proceedings.
2. (2) Any and all acts and decisions shall be by at least three members of the board; however, no trustee shall take part in any action in connection with the trustee's own participation in the fund, and no unfair discrimination shall be shown to any individual firefighter participating in the fund.
3. (3) The board's action on all claims for retirement under this act shall be final, provided, however, that the rules and regulations of the board have been complied with.
4. (4) The sole and exclusive administration of, and the responsibilities for, the proper operation of the firefighters' pension trust fund and for making effective the provisions of this chapter are vested in the board of trustees; however, nothing herein shall empower a board of trustees to amend the provisions of a retirement plan without the approval of the municipality or special fire control district. The board of trustees shall keep in convenient form such data as shall be necessary for an actuarial valuation of the firefighters' pension trust fund and for checking the actual experience of the fund.
5. (5) At least once every 3 years, the board of trustees shall retain an independent consultant professionally qualified to evaluate the performance of professional money managers. The independent consultant shall make recommendations to the board of trustees regarding the selection of money managers for the next investment term. These recommendations shall be considered by the board of trustees at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The date, time, place, and subject of this meeting shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality or special fire control district, as appropriate, at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.

History.--s. 1, ch. 63-249; s. 1, ch. 65-365; ss. 22, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 3, ch. 81-168; s. 4, ch. 86-41; s. 16, ch. 93-193; s. 920, ch. 95-147.