Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 3.djvu/353

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PUBLIC LAW 104-191—AUG. 21, 1996 110 STAT. 2083 (ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PERIODS.—The Secretsiry of the Treasury, consistent with section 104, shall provide for a process whereby individuals who need to establish creditable coverage for periods before July 1, 1996, and who would have such coverage credited but for clause (i) may be given credit for creditable coverage for such periods through the presentation of documents or othermeans. (B) CERTIFICATIONS, ETC. — (i) IN GENERAL.— Subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), subsection (e) of section 9801 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) shall apply to events occurring after June 30, 1996. (ii) No CERTIFICATION REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED BEFORE JUNE 1, 1997. —In no case is a certification required to be provided under such subsection before June 1, 1997. (iii) CERTIFICATION ONLY ON WRITTEN REQUEST FOR EVENTS OCCURRING BEFORE OCTOBER 1, 1996. —In the case of an event occurring after June 30, 1996, and before October 1, 1996, a certification is not required to be provided under such subsection unless an individual (with respect to whom the certification is otherwise required to be made) requests such certification in writing. (C) TRANSITIONAL RULE. —In the case of an individual who seeks to establish creditable coverage for any period for which certification is not required because it relates to an event occurring before June 30, 1996— (i) the individual may present other credible evidence of such coverage in order to establish the period of creditable coverage; and (ii) a group health plan and a health insurance issuer shall not be subject to any penalty or enforcement action with respect to the plan's or issuer's crediting (or not crediting) such coverage if the plan or issuer has sought to comply in good faith with the applicable requirements under the amendments made by this section. (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE- MENTS.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), in the case of a group health plan maintained pursuant to 1 or more collective bargaining agreements between employee representatives and one or more employers ratified before the date of the enactment of this Act, the amendments made by this section shall not apply to plan years beginning before the later of— \ (A) the date on which the last of the collective bargaining agreements relating to the plan terminates (determined without regard to any extension thereof agreed to after the date of the enactment of this Act), or (B) July 1, 1997. For purposes of subparagraph (A), any plan amendment made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement relating to the plan which amends the plan solely to conform to any requirement added by this section shall not be treated as a termination of such collective bargaining agreement. 29-194O-96 -12:QL3Part3