SENATE BILL REPORT

                                   ESHB 2985

          AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS, FEBRUARY 26, 1992

Brief Description:  Allowing certain law enforcement officers and fire fighters pension credit for past service.

SPONSORS: House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Basich, Jones, Hargrove, Sheldon, Riley and Paris)

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS

Majority Report:  Do pass. 

      Signed by Senators McDonald, Chairman; Craswell, Vice Chairman; Amondson, Bailey, Bluechel, Cantu, Gaspard, Hayner, M. Kreidler, Murray, Newhouse, Owen, Saling, Talmadge, and West.

Staff:  Denise Graham (786‑7715)

Hearing Dates: February 25, 1992; February 26, 1992

BACKGROUND:

When the Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' Retirement System (LEOFF) was created in 1970, members of prior retirement systems were allowed to transfer their service credit to the LEOFF system.  In addition, members were given until March 1975 to restore any contributions they had withdrawn from a prior system.  A similar window was created for members who had been employed in probationary positions as police officers or fire fighters under a prior system but were not yet members of the system when LEOFF was created and therefore had not received credit for that service.  There has not been any other open window period to restore contributions in LEOFF.

SUMMARY:

Members of Plan I of the Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' Retirement System (LEOFF) who withdrew their contributions under a pre-LEOFF system may receive LEOFF Plan I service credit for the pre-LEOFF service by restoring their contributions, with interest, by June 30, 1993.

Members of LEOFF Plan I who were employed in probationary programs as law enforcement officers or fire fighters in a pre-LEOFF system but received no service credit for the probationary period may receive service credit in LEOFF Plan I by paying both the employer and employee contributions, with interest.

Appropriation:  none

Revenue:  none

Fiscal Note:  none requested

TESTIMONY FOR:

This bill passed the House of Representatives with no opposition; it involves only a few people and it would not impact contribution rates.

TESTIMONY AGAINST:  None

TESTIFIED:  Representative Basich, prime sponsor; Howard Vietzke, State Council of Fire Fighters, State Council of Police Officers