CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1202

Chapter 293, Laws of 2003

58th Legislature
2003 Regular Session



RETIREMENT SYSTEMS--EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS



EFFECTIVE DATE: 7/27/03

Passed by the House March 3, 2003
  Yeas 97   Nays 0

FRANK CHOPP
________________________________________    
Speaker of the House of Representatives


Passed by the Senate April 10, 2003
  Yeas 46   Nays 0


BRAD OWEN
________________________________________    
President of the Senate
 
CERTIFICATE

I, Cynthia Zehnder, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1202 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.


CYNTHIA ZEHNDER
________________________________________    
Chief Clerk
Approved May 14, 2003.








GARY LOCKE
________________________________________    
Governor of the State of Washington
 
FILED
May 14, 2003 - 3:23 p.m.







Secretary of State
State of Washington


_____________________________________________ 

SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1202
_____________________________________________

Passed Legislature - 2003 Regular Session
State of Washington58th Legislature2003 Regular Session

By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Simpson, Cooper, Delvin, Conway, Pflug, Hinkle, McDermott and Chase; by request of Joint Committee on Pension Policy)

READ FIRST TIME 02/24/03.   



     AN ACT Relating to allowing fire fighter emergency medical technicians to transfer public employees' retirement system service credit to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' plan 2; adding a new section to chapter 41.26 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 41.26 RCW under the subchapter heading "plan 2" to read as follows:
     (1) A member of plan 2 who was a member of the public employees' retirement system while employed providing emergency medical services for a city, town, county, or district and whose job was relocated from another department of a city, town, county, or district to a fire department has the following options:
     (a) Remain a member of the public employees' retirement system; or
     (b) Leave any service credit earned as a member of the public employees' retirement system in the public employees' retirement system, and have all future service earned in the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 2, becoming a dual member under the provisions of chapter 41.54 RCW; or
     (c) Make an election no later than June 30, 2008, filed in writing with the department of retirement systems, to transfer service credit previously earned as an emergency medical technician for a city, town, county, or district in the public employees' retirement system plan 1 or plan 2 to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 2 as defined in RCW 41.26.030. Service credit that a member elects to transfer from the public employees' retirement system to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system under this section shall be transferred no earlier than five years after the effective date the member elects to transfer, and only after the member earns five years of service credit as a fire fighter following the effective date the member elects to transfer.
     (2) A member of plan 1 who was a member of the public employees' retirement system while employed providing emergency medical services for a city, town, county, or district and whose job was relocated from another department of a city, town, county, or district to a fire department has the following options:
     (a) Remain a member of the public employees' retirement system; or
     (b) Leave any service credit earned as a member of the public employees' retirement system in the public employees' retirement system, and have all future service earned in the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 1.
     (3)(a) A member who elects to transfer service credit under subsection (1)(c) of this section shall make the payments required by this subsection prior to having service credit earned as an emergency medical technician for a city, town, county, or district under the public employees' retirement system plan 1 or plan 2 transferred to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 2. However, in no event shall service credit be transferred earlier than five years after the effective date the member elects to transfer, or prior to the member earning five years of service credit as a fire fighter following the effective date the member elects to transfer.
     (b) A member who elects to transfer service credit under this subsection shall pay, for the applicable period of service, the difference between the contributions the employee paid to the public employees' retirement system plan 1 or plan 2 and the contributions that would have been paid by the employee had the employee been a member of the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 2, plus interest on this difference as determined by the director. This payment must be made no later than five years from the effective date of the election made under subsection (1)(c) of this section and must be made prior to retirement.
     (c) No earlier than five years after the effective date the member elects to transfer service credit under this section and upon completion of the payment required in (b) of this subsection, the department shall transfer from the public employees' retirement system plan 1 or plan 2 to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 2: (i) All of the employee's applicable accumulated contributions plus interest and an equal amount of employer contributions; and (ii) all applicable months of service, as defined in RCW 41.26.030(14)(b), credited to the employee under this chapter for service as an emergency services provider for a city, town, county, or district as though that service was rendered as a member of the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system plan 2.
     (d) Upon transfer of service credit, contributions, and interest under this subsection, the employee is permanently excluded from membership in the public employees' retirement system for all service transfers related to their time served as an emergency medical technician for a city, town, county, or district under the public employees' retirement system plan 1 or plan 2.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   This act expires July 1, 2013.


         Passed by the House March 3, 2003.
         Passed by the Senate April 10, 2003.
         Approved by the Governor May 14, 2003.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 14, 2003.