S-4323.2 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 6813
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 2000 Regular Session
By Senator Jacobsen
Read first time 02/01/2000. Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
AN ACT Relating to permitting former part-time community college faculty members to establish membership and service credit in the Washington state teachers' retirement system plan 2; adding a new section to chapter 41.32 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that many persons who were employed as part-time community college faculty members prior to 1990 were not aware of their ability to apply for membership and service credit in the Washington state teachers' retirement system plan 2 for their part-time service. In the period between 1977 and 1990, many part-time faculty who would have been eligible to establish service credit in plan 2 missed their deadline for applying for the optional service credit. Under current law these former faculty members can purchase credit for their past service, but only by paying an amount equal to the full actuarial value of the service credit.
The legislature finds it appropriate to provide an open window period for certain former part-time community and technical college faculty to establish membership and service credit in the teachers' retirement system plan 2 for periods of such employment between 1977 and 1990. The legislature also finds it appropriate that the department of retirement systems apply its 1997 administrative rule change regarding the calculation of hours worked by part-time faculty in a retroactive manner for the part-time faculty covered by this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 41.32 RCW under the subchapter heading "plan 2" to read as follows:
(1) Any person who was employed as a part-time faculty member by a community or technical college between October 1, 1977, and August 31, 1990, may establish membership and service credit in the retirement system for such periods of service subject to the conditions of this section.
(2) A former part-time faculty member shall be able to establish membership and service credit in plan 2 of the retirement system only if the person: (a) Makes application to the department no later than June 30, 2005; (b) provides evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she was employed at a level sufficient to qualify for membership and service credit under the statutes in effect during the period of the part-time faculty employment; (c) would have otherwise been eligible for membership or service credit; and (d) pays the member contributions that would have been required pursuant to this chapter, plus interest as determined by the department from the date of service to the date of payment. The payment of member contributions must be made at the time the person makes application for the service credit.
(3) In determining the number of hours of service rendered by a former part-time faculty member, for the purposes of this section, the department shall apply its current administrative rules, for the periods of service between October 1, 1977, and June 30, 1990.
(4) The benefits provided by this section are not provided as a contractual right and may be amended by the legislature, except with regard to any service credit which is purchased prior to the effective date of a legislative amendment.
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