READ FIRST TIME 04/19/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to public employee postretirement employment and higher education employees' annuities and retirement income plans; amending RCW 28B.10.400, 28B.10.405, 28B.10.410, 28B.10.415, 28B.10.417, 28B.10.423, 28B.10.430, 41.32.570, 41.32.800, 41.32.802, 41.32.860, 41.32.862, 41.35.060, 41.35.230, 41.37.050, 41.40.037, 41.50.030, 41.50.080, and 41.50.110; adding a new section to chapter 41.32 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 41.40 RCW; creating a new section; providing effective dates; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature intends that the retirement and annuity programs of the state's institutions of higher education be revised for future participants to reflect changes that have already occurred in state pension plans. The legislature intends also that newly hired employees who are eligible for participation in an annuity or retirement income plan offered by a higher education institution have an opportunity to participate in either (1) that plan without a supplemental benefit under RCW 28B.10.400(1)(c), or (2) the public employees' retirement system plan 3 or the teachers' retirement system plan 3. Plan 3 provides a combination of defined contribution and defined benefit pension, which will be available for newly hired employees. Further, the legislature intends that effective July 1, 2011, state funding for annuity or retirement income plans under RCW 28B.10.400 will not exceed six percent of salary. The legislature also intends to reduce the expanded postretirement employment provisions for members of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1 that were temporarily expanded due to the shortage of qualified workers in particular teaching and public employment categories, and eliminate postretirement employment exceptions that existed for annuity or retirement income plan-covered positions that have been the subject of abuse.

Sec. 2   RCW 28B.10.400 and 2010 c 21 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The boards of regents of the state universities, the boards of trustees of the regional universities and of The Evergreen State College, ((and)) the state board for community and technical colleges, and the higher education coordinating board are authorized and empowered:
     (((1))) (a) To assist the faculties and such other employees exempt from civil service pursuant to RCW 41.06.070 (1)(cc) and (2) as any such board may designate in the purchase of old age annuities or retirement income plans under such rules as any such board may prescribe, subject to the restrictions in subsection (2) of this section. County agricultural agents, home demonstration agents, 4-H club agents, and assistant county agricultural agents paid jointly by the Washington State University and the several counties shall be deemed to be full-time employees of the Washington State University for the purposes ((hereof)) of this section;
     (((2))) (b) To provide, under such rules ((and regulations)) as any such board may prescribe for the faculty members or other employees exempt from civil service pursuant to RCW 41.06.070 (1)(cc) and (2) under its supervision, for the retirement of any such faculty member or other exempt employee on account of age or condition of health, retirement on account of age to be not earlier than the sixty-fifth birthday: PROVIDED, That such faculty member or such other exempt employee may elect to retire at the earliest age specified for retirement by federal social security law: PROVIDED FURTHER, That any supplemental payment authorized by (c) of this subsection (((3) of this section)) and paid as a result of retirement earlier than age sixty-five shall be at an actuarially reduced rate; and shall be provided only to those persons who participate in an annuity or retirement income plan under (a) of this subsection prior to July 1, 2011;
     (((3))) (c) To pay ((to any such retired person)) only to those persons who participate in an annuity or retirement income plan under (a) of this subsection prior to July 1, 2011, or to his or her designated beneficiary(s), each year after his or her retirement, a supplemental amount which, when added to the amount of such annuity or retirement income plan, or retirement income benefit pursuant to RCW 28B.10.415, received by the retired person or the retired person's designated beneficiary(s) in such year, will not exceed fifty percent of the average annual salary paid to such retired person for his or her highest two consecutive years of full-time service under an annuity or retirement income plan established pursuant to (a) of this subsection (((1) of this section)) at an institution of higher education: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That if such retired person prior to retirement elected a supplemental payment survivors option, any such supplemental payments to such retired person or the retired person's designated beneficiary(s) shall be at actuarially reduced rates: PROVIDED FURTHER, That if a faculty member or other employee of an institution of higher education who is a participant in a retirement plan authorized by this section dies, or has died before retirement but after becoming eligible for retirement on account of age, the designated beneficiary(s) shall be entitled to receive the supplemental payment authorized by this subsection to which such designated beneficiary(s) would have been entitled had said deceased faculty member or other employee retired on the date of death after electing a supplemental payment survivors option: PROVIDED FURTHER, That for the purpose of this subsection, the designated beneficiary(s) shall be (((a))) (i) the surviving spouse of the retiree; or, (((b))) (ii) with the written consent of such spouse, if any, such other person or persons as shall have an insurable interest in the retiree's life and shall have been nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the retiree's institution of higher education((;)).
     (((4))) (2) Boards are prohibited from offering a purchased annuity or retirement income plan authorized under this section to employees hired on or after July 1, 2011, who have retired or are eligible to retire from a public employees' retirement system described in RCW 41.50.030. The higher education coordinating board ((is also authorized and empowered as described in this section, subject to the following: The board)) shall only offer participation in a purchased annuity or retirement income plan authorized under this section to employees who have previously contributed premiums to a similar qualified plan((, and the board is prohibited from offering or funding such a plan authorized under this section for the benefit of any retiree who is receiving or accruing a retirement allowance from a public employees' retirement system under Title 41 RCW or chapter 43.43 RCW)).
     (3) During the 2011 legislative interim, the select committee on pension policy shall evaluate the suitability and necessity of the annuity and retirement plans authorized under this chapter for employees in various positions within higher education institutions. The select committee shall report its findings, including any recommendations for restrictions on future plan membership, to the ways and means committees of the house of representatives and the senate no later than December 31, 2011.

Sec. 3   RCW 28B.10.405 and 1977 ex.s. c 169 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     Members of the faculties and such other employees exempt from civil service pursuant to RCW 41.06.070 (1)(cc) and (2) as are designated by the boards of regents of the state universities, the boards of trustees of the regional universities and of The Evergreen State College, the higher education coordinating board, or the state board for community and technical colleges ((education)) who do not opt to become members of the teachers' retirement system or the public employees' retirement system under section 9 or 18 of this act, or who are not prevented from participation in an annuity or retirement plan under RCW 28B.10.400(2) shall be required to contribute not less than five percent of their salaries during each year of full-time service after the first two years of such service toward the purchase of such annuity or retirement income plan; such contributions may be in addition to federal social security tax contributions, if any.

Sec. 4   RCW 28B.10.410 and 1977 ex.s. c 169 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
     The boards of regents of the state universities, the boards of trustees of the regional universities and of The Evergreen State College, the higher education coordinating board, or the state board for community and technical colleges ((education)) shall pay not more than one-half of the annual premium of any annuity or retirement income plan established under the provisions of RCW 28B.10.400 ((as now or hereafter amended)). Such contribution shall not exceed ten percent of the salary of the faculty member or other employee on whose behalf the contribution is made. This contribution may be in addition to federal social security tax contributions made by the boards, if any.

Sec. 5   RCW 28B.10.415 and 1979 ex.s. c 259 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The boards of regents of the state universities, the boards of trustees of the regional universities and of The Evergreen State College, the higher education coordinating board, or the state board for community and technical colleges ((education)) shall not pay any amount to be added to the annuity or retirement income plan of any retired person who was first hired on or after July 1, 2011, or who has served for less than ten years in one or more of the state institutions of higher education. In the case of persons who have served more than ten years but less than twenty-five years no amount shall be paid in excess of four percent of the amount authorized in ((subdivision (3) of)) RCW 28B.10.400 ((as now or hereafter amended)) (1)(c), multiplied by the number of years of full-time service rendered by such person: PROVIDED, That credit for years of service at an institution of higher education shall be limited to those years in which contributions were made by a faculty member or other employee designated pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400(1)(a) and the institution or the state as a result of which a benefit is being received by a retired person from any Washington state public retirement plan: PROVIDED FURTHER, That all such benefits that a retired person is eligible to receive shall reduce any supplementation payments provided for in RCW 28B.10.400 ((as now or hereafter amended)).

Sec. 6   RCW 28B.10.417 and 1977 ex.s. c 169 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) This section applies only to those persons who are first employed by a higher education institution in a position eligible for participation in an annuity or retirement program under RCW 28B.10.400 prior to July 1, 2011.
     (2) A faculty member or other employee exempt from civil service pursuant to RCW 41.06.070 (1)(cc) and (2) designated by the board of trustees of the applicable regional university or of The Evergreen State College as being subject to an annuity or retirement income plan and who, at the time of such designation, is a member of the Washington state teachers' retirement system, shall retain credit for such service in the Washington state teachers' retirement system and, except as provided in subsection (((2))) (3) of this section, shall leave his or her accumulated contributions in the teachers' retirement fund. Upon his or her attaining eligibility for retirement under the Washington state teachers' retirement system, such faculty member or other employee shall receive from the Washington state teachers' retirement system a retirement allowance consisting of an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his or her accumulated contributions at his or her age when becoming eligible for such retirement and a pension for each year of creditable service established and retained at the time of said designation as provided in RCW 41.32.497 ((as now or hereafter amended)). Anyone who on July 1, 1967, was receiving pension payments from the teachers' retirement system based on thirty-five years of creditable service shall thereafter receive a pension based on the total years of creditable service established with the retirement system: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That any such faculty member or other employee exempt from civil service pursuant to RCW 41.06.070 (1)(cc) and (2) who, upon attainment of eligibility for retirement under the Washington state teachers' retirement system, is still engaged in public educational employment, shall not be eligible to receive benefits under the Washington state teachers' retirement system until he or she ceases such public educational employment. Any retired faculty member or other employee who enters service in any public educational institution shall cease to receive pension payments while engaged in such service: PROVIDED FURTHER, That such service may be rendered up to seventy-five days in a school year without reduction of pension.
     (((2))) (3) A faculty member or other exempt employee designated by the board of trustees of the applicable regional university or of The Evergreen State College as being subject to the annuity and retirement income plan and who, at the time of such designation, is a member of the Washington state teachers' retirement system may, at his or her election and at any time, on and after midnight June 10, 1959, terminate his or her membership in the Washington state teachers' retirement system and withdraw his or her accumulated contributions and interest in the teachers' retirement fund upon written application to the board of trustees of the Washington state teachers' retirement system. Faculty members or other employees who withdraw their accumulated contributions, on and after the date of withdrawal of contributions, shall no longer be members of the Washington state teachers' retirement system and shall forfeit all rights of membership, including pension benefits, theretofore acquired under the Washington state teachers' retirement system.

Sec. 7   RCW 28B.10.423 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 149 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For employees who are first employed by an institution of higher education in a position eligible for participation in an old age annuities or retirement income plan under this chapter prior to July 1, 2011, it is the intent of RCW 28B.10.400, 28B.10.405, 28B.10.410, 28B.10.415, 28B.10.420, and 28B.10.423 ((and 83.20.030)) that the retirement income resulting from the contributions described herein from the state of Washington and the employee shall be projected actuarially so that it shall not exceed sixty percent of the average of the highest two consecutive years salary. Periodic review of the retirement systems established pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, 28B.10.405, 28B.10.410, 28B.10.415, 28B.10.420, and 28B.10.423 ((and 83.20.030)) will be undertaken at such time and in such manner as determined by the committees on ways and means of the senate and of the house of representatives ((and the public pension commission)), the select committee on pension policy, and the pension funding council, and joint contribution rates will be adjusted if necessary to accomplish this intent.
     (2) Beginning July 1, 2011, state funding for annuity or retirement income plans under RCW 28B.10.400 shall not exceed six percent of salary. The state board for community and technical colleges and the higher education coordinating board are exempt from the provisions of this subsection (2).
     (3) By June 30, 2013, and every two years thereafter, each institution of higher education that is responsible for payment of supplemental amounts under RCW 28B.10.400(1)(c) shall contract with the state actuary under chapter 41.44 RCW for an actuarial valuation of their supplemental benefit plan. By June 30, 2013, and at least once every six years thereafter, each institution shall also contract with the state actuary under chapter 41.44 RCW for an actuarial experience study of the mortality, service, compensation, and other experience of the annuity or retirement income plans created in this chapter, and into the financial condition of each system. At the discretion of the state actuary, the valuation or experience study may be performed by the state actuary or by an outside actuarial firm under contract to the office of the state actuary. Each institution of higher education is required to provide the data and information required for the performance of the valuation or experience study to the office of the state actuary or to the actuary performing the study on behalf of the state actuary. The state actuary may charge each institution for the actual cost of the valuation or experience study through an interagency agreement. Upon completion of the valuation or experience study, the state actuary shall provide copies of the study to the institution of higher education and to the select committee on pension policy and the pension funding council.
     (4)(a) A higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund is created in the custody of the state treasurer for the purpose of funding future benefit obligations of higher education retirement plan supplemental benefits. The state investment board has the full power to invest, reinvest, manage, contract, sell, or exchange investment money in the fund.
     (b) From January 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013, an employer contribution rate of one-quarter of one percent of salary is established to begin prefunding the unfunded future obligations of the supplemental benefit established in RCW 28B.10.400.
     (c) Beginning July 1, 2013, an employer contribution rate of one-half of one percent of salary is established to prefund the unfunded future obligations of the supplemental benefit established in RCW 28B.10.400.
     (d) Consistent with chapter 41.50 RCW, the department of retirement systems shall collect the employer contribution rates established in this section from each state institution of higher education, and deposit those contributions into the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund. The contributions made by each employer into the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund and the earnings on those contributions shall be accounted for separately within the fund.
     (e) Following the completion and review of the initial actuarial valuations and experience study conducted pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the pension funding council may:
     (i) Adopt and make changes to the employer contribution rates established in this subsection consistent with the procedures established in chapter 41.45 RCW. If the actuarial valuations of the higher education retirement plans of each institution contributing to the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund suggest that different contribution rates are appropriate for each institution, different rates may be adopted. Rates adopted by the pension funding council are subject to revision by the legislature;
     (ii) Recommend legislation that will, upon accumulation of sufficient funding in the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund, transfer the responsibility for making supplemental benefit payments to the department of retirement systems, and adjust employer contribution rates to reflect the transfer of responsibility.

Sec. 8   RCW 28B.10.430 and 1979 ex.s. c 96 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) This section applies only to those persons who are first employed by an institution of higher education in a position eligible for participation in an old age annuities or retirement income plan under this chapter prior to July 1, 2011.
     (2) For any person receiving a monthly benefit pursuant to a program established under RCW 28B.10.400, the pension portion of such benefit shall be the sum of the following amounts:
     (a) One-half of the monthly benefit payable under such program by a life insurance company; and
     (b) The monthly equivalent of the supplemental benefit described in RCW 28B.10.400(((3))) (1)(c).
     (((2))) (3) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, effective July 1, 1979, no person receiving a monthly benefit pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400 shall receive, as the pension portion of that benefit, less than ten dollars per month for each year of service creditable to the person whose service is the basis of the benefit. Portions of a year shall be treated as fractions of a year and the decimal equivalent shall be multiplied by ten dollars. Where the benefit was adjusted at the time benefit payments to the beneficiary commenced, the minimum pension provided in this section shall be adjusted in a manner consistent with that adjustment.
     (((3))) (4) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, effective July 1, 1979, the monthly benefit of each person who commenced receiving a monthly benefit under this chapter as of a date no later than July 1, 1974, shall be permanently increased by a post-retirement adjustment. Such adjustment shall be calculated as follows:
     (a) Monthly benefits to which this subsection and subsection (((2))) (3) of this section are both applicable shall be determined by first applying subsection (((2))) (3) of this section and then applying this subsection. The ((department)) institution shall determine the total years of creditable service and the total dollar benefit base accrued as of December 31, 1978, except that this determination shall take into account only those persons to whom this subsection applies;
     (b) The ((department)) institution shall multiply the total benefits determined in (a) of this subsection by six percent and divide the dollar value thus determined by the total service determined in (a) of this subsection. The resultant figure shall then be a post-retirement increase factor which shall be applied as specified in (c) of this subsection;
     (c) Each person to whom this subsection applies shall receive an increase which is the product of the factor determined in (b) of this subsection multiplied by the years of creditable service.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A new section is added to chapter 41.32 RCW to be codified under the subchapter heading "plan 3" to read as follows:
     (1) All faculty members who are first employed by an institution of higher education in a position eligible for participation in old age annuities or retirement income plans under chapter 28B.10 RCW on or after July 1, 2011, have a period of thirty days to make an irrevocable choice to:
     (a) Become a member of the teachers' retirement system plan 3 under this chapter; or
     (b) Participate in the annuities or retirement income plan provided by the institution.
     (2) At the end of thirty days, if the member has not made a choice to become a member of the teachers' retirement system, he or she becomes a participant in the institution's plan under RCW 28B.10.400, but does not become eligible for any supplemental benefit under RCW 28B.10.400(1)(c).

Sec. 10   RCW 41.32.570 and 2007 c 50 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (b) The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum of one hundred forty hours per month. Any monthly benefit reduction over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in subsequent months.
     (2) ((Except under subsection (3) of this section,)) Any retired teacher or retired administrator who enters service in any public educational institution in Washington state at least one calendar month after his or her accrual date shall cease to receive pension payments while engaged in such service, after the retiree has rendered service for more than eight hundred sixty-seven hours in a school year.
     (3) ((Any retired teacher or retired administrator who enters service in any public educational institution in Washington state one and one-half calendar months or more after his or her accrual date and:
     (a) Is hired pursuant to a written policy into a position for which the school board has documented a justifiable need to hire a retiree into the position;
     (b) Is hired through the established process for the position with the approval of the school board or other highest decision-making authority of the prospective employer;
     (c) Whose employer retains records of the procedures followed and the decisions made in hiring the retired teacher or retired administrator and provides those records in the event of an audit; and
     (d) The employee has not already rendered a cumulative total of more than one thousand nine hundred hours of service while in receipt of pension payments beyond an annual threshold of eight hundred sixty-seven hours;
shall cease to receive pension payments while engaged in that service after the retiree has rendered service for more than one thousand five hundred hours in a school year. The one thousand nine hundred hour cumulative total limitation under this section applies prospectively after July 22, 2007.
     (4) When a retired teacher or administrator renders service beyond eight hundred sixty-seven hours, the department shall collect from the employer the applicable employer retirement contributions for the entire duration of the member's employment during that fiscal year.
     (5))) The department shall collect and provide the state actuary with information relevant to the use of this section for the select committee on pension policy.
     (((6))) (4) The legislature reserves the right to amend or repeal this section in the future and no member or beneficiary has a contractual right to be employed for more than five hundred twenty-five hours per year without a reduction of his or her pension.

Sec. 11   RCW 41.32.800 and 2004 c 242 s 55 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in RCW 41.32.802, no retiree under the provisions of plan 2 shall be eligible to receive such retiree's monthly retirement allowance if he or she is employed in an eligible position as defined in RCW 41.40.010, 41.32.010, 41.37.010, or 41.35.010, or as a law enforcement officer or firefighter as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400.
     If a retiree's benefits have been suspended under this section, his or her benefits shall be reinstated when the retiree terminates the employment that caused his or her benefits to be suspended. Upon reinstatement, the retiree's benefits shall be actuarially recomputed pursuant to the rules adopted by the department.
     (2) The department shall adopt rules implementing this section.

Sec. 12   RCW 41.32.802 and 2004 c 242 s 61 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (b) The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum of one hundred forty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in subsequent months.
     (2) A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section, may work up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, or as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, without suspension of his or her benefit.
     (3) If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.32.044, he or she terminates his or her retirement status and immediately becomes a member. Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall have the right to again retire if eligible.

Sec. 13   RCW 41.32.860 and 2005 c 327 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except under RCW 41.32.862, no retiree shall be eligible to receive such retiree's monthly retirement allowance if he or she is employed in an eligible position as defined in RCW 41.40.010, 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.37.010, or as a law enforcement officer or firefighter as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400.
     (2) If a retiree's benefits have been suspended under this section, his or her benefits shall be reinstated when the retiree terminates the employment that caused the suspension of benefits. Upon reinstatement, the retiree's benefits shall be actuarially recomputed pursuant to the rules adopted by the department.

Sec. 14   RCW 41.32.862 and 2004 c 242 s 62 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every seven hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (b) The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum of one hundred forty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in subsequent months.
     (2) A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section, may work up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, or as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, without suspension of his or her benefit.
     (3) If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.32.044, he or she terminates his or her retirement status and immediately becomes a member. Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall have the right to again retire if eligible.

Sec. 15   RCW 41.35.060 and 2004 c 242 s 64 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (b) The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum of one hundred sixty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in subsequent months.
     (2) A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section may work up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position, as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, or as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, without suspension of his or her benefit.
     (3) If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.35.030, he or she terminates his or her retirement status and becomes a member. Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall have the right to again retire if eligible in accordance with RCW 41.35.420 or 41.35.680. However, if the right to retire is exercised to become effective before the member has rendered two uninterrupted years of service, the retirement formula and survivor options the member had at the time of the member's previous retirement shall be reinstated.

Sec. 16   RCW 41.35.230 and 2004 c 242 s 56 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in RCW 41.35.060, no retiree under the provisions of plan 2 shall be eligible to receive such retiree's monthly retirement allowance if he or she is employed in an eligible position as defined in RCW 41.35.010, 41.40.010, 41.37.010, or 41.32.010, or as a law enforcement officer or firefighter as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, except that a retiree who ends his or her membership in the retirement system pursuant to RCW 41.40.023(3)(b) is not subject to this section if the retiree's only employment is as an elective official.
     (2) If a retiree's benefits have been suspended under this section, his or her benefits shall be reinstated when the retiree terminates the employment that caused his or her benefits to be suspended. Upon reinstatement, the retiree's benefits shall be actuarially recomputed pursuant to the rules adopted by the department.
     (3) The department shall adopt rules implementing this section.

Sec. 17   RCW 41.37.050 and 2005 c 327 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) If a retiree enters employment in an eligible position with an employer as defined in this chapter sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (b) If a retiree enters employment in an eligible position with an employer as defined in chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (c) The benefit reduction provided in (a) and (b) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum of one hundred sixty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in subsequent months.
     (2) A retiree who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section may work up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours per calendar year in an eligible position as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, or 41.40.010, or as a law enforcement officer or firefighter as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or in a position covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400, without suspension of his or her benefit.
     (3) If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under this chapter, he or she terminates his or her retirement status and becomes a member. Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall have the right to again retire if eligible in accordance with this chapter. However, if the right to retire is exercised to become effective before the member has rendered two uninterrupted years of service, the retirement formula and survivor options the member had at the time of the member's previous retirement shall be reinstated.
     (4) The department shall collect and provide the state actuary with information relevant to the use of this section for the select committee on pension policy.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 18   A new section is added to chapter 41.40 RCW to be codified under the subchapter heading "plan 3" to read as follows:
     (1) All employees who are not qualified under section 9 of this act and who are first employed by an institution of higher education in a position eligible for participation in old age annuities or retirement income plans under RCW 28B.10.400 on or after July 1, 2011, have a period of thirty days to make an irrevocable choice to:
     (a) Become a member of the public employees' retirement system plan 3 under this chapter; or
     (b) Participate in the annuities or retirement income plan provided by the institution.
     (2) At the end of thirty days, if the member has not made a choice to become a member of the public employees' retirement system, he or she becomes a participant in the institution's plan under RCW 28B.10.400, but does not become eligible for any supplemental benefit under RCW 28B.10.400(1)(c).

Sec. 19   RCW 41.40.037 and 2007 c 50 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) If a retiree enters employment with an employer sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual date, the retiree's monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by five and one-half percent for every eight hours worked during that month. This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment with an employer for one full calendar month.
     (b) The benefit reduction provided in (a) of this subsection will accrue for a maximum of one hundred sixty hours per month. Any benefit reduction over one hundred percent will be applied to the benefit the retiree is eligible to receive in subsequent months.
     (2)(((a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection,)) A retiree from plan 1, plan 2, or plan 3 who enters employment with an employer at least one calendar month after his or her accrual date may continue to receive pension payments while engaged in such service for up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours of service in a calendar year without a reduction of pension. For purposes of this section, employment includes positions covered by annuity and retirement income plans offered by institutions of higher education pursuant to RCW 28B.10.400.
     (((b) A retiree from plan 1 who enters employment with an employer at least three calendar months after his or her accrual date and:
     (i) Is hired pursuant to a written policy into a position for which the employer has documented a justifiable need to hire a retiree into the position;
     (ii) Is hired through the established process for the position with the approval of: A school board for a school district; the chief executive officer of a state agency employer; the secretary of the senate for the senate; the chief clerk of the house of representatives for the house of representatives; the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives jointly for the joint legislative audit and review committee, the select committee on pension policy, the legislative evaluation and accountability program, the legislative systems committee, and the statute law committee; or according to rules adopted for the rehiring of retired plan 1 members for a local government employer;
     (iii) The employer retains records of the procedures followed and decisions made in hiring the retiree, and provides those records in the event of an audit; and
     (iv) The employee has not already rendered a cumulative total of more than one thousand nine hundred hours of service while in receipt of pension payments beyond an annual threshold of eight hundred sixty-seven hours;
shall cease to receive pension payments while engaged in that service after the retiree has rendered service for more than one thousand five hundred hours in a calendar year. The one thousand nine hundred hour cumulative total under this subsection applies prospectively to those retiring after July 27, 2003, and retroactively to those who retired prior to July 27, 2003, and shall be calculated from the date of retirement.
     (c) When a plan 1 member renders service beyond eight hundred sixty-seven hours, the department shall collect from the employer the applicable employer retirement contributions for the entire duration of the member's employment during that calendar year.
     (d) A retiree from plan 2 or plan 3 who has satisfied the break in employment requirement of subsection (1) of this section may work up to eight hundred sixty-seven hours in a calendar year in an eligible position, as defined in RCW 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, or as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, as defined in RCW 41.26.030, without suspension of his or her benefit.))
     (3) If the retiree opts to reestablish membership under RCW 41.40.023(12), he or she terminates his or her retirement status and becomes a member. Retirement benefits shall not accrue during the period of membership and the individual shall make contributions and receive membership credit. Such a member shall have the right to again retire if eligible in accordance with RCW 41.40.180. However, if the right to retire is exercised to become effective before the member has rendered two uninterrupted years of service, the retirement formula and survivor options the member had at the time of the member's previous retirement shall be reinstated.
     (4) The department shall collect and provide the state actuary with information relevant to the use of this section for the select committee on pension policy.
     (5) The legislature reserves the right to amend or repeal this section in the future and no member or beneficiary has a contractual right to be employed for more than five months in a calendar year without a reduction of his or her pension.

Sec. 20   RCW 41.50.030 and 2004 c 242 s 42 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) As soon as possible but not more than one hundred and eighty days after March 19, 1976, there is transferred to the department of retirement systems, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all powers, duties, and functions of:
     (a) The Washington public employees' retirement system;
     (b) The Washington state teachers' retirement system;
     (c) The Washington law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system;
     (d) The Washington state patrol retirement system;
     (e) The Washington judicial retirement system; and
     (f) The state treasurer with respect to the administration of the judges' retirement fund imposed pursuant to chapter 2.12 RCW.
     (2) On July 1, 1996, there is transferred to the department all powers, duties, and functions of the deferred compensation committee.
     (3) The department shall administer chapter 41.34 RCW.
     (4) The department shall administer the Washington school employees' retirement system created under chapter 41.35 RCW.
     (5) The department shall administer the Washington public safety employees' retirement system created under chapter 41.37 RCW.
     (6) The department shall administer the collection of employer contributions and initial prefunding of the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefits, also referred to as the annuity or retirement income plans created under chapter 28B.10 RCW.

Sec. 21   RCW 41.50.080 and 2004 c 242 s 45 are each amended to read as follows:
     The state investment board shall provide for the investment of all funds of the Washington public employees' retirement system, the teachers' retirement system, the school employees' retirement system, the Washington law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system, the Washington state patrol retirement system, the Washington judicial retirement system, the Washington public safety employees' retirement system, the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund, and the judges' retirement fund, pursuant to RCW 43.84.150, and may sell or exchange investments acquired in the exercise of that authority.

Sec. 22   RCW 41.50.110 and 2009 c 564 s 924 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided by RCW 41.50.255 and subsection (6) of this section, all expenses of the administration of the department, the expenses of administration of the retirement systems, and the expenses of the administration of the office of the state actuary created in chapters 2.10, 2.12, 28B.10, 41.26, 41.32, 41.40, 41.34, 41.35, 41.37, 43.43, and 44.44 RCW shall be paid from the department of retirement systems expense fund.
     (2) In order to reimburse the department of retirement systems expense fund on an equitable basis the department shall ascertain and report to each employer, as defined in RCW 28B.10.400, 41.26.030, 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, the sum necessary to defray its proportional share of the entire expense of the administration of the retirement system that the employer participates in during the ensuing biennium or fiscal year whichever may be required. Such sum is to be computed in an amount directly proportional to the estimated entire expense of the administration as the ratio of monthly salaries of the employer's members bears to the total salaries of all members in the entire system. It shall then be the duty of all such employers to include in their budgets or otherwise provide the amounts so required.
     (3) The department shall compute and bill each employer, as defined in RCW 28B.10.400, 41.26.030, 41.32.010, 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, at the end of each month for the amount due for that month to the department of retirement systems expense fund and the same shall be paid as are its other obligations. Such computation as to each employer shall be made on a percentage rate of salary established by the department. However, the department may at its discretion establish a system of billing based upon calendar year quarters in which event the said billing shall be at the end of each such quarter.
     (4) The director may adjust the expense fund contribution rate for each system at any time when necessary to reflect unanticipated costs or savings in administering the department.
     (5) An employer who fails to submit timely and accurate reports to the department may be assessed an additional fee related to the increased costs incurred by the department in processing the deficient reports. Fees paid under this subsection shall be deposited in the retirement system expense fund.
     (a) Every six months the department shall determine the amount of an employer's fee by reviewing the timeliness and accuracy of the reports submitted by the employer in the preceding six months. If those reports were not both timely and accurate the department may prospectively assess an additional fee under this subsection.
     (b) An additional fee assessed by the department under this subsection shall not exceed fifty percent of the standard fee.
     (c) The department shall adopt rules implementing this section.
     (6) Expenses other than those under RCW 41.34.060(3) shall be paid pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
     (7) During the 2007-2009 and 2009-2011 fiscal biennia, the legislature may transfer from the department of retirement systems' expense fund to the state general fund such amounts as reflect the excess fund balance of the fund.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 23   Except for sections 10 and 19 of this act which take effect January 1, 2012, this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2011.