SB 129 — Relating to the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama; to amend Section 36-27-59, Code of Alabama 1975, to designate the Commissioner of Corrections and deputy commissioners of corrections who have earned and maintain APOSTC certification as correctional officers or law enforcement officers for state retirement purposes; and to provide that the designation is retroactive.

SB129 INTRODUCEDENROLLED JI9ZNY-1JI9ZNY-2 By Senator Singleton RFD:

22-Mar-23 2023 Regular Session Page 0 JI9ZNY-1SB129 03/17/2023Enrolled CNBEnrolled, (L)bmAn 2023-1042Act, 23 4Relating SYNOPSIS:to the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama;

This bill would designate the Commissioner of Corrections and deputy commissioners of corrections who have earned and maintain APOSTC certification as correctional officers or law enforcement officers for the purposes of state retirement.

This bill would also retroactively apply the designation.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama;

"§36-27-59 Page 1 SB129 INTRODUCED (a) When used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

A full-time firefighter employed with the State of Alabama, a municipal fire department, or a fire Page 1 SB129 Enrolled district who has a level one minimum standard certification by the Firefighters Personnel Standards and Education Commission, or a firefighter employed by the Alabama Forestry Commission who has been certified by the State Forester as having met the wild land firefighter training standard of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

Page 2 SB129 INTRODUCED (b)(1) Any firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer covered under the Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement System as a Tier I plan member, upon attainment of the requisite years of creditable service or who otherwise qualifies for service or disability retirement, shall be awarded one year of hazardous duty time for every five years of service as a firefighter, a law enforcement officer, or a correctional officer provided that the person has made the additional contribution provided in subdivision (2) or paid the additional contribution required in subsection (c) for each year of service used in determining hazardous duty time for the person.

(2) Effective January 1, 2001, and each pay period Page 2 SB129 Enrolled thereafter, each active employee who is a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer, as defined in subsection (a), shall contribute to the Teachers' or Employees' Retirement System of Alabama six percent of his or her earnable compensation.

For all pay dates beginning on or after October 1, 2012, each active employee who is a Tier I plan member and who is a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or correctional Page 3 SB129 INTRODUCED officer, as defined in subsection (a), except those employees participating pursuant to Section 36-27-6, shall contribute to the Teachers' or Employees' Retirement System of Alabama eight and one-half percent (8.5%) of his or her earnable compensation.

(c) Any member of the Employees' Retirement System or 95 the Teachers' Retirement System eligible under subsection (b) may receive credit for his or her eligible prior service provided the member pays to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Employees' Retirement System or the Secretary-Treasurer of the Page 3 SB129 Enrolled Teachers' Retirement System one percent of his or her current annual earnable compensation or previous year's annual earnable compensation, whichever is higher, for each year of claimed credit within two years of January 1, 2001, except that any firefighter employed by the Alabama Forestry Commission shall make such payment within two years of December 28, 2001.

Any member participating in the Employees' Retirement System under Section 36-27-6, who has eligible prior service under this section and who also had no prior eligibility to purchase prior service credit under this 95 subsection, may purchase prior service credit under this section at the same rate provided in subsection (b) within one year of the effective date of his or her enrollment with the Employees' Retirement System or within one year of August 1, Page 4 SB129 INTRODUCED 2004.

(e) The designation of the Commissioner of Corrections and a deputy commissioner of corrections as correctional officers or law enforcement officers for purposes of this section shall be applied retroactively to March 1, 2022." Page 4 SB129 Enrolled Section 2.

Page 5 SB129 Enrolled ________________________________________________ President and Presiding Officer of the Senate ________________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives SB129 Senate 27-Apr-23 I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed the Senate.

Patrick Harris, Secretary.

House of Representatives Passed:

01-Jun-23 By:

Senator Singleton Page 6