49-15-201 - System membership -- Eligibility.
49-15-201. System membership -- Eligibility.
(1) (a) A public safety service employee employed by the state after July 1, 1989, butbefore July 1, 2011, is eligible for service credit in this system.
(b) A public safety service employee employed by the state prior to July 1, 1989, mayeither elect to receive service credit in this system or continue to receive service credit under thesystem established under Chapter 14, Public Safety Contributory Retirement Act, by followingthe procedures established by the board under this chapter.
(2) (a) Public safety service employees of a participating employer other than the statethat elected on or before July 1, 1989, to remain in the Public Safety Contributory RetirementSystem shall be eligible only for service credit in that system.
(b) (i) A participating employer other than the state that elected on or before July 1,1989, to participate in this system shall, have allowed, prior to July 1, 1989, a public safetyservice employee to elect to participate in either this system or the Public Safety ContributoryRetirement System.
(ii) Except as expressly allowed by this title, the election of the public safety serviceemployee is final and may not be changed.
(c) A public safety service employee hired by a participating employer other than thestate after July 1, 1989, but before July 1, 2011, shall become a member in this system.
(d) A public safety service employee of a participating employer other than the state whobegan participation in this system after July 1, 1989, but before July 1, 2011, is only eligible forservice credit in this system.
(e) A person initially entering employment with a participating employer on or after July1, 2011, may not participate in this system.
(3) (a) (i) A participating employer that has public safety service and firefighter serviceemployees that require cross-training and duty shall enroll those dual purpose employees in thesystem in which the greatest amount of time is actually worked.
(ii) The employees shall either be full-time public safety service or full-time firefighterservice employees of the participating employer.
(b) (i) Prior to transferring a dual purpose employee from one system to another, theparticipating employer shall receive written permission from the office.
(ii) The office may request documentation to verify the appropriateness of the transfer.
(4) The board may combine or segregate the actuarial experience of participatingemployers in this system for the purpose of setting contribution rates.
(5) (a) (i) Each participating employer participating in this system shall annually submitto the office a schedule indicating the positions to be covered under this system in accordancewith this chapter.
(ii) The office may require documentation to justify the inclusion of any position underthis system.
(b) If there is a dispute between the office and a participating employer or employee overany position to be covered, the disputed position shall be submitted to the Peace OfficerStandards and Training Council established under Section 53-6-106 for determination.
(c) (i) The Peace Officer Standards and Training Council's authority to decide eligibilityfor public safety service credit is limited to claims for coverage under this system for timeperiods after July 1, 1989.
(ii) A decision of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council may not be applied
to service credit earned in another system prior to July 1, 1989.
(iii) Except as provided under Subsection (5)(c)(iv), a decision of the Peace OfficerStandards and Training Council granting a position coverage under this system may only beapplied prospectively from the date of that decision.
(iv) A decision of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council granting a positioncoverage under this system may be applied retroactively only if:
(A) the participating employer covered other similarly situated positions under thissystem during the time period in question; and
(B) the position otherwise meets all eligibility requirements for receiving service creditin this system during the period for which service credit is to be granted.
(6) The Peace Officer Standards and Training Council may use a subcommittee toprovide a recommendation to the council in determining disputes between the office and aparticipating employer or employee over a position to be covered under this system.
(7) The Peace Officer Standards and Training Council shall comply with Title 63G,Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act, in resolving coverage disputes in this system.
(8) A public safety service employee who is transferred or promoted to an administrationposition not covered by this system shall continue to earn public safety service credit in thissystem as long as the employee remains employed in the same department.
(9) Any employee who is reassigned to the Department of Technology Services or to theDepartment of Human Resource Management, and who was a member in this system, shall beentitled to remain a member in this system.
(10) (a) To determine that a position is covered under this system, the office and, if acoverage dispute arises, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council shall find that theposition requires the employee to:
(i) place the employee's life or personal safety at risk; and
(ii) complete training as provided in Section 53-13-103, 53-13-104, or 53-13-105.
(b) If a position satisfies the requirements of Subsection (10)(a), the office and PeaceOfficer Standards and Training Council shall consider whether the position requires theemployee to:
(i) perform duties that consist primarily of actively preventing or detecting crime andenforcing criminal statutes or ordinances of this state or any of its political subdivisions;
(ii) perform duties that consist primarily of providing community protection; and
(iii) respond to situations involving threats to public safety and make emergencydecisions affecting the lives and health of others.
(11) If a subcommittee is used to recommend the determination of disputes to the PeaceOfficer Standards and Training Council, the subcommittee shall comply with the requirements ofSubsection (10) in making its recommendation.
(12) A final order of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council regarding adispute is a final agency action for purposes of Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative ProceduresAct.
(13) Except as provided under Subsection (14), if a participating employer's public safetyservice employees are not covered by this system under Chapter 14, Public Safety ContributoryRetirement Act, as of January 1, 1998, those public safety service employees who may otherwisequalify for membership in this system shall, at the discretion of the participating employer,remain in their current retirement system.
(14) (a) A public safety service employee employed by an airport police department,which elects to cover its public safety service employees under the Public SafetyNoncontributory Retirement System under Subsection (13), may elect to remain in the publicsafety service employee's current retirement system.
(b) The public safety service employee's election to remain in the current retirementsystem under Subsection (14)(a):
(i) shall be made at the time the employer elects to move its public safety serviceemployees to a public safety retirement system;
(ii) documented by written notice to the participating employer; and
(iii) is irrevocable.
(15) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a person initially enteringemployment with a participating employer on or after July 1, 2011, may not participate in thissystem.
Amended by Chapter 266, 2010 General Session