Section 20903.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, when the governing body of a contracting agency determines that because of an impending curtailment of, or change in the manner of performing service, the best interests of the agency would be served, a local member shall be eligible to receive additional service credit if the following conditions exist:

(a) The member is employed in a job classification, department, or other organizational unit designated by the governing body of the contracting agency and retires within any period designated in and subsequent to the effective date of the contract amendment, or any additional period or periods designated in any subsequently adopted resolution of the governing body of the contracting agency, provided the period is not less than 90 days nor more than 180 days.

(b) The governing body agrees that the added cost to the retirement fund for all eligible employees who retire during the specified period shall be included in the contracting agency's employer contribution rate, as determined by Section 20814.

(c) The governing body shall certify that it is electing to exercise the provisions of this section, because of impending mandatory transfers, demotions, and layoffs that constitute at least 1 percent of the job classification, department, or organizational unit as designated by the governing board, resulting from the curtailment of, or change in the manner of performing, its services.

(d) The governing body shall certify that it is its intention at the time that this section is made operative that if any early retirements are granted after receipt of service credit pursuant to this section, that any vacancies thus created or at least one vacancy in any position in any department or other organizational unit shall remain permanently unfilled thereby resulting in an overall reduction in the workforce of the department or organizational unit.

(e) The amount of additional service credit shall be two years regardless of credited service.

(f) This section is not applicable to any member otherwise eligible if the member receives any unemployment insurance payments during the specified period.

(g) Any member who qualifies under this section, upon subsequent reentry to this system shall forfeit the service credit acquired under this section.

(h) This section does not apply to any member who is not employed by the contracting agency during the period designated in subdivision (a) and who has less than five years of service credit.

(i) This section does not apply to any contracting agency unless and until the agency elects to be subject to the provision of this section by amendment to its contract made in the manner prescribed for approval of contracts, except an election among the employees is not required, or, in the case of contracts made after January 1, 2000, by express provision in the contract making the contracting agency subject to the provisions of this section.

Before adopting this provision, the governing body of a contracting agency shall, with timely public notice, place the consideration of this section on the agenda of a public meeting of the governing body, at which time disclosure shall be made of the additional employer contributions, and the funding therefor, and members of the public shall be given the opportunity to be heard. The matter may not be placed on the agenda as a consent item. Only after the public meeting may the governing body adopt this section. The governing body shall also comply with the requirements of Section 7507. The employer shall notify the board of the employer's compliance with this subdivision at the time of the governing body's application to adopt this section.

(j) The contracts of contracting agencies that adopted the provisions of former Section 20903, prior to the repeal of that section on January 1, 1999, shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms and the terms of this section. Notwithstanding subdivision (i), those contracting agencies need not amend their contracts or otherwise comply with the requirements of subdivision (i) to be subject to this section. Without limiting the foregoing, eligibility periods under subdivision (a) of former Section 20903, designated by the governing body of a contracting agency by resolution pursuant to the terms of its contract or contract amendment, shall remain in effect in accordance with their terms as if designated pursuant to this section.

(k) Notwithstanding Section 20790, an election to become subject to this section may not exclude an agency from the definition of "employer" for purposes of Section 20790.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 10, Sec. 20. Effective May 14, 2003.)