00HOUSE BILL NO. 159                                                                                                    
01 "An Act granting certain employees in correctional facilities status as peace                                           
02 officers under the public employees' retirement system."                                                                
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1.  AS 39.35.680(28) is amended to read:                                                                 
05   (28)  "peace officer" or "fire fighter" means an employee occupying a                                                
06 position as a                                                                                                           
07    (A)   peace officer  or  [,] chief of police ;                                                                
08   (B)   [,] correctional officer, correctional superintendent,  or other                                            
09 employee of a correctional facility;                                                                                    
10   (C)   fire fighter  or  [,] fire chief ;  [,] or                                                               
11    (D)   probation officer;                                                                                         
12    * Sec. 2.  An employee who was employed as an employee of a correctional facility, other                           
13 than as a correctional officer or a correctional superintendent, in the public employees'                               
14 retirement system before the effective date of this Act may convert the credited service for                            

01 that position to credited service as  a peace officer by claiming the service as peace officer                          
02 service before the employee is appointed to retirement.  When the employee claims this                                  
03 retroactive credited service, an indebtedness of the employee to the system shall be                                    
04 established.  The indebtedness is equal to (1) the contributions to the system that the employee                        
05 would have made if the service had counted as peace officer service, less (2) the contributions                         
06 to the system that the employee actually made.  Interest as prescribed by regulation accrues                            
07 on this indebtedness beginning July 1, 1999.  Any outstanding indebtedness that exists at the                           
08 time a person is appointed to retirement will require an actuarial adjustment to the benefits                           
09 payable based upon the service.