State employee compensation

AN ACT Relating to temporary compensation reductions for state 1
government employees during the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium; amending 2
RCW 41.04.820, 43.03.3051, 41.04.340, 43.01.041, 41.06.500, 3
43.03.030, 41.32.010, 41.37.010, 41.40.010, and 43.43.120; reenacting 4
and amending RCW 41.26.030 and 43.43.120; adding a new section to 5
chapter 41.50 RCW; creating new sections; providing effective dates; 6
providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:8
Sec. 1. RCW 41.04.820 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 39 s 1 are each 9
amended to read as follows: 10
(1) Except as provided in this section, from July 1, ((2011)) 11
2025, through June ((29, 2013 )) 30, 2026 , base salaries are reduced 12
((three)) 4.98 percent for all state employees of the executive, 13
legislative, and judicial branches, including those employees in the 14
Washington management service and employees not subject to the 15
provisions of chapter 41.06 RCW. 16
(2) The following employees of the executive, legislative, and 17
judicial branches are not subject to subsection (1) of this section:18
(a) Elected officials whose salaries are set by the commission on 19
salaries for elected officials; 20
(b) Employees at state institutions of higher education;21
S-2339.1
SENATE BILL 5792
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Robinson and Liias
Read first time 03/21/25. Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
p. 1 SB 5792
(c) Certificated employees of the state school for the blind and 1
the center for ((childhood deafness and hearing loss )) deaf and hard 2
of hearing youth; 3
(d) Commissioned officers of the Washington state patrol 4
represented by the state patrol troopers association and the 5
Washington state patrol lieutenants association; 6
(e) Represented ferry workers of the Washington state department 7
of transportation; and 8
(f) Employees ((whose monthly full-time equivalent salary is less 9
than two thousand five hundred dollars per month )) in positions 10
designated by the office of financial management as requiring 11
backfill. 12
(3) The office of financial management shall adopt procedures for 13
limiting the temporary salary reduction provided by this section in 14
instances where applying the full reduction would reduce an 15
employee's base salary below the amount required by any applicable 16
federal, state, or local minimum wage.17
(4) Except as provided in subsection (((4))) (5) of this section, 18
if an employee subject to the ((three percent )) salary reduction 19
under subsection (1) of this section is entitled to leave, the 20
employee will receive temporary salary reduction leave of up to 21
((five and two-tenths )) 8.67 hours per month. The director of the 22
((department of personnel )) office of financial management shall 23
adopt rules governing the accrual and use of temporary salary 24
reduction leave for nonrepresented employees. For represented 25
employees, the accrual and use of temporary salary reduction leave 26
shall be in accordance with the provisions of the collective 27
bargaining agreements. 28
(((4))) (5) If provisions of collective bargaining agreements 29
prevent the implementation of subsection (1) of this section, 30
agencies of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches shall 31
achieve ((a three percent)) the salary reduction in subsection (1) of 32
this section for each employee through employee leave without pay, 33
mandatory and voluntary temporary layoffs, reduced work hours, or 34
other actions consistent with collective bargaining agreements. This 35
subsection does not prohibit an agency from granting temporary salary 36
reduction leave for employees entitled to leave in accordance with 37
subsection (((3))) (4) of this section. 38
(((5))) (6) Subsection (2) of this section does not prohibit 39
employers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches from 40
p. 2 SB 5792
implementing a salary reduction for employees exempted under 1
subsection (2) of this section. Employers of the executive, 2
legislative, and judicial branches are encouraged to implement a 3
salary reduction for employees exempted under subsection (2) of this 4
section((, except for those employees whose monthly full-time 5
equivalent salary is less than two thousand five hundred dollars per 6
month)). 7
(((6))) (7) Subsection (2) of this section does not prohibit 8
elected officials whose salaries are set by the commission on 9
salaries for elected officials to voluntarily agree to a reduction in 10
salary and elected officials are encouraged to take such action.11
(((7))) (8) This section does not prohibit a state agency or 12
institution during the ((2011-2013)) 2025-2027 fiscal biennium from 13
instituting reduced work hours, mandatory or voluntary leave without 14
pay, reductions in salaries, or temporary layoffs as an integral part 15
of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 16
employer. This subsection must be implemented consistent with 17
collective bargaining agreements. 18
Sec. 2. RCW 43.03.3051 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 39 s 2 are each 19
amended to read as follows: 20
(1) From July 1, ((2011)) 2025, through June ((29, 2013 )) 30, 21
2026, any state elected official of the executive branch may 22
voluntarily reduce his or her salary from that established pursuant 23
to Article XXVIII, section 1 of the state Constitution by ((three)) 24
4.98 percent. 25
(2) The ((department of personnel and )) office of financial 26
management shall develop a form to be used by any state elected 27
official of the executive branch to execute the salary reduction 28
under subsection (1) of this section through the state's central 29
personnel payroll system. 30
(3) A voluntary reduction in salary shall be effective and 31
continue through June ((29, 2013)) 30, 2026, unless the state elected 32
official of the executive branch directs in writing that the 33
((department of personnel )) office of financial management 34
discontinue the reduction. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Except as provided in this section, 36
institutions of higher education are to achieve compensation 37
p. 3 SB 5792
reductions as specifically set forth in the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium 1
omnibus appropriations act. 2
(2) Student employees are not subject to subsection (1) of this 3
section. 4
(3) This section does not prohibit institutions of higher 5
education from implementing temporary salary reduction leave for 6
employees who are entitled to leave. 7
Sec. 4. RCW 41.04.340 and 2015 3rd sp.s. c 1 s 311 are each 8
amended to read as follows: 9
(1) An attendance incentive program is established for all 10
eligible employees. As used in this section the term "eligible 11
employee" means any employee of the state, other than eligible 12
employees of the community and technical colleges and the state board 13
for community and technical colleges identified in RCW 28B.50.553, 14
and teaching and research faculty at the state and regional 15
universities and The Evergreen State College, entitled to accumulate 16
sick leave and for whom accurate sick leave records have been 17
maintained. No employee may receive compensation under this section 18
for any portion of sick leave accumulated at a rate in excess of one 19
day per month. The state and regional universities and The Evergreen 20
State College shall maintain complete and accurate sick leave records 21
for all teaching and research faculty. 22
(2)(a) In January of the year following any year in which a 23
minimum of ((sixty)) 60 days of sick leave is accrued, and each 24
January thereafter, any eligible employee may receive remuneration 25
for unused sick leave accumulated in the previous year at a rate 26
equal to one day's monetary compensation of the employee for each 27
four full days of accrued sick leave in excess of ((sixty)) 60 days. 28
Sick leave for which compensation has been received shall be deducted 29
from accrued sick leave at the rate of four days for every one day's 30
monetary compensation. 31
((From July 1, 2011, through June 29, 2013 )) (b) During the time 32
period that the temporary salary reductions in RCW 41.04.820 apply, 33
the rate of monetary compensation for the purposes of this subsection 34
shall not be reduced by any temporary salary reduction.35
(3) At the time of separation from state service due to 36
retirement or death, an eligible employee or the employee's estate 37
may elect to receive remuneration at a rate equal to one day's 38
current monetary compensation of the employee for each four full days 39
p. 4 SB 5792
of accrued sick leave. ((From July 1, 2011, through June 29, 2013 )) 1
During the time period that the temporary salary reductions in RCW 2
41.04.820 apply, the rate of monetary compensation for the purposes 3
of this subsection shall not be reduced by any temporary salary 4
reduction. 5
(4) Remuneration or benefits received under this section shall 6
not be included for the purpose of computing a retirement allowance 7
under any public retirement system in this state. 8
(5) Except as provided in subsections (7) through (9) of this 9
section for employees not covered by chapter 41.06 RCW, this section 10
shall be administered, and rules shall be adopted to carry out its 11
purposes, by the director of financial management for persons subject 12
to chapter 41.06 RCW. 13
(6) Should the legislature revoke any remuneration or benefits 14
granted under this section, no affected employee shall be entitled 15
thereafter to receive such benefits as a matter of contractual right.16
(7) In lieu of remuneration for unused sick leave at retirement 17
as provided in subsection (3) of this section, an agency head or 18
designee may with equivalent funds, provide eligible employees with a 19
benefit plan that provides for reimbursement for medical expenses. 20
This plan shall be implemented only after consultation with affected 21
groups of employees. For eligible employees covered by chapter 41.06 22
RCW, procedures for the implementation of these plans shall be 23
adopted by the director of the state health care authority. For 24
eligible employees exempt from chapter 41.06 RCW, implementation 25
procedures shall be adopted by an agency head having jurisdiction 26
over the employees. 27
(8) Implementing procedures adopted by the director of the state 28
health care authority or agency heads shall require that each medical 29
expense plan authorized by subsection (7) of this section apply to 30
all eligible employees in any one of the following groups: (a) 31
Employees in an agency; (b) employees in a major organizational 32
subdivision of an agency; (c) employees at a major operating location 33
of an agency; (d) exempt employees under the jurisdiction of an 34
elected or appointed Washington state executive; (e) employees of the 35
Washington state senate; (f) employees of the Washington state house 36
of representatives; (g) classified employees in a bargaining unit 37
established by the public employment relations commission; or (h) 38
other group of employees defined by an agency head that is not 39
designed to provide an individual-employee choice regarding 40
p. 5 SB 5792
participation in a medical expense plan. However, medical expense 1
plans for eligible employees in any of the groups under (a) through 2
(h) of this subsection who are covered by a collective bargaining 3
agreement shall be implemented only by written agreement with the 4
bargaining unit's exclusive representative and a separate medical 5
expense plan may be provided for unrepresented employees.6
(9) Medical expense plans authorized by subsection (7) of this 7
section must require as a condition of participation in the plan that 8
employees in the group affected by the plan sign an agreement with 9
the employer. The agreement must include a provision to hold the 10
employer harmless should the United States government find that the 11
employer or the employee is in debt to the United States as a result 12
of the employee not paying income taxes due on the equivalent funds 13
placed into the plan, or as a result of the employer not withholding 14
or deducting a tax, assessment, or other payment on the funds as 15
required by federal law. The agreement must also include a provision 16
that requires an eligible employee to forfeit remuneration under 17
subsection (3) of this section if the employee belongs to a group 18
that has been designated to participate in the medical expense plan 19
permitted under this section and the employee refuses to execute the 20
required agreement. 21
Sec. 5. RCW 43.01.041 and 2017 c 167 s 3 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
Officers and employees referred to in RCW 43.01.040 whose 24
employment is terminated by their death, reduction in force, 25
resignation, dismissal, or retirement, who have been employed for at 26
least six continuous months, and who have accrued vacation leave as 27
specified in RCW 43.01.040 or 43.01.044, shall be paid therefor under 28
their contract of employment, or their estate if they are deceased, 29
or if the employee in case of voluntary resignation has provided 30
adequate notice of termination. Vacation leave accumulated under RCW 31
43.01.044 is not to be included in the computation of retirement 32
benefits. ((From July 1, 2011, through June 29, 2013 )) During the 33
time period that the temporary salary reductions in RCW 41.04.820 34
apply, the amount of pay received by an employee under the provisions 35
of this section shall not be reduced by any temporary salary 36
reduction. 37
Should the legislature revoke any benefits or rights provided 38
under chapter 292, Laws of 1985, no affected officer or employee 39
p. 6 SB 5792
shall be entitled thereafter to receive such benefits or exercise 1
such rights as a matter of contractual right. 2
Sec. 6. RCW 41.06.500 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 39 s 6 are each 3
amended to read as follows: 4
(1) Except as provided in RCW 41.06.070 and subject to RCW 5
41.04.820, notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the 6
director is authorized to adopt, after consultation with state 7
agencies and employee organizations, rules for managers as defined in 8
RCW 41.06.022. These rules shall not apply to managers employed by 9
institutions of higher education or related boards or whose positions 10
are exempt. The rules shall govern recruitment, appointment, 11
classification and allocation of positions, examination, training and 12
career development, hours of work, probation, certification, 13
compensation, transfer, affirmative action, promotion, layoff, 14
reemployment, performance appraisals, discipline, and any and all 15
other personnel practices for managers. These rules shall be separate 16
from rules adopted for other employees, and to the extent that the 17
rules adopted under this section apply only to managers shall take 18
precedence over rules adopted for other employees, and are not 19
subject to review by the board. 20
(2) In establishing rules for managers, the director shall adhere 21
to the following goals: 22
(a) Development of a simplified classification system that 23
facilitates movement of managers between agencies and promotes upward 24
mobility; 25
(b) Creation of a compensation system that provides flexibility 26
in setting and changing salaries, and shall require review and 27
approval by the director in the case of any salary changes greater 28
than five percent proposed for any group of employees;29
(c) Establishment of a performance appraisal system that 30
emphasizes individual accountability for program results and 31
efficient management of resources; effective planning, organization, 32
and communication skills; valuing and managing workplace diversity; 33
development of leadership and interpersonal abilities; and employee 34
development; 35
(d) Strengthening management training and career development 36
programs that build critical management knowledge, skills, and 37
abilities; focusing on managing and valuing workplace diversity; 38
empowering employees by enabling them to share in workplace decision 39
p. 7 SB 5792
making and to be innovative, willing to take risks, and able to 1
accept and deal with change; promoting a workplace where the overall 2
focus is on the recipient of the government services and how these 3
services can be improved; and enhancing mobility and career 4
advancement opportunities; 5
(e) Permitting flexible recruitment and hiring procedures that 6
enable agencies to compete effectively with other employers, both 7
public and private, for managers with appropriate skills and 8
training; allowing consideration of all qualified candidates for 9
positions as managers; and achieving affirmative action goals and 10
diversity in the workplace; 11
(f) Providing that managers may only be reduced, dismissed, 12
suspended, or demoted for cause; and 13
(g) Facilitating decentralized and regional administration.14
(3) ((From February 18, 2009, through June 30, 2013, a salary or 15
wage increase shall not be granted to any position under this 16
section, except that increases may be granted for positions for which 17
the employer has demonstrated difficulty retaining qualified 18
employees if the following conditions are met:19
(a) The salary increase can be paid within existing resources;20
(b) The salary increase will not adversely impact the provision 21
of client services; and22
(c) For any state agency of the executive branch, not including 23
institutions of higher education, the salary increase is approved by 24
the director of the office of financial management.25
Any agency granting a salary increase from February 15, 2010, 26
through June 30, 2011, to a position under this section shall submit 27
a report to the fiscal committees of the legislature no later than 28
July 31, 2011, detailing the positions for which salary increases 29
were granted, the size of the increases, and the reasons for giving 30
the increases.31
Any agency granting a salary increase from July 1, 2011, through 32
June 30, 2013, to a position under this section shall submit a report 33
to the fiscal committees of the legislature by July 31, 2012, and 34
July 31, 2013, detailing the positions for which salary increases 35
were granted during the preceding fiscal year, the size of the 36
increases, and the reasons for giving the increases.37
(4) From February 15, 2010, until June 30, 2013, no monetary 38
performance-based awards or growth and development progression 39
adjustments may be granted by the director or employers to the 40
p. 8 SB 5792
Washington management service employees covered by the rules adopted 1
under this section. This subsection does not prohibit the payment of 2
awards provided for in chapter 41.60 RCW. 3
From July 1, 2011, until June 30, 2013, no performance-based 4
awards or incentives may be granted by the director or employers to 5
employees pursuant to a performance management confirmation granted 6
by the department of personnel under WAC 357-37-055.7
From July 1, 2011, through June 29, 2013 )) During the time period 8
that the temporary salary reductions in RCW 41.04.820 apply, salaries 9
for all positions under this section are subject to RCW 41.04.820.10
Sec. 7. RCW 43.03.030 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 39 s 7 are each 11
amended to read as follows: 12
(1) Wherever the compensation of any appointive state officer or 13
employee is fixed by statute, it may be hereafter increased or 14
decreased in the manner provided by law for the fixing of 15
compensation of other appointive state officers or employees; but 16
this subsection shall not apply to the heads of state departments.17
(2) Wherever the compensation of any state officer appointed by 18
the governor, or of any employee in any office or department under 19
the control of any such officer, is fixed by statute, such 20
compensation may hereafter, from time to time, be changed by the 21
governor, and he or she shall have power to fix such compensation at 22
any amount not to exceed the amount fixed by statute.23
(3) ((From February 18, 2009, through June 30, 2013, a salary or 24
wage increase shall not be granted to any position under this 25
section, except that increases may be granted for positions for which 26
the employer has demonstrated difficulty retaining qualified 27
employees if the following conditions are met:28
(a) The salary increase can be paid within existing resources;29
(b) The salary increase will not adversely impact the provision 30
of client services; and31
(c) For any state agency of the executive branch, not including 32
institutions of higher education, the salary increase is approved by 33
the director of the office of financial management.34
Any agency granting a salary increase from February 15, 2010, 35
through June 30, 2011, to a position exempt under this section shall 36
submit a report to the fiscal committees of the legislature no later 37
than July 31, 2011, detailing the positions for which salary 38
p. 9 SB 5792
increases were granted, the size of the increases, and the reasons 1
for giving the increases. 2
Any agency granting a salary increase from July 1, 2011, through 3
June 30, 2013, to a position exempt under this section shall submit a 4
report to the fiscal committees of the legislature by July 31, 2012, 5
and July 31, 2013, detailing the positions for which salary increases 6
were granted during the preceding fiscal year, the size of the 7
increases, and the reasons for giving the increases.8
From July 1, 2011, through June 29, 2013 )) During the time period 9
that the temporary salary reductions in RCW 41.04.820 apply, salaries 10
for all positions under this section are subject to RCW 41.04.820.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 41.50 12
RCW to read as follows: 13
For purposes of RCW 41.26.030(15)(c)(iv), 41.32.010(14)(c)(iv), 14
41.37.010(5)(b)(iv), 41.40.010(6)(c)(iv), and 43.43.120(3)(c)(iv), 15
the department shall include compensation forgone by a member 16
employed by the state during the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium as a 17
result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave without pay, temporary 18
layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the reduced compensation is 19
an integral part of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as 20
certified by the employer. "Reductions to current pay" does not 21
include elimination of previously agreed upon future salary 22
increases. 23
Sec. 9. RCW 41.26.030 and 2024 c 319 s 4 and 2024 c 304 s 202 24
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:25
As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly 26
required by the context: 27
(1) "Accumulated contributions" means the employee's 28
contributions made by a member, including any amount paid under RCW 29
41.50.165(2), plus accrued interest credited thereon.30
(2) "Actuarial reserve" means a method of financing a pension or 31
retirement plan wherein reserves are accumulated as the liabilities 32
for benefit payments are incurred in order that sufficient funds will 33
be available on the date of retirement of each member to pay the 34
member's future benefits during the period of retirement.35
(3) "Actuarial valuation" means a mathematical determination of 36
the financial condition of a retirement plan. It includes the 37
computation of the present monetary value of benefits payable to 38
p. 10 SB 5792
present members, and the present monetary value of future employer 1
and employee contributions, giving effect to mortality among active 2
and retired members and also to the rates of disability, retirement, 3
withdrawal from service, salary and interest earned on investments.4
(4)(a) "Basic salary" for plan 1 members, means the basic monthly 5
rate of salary or wages, including longevity pay but not including 6
overtime earnings or special salary or wages, upon which pension or 7
retirement benefits will be computed and upon which employer 8
contributions and salary deductions will be based. 9
(b) "Basic salary" for plan 2 members, means salaries or wages 10
earned by a member during a payroll period for personal services, 11
including overtime payments, and shall include wages and salaries 12
deferred under provisions established pursuant to sections 403 (b), 13
414(h), and 457 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, but shall 14
exclude lump sum payments for deferred annual sick leave, unused 15
accumulated vacation, unused accumulated annual leave, or any form of 16
severance pay. In any year in which a member serves in the 17
legislature the member shall have the option of having such member's 18
basic salary be the greater of: 19
(i) The basic salary the member would have received had such 20
member not served in the legislature; or 21
(ii) Such member's actual basic salary received for 22
nonlegislative public employment and legislative service combined. 23
Any additional contributions to the retirement system required 24
because basic salary under (b)(i) of this subsection is greater than 25
basic salary under (b)(ii) of this subsection shall be paid by the 26
member for both member and employer contributions.27
(5)(a) "Beneficiary" for plan 1 members, means any person in 28
receipt of a retirement allowance, disability allowance, death 29
benefit, or any other benefit described herein. 30
(b) "Beneficiary" for plan 2 members, means any person in receipt 31
of a retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this chapter 32
resulting from service rendered to an employer by another person.33
(6)(a) "Child" or "children" means an unmarried person who is 34
under the age of eighteen or mentally or physically disabled as 35
determined by the department, except a person who is disabled and in 36
the full time care of a state institution, who is:37
(i) A natural born child; 38
(ii) A stepchild where that relationship was in existence prior 39
to the date benefits are payable under this chapter;40
p. 11 SB 5792
(iii) A posthumous child; 1
(iv) A child legally adopted or made a legal ward of a member 2
prior to the date benefits are payable under this chapter; or3
(v) An illegitimate child legitimized prior to the date any 4
benefits are payable under this chapter. 5
(b) A person shall also be deemed to be a child up to and 6
including the age of twenty years and eleven months while attending 7
any high school, college, or vocational or other educational 8
institution accredited, licensed, or approved by the state, in which 9
it is located, including the summer vacation months and all other 10
normal and regular vacation periods at the particular educational 11
institution after which the child returns to school.12
(7) "Department" means the department of retirement systems 13
created in chapter 41.50 RCW. 14
(8) "Director" means the director of the department.15
(9) "Disability board" for plan 1 members means either the county 16
disability board or the city disability board established in RCW 17
41.26.110. 18
(10) "Disability leave" means the period of six months or any 19
portion thereof during which a member is on leave at an allowance 20
equal to the member's full salary prior to the commencement of 21
disability retirement. The definition contained in this subsection 22
shall apply only to plan 1 members. 23
(11) "Disability retirement" for plan 1 members, means the period 24
following termination of a member's disability leave, during which 25
the member is in receipt of a disability retirement allowance.26
(12) "Domestic partners" means two adults who have registered as 27
domestic partners under RCW 26.60.020. 28
(13) "Employee" means any law enforcement officer or firefighter 29
as defined in subsections (17) and (19) of this section.30
(14)(a) "Employer" for plan 1 members, means the legislative 31
authority of any city, town, county, district, or regional fire 32
protection service authority or the elected officials of any 33
municipal corporation that employs any law enforcement officer and/or 34
firefighter, any authorized association of such municipalities, and, 35
except for the purposes of RCW 41.26.150, any labor guild, 36
association, or organization, which represents the firefighters or 37
law enforcement officers of at least seven cities of over 20,000 38
population and the membership of each local lodge or division of 39
p. 12 SB 5792
which is composed of at least sixty percent law enforcement officers 1
or firefighters as defined in this chapter. 2
(b) "Employer" for plan 2 members, means the following entities 3
to the extent that the entity employs any law enforcement officer 4
and/or firefighter: 5
(i) The legislative authority of any city, town, county, 6
district, public corporation, or regional fire protection service 7
authority established under RCW 35.21.730 to provide emergency 8
medical services as defined in RCW 18.73.030; 9
(ii) The elected officials of any municipal corporation;10
(iii) The governing body of any other general authority law 11
enforcement agency; 12
(iv) A four-year institution of higher education having a fully 13
operational fire department as of January 1, 1996; or14
(v) The department of social and health services or the 15
department of corrections when employing firefighters serving at a 16
prison or civil commitment center on an island. 17
(c) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, 18
"employer" does not include a government contractor. For purposes of 19
this subsection, a "government contractor" is any entity, including a 20
partnership, limited liability company, for-profit or nonprofit 21
corporation, or person, that provides services pursuant to a contract 22
with an "employer." The determination whether an employer-employee 23
relationship has been established is not based on the relationship 24
between a government contractor and an "employer," but is based 25
solely on the relationship between a government contractor's employee 26
and an "employer" under this chapter. 27
(15)(a) "Final average salary" for plan 1 members, means (i) for 28
a member holding the same position or rank for a minimum of twelve 29
months preceding the date of retirement, the basic salary attached to 30
such same position or rank at time of retirement; (ii) for any other 31
member, including a civil service member who has not served a minimum 32
of twelve months in the same position or rank preceding the date of 33
retirement, the average of the greatest basic salaries payable to 34
such member during any consecutive twenty-four month period within 35
such member's last ten years of service for which service credit is 36
allowed, computed by dividing the total basic salaries payable to 37
such member during the selected twenty-four month period by twenty-38
four; (iii) in the case of disability of any member, the basic salary 39
payable to such member at the time of disability retirement; (iv) in 40
p. 13 SB 5792
the case of a member who hereafter vests pursuant to RCW 41.26.090, 1
the basic salary payable to such member at the time of vesting.2
(b) "Final average salary" for plan 2 members, means the monthly 3
average of the member's basic salary for the highest consecutive 4
sixty service credit months of service prior to such member's 5
retirement, termination, or death. Periods constituting authorized 6
unpaid leaves of absence may not be used in the calculation of final 7
average salary. 8
(c) In calculating final average salary under (a) or (b) of this 9
subsection, the department of retirement systems shall include:10
(i) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by a state 11
agency or institution during the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium as a 12
result of reduced work hours, mandatory or voluntary leave without 13
pay, temporary reduction in pay implemented prior to December 11, 14
2010, or temporary layoffs if the reduced compensation is an integral 15
part of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by 16
the employer; 17
(ii) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by the state 18
or a local government employer during the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium 19
as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave without pay, 20
temporary layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the reduced 21
compensation is an integral part of the employer's expenditure 22
reduction efforts, as certified by the employer. Reductions to 23
current pay shall not include elimination of previously agreed upon 24
future salary increases; ((and))25
(iii) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by the state 26
or a local government employer during the 2019-2021 and 2021-2023 27
fiscal biennia as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave 28
without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions to current pay, 29
or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 budgetary 30
crisis, if the reduced compensation is an integral part of the 31
employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 32
employer. Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of 33
previously agreed upon future salary increases; and34
(iv) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by the state 35
or a local government employer and described in section 8 of this 36
act. 37
(16) "Fire department" includes a fire station operated by the 38
department of social and health services or the department of 39
p. 14 SB 5792
corrections when employing firefighters serving a prison or civil 1
commitment center on an island. 2
(17) "Firefighter" means: 3
(a) Any person who is serving on a full time, fully compensated 4
basis as a member of a fire department of an employer and who is 5
serving in a position which requires passing a civil service 6
examination for firefighter, and who is actively employed as such;7
(b) Anyone who is actively employed as a full time firefighter 8
where the fire department does not have a civil service examination;9
(c) Supervisory firefighter personnel; 10
(d) Any full time executive secretary of an association of fire 11
protection districts authorized under RCW 52.12.031. The provisions 12
of this subsection (17)(d) shall not apply to plan 2 members;13
(e) The executive secretary of a labor guild, association or 14
organization (which is an employer under subsection (14) of this 15
section), if such individual has five years previous membership in a 16
retirement system established in chapter 41.16 or 41.18 RCW. The 17
provisions of this subsection (17)(e) shall not apply to plan 2 18
members; 19
(f) Any person who is serving on a full time, fully compensated 20
basis for an employer, as a fire dispatcher, in a department in 21
which, on March 1, 1970, a dispatcher was required to have passed a 22
civil service examination for firefighter; 23
(g) Any person who on March 1, 1970, was employed on a full time, 24
fully compensated basis by an employer, and who on May 21, 1971, was 25
making retirement contributions under the provisions of chapter 41.16 26
or 41.18 RCW; 27
(h) Any person who is employed on a full-time, fully compensated 28
basis by an employer as an emergency medical technician that meets 29
the requirements of RCW 18.71.200 or 18.73.030(13), and whose duties 30
include providing emergency medical services as defined in RCW 31
18.73.030; and 32
(i) Personnel serving on a full-time, fully compensated basis as 33
an employee of a fire department in positions that necessitate 34
experience as a firefighter to perform the essential functions of 35
those positions. 36
(18) "General authority law enforcement agency" means any agency, 37
department, or division of a municipal corporation, political 38
subdivision, or other unit of local government of this state, the 39
government of a federally recognized tribe, and any agency, 40
p. 15 SB 5792
department, or division of state government, having as its primary 1
function the detection and apprehension of persons committing 2
infractions or violating the traffic or criminal laws in general, but 3
not including the Washington state patrol. Such an agency, 4
department, or division is distinguished from a limited authority law 5
enforcement agency having as one of its functions the apprehension or 6
detection of persons committing infractions or violating the traffic 7
or criminal laws relating to limited subject areas, including but not 8
limited to, the state departments of natural resources and social and 9
health services, the state gambling commission, the state lottery 10
commission, the state parks and recreation commission, the state 11
utilities and transportation commission, the state liquor and 12
cannabis board, and the state department of corrections. A general 13
authority law enforcement agency under this chapter does not include 14
a government contractor. 15
(19) "Law enforcement officer" beginning January 1, 1994, means 16
any person who is commissioned and employed by an employer on a full 17
time, fully compensated basis to enforce the criminal laws of the 18
state of Washington generally, with the following qualifications:19
(a) No person who is serving in a position that is basically 20
clerical or secretarial in nature, and who is not commissioned shall 21
be considered a law enforcement officer; 22
(b) Only those deputy sheriffs, including those serving under a 23
different title pursuant to county charter, who have successfully 24
completed a civil service examination for deputy sheriff or the 25
equivalent position, where a different title is used, and those 26
persons serving in unclassified positions authorized by RCW 41.14.070 27
except a private secretary will be considered law enforcement 28
officers; 29
(c) Only such full time commissioned law enforcement personnel as 30
have been appointed to offices, positions, or ranks in the police 31
department which have been specifically created or otherwise 32
expressly provided for and designated by city charter provision or by 33
ordinance enacted by the legislative body of the city shall be 34
considered city police officers; 35
(d) The term "law enforcement officer" also includes the 36
executive secretary of a labor guild, association or organization 37
(which is an employer under subsection (14) of this section) if that 38
individual has five years previous membership in the retirement 39
p. 16 SB 5792
system established in chapter 41.20 RCW. The provisions of this 1
subsection (19)(d) shall not apply to plan 2 members;2
(e) The term "law enforcement officer" also includes a person 3
employed on or after January 1, 1993, as a public safety officer or 4
director of public safety, so long as the job duties substantially 5
involve only either police or fire duties, or both, and no other 6
duties in a city or town with a population of less than ten thousand. 7
The provisions of this subsection (19)(e) shall not apply to any 8
public safety officer or director of public safety who is receiving a 9
retirement allowance under this chapter as of May 12, 1993;10
(f) The term "law enforcement officer" also includes a person who 11
is employed on or after January 1, 2024, on a full-time basis by the 12
government of a federally recognized tribe within the state of 13
Washington that meets the terms and conditions of RCW 41.26.565, is 14
employed in a police department maintained by that tribe, and who is 15
currently certified as a general authority peace officer under 16
chapter 43.101 RCW; and 17
(g) Beginning July 1, 2024, the term "law enforcement officer" 18
also includes any person who is commissioned and employed by an 19
employer on a fully compensated basis to enforce the criminal laws of 20
the state of Washington generally, on a less than full-time basis, 21
with the qualifications in (a) through (e) of this subsection.22
(20) "Medical services" for plan 1 members, shall include the 23
following as minimum services to be provided. Reasonable charges for 24
these services shall be paid in accordance with RCW 41.26.150.25
(a) Hospital expenses: These are the charges made by a hospital, 26
in its own behalf, for 27
(i) Board and room not to exceed semiprivate room rate unless 28
private room is required by the attending physician due to the 29
condition of the patient. 30
(ii) Necessary hospital services, other than board and room, 31
furnished by the hospital. 32
(b) Other medical expenses: The following charges are considered 33
"other medical expenses," provided that they have not been considered 34
as "hospital expenses." 35
(i) The fees of the following: 36
(A) A physician or surgeon licensed under the provisions of 37
chapter 18.71 RCW; 38
(B) An osteopathic physician and surgeon licensed under the 39
provisions of chapter 18.57 RCW; 40
p. 17 SB 5792
(C) A chiropractor licensed under the provisions of chapter 18.25 1
RCW. 2
(ii) The charges of a registered graduate nurse other than a 3
nurse who ordinarily resides in the member's home, or is a member of 4
the family of either the member or the member's spouse.5
(iii) The charges for the following medical services and 6
supplies: 7
(A) Drugs and medicines upon a physician's prescription;8
(B) Diagnostic X-ray and laboratory examinations;9
(C) X-ray, radium, and radioactive isotopes therapy;10
(D) Anesthesia and oxygen; 11
(E) Rental of iron lung and other durable medical and surgical 12
equipment; 13
(F) Artificial limbs and eyes, and casts, splints, and trusses;14
(G) Professional ambulance service when used to transport the 15
member to or from a hospital when injured by an accident or stricken 16
by a disease; 17
(H) Dental charges incurred by a member who sustains an 18
accidental injury to his or her teeth and who commences treatment by 19
a legally licensed dentist within ninety days after the accident;20
(I) Nursing home confinement or hospital extended care facility;21
(J) Physical therapy by a registered physical therapist;22
(K) Blood transfusions, including the cost of blood and blood 23
plasma not replaced by voluntary donors; 24
(L) An optometrist licensed under the provisions of chapter 18.53 25
RCW. 26
(21) "Member" means any firefighter, law enforcement officer, or 27
other person as would apply under subsection (17) or (19) of this 28
section whose membership is transferred to the Washington law 29
enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system on or after 30
March 1, 1970, and every law enforcement officer and firefighter who 31
is employed in that capacity on or after such date.32
(22) "Plan 1" means the law enforcement officers' and 33
firefighters' retirement system, plan 1 providing the benefits and 34
funding provisions covering persons who first became members of the 35
system prior to October 1, 1977. 36
(23) "Plan 2" means the law enforcement officers' and 37
firefighters' retirement system, plan 2 providing the benefits and 38
funding provisions covering persons who first became members of the 39
system on and after October 1, 1977. 40
p. 18 SB 5792
(24) "Position" means the employment held at any particular time, 1
which may or may not be the same as civil service rank.2
(25) "Regular interest" means such rate as the director may 3
determine. 4
(26) "Retiree" for persons who establish membership in the 5
retirement system on or after October 1, 1977, means any member in 6
receipt of a retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this 7
chapter resulting from service rendered to an employer by such 8
member. 9
(27) "Retirement fund" means the "Washington law enforcement 10
officers' and firefighters' retirement system fund" as provided for 11
herein. 12
(28) "Retirement system" means the "Washington law enforcement 13
officers' and firefighters' retirement system" provided herein.14
(29)(a) "Service" for plan 1 members, means all periods of 15
employment for an employer as a firefighter or law enforcement 16
officer, for which compensation is paid, together with periods of 17
suspension not exceeding thirty days in duration. For the purposes of 18
this chapter service shall also include service in the armed forces 19
of the United States as provided in RCW 41.26.190. Credit shall be 20
allowed for all service credit months of service rendered by a member 21
from and after the member's initial commencement of employment as a 22
firefighter or law enforcement officer, during which the member 23
worked for seventy or more hours, or was on disability leave or 24
disability retirement. Only service credit months of service shall be 25
counted in the computation of any retirement allowance or other 26
benefit provided for in this chapter. 27
(i) For members retiring after May 21, 1971, who were employed 28
under the coverage of a prior pension act before March 1, 1970, 29
"service" shall also include (A) such military service not exceeding 30
five years as was creditable to the member as of March 1, 1970, under 31
the member's particular prior pension act, and (B) such other periods 32
of service as were then creditable to a particular member under the 33
provisions of RCW 41.18.165, 41.20.160, or 41.20.170. However, in no 34
event shall credit be allowed for any service rendered prior to March 35
1, 1970, where the member at the time of rendition of such service 36
was employed in a position covered by a prior pension act, unless 37
such service, at the time credit is claimed therefor, is also 38
creditable under the provisions of such prior act.39
p. 19 SB 5792
(ii) A member who is employed by two employers at the same time 1
shall only be credited with service to one such employer for any 2
month during which the member rendered such dual service.3
(iii) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 4
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 5
situations as contemplated by subsection (15)(c)(iii) of this section 6
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 7
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 8
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 9
worked before the reduction. 10
(b)(i) "Service" for plan 2 members, means periods of employment 11
by a member for one or more employers for which basic salary is 12
earned for ninety or more hours per calendar month which shall 13
constitute a service credit month. Periods of employment by a member 14
for one or more employers for which basic salary is earned for at 15
least seventy hours but less than ninety hours per calendar month 16
shall constitute one-half service credit month. Periods of employment 17
by a member for one or more employers for which basic salary is 18
earned for less than seventy hours shall constitute a one-quarter 19
service credit month. 20
(ii) Members of the retirement system who are elected or 21
appointed to a state elective position may elect to continue to be 22
members of this retirement system. 23
(iii) Service credit years of service shall be determined by 24
dividing the total number of service credit months of service by 25
twelve. Any fraction of a service credit year of service as so 26
determined shall be taken into account in the computation of such 27
retirement allowance or benefits. 28
(iv) If a member receives basic salary from two or more employers 29
during any calendar month, the individual shall receive one service 30
credit month's service credit during any calendar month in which 31
multiple service for ninety or more hours is rendered; or one-half 32
service credit month's service credit during any calendar month in 33
which multiple service for at least seventy hours but less than 34
ninety hours is rendered; or one-quarter service credit month during 35
any calendar month in which multiple service for less than seventy 36
hours is rendered. 37
(v) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 38
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 39
situations as contemplated by subsection (15)(c)(iii) of this section 40
p. 20 SB 5792
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 1
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 2
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 3
worked before the reduction. 4
(30) "Service credit month" means a full service credit month or 5
an accumulation of partial service credit months that are equal to 6
one. 7
(31) "Service credit year" means an accumulation of months of 8
service credit which is equal to one when divided by twelve.9
(32) "State actuary" or "actuary" means the person appointed 10
pursuant to RCW 44.44.010(2). 11
(33) "State elective position" means any position held by any 12
person elected or appointed to statewide office or elected or 13
appointed as a member of the legislature. 14
(34) "Surviving spouse" means the surviving widow or widower of a 15
member. "Surviving spouse" shall not include the divorced spouse of a 16
member except as provided in RCW 41.26.162. 17
Sec. 10. RCW 41.32.010 and 2021 c 12 s 3 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly 20
required by the context: 21
(1)(a) "Accumulated contributions" for plan 1 members, means the 22
sum of all regular annuity contributions and, except for the purpose 23
of withdrawal at the time of retirement, any amount paid under RCW 24
41.50.165(2) with regular interest thereon. 25
(b) "Accumulated contributions" for plan 2 members, means the sum 26
of all contributions standing to the credit of a member in the 27
member's individual account, including any amount paid under RCW 28
41.50.165(2), together with the regular interest thereon.29
(2) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when 30
computed upon the basis of such mortality tables and regulations as 31
shall be adopted by the director and regular interest.32
(3) "Adjustment ratio" means the value of index A divided by 33
index B. 34
(4) "Annual increase" means, initially, fifty-nine cents per 35
month per year of service which amount shall be increased each July 36
1st by three percent, rounded to the nearest cent.37
(5) "Annuity" means the moneys payable per year during life by 38
reason of accumulated contributions of a member. 39
p. 21 SB 5792
(6) "Average final compensation" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, 1
means the member's average earnable compensation of the highest 2
consecutive sixty service credit months prior to such member's 3
retirement, termination, or death. Periods constituting authorized 4
leaves of absence may not be used in the calculation of average final 5
compensation except under RCW 41.32.810(2). 6
(7)(a) "Beneficiary" for plan 1 members, means any person in 7
receipt of a retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this 8
chapter. 9
(b) "Beneficiary" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means any person 10
in receipt of a retirement allowance or other benefit provided by 11
this chapter resulting from service rendered to an employer by 12
another person. 13
(8) "Contract" means any agreement for service and compensation 14
between a member and an employer. 15
(9) "Creditable service" means membership service plus prior 16
service for which credit is allowable. This subsection shall apply 17
only to plan 1 members. 18
(10) "Department" means the department of retirement systems 19
created in chapter 41.50 RCW. 20
(11) "Dependent" means receiving one-half or more of support from 21
a member. 22
(12) "Director" means the director of the department.23
(13) "Disability allowance" means monthly payments during 24
disability. This subsection shall apply only to plan 1 members.25
(14)(a) "Earnable compensation" for plan 1 members, means:26
(i) All salaries and wages paid by an employer to an employee 27
member of the retirement system for personal services rendered during 28
a fiscal year. In all cases where compensation includes maintenance 29
the employer shall fix the value of that part of the compensation not 30
paid in money. 31
(ii) For an employee member of the retirement system teaching in 32
an extended school year program, two consecutive extended school 33
years, as defined by the employer school district, may be used as the 34
annual period for determining earnable compensation in lieu of the 35
two fiscal years. 36
(iii) "Earnable compensation" for plan 1 members also includes 37
the following actual or imputed payments, which are not paid for 38
personal services: 39
p. 22 SB 5792
(A) Retroactive payments to an individual by an employer on 1
reinstatement of the employee in a position, or payments by an 2
employer to an individual in lieu of reinstatement in a position 3
which are awarded or granted as the equivalent of the salary or wages 4
which the individual would have earned during a payroll period shall 5
be considered earnable compensation and the individual shall receive 6
the equivalent service credit. 7
(B) If a leave of absence, without pay, is taken by a member for 8
the purpose of serving as a member of the state legislature, and such 9
member has served in the legislature five or more years, the salary 10
which would have been received for the position from which the leave 11
of absence was taken shall be considered as compensation earnable if 12
the employee's contribution thereon is paid by the employee. In 13
addition, where a member has been a member of the state legislature 14
for five or more years, earnable compensation for the member's two 15
highest compensated consecutive years of service shall include a sum 16
not to exceed thirty-six hundred dollars for each of such two 17
consecutive years, regardless of whether or not legislative service 18
was rendered during those two years. 19
(iv) For members employed less than full time under written 20
contract with a school district, or community college district, in an 21
instructional position, for which the member receives service credit 22
of less than one year in all of the years used to determine the 23
earnable compensation used for computing benefits due under RCW 24
41.32.497, 41.32.498, and 41.32.520, the member may elect to have 25
earnable compensation defined as provided in RCW 41.32.345. For the 26
purposes of this subsection, the term "instructional position" means 27
a position in which more than seventy-five percent of the member's 28
time is spent as a classroom instructor (including office hours), a 29
librarian, a psychologist, a social worker, a nurse, a physical 30
therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech language pathologist 31
or audiologist, or a counselor. Earnable compensation shall be so 32
defined only for the purpose of the calculation of retirement 33
benefits and only as necessary to insure that members who receive 34
fractional service credit under RCW 41.32.270 receive benefits 35
proportional to those received by members who have received full-time 36
service credit. 37
(v) "Earnable compensation" does not include: 38
(A) Remuneration for unused sick leave authorized under RCW 39
41.04.340, 28A.400.210, or 28A.310.490; 40
p. 23 SB 5792
(B) Remuneration for unused annual leave in excess of two hundred 1
forty hours as authorized by RCW 43.01.044 and 43.01.041.2
(b) "Earnable compensation" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means 3
salaries or wages earned by a member during a payroll period for 4
personal services, including overtime payments, and shall include 5
wages and salaries deferred under provisions established pursuant to 6
sections 403 (b), 414 (h), and 457 of the United States Internal 7
Revenue Code, but shall exclude lump sum payments for deferred annual 8
sick leave, unused accumulated vacation, unused accumulated annual 9
leave, or any form of severance pay. 10
"Earnable compensation" for plan 2 and plan 3 members also 11
includes the following actual or imputed payments which, except in 12
the case of (b)(ii)(B) of this subsection, are not paid for personal 13
services: 14
(i) Retroactive payments to an individual by an employer on 15
reinstatement of the employee in a position or payments by an 16
employer to an individual in lieu of reinstatement in a position 17
which are awarded or granted as the equivalent of the salary or wages 18
which the individual would have earned during a payroll period shall 19
be considered earnable compensation, to the extent provided above, 20
and the individual shall receive the equivalent service credit.21
(ii) In any year in which a member serves in the legislature the 22
member shall have the option of having such member's earnable 23
compensation be the greater of: 24
(A) The earnable compensation the member would have received had 25
such member not served in the legislature; or 26
(B) Such member's actual earnable compensation received for 27
teaching and legislative service combined. Any additional 28
contributions to the retirement system required because compensation 29
earnable under (b)(ii)(A) of this subsection is greater than 30
compensation earnable under (b)(ii)(B) of this subsection shall be 31
paid by the member for both member and employer contributions.32
(c) In calculating earnable compensation under (a) or (b) of this 33
subsection, the department of retirement systems shall include:34
(i) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by a state 35
agency or institution during the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium as a 36
result of reduced work hours, mandatory or voluntary leave without 37
pay, temporary reduction in pay implemented prior to December 11, 38
2010, or temporary layoffs if the reduced compensation is an integral 39
p. 24 SB 5792
part of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by 1
the employer; 2
(ii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2011-2013 3
fiscal biennium as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave 4
without pay, temporary layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the 5
reduced compensation is an integral part of the employer's 6
expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the employer. 7
Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of previously 8
agreed upon future salary reductions; ((and))9
(iii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2019-2021 10
and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia as a result of reduced work hours, 11
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions 12
to current pay, or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 13
budgetary crisis, if the reduced compensation is an integral part of 14
the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 15
employer. Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of 16
previously agreed upon future salary increases; and17
(iv) Any compensation forgone by a member and described in 18
section 8 of this act. 19
(15)(a) "Eligible position" for plan 2 members from June 7, 1990, 20
through September 1, 1991, means a position which normally requires 21
two or more uninterrupted months of creditable service during 22
September through August of the following year. 23
(b) "Eligible position" for plan 2 and plan 3 on and after 24
September 1, 1991, means a position that, as defined by the employer, 25
normally requires five or more months of at least seventy hours of 26
earnable compensation during September through August of the 27
following year. 28
(c) For purposes of this chapter an employer shall not define 29
"position" in such a manner that an employee's monthly work for that 30
employer is divided into more than one position. 31
(d) The elected position of the superintendent of public 32
instruction is an eligible position. 33
(16) "Employed" or "employee" means a person who is providing 34
services for compensation to an employer, unless the person is free 35
from the employer's direction and control over the performance of 36
work. The department shall adopt rules and interpret this subsection 37
consistent with common law. 38
(17) "Employer" means the state of Washington, the school 39
district, or any agency of the state of Washington by which the 40
p. 25 SB 5792
member is paid. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this 1
chapter, "employer" does not include a government contractor. For 2
purposes of this subsection, a "government contractor" is any entity, 3
including a partnership, limited liability company, for-profit or 4
nonprofit corporation, or person, that provides services pursuant to 5
a contract with an employer. The determination whether an employer-6
employee relationship has been established is not based on the 7
relationship between a government contractor and an employer, but is 8
based solely on the relationship between a government contractor's 9
employee and an employer under this chapter. For the purposes of 10
retirement plan membership, this subsection includes tribal schools 11
who have chosen to participate in the retirement system and satisfied 12
the requirements of RCW 28A.715.010(7). 13
(18) "Fiscal year" means a year which begins July 1st and ends 14
June 30th of the following year. 15
(19) "Former state fund" means the state retirement fund in 16
operation for teachers under chapter 187, Laws of 1923, as amended.17
(20) "Index" means, for any calendar year, that year's annual 18
average consumer price index, Seattle, Washington area, for urban 19
wage earners and clerical workers, all items compiled by the bureau 20
of labor statistics, United States department of labor.21
(21) "Index A" means the index for the year prior to the 22
determination of a postretirement adjustment. 23
(22) "Index B" means the index for the year prior to index A.24
(23) "Index year" means the earliest calendar year in which the 25
index is more than sixty percent of index A. 26
(24) "Local fund" means any of the local retirement funds for 27
teachers operated in any school district in accordance with the 28
provisions of chapter 163, Laws of 1917 as amended.29
(25) "Member" means any teacher included in the membership of the 30
retirement system who has not been removed from membership under RCW 31
41.32.878 or 41.32.768. Also, any other employee of the public 32
schools who, on July 1, 1947, had not elected to be exempt from 33
membership and who, prior to that date, had by an authorized payroll 34
deduction, contributed to the member reserve. 35
(26) "Member account" or "member's account" for purposes of plan 36
3 means the sum of the contributions and earnings on behalf of the 37
member in the defined contribution portion of plan 3.38
(27) "Member reserve" means the fund in which all of the 39
accumulated contributions of members are held. 40
p. 26 SB 5792
(28) "Membership service" means service rendered subsequent to 1
the first day of eligibility of a person to membership in the 2
retirement system: PROVIDED, That where a member is employed by two 3
or more employers the individual shall receive no more than one 4
service credit month during any calendar month in which multiple 5
service is rendered. The provisions of this subsection shall apply 6
only to plan 1 members. 7
(29) "Pension" means the moneys payable per year during life from 8
the pension reserve. 9
(30) "Pension reserve" is a fund in which shall be accumulated an 10
actuarial reserve adequate to meet present and future pension 11
liabilities of the system and from which all pension obligations are 12
to be paid. 13
(31) "Plan 1" means the teachers' retirement system, plan 1 14
providing the benefits and funding provisions covering persons who 15
first became members of the system prior to October 1, 1977.16
(32) "Plan 2" means the teachers' retirement system, plan 2 17
providing the benefits and funding provisions covering persons who 18
first became members of the system on and after October 1, 1977, and 19
prior to July 1, 1996. 20
(33) "Plan 3" means the teachers' retirement system, plan 3 21
providing the benefits and funding provisions covering persons who 22
first become members of the system on and after July 1, 1996, or who 23
transfer under RCW 41.32.817. 24
(34) "Prior service" means service rendered prior to the first 25
date of eligibility to membership in the retirement system for which 26
credit is allowable. The provisions of this subsection shall apply 27
only to plan 1 members. 28
(35) "Prior service contributions" means contributions made by a 29
member to secure credit for prior service. The provisions of this 30
subsection shall apply only to plan 1 members. 31
(36) "Public school" means any institution or activity operated 32
by the state of Washington or any instrumentality or political 33
subdivision thereof employing teachers, except the University of 34
Washington and Washington State University. For the purposes of 35
retirement plan membership, this subsection includes tribal schools 36
who have chosen to participate in the retirement system and satisfied 37
the requirements of RCW 28A.715.010(7). 38
(37) "Regular contributions" means the amounts required to be 39
deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to the 40
p. 27 SB 5792
member's individual account in the member reserve. This subsection 1
shall apply only to plan 1 members. 2
(38) "Regular interest" means such rate as the director may 3
determine. 4
(39) "Retiree" means any person who has begun accruing a 5
retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this chapter 6
resulting from service rendered to an employer while a member.7
(40)(a) "Retirement allowance" for plan 1 members, means monthly 8
payments based on the sum of annuity and pension, or any optional 9
benefits payable in lieu thereof. 10
(b) "Retirement allowance" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means 11
monthly payments to a retiree or beneficiary as provided in this 12
chapter. 13
(41) "Retirement system" means the Washington state teachers' 14
retirement system. 15
(42) "Separation from service or employment" occurs when a person 16
has terminated all employment with an employer. Separation from 17
service or employment does not occur, and if claimed by an employer 18
or employee may be a violation of RCW 41.32.055, when an employee and 19
employer have a written or oral agreement to resume employment with 20
the same employer following termination. Mere expressions or 21
inquiries about postretirement employment by an employer or employee 22
that do not constitute a commitment to reemploy the employee after 23
retirement are not an agreement under this section.24
(43)(a) "Service" for plan 1 members means the time during which 25
a member has been employed by an employer for compensation.26
(i) If a member is employed by two or more employers the 27
individual shall receive no more than one service credit month during 28
any calendar month in which multiple service is rendered.29
(ii) As authorized by RCW 28A.400.300, up to forty-five days of 30
sick leave may be creditable as service solely for the purpose of 31
determining eligibility to retire under RCW 41.32.470.32
(iii) As authorized in RCW 41.32.065, service earned in an out-33
of-state retirement system that covers teachers in public schools may 34
be applied solely for the purpose of determining eligibility to 35
retire under RCW 41.32.470. 36
(iv) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 37
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 38
situations as contemplated by subsection (14)(c)(iii) of this section 39
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 40
p. 28 SB 5792
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 1
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 2
worked before the reduction. 3
(b) "Service" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means periods of 4
employment by a member for one or more employers for which earnable 5
compensation is earned subject to the following conditions:6
(i) A member employed in an eligible position or as a substitute 7
shall receive one service credit month for each month of September 8
through August of the following year if he or she earns earnable 9
compensation for eight hundred ten or more hours during that period 10
and is employed during nine of those months, except that a member may 11
not receive credit for any period prior to the member's employment in 12
an eligible position except as provided in RCW 41.32.812 and 13
41.50.132. 14
(ii) Any other member employed in an eligible position or as a 15
substitute who earns earnable compensation during the period from 16
September through August shall receive service credit according to 17
one of the following methods, whichever provides the most service 18
credit to the member: 19
(A) If a member is employed either in an eligible position or as 20
a substitute teacher for nine months of the twelve-month period 21
between September through August of the following year but earns 22
earnable compensation for less than eight hundred ten hours but for 23
at least six hundred thirty hours, he or she will receive one-half of 24
a service credit month for each month of the twelve-month period;25
(B) If a member is employed in an eligible position or as a 26
substitute teacher for at least five months of a six-month period 27
between September through August of the following year and earns 28
earnable compensation for six hundred thirty or more hours within the 29
six-month period, he or she will receive a maximum of six service 30
credit months for the school year, which shall be recorded as one 31
service credit month for each month of the six-month period;32
(C) All other members employed in an eligible position or as a 33
substitute teacher shall receive service credit as follows:34
(I) A service credit month is earned in those calendar months 35
where earnable compensation is earned for ninety or more hours;36
(II) A half-service credit month is earned in those calendar 37
months where earnable compensation is earned for at least seventy 38
hours but less than ninety hours; and 39
p. 29 SB 5792
(III) A quarter-service credit month is earned in those calendar 1
months where earnable compensation is earned for less than seventy 2
hours. 3
(iii) Any person who is a member of the teachers' retirement 4
system and who is elected or appointed to a state elective position 5
may continue to be a member of the retirement system and continue to 6
receive a service credit month for each of the months in a state 7
elective position by making the required member contributions.8
(iv) When an individual is employed by two or more employers the 9
individual shall only receive one month's service credit during any 10
calendar month in which multiple service for ninety or more hours is 11
rendered. 12
(v) As authorized by RCW 28A.400.300, up to forty-five days of 13
sick leave may be creditable as service solely for the purpose of 14
determining eligibility to retire under RCW 41.32.470. For purposes 15
of plan 2 and plan 3 "forty-five days" as used in RCW 28A.400.300 is 16
equal to two service credit months. Use of less than forty-five days 17
of sick leave is creditable as allowed under this subsection as 18
follows: 19
(A) Less than eleven days equals one-quarter service credit 20
month; 21
(B) Eleven or more days but less than twenty-two days equals one-22
half service credit month; 23
(C) Twenty-two days equals one service credit month;24
(D) More than twenty-two days but less than thirty-three days 25
equals one and one-quarter service credit month; 26
(E) Thirty-three or more days but less than forty-five days 27
equals one and one-half service credit month. 28
(vi) As authorized in RCW 41.32.065, service earned in an out-of-29
state retirement system that covers teachers in public schools may be 30
applied solely for the purpose of determining eligibility to retire 31
under RCW 41.32.470. 32
(vii) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 33
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 34
situations as contemplated by subsection (14)(c)(iii) of this section 35
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 36
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 37
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 38
worked before the reduction. 39
p. 30 SB 5792
(viii) The department shall adopt rules implementing this 1
subsection. 2
(44) "Service credit month" means a full service credit month or 3
an accumulation of partial service credit months that are equal to 4
one. 5
(45) "Service credit year" means an accumulation of months of 6
service credit which is equal to one when divided by twelve.7
(46) "State actuary" or "actuary" means the person appointed 8
pursuant to RCW 44.44.010(2). 9
(47) "State elective position" means any position held by any 10
person elected or appointed to statewide office or elected or 11
appointed as a member of the legislature. 12
(48) "Substitute teacher" means: 13
(a) A teacher who is hired by an employer to work as a temporary 14
teacher, except for teachers who are annual contract employees of an 15
employer and are guaranteed a minimum number of hours; or16
(b) Teachers who either (i) work in ineligible positions for more 17
than one employer or (ii) work in an ineligible position or positions 18
together with an eligible position. 19
(49) "Teacher" means any person qualified to teach who is engaged 20
by a public school in an instructional, administrative, or 21
supervisory capacity. The term includes state, educational service 22
district, and school district superintendents and their assistants 23
and all employees certificated by the superintendent of public 24
instruction; and in addition thereto any full time school doctor who 25
is employed by a public school and renders service of an 26
instructional or educational nature. 27
Sec. 11. RCW 41.37.010 and 2024 c 359 s 1 are each amended to 28
read as follows: 29
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 30
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 31
(1) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all 32
contributions standing to the credit of a member in the member's 33
individual account, including any amount paid under RCW 41.50.165(2), 34
together with the regular interest thereon. 35
(2) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when 36
computed upon the basis of such mortality and other tables as may be 37
adopted by the director. 38
p. 31 SB 5792
(3) "Adjustment ratio" means the value of index A divided by 1
index B. 2
(4) "Annuity" means payments for life derived from accumulated 3
contributions of a member. All annuities shall be paid in monthly 4
installments. 5
(5)(a) "Average final compensation" means the member's average 6
compensation earnable of the highest consecutive sixty months of 7
service credit months prior to such member's retirement, termination, 8
or death. Periods constituting authorized leaves of absence may not 9
be used in the calculation of average final compensation except under 10
RCW 41.37.290. 11
(b) In calculating average final compensation under (a) of this 12
subsection, the department of retirement systems shall include:13
(i) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by a state 14
agency or institution during the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium as a 15
result of reduced work hours, mandatory or voluntary leave without 16
pay, temporary reduction in pay implemented prior to December 11, 17
2010, or temporary layoffs if the reduced compensation is an integral 18
part of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by 19
the employer; 20
(ii) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by the state 21
or a local government employer during the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium 22
as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave without pay, 23
temporary layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the reduced 24
compensation is an integral part of the employer's expenditure 25
reduction efforts, as certified by the employer. Reductions to 26
current pay shall not include elimination of previously agreed upon 27
future salary increases; ((and))28
(iii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2019-2021 29
and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia as a result of reduced work hours, 30
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions 31
to current pay, or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 32
budgetary crisis, if the reduced compensation is an integral part of 33
the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 34
employer. Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of 35
previously agreed upon future salary increases; and36
(iv) Any compensation forgone by a member and described in 37
section 8 of this act. 38
p. 32 SB 5792
(6) "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of a retirement 1
allowance or other benefit provided by this chapter resulting from 2
service rendered to an employer by another person. 3
(7)(a) "Compensation earnable" for members, means salaries or 4
wages earned by a member during a payroll period for personal 5
services, including overtime payments, and shall include wages and 6
salaries deferred under provisions established pursuant to sections 7
403(b), 414 (h), and 457 of the United States internal revenue code, 8
but shall exclude nonmoney maintenance compensation and lump sum or 9
other payments for deferred annual sick leave, unused accumulated 10
vacation, unused accumulated annual leave, or any form of severance 11
pay. 12
(b) "Compensation earnable" for members also includes the 13
following actual or imputed payments, which are not paid for personal 14
services: 15
(i) Retroactive payments to an individual by an employer on 16
reinstatement of the employee in a position, or payments by an 17
employer to an individual in lieu of reinstatement, which are awarded 18
or granted as the equivalent of the salary or wage which the 19
individual would have earned during a payroll period shall be 20
considered compensation earnable to the extent provided in this 21
subsection, and the individual shall receive the equivalent service 22
credit; 23
(ii) In any year in which a member serves in the legislature, the 24
member shall have the option of having such member's compensation 25
earnable be the greater of: 26
(A) The compensation earnable the member would have received had 27
such member not served in the legislature; or 28
(B) Such member's actual compensation earnable received for 29
nonlegislative public employment and legislative service combined. 30
Any additional contributions to the retirement system required 31
because compensation earnable under (b)(ii)(A) of this subsection is 32
greater than compensation earnable under (b)(ii)(B) of this 33
subsection shall be paid by the member for both member and employer 34
contributions; 35
(iii) Assault pay only as authorized by RCW 27.04.100, 72.01.045, 36
and 72.09.240; 37
(iv) Compensation that a member would have received but for a 38
disability occurring in the line of duty only as authorized by RCW 39
41.37.060; 40
p. 33 SB 5792
(v) Compensation that a member receives due to participation in 1
the leave sharing program only as authorized by RCW 41.04.650 through 2
41.04.670; and 3
(vi) Compensation that a member receives for being in standby 4
status. For the purposes of this section, a member is in standby 5
status when not being paid for time actually worked and the employer 6
requires the member to be prepared to report immediately for work, if 7
the need arises, although the need may not arise. 8
(8) "Department" means the department of retirement systems 9
created in chapter 41.50 RCW. 10
(9) "Director" means the director of the department.11
(10) "Eligible position" means any permanent, full-time position 12
included in subsection (19) of this section. 13
(11) "Employee" or "employed" means a person who is providing 14
services for compensation to an employer, unless the person is free 15
from the employer's direction and control over the performance of 16
work. The department shall adopt rules and interpret this subsection 17
consistent with common law. 18
(12)(a) "Employer" means: 19
(i) The Washington state department of corrections;20
(ii) The Washington state parks and recreation commission;21
(iii) The Washington state gambling commission;22
(iv) The Washington state patrol; 23
(v) The Washington state department of natural resources;24
(vi) The Washington state liquor and cannabis board;25
(vii) The Washington state department of veterans affairs;26
(viii) The Washington state department of children, youth, and 27
families; 28
(ix) The Washington state department of social and health 29
services; 30
(x) Any county corrections department; 31
(xi) Any city corrections department not covered under chapter 32
41.28 RCW; 33
(xii) Any public corrections entity created under RCW 39.34.030 34
by counties, cities not covered under chapter 41.28 RCW, or both; and35
(xiii) Any employer participating in the public employees' 36
retirement system in chapter 41.40 RCW, some or all of whose 37
employees' primary responsibility is to receive, process, transmit, 38
or dispatch 911 emergency and nonemergency calls for law enforcement, 39
p. 34 SB 5792
fire, emergency medical, or other public safety services that is not 1
already covered by the provisions of this subsection.2
(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, 3
"employer" does not include a government contractor. For purposes of 4
this subsection, a "government contractor" is any entity, including a 5
partnership, limited liability company, for-profit or nonprofit 6
corporation, or person, that provides services pursuant to a contract 7
with an employer. The determination whether an employer-employee 8
relationship has been established is not based on the relationship 9
between a government contractor and an employer, but is based solely 10
on the relationship between a government contractor's employee and an 11
employer under this chapter. 12
(13) "Final compensation" means the annual rate of compensation 13
earnable by a member at the time of termination of employment.14
(14) "Index" means, for any calendar year, that year's annual 15
average consumer price index, Seattle, Washington area, for urban 16
wage earners and clerical workers, all items, compiled by the bureau 17
of labor statistics, United States department of labor.18
(15) "Index A" means the index for the year prior to the 19
determination of a postretirement adjustment. 20
(16) "Index B" means the index for the year prior to index A.21
(17) "Ineligible position" means any position which does not 22
conform with the requirements set forth in subsection (10) of this 23
section. 24
(18) "Leave of absence" means the period of time a member is 25
authorized by the employer to be absent from service without being 26
separated from membership. 27
(19) "Member" means any employee employed by an employer on a 28
full-time basis: 29
(a) Who is in a position that requires completion of a certified 30
criminal justice training course and is authorized by their employer 31
to arrest, conduct criminal investigations, enforce the criminal laws 32
of the state of Washington, and carry a firearm as part of the job;33
(b) Whose primary responsibility is to ensure the custody and 34
security of incarcerated or probationary individuals as a corrections 35
officer, probation officer, or jailer; 36
(c) Who is a limited authority Washington peace officer, as 37
defined in RCW 10.93.020, for an employer; 38
(d) Whose primary responsibility is to provide nursing care to, 39
or to ensure the custody and safety of, offender, adult probationary, 40
p. 35 SB 5792
or patient populations; and who is in a position that requires 1
completion of defensive tactics training or de-escalation training; 2
and who is employed by one of the following state institutions or 3
centers operated by the department of social and health services or 4
the department of children, youth, and families: 5
(i) Juvenile rehabilitation administration institutions, not 6
including community facilities; 7
(ii) Mental health hospitals; 8
(iii) Child study and treatment centers; or 9
(iv) Institutions or residential sites that serve developmentally 10
disabled patients or offenders, or perform competency restoration 11
services, or serve civilly committed residents, or serve patients 12
under not guilty by reason of insanity findings, except for state-13
operated living alternatives facilities; 14
(e) Whose primary responsibility is to provide nursing care to 15
offender and patient populations in institutions and centers operated 16
by the following employers: A city or county corrections department 17
as set forth in subsection (12) of this section, a public corrections 18
entity as set forth in subsection (12) of this section, the 19
Washington state department of corrections, or the Washington state 20
department of veterans affairs; 21
(f) Whose primary responsibility is to receive, process, 22
transmit, or dispatch 911 emergency and nonemergency calls for law 23
enforcement, fire, emergency medical, or other public safety 24
services, or to supervise those employees; or 25
(g) Whose primary responsibility is to supervise members eligible 26
under this subsection. 27
(20) "Membership service" means all service rendered as a member.28
(21) "Pension" means payments for life derived from contributions 29
made by the employer. All pensions shall be paid in monthly 30
installments. 31
(22) "Plan" means the Washington public safety employees' 32
retirement system plan 2. 33
(23) "Regular interest" means such rate as the director may 34
determine. 35
(24) "Retiree" means any person who has begun accruing a 36
retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this chapter 37
resulting from service rendered to an employer while a member.38
(25) "Retirement" means withdrawal from active service with a 39
retirement allowance as provided by this chapter. 40
p. 36 SB 5792
(26) "Retirement allowance" means monthly payments to a retiree 1
or beneficiary as provided in this chapter. 2
(27) "Retirement system" means the Washington public safety 3
employees' retirement system provided for in this chapter.4
(28) "Separation from service" occurs when a person has 5
terminated all employment with an employer. 6
(29) "Service" means periods of employment by a member on or 7
after July 1, 2006, for one or more employers for which compensation 8
earnable is paid. Compensation earnable earned for ninety or more 9
hours in any calendar month shall constitute one service credit 10
month. Compensation earnable earned for at least seventy hours but 11
less than ninety hours in any calendar month shall constitute one-12
half service credit month of service. Compensation earnable earned 13
for less than seventy hours in any calendar month shall constitute 14
one-quarter service credit month of service. Time spent in standby 15
status, whether compensated or not, is not service.16
Any fraction of a year of service shall be taken into account in 17
the computation of such retirement allowance or benefits.18
(a) Service in any state elective position shall be deemed to be 19
full-time service. 20
(b) A member shall receive a total of not more than twelve 21
service credit months of service for such calendar year. If an 22
individual is employed in an eligible position by one or more 23
employers the individual shall receive no more than one service 24
credit month during any calendar month in which multiple service for 25
ninety or more hours is rendered. 26
(c) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 27
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 28
situations as contemplated by subsection (5)(b)(iii) of this section 29
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 30
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 31
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 32
worked before the reduction. 33
(30) "Service credit month" means a month or an accumulation of 34
months of service credit which is equal to one. 35
(31) "Service credit year" means an accumulation of months of 36
service credit which is equal to one when divided by twelve.37
(32) "State actuary" or "actuary" means the person appointed 38
pursuant to RCW 44.44.010(2). 39
p. 37 SB 5792
(33) "State elective position" means any position held by any 1
person elected or appointed to statewide office or elected or 2
appointed as a member of the legislature. 3
(34) "State treasurer" means the treasurer of the state of 4
Washington. 5
Sec. 12. RCW 41.40.010 and 2024 c 151 s 3 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly 8
required by the context: 9
(1) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all 10
contributions standing to the credit of a member in the member's 11
individual account, including any amount paid under RCW 41.50.165(2), 12
together with the regular interest thereon. 13
(2) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when 14
computed upon the basis of such mortality and other tables as may be 15
adopted by the director. 16
(3) "Adjustment ratio" means the value of index A divided by 17
index B. 18
(4) "Annual increase" means, initially, 59 cents per month per 19
year of service which amount shall be increased each July 1st by 20
three percent, rounded to the nearest cent. 21
(5) "Annuity" means payments for life derived from accumulated 22
contributions of a member. All annuities shall be paid in monthly 23
installments. 24
(6)(a) "Average final compensation" for plan 1 members, means the 25
annual average of the greatest compensation earnable by a member 26
during any consecutive two year period of service credit months for 27
which service credit is allowed; or if the member has less than two 28
years of service credit months then the annual average compensation 29
earnable during the total years of service for which service credit 30
is allowed. 31
(b) "Average final compensation" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, 32
means the member's average compensation earnable of the highest 33
consecutive sixty months of service credit months prior to such 34
member's retirement, termination, or death. Periods constituting 35
authorized leaves of absence may not be used in the calculation of 36
average final compensation except under RCW 41.40.710(2) or (c) of 37
this subsection. 38
p. 38 SB 5792
(c) In calculating average final compensation under this 1
subsection for a member of plan 1, 2, or 3, the department of 2
retirement systems shall include: 3
(i) Any compensation forgone by the member during the 2009-2011 4
fiscal biennium as a result of reduced work hours, voluntary leave 5
without pay, temporary reduction in pay implemented prior to December 6
11, 2010, or temporary furloughs if the reduced compensation is an 7
integral part of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as 8
certified by the employer; 9
(ii) Any compensation forgone by a member employed by the state 10
or a local government during the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium as a 11
result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave without pay, temporary 12
layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the reduced compensation is 13
an integral part of the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as 14
certified by the employer. Reductions to current pay shall not 15
include elimination of previously agreed upon future salary 16
increases; ((and))17
(iii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2019-2021 18
and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia as a result of reduced work hours, 19
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions 20
to current pay, or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 21
budgetary crisis, if the reduced compensation is an integral part of 22
the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 23
employer. Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of 24
previously agreed upon future salary increases; and25
(iv) Any compensation forgone by a member and described in 26
section 8 of this act. 27
(7)(a) "Beneficiary" for plan 1 members, means any person in 28
receipt of a retirement allowance, pension or other benefit provided 29
by this chapter. 30
(b) "Beneficiary" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means any person 31
in receipt of a retirement allowance or other benefit provided by 32
this chapter resulting from service rendered to an employer by 33
another person. 34
(8)(a) "Compensation earnable" for plan 1 members, means salaries 35
or wages earned during a payroll period for personal services and 36
where the compensation is not all paid in money, maintenance 37
compensation shall be included upon the basis of the schedules 38
established by the member's employer. 39
p. 39 SB 5792
(i) "Compensation earnable" for plan 1 members also includes the 1
following actual or imputed payments, which are not paid for personal 2
services: 3
(A) Retroactive payments to an individual by an employer on 4
reinstatement of the employee in a position, or payments by an 5
employer to an individual in lieu of reinstatement in a position 6
which are awarded or granted as the equivalent of the salary or wage 7
which the individual would have earned during a payroll period shall 8
be considered compensation earnable and the individual shall receive 9
the equivalent service credit; 10
(B) If a leave of absence is taken by an individual for the 11
purpose of serving in the state legislature, the salary which would 12
have been received for the position from which the leave of absence 13
was taken, shall be considered as compensation earnable if the 14
employee's contribution is paid by the employee and the employer's 15
contribution is paid by the employer or employee; 16
(C) Assault pay only as authorized by RCW 27.04.100, 72.01.045, 17
and 72.09.240; 18
(D) Compensation that a member would have received but for a 19
disability occurring in the line of duty only as authorized by RCW 20
41.40.038; 21
(E) Compensation that a member receives due to participation in 22
the leave sharing program only as authorized by RCW 41.04.650 through 23
41.04.670; and 24
(F) Compensation that a member receives for being in standby 25
status. For the purposes of this section, a member is in standby 26
status when not being paid for time actually worked and the employer 27
requires the member to be prepared to report immediately for work, if 28
the need arises, although the need may not arise. 29
(ii) "Compensation earnable" does not include:30
(A) Remuneration for unused sick leave authorized under RCW 31
41.04.340, 28A.400.210, or 28A.310.490; 32
(B) Remuneration for unused annual leave in excess of 240 hours.33
(b) "Compensation earnable" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means 34
salaries or wages earned by a member during a payroll period for 35
personal services, including overtime payments, and shall include 36
wages and salaries deferred under provisions established pursuant to 37
sections 403 (b), 414 (h), and 457 of the United States Internal 38
Revenue Code, but shall exclude nonmoney maintenance compensation and 39
lump sum or other payments for deferred annual sick leave, unused 40
p. 40 SB 5792
accumulated vacation, unused accumulated annual leave, or any form of 1
severance pay. 2
"Compensation earnable" for plan 2 and plan 3 members also 3
includes the following actual or imputed payments, which are not paid 4
for personal services: 5
(i) Retroactive payments to an individual by an employer on 6
reinstatement of the employee in a position, or payments by an 7
employer to an individual in lieu of reinstatement in a position 8
which are awarded or granted as the equivalent of the salary or wage 9
which the individual would have earned during a payroll period shall 10
be considered compensation earnable to the extent provided above, and 11
the individual shall receive the equivalent service credit;12
(ii) In any year in which a member serves in the legislature, the 13
member shall have the option of having such member's compensation 14
earnable be the greater of: 15
(A) The compensation earnable the member would have received had 16
such member not served in the legislature; or 17
(B) Such member's actual compensation earnable received for 18
nonlegislative public employment and legislative service combined. 19
Any additional contributions to the retirement system required 20
because compensation earnable under (b)(ii)(A) of this subsection is 21
greater than compensation earnable under (b)(ii)(B) of this 22
subsection shall be paid by the member for both member and employer 23
contributions; 24
(iii) Assault pay only as authorized by RCW 27.04.100, 72.01.045, 25
and 72.09.240; 26
(iv) Compensation that a member would have received but for a 27
disability occurring in the line of duty only as authorized by RCW 28
41.40.038; 29
(v) Compensation that a member receives due to participation in 30
the leave sharing program only as authorized by RCW 41.04.650 through 31
41.04.670; and 32
(vi) Compensation that a member receives for being in standby 33
status. For the purposes of this section, a member is in standby 34
status when not being paid for time actually worked and the employer 35
requires the member to be prepared to report immediately for work, if 36
the need arises, although the need may not arise. 37
(9) "Department" means the department of retirement systems 38
created in chapter 41.50 RCW. 39
(10) "Director" means the director of the department.40
p. 41 SB 5792
(11) "Eligible position" means: 1
(a) Any position that, as defined by the employer, normally 2
requires five or more months of service a year for which regular 3
compensation for at least seventy hours is earned by the occupant 4
thereof. For purposes of this chapter an employer shall not define 5
"position" in such a manner that an employee's monthly work for that 6
employer is divided into more than one position; 7
(b) Any position occupied by an elected official or person 8
appointed directly by the governor, or appointed by the chief justice 9
of the supreme court under RCW 2.04.240(2) or 2.06.150(2), for which 10
compensation is paid. 11
(12) "Employee" or "employed" means a person who is providing 12
services for compensation to an employer, unless the person is free 13
from the employer's direction and control over the performance of 14
work. The department shall adopt rules and interpret this subsection 15
consistent with common law. 16
(13)(a) "Employer" for plan 1 members, means every branch, 17
department, agency, commission, board, and office of the state, any 18
political subdivision or association of political subdivisions of the 19
state admitted into the retirement system, and legal entities 20
authorized by RCW 35.63.070 and 36.70.060 or chapter 39.34 RCW; and 21
the term shall also include any labor guild, association, or 22
organization the membership of a local lodge or division of which is 23
comprised of at least forty percent employees of an employer (other 24
than such labor guild, association, or organization) within this 25
chapter. The term may also include any city of the first class that 26
has its own retirement system. 27
(b) "Employer" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means every branch, 28
department, agency, commission, board, and office of the state, and 29
any political subdivision and municipal corporation of the state 30
admitted into the retirement system, including public agencies 31
created pursuant to RCW 35.63.070, 36.70.060, and 39.34.030; except 32
that after August 31, 2000, school districts and educational service 33
districts will no longer be employers for the public employees' 34
retirement system plan 2. 35
(c) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, 36
"employer" does not include a government contractor. For purposes of 37
this subsection, a "government contractor" is any entity, including a 38
partnership, limited liability company, for-profit or nonprofit 39
corporation, or person, that provides services pursuant to a contract 40
p. 42 SB 5792
with an "employer." The determination whether an employer-employee 1
relationship has been established is not based on the relationship 2
between a government contractor and an "employer," but is based 3
solely on the relationship between a government contractor's employee 4
and an "employer" under this chapter. 5
(d) "Employer" does not include a comprehensive cancer center 6
participating in a collaborative arrangement as defined in RCW 7
28B.10.930 that is operated in conformance with RCW 28B.10.930.8
(14) "Final compensation" means the annual rate of compensation 9
earnable by a member at the time of termination of employment.10
(15) "Index" means, for any calendar year, that year's annual 11
average consumer price index, Seattle, Washington area, for urban 12
wage earners and clerical workers, all items, compiled by the bureau 13
of labor statistics, United States department of labor.14
(16) "Index A" means the index for the year prior to the 15
determination of a postretirement adjustment. 16
(17) "Index B" means the index for the year prior to index A.17
(18) "Index year" means the earliest calendar year in which the 18
index is more than 60 percent of index A. 19
(19) "Ineligible position" means any position which does not 20
conform with the requirements set forth in subsection (11) of this 21
section. 22
(20) "Leave of absence" means the period of time a member is 23
authorized by the employer to be absent from service without being 24
separated from membership. 25
(21) "Member" means any employee included in the membership of 26
the retirement system, as provided for in RCW 41.40.023. RCW 27
41.26.045 does not prohibit a person otherwise eligible for 28
membership in the retirement system from establishing such membership 29
effective when he or she first entered an eligible position.30
(22) "Member account" or "member's account" for purposes of plan 31
3 means the sum of the contributions and earnings on behalf of the 32
member in the defined contribution portion of plan 3.33
(23) "Membership service" means: 34
(a) All service rendered, as a member, after October 1, 1947;35
(b) All service after October 1, 1947, to any employer prior to 36
the time of its admission into the retirement system for which member 37
and employer contributions, plus interest as required by RCW 38
41.50.125, have been paid under RCW 41.40.056 or 41.40.057;39
p. 43 SB 5792
(c) Service not to exceed six consecutive months of probationary 1
service rendered after April 1, 1949, and prior to becoming a member, 2
in the case of any member, upon payment in full by such member of the 3
total amount of the employer's contribution to the retirement fund 4
which would have been required under the law in effect when such 5
probationary service was rendered if the member had been a member 6
during such period, except that the amount of the employer's 7
contribution shall be calculated by the director based on the first 8
month's compensation earnable as a member; 9
(d) Service not to exceed six consecutive months of probationary 10
service, rendered after October 1, 1947, and before April 1, 1949, 11
and prior to becoming a member, in the case of any member, upon 12
payment in full by such member of five percent of such member's 13
salary during said period of probationary service, except that the 14
amount of the employer's contribution shall be calculated by the 15
director based on the first month's compensation earnable as a 16
member. 17
(24) "New member" means a person who becomes a member on or after 18
April 1, 1949, except as otherwise provided in this section.19
(25) "Original member" of this retirement system means:20
(a) Any person who became a member of the system prior to April 21
1, 1949; 22
(b) Any person who becomes a member through the admission of an 23
employer into the retirement system on and after April 1, 1949, and 24
prior to April 1, 1951; 25
(c) Any person who first becomes a member by securing employment 26
with an employer prior to April 1, 1951, provided the member has 27
rendered at least one or more years of service to any employer prior 28
to October 1, 1947; 29
(d) Any person who first becomes a member through the admission 30
of an employer into the retirement system on or after April 1, 1951, 31
provided, such person has been in the regular employ of the employer 32
for at least six months of the 12-month period preceding the said 33
admission date; 34
(e) Any member who has restored all contributions that may have 35
been withdrawn as provided by RCW 41.40.150 and who on the effective 36
date of the individual's retirement becomes entitled to be credited 37
with 10 years or more of membership service except that the 38
provisions relating to the minimum amount of retirement allowance for 39
p. 44 SB 5792
the member upon retirement at age 70 as found in RCW 41.40.190(4) 1
shall not apply to the member; 2
(f) Any member who has been a contributor under the system for 3
two or more years and who has restored all contributions that may 4
have been withdrawn as provided by RCW 41.40.150 and who on the 5
effective date of the individual's retirement has rendered five or 6
more years of service for the state or any political subdivision 7
prior to the time of the admission of the employer into the system; 8
except that the provisions relating to the minimum amount of 9
retirement allowance for the member upon retirement at age 70 as 10
found in RCW 41.40.190(4) shall not apply to the member.11
(26) "Pension" means payments for life derived from contributions 12
made by the employer. All pensions shall be paid in monthly 13
installments. 14
(27) "Plan 1" means the public employees' retirement system, plan 15
1 providing the benefits and funding provisions covering persons who 16
first became members of the system prior to October 1, 1977.17
(28) "Plan 2" means the public employees' retirement system, plan 18
2 providing the benefits and funding provisions covering persons who 19
first became members of the system on and after October 1, 1977, and 20
are not included in plan 3. 21
(29) "Plan 3" means the public employees' retirement system, plan 22
3 providing the benefits and funding provisions covering persons who:23
(a) First become a member on or after: 24
(i) March 1, 2002, and are employed by a state agency or 25
institute of higher education and who did not choose to enter plan 2; 26
or 27
(ii) September 1, 2002, and are employed by other than a state 28
agency or institute of higher education and who did not choose to 29
enter plan 2; or 30
(b) Transferred to plan 3 under RCW 41.40.795.31
(30) "Prior service" means all service of an original member 32
rendered to any employer prior to October 1, 1947.33
(31) "Regular interest" means such rate as the director may 34
determine. 35
(32) "Retiree" means any person who has begun accruing a 36
retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this chapter 37
resulting from service rendered to an employer while a member.38
(33) "Retirement" means withdrawal from active service with a 39
retirement allowance as provided by this chapter. 40
p. 45 SB 5792
(34) "Retirement allowance" means the sum of the annuity and the 1
pension. 2
(35) "Retirement system" means the public employees' retirement 3
system provided for in this chapter. 4
(36) "Separation from service" occurs when a person has 5
terminated all employment with an employer. Separation from service 6
or employment does not occur, and if claimed by an employer or 7
employee may be a violation of RCW 41.40.055, when an employee and 8
employer have a written or oral agreement to resume employment with 9
the same employer following termination. Mere expressions or 10
inquiries about postretirement employment by an employer or employee 11
that do not constitute a commitment to reemploy the employee after 12
retirement are not an agreement under this subsection.13
(37)(a) "Service" for plan 1 members, except as provided in RCW 14
41.40.088, means periods of employment in an eligible position or 15
positions for one or more employers rendered to any employer for 16
which compensation is paid, and includes time spent in office as an 17
elected or appointed official of an employer. Compensation earnable 18
earned in full time work for 70 hours or more in any given calendar 19
month shall constitute one service credit month except as provided in 20
RCW 41.40.088. Compensation earnable earned for less than 70 hours in 21
any calendar month shall constitute one-quarter service credit month 22
of service except as provided in RCW 41.40.088. Only service credit 23
months and one-quarter service credit months shall be counted in the 24
computation of any retirement allowance or other benefit provided for 25
in this chapter. Any fraction of a year of service shall be taken 26
into account in the computation of such retirement allowance or 27
benefits. Time spent in standby status, whether compensated or not, 28
is not service. 29
(i) Service by a state employee officially assigned by the state 30
on a temporary basis to assist another public agency, shall be 31
considered as service as a state employee: PROVIDED, That service to 32
any other public agency shall not be considered service as a state 33
employee if such service has been used to establish benefits in any 34
other public retirement system. 35
(ii) An individual shall receive no more than a total of 12 36
service credit months of service during any calendar year. If an 37
individual is employed in an eligible position by one or more 38
employers the individual shall receive no more than one service 39
p. 46 SB 5792
credit month during any calendar month in which multiple service for 1
seventy or more hours is rendered. 2
(iii) A school district employee may count up to 45 days of sick 3
leave as creditable service solely for the purpose of determining 4
eligibility to retire under RCW 41.40.180 as authorized by RCW 5
28A.400.300. For purposes of plan 1 "forty-five days" as used in RCW 6
28A.400.300 is equal to two service credit months. Use of less than 7
45 days of sick leave is creditable as allowed under this subsection 8
as follows: 9
(A) Less than 22 days equals one-quarter service credit month;10
(B) 22 days equals one service credit month; 11
(C) More than 22 days but less than 45 days equals one and one-12
quarter service credit month. 13
(iv) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 14
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 15
situations as contemplated by subsection (6)(c)(iii) of this section 16
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 17
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 18
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 19
worked before the reduction. 20
(b) "Service" for plan 2 and plan 3 members, means periods of 21
employment by a member in an eligible position or positions for one 22
or more employers for which compensation earnable is paid. 23
Compensation earnable earned for 90 or more hours in any calendar 24
month shall constitute one service credit month except as provided in 25
RCW 41.40.088. Compensation earnable earned for at least 70 hours but 26
less than 90 hours in any calendar month shall constitute one-half 27
service credit month of service. Compensation earnable earned for 28
less than 70 hours in any calendar month shall constitute one-quarter 29
service credit month of service. Time spent in standby status, 30
whether compensated or not, is not service. 31
Any fraction of a year of service shall be taken into account in 32
the computation of such retirement allowance or benefits.33
(i) Service in any state elective position shall be deemed to be 34
full time service, except that persons serving in state elective 35
positions who are members of the Washington school employees' 36
retirement system, teachers' retirement system, public safety 37
employees' retirement system, or law enforcement officers' and 38
firefighters' retirement system at the time of election or 39
appointment to such position may elect to continue membership in the 40
p. 47 SB 5792
Washington school employees' retirement system, teachers' retirement 1
system, public safety employees' retirement system, or law 2
enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system.3
(ii) A member shall receive a total of not more than 12 service 4
credit months of service for such calendar year. If an individual is 5
employed in an eligible position by one or more employers the 6
individual shall receive no more than one service credit month during 7
any calendar month in which multiple service for ninety or more hours 8
is rendered. 9
(iii) Up to 45 days of sick leave may be creditable as service 10
solely for the purpose of determining eligibility to retire under RCW 11
41.40.180 as authorized by RCW 28A.400.300. For purposes of plan 2 12
and plan 3 "forty-five days" as used in RCW 28A.400.300 is equal to 13
two service credit months. Use of less than 45 days of sick leave is 14
creditable as allowed under this subsection as follows:15
(A) Less than 11 days equals one-quarter service credit month;16
(B) 11 or more days but less than 22 days equals one-half service 17
credit month; 18
(C) 22 days equals one service credit month; 19
(D) More than 22 days but less than 33 days equals one and one-20
quarter service credit month; 21
(E) 33 or more days but less than 45 days equals one and one-half 22
service credit month. 23
(iv) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 24
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 25
situations as contemplated by subsection (6)(c)(iii) of this section 26
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 27
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 28
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 29
worked before the reduction. 30
(38) "Service credit month" means a month or an accumulation of 31
months of service credit which is equal to one. 32
(39) "Service credit year" means an accumulation of months of 33
service credit which is equal to one when divided by twelve.34
(40) "State actuary" or "actuary" means the person appointed 35
pursuant to RCW 44.44.010(2). 36
(41) "State elective position" means any position held by any 37
person elected or appointed to statewide office or elected or 38
appointed as a member of the legislature. 39
p. 48 SB 5792
(42) "State treasurer" means the treasurer of the state of 1
Washington. 2
(43) "Totally incapacitated for duty" means total inability to 3
perform the duties of a member's employment or office or any other 4
work for which the member is qualified by training or experience.5
Sec. 13. RCW 43.43.120 and 2024 c 237 s 3 and 2024 c 151 s 4 are 6
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 7
As used in this section and RCW 43.43.130 through 43.43.320, 8
unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:9
(1) "Actuarial equivalent" shall mean a benefit of equal value 10
when computed upon the basis of such mortality table as may be 11
adopted and such interest rate as may be determined by the director.12
(2) "Annual increase" means as of July 1, 1999, 77 cents per 13
month per year of service which amount shall be increased each 14
subsequent July 1st by three percent, rounded to the nearest cent.15
(3)(a) "Average final salary," for members commissioned prior to 16
January 1, 2003, shall mean the average monthly salary received by a 17
member during the member's last two years of service or any 18
consecutive two-year period of service, whichever is the greater, as 19
an employee of the Washington state patrol; or if the member has less 20
than two years of service, then the average monthly salary received 21
by the member during the member's total years of service.22
(b) "Average final salary," for members commissioned on or after 23
January 1, 2003, shall mean the average monthly salary received by a 24
member for the highest consecutive 60 service credit months; or if 25
the member has less than 60 months of service, then the average 26
monthly salary received by the member during the member's total 27
months of service. 28
(c) In calculating average final salary under (a) or (b) of this 29
subsection, the department of retirement systems shall include:30
(i) Any compensation forgone by the member during the 2009-2011 31
fiscal biennium as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory or 32
voluntary leave without pay, temporary reduction in pay implemented 33
prior to December 11, 2010, or temporary layoffs if the reduced 34
compensation is an integral part of the employer's expenditure 35
reduction efforts, as certified by the chief; 36
(ii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2011-2013 37
fiscal biennium as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave 38
without pay, temporary layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the 39
p. 49 SB 5792
reduced compensation is an integral part of the employer's 1
expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the chief. Reductions 2
to current pay shall not include elimination of previously agreed 3
upon future salary reductions; ((and))4
(iii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2019-2021 5
and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia as a result of reduced work hours, 6
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions 7
to current pay, or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 8
budgetary crisis, if the reduced compensation is an integral part of 9
the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 10
chief. Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of 11
previously agreed upon future salary increases; and12
(iv) Any compensation forgone by a member and described in 13
section 8 of this act. 14
(4) "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of retirement 15
allowance or any other benefit allowed by this chapter.16
(5)(a) "Cadet," for a person who became a member of the 17
retirement system after June 12, 1980, is a person who has passed the 18
Washington state patrol's entry-level oral, written, physical 19
performance, and background examinations and is, thereby, appointed 20
by the chief as a candidate to be a commissioned officer of the 21
Washington state patrol. 22
(b) "Cadet," for a person who became a member of the retirement 23
system before June 12, 1980, is a trooper cadet, patrol cadet, or 24
employee of like classification, employed for the express purpose of 25
receiving the on-the-job training required for attendance at the 26
state patrol academy and for becoming a commissioned trooper. "Like 27
classification" includes: Radio operators or dispatchers; persons 28
providing security for the governor or legislature; patrol officers; 29
drivers' license examiners; weighmasters; vehicle safety inspectors; 30
central wireless operators; and warehouse workers.31
(6) "Contributions" means the deduction from the compensation of 32
each member in accordance with the contribution rates established 33
under chapter 41.45 RCW. 34
(7) "Current service" shall mean all service as a member rendered 35
on or after August 1, 1947. 36
(8) "Department" means the department of retirement systems 37
created in chapter 41.50 RCW. 38
(9) "Director" means the director of the department of retirement 39
systems. 40
p. 50 SB 5792
(10) "Domestic partners" means two adults who have registered as 1
domestic partners under RCW 26.60.040. 2
(11) "Employee" means any commissioned employee of the Washington 3
state patrol. 4
(12) "Insurance commissioner" means the insurance commissioner of 5
the state of Washington. 6
(13) "Lieutenant governor" means the lieutenant governor of the 7
state of Washington. 8
(14) "Member" means any person included in the membership of the 9
retirement fund. 10
(15) "Plan 2" means the Washington state patrol retirement system 11
plan 2, providing the benefits and funding provisions covering 12
commissioned employees who first become members of the system on or 13
after January 1, 2003. 14
(16) "Prior service" shall mean all services rendered by a member 15
to the state of Washington, or any of its political subdivisions 16
prior to August 1, 1947, unless such service has been credited in 17
another public retirement or pension system operating in the state of 18
Washington. 19
(17) "Regular interest" means interest compounded annually at 20
such rates as may be determined by the director. 21
(18) "Retirement board" means the board provided for in this 22
chapter. 23
(19) "Retirement fund" means the Washington state patrol 24
retirement fund. 25
(20) "Retirement system" means the Washington state patrol 26
retirement system. 27
(21)(a) "Salary," for members commissioned prior to July 1, 2001, 28
shall exclude any overtime earnings related to RCW 47.46.040, or any 29
voluntary overtime, earned on or after July 1, 2001, and prior to 30
July 1, 2017, and lump sum payments for unused accumulated vacation 31
or annual leave in excess of 240 hours, plus hours earned since the 32
member's anniversary date. On or after July 1, 2017, salary shall 33
exclude overtime earnings in excess of 70 hours per year in total 34
related to either RCW 47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime. On or 35
after June 6, 2024, salary shall exclude earnings from the longevity 36
bonus created in RCW 43.43.386. 37
(b) "Salary," for members commissioned from July 1, 2001, to 38
December 31, 2002, shall exclude any overtime earnings related to RCW 39
47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime, earned prior to July 1, 2017, 40
p. 51 SB 5792
lump sum payments for deferred annual sick leave, or any form of 1
severance pay. On or after July 1, 2017, salary shall exclude 2
overtime earnings in excess of 70 hours per year in total related to 3
either RCW 47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime. On or after June 6, 4
2024, salary shall exclude earnings from the longevity bonus created 5
in RCW 43.43.386. 6
(c) "Salary," for members commissioned on or after January 1, 7
2003, shall exclude any overtime earnings related to RCW 47.46.040 or 8
any voluntary overtime, earned prior to July 1, 2017, lump sum 9
payments for deferred annual sick leave, unused accumulated vacation, 10
unused accumulated annual leave, holiday pay, or any form of 11
severance pay. On or after July 1, 2017, salary shall exclude 12
overtime earnings in excess of 70 hours per year in total related to 13
either RCW 47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime. On or after June 6, 14
2024, salary shall exclude earnings from the longevity bonus created 15
in RCW 43.43.386. 16
(d) The addition of overtime earnings related to RCW 47.46.040 or 17
any voluntary overtime earned on or after July 1, 2017, in chapter 18
181, Laws of 2017 is a benefit improvement that increases the member 19
maximum contribution rate under RCW 41.45.0631(1) by 1.10 percent.20
(22)(a) "Service" shall mean services rendered to the state of 21
Washington or any political subdivisions thereof for which 22
compensation has been paid. Full time employment for 70 or more hours 23
in any given calendar month shall constitute one month of service. An 24
employee who is reinstated in accordance with RCW 43.43.110 shall 25
suffer no loss of service for the period reinstated subject to the 26
contribution requirements of this chapter. Only months of service 27
shall be counted in the computation of any retirement allowance or 28
other benefit provided for herein. Years of service shall be 29
determined by dividing the total number of months of service by 12. 30
Any fraction of a year of service as so determined shall be taken 31
into account in the computation of such retirement allowance or 32
benefit. 33
(b) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 34
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 35
situations as contemplated by subsection (3)(c)(iii) of this section 36
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 37
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 38
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 39
worked before the reduction. 40
p. 52 SB 5792
(23) "State actuary" or "actuary" means the person appointed 1
pursuant to RCW 44.44.010(2). 2
(24) "State treasurer" means the treasurer of the state of 3
Washington. 4
Unless the context expressly indicates otherwise, words importing 5
the masculine gender shall be extended to include the feminine gender 6
and words importing the feminine gender shall be extended to include 7
the masculine gender. 8
Sec. 14. RCW 43.43.120 and 2024 c 151 s 4 are each amended to 9
read as follows: 10
As used in this section and RCW 43.43.130 through 43.43.320, 11
unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:12
(1) "Actuarial equivalent" shall mean a benefit of equal value 13
when computed upon the basis of such mortality table as may be 14
adopted and such interest rate as may be determined by the director.15
(2) "Annual increase" means as of July 1, 1999, seventy-seven 16
cents per month per year of service which amount shall be increased 17
each subsequent July 1st by three percent, rounded to the nearest 18
cent. 19
(3)(a) "Average final salary," for members commissioned prior to 20
January 1, 2003, shall mean the average monthly salary received by a 21
member during the member's last two years of service or any 22
consecutive two-year period of service, whichever is the greater, as 23
an employee of the Washington state patrol; or if the member has less 24
than two years of service, then the average monthly salary received 25
by the member during the member's total years of service.26
(b) "Average final salary," for members commissioned on or after 27
January 1, 2003, shall mean the average monthly salary received by a 28
member for the highest consecutive sixty service credit months; or if 29
the member has less than sixty months of service, then the average 30
monthly salary received by the member during the member's total 31
months of service. 32
(c) In calculating average final salary under (a) or (b) of this 33
subsection, the department of retirement systems shall include:34
(i) Any compensation forgone by the member during the 2009-2011 35
fiscal biennium as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory or 36
voluntary leave without pay, temporary reduction in pay implemented 37
prior to December 11, 2010, or temporary layoffs if the reduced 38
p. 53 SB 5792
compensation is an integral part of the employer's expenditure 1
reduction efforts, as certified by the chief; 2
(ii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2011-2013 3
fiscal biennium as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave 4
without pay, temporary layoffs, or reductions to current pay if the 5
reduced compensation is an integral part of the employer's 6
expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the chief. Reductions 7
to current pay shall not include elimination of previously agreed 8
upon future salary reductions; ((and))9
(iii) Any compensation forgone by a member during the 2019-2021 10
and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia as a result of reduced work hours, 11
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions 12
to current pay, or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 13
budgetary crisis, if the reduced compensation is an integral part of 14
the employer's expenditure reduction efforts, as certified by the 15
chief. Reductions to current pay shall not include elimination of 16
previously agreed upon future salary increases; and17
(iv) Any compensation forgone by a member and described in 18
section 8 of this act. 19
(4) "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of retirement 20
allowance or any other benefit allowed by this chapter.21
(5)(a) "Cadet," for a person who became a member of the 22
retirement system after June 12, 1980, is a person who has passed the 23
Washington state patrol's entry-level oral, written, physical 24
performance, and background examinations and is, thereby, appointed 25
by the chief as a candidate to be a commissioned officer of the 26
Washington state patrol. 27
(b) "Cadet," for a person who became a member of the retirement 28
system before June 12, 1980, is a trooper cadet, patrol cadet, or 29
employee of like classification, employed for the express purpose of 30
receiving the on-the-job training required for attendance at the 31
state patrol academy and for becoming a commissioned trooper. "Like 32
classification" includes: Radio operators or dispatchers; persons 33
providing security for the governor or legislature; patrol officers; 34
drivers' license examiners; weighmasters; vehicle safety inspectors; 35
central wireless operators; and warehouse workers.36
(6) "Contributions" means the deduction from the compensation of 37
each member in accordance with the contribution rates established 38
under chapter 41.45 RCW. 39
p. 54 SB 5792
(7) "Current service" shall mean all service as a member rendered 1
on or after August 1, 1947. 2
(8) "Department" means the department of retirement systems 3
created in chapter 41.50 RCW. 4
(9) "Director" means the director of the department of retirement 5
systems. 6
(10) "Domestic partners" means two adults who have registered as 7
domestic partners under RCW 26.60.040. 8
(11) "Employee" means any commissioned employee of the Washington 9
state patrol. 10
(12) "Insurance commissioner" means the insurance commissioner of 11
the state of Washington. 12
(13) "Lieutenant governor" means the lieutenant governor of the 13
state of Washington. 14
(14) "Member" means any person included in the membership of the 15
retirement fund. 16
(15) "Plan 2" means the Washington state patrol retirement system 17
plan 2, providing the benefits and funding provisions covering 18
commissioned employees who first become members of the system on or 19
after January 1, 2003. 20
(16) "Prior service" shall mean all services rendered by a member 21
to the state of Washington, or any of its political subdivisions 22
prior to August 1, 1947, unless such service has been credited in 23
another public retirement or pension system operating in the state of 24
Washington. 25
(17) "Regular interest" means interest compounded annually at 26
such rates as may be determined by the director. 27
(18) "Retirement board" means the board provided for in this 28
chapter. 29
(19) "Retirement fund" means the Washington state patrol 30
retirement fund. 31
(20) "Retirement system" means the Washington state patrol 32
retirement system. 33
(21)(a) "Salary," for members commissioned prior to July 1, 2001, 34
shall exclude any overtime earnings related to RCW 47.46.040, or any 35
voluntary overtime, earned on or after July 1, 2001, and prior to 36
July 1, 2017, and lump sum payments for unused accumulated vacation 37
or annual leave in excess of 240 hours, plus hours earned since the 38
member's anniversary date. On or after July 1, 2017, salary shall 39
p. 55 SB 5792
exclude overtime earnings in excess of seventy hours per year in 1
total related to either RCW 47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime.2
(b) "Salary," for members commissioned from July 1, 2001, to 3
December 31, 2002, shall exclude any overtime earnings related to RCW 4
47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime, earned prior to July 1, 2017, 5
lump sum payments for deferred annual sick leave, or any form of 6
severance pay. On or after July 1, 2017, salary shall exclude 7
overtime earnings in excess of seventy hours per year in total 8
related to either RCW 47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime.9
(c) "Salary," for members commissioned on or after January 1, 10
2003, shall exclude any overtime earnings related to RCW 47.46.040 or 11
any voluntary overtime, earned prior to July 1, 2017, lump sum 12
payments for deferred annual sick leave, unused accumulated vacation, 13
unused accumulated annual leave, holiday pay, or any form of 14
severance pay. On or after July 1, 2017, salary shall exclude 15
overtime earnings in excess of seventy hours per year in total 16
related to either RCW 47.46.040 or any voluntary overtime.17
(d) The addition of overtime earnings related to RCW 47.46.040 or 18
any voluntary overtime earned on or after July 1, 2017, in chapter 19
181, Laws of 2017 is a benefit improvement that increases the member 20
maximum contribution rate under RCW 41.45.0631(1) by 1.10 percent.21
(22)(a) "Service" shall mean services rendered to the state of 22
Washington or any political subdivisions thereof for which 23
compensation has been paid. Full time employment for seventy or more 24
hours in any given calendar month shall constitute one month of 25
service. An employee who is reinstated in accordance with RCW 26
43.43.110 shall suffer no loss of service for the period reinstated 27
subject to the contribution requirements of this chapter. Only months 28
of service shall be counted in the computation of any retirement 29
allowance or other benefit provided for herein. Years of service 30
shall be determined by dividing the total number of months of service 31
by twelve. Any fraction of a year of service as so determined shall 32
be taken into account in the computation of such retirement allowance 33
or benefit. 34
(b) Reduction efforts such as furloughs, reduced work hours, 35
mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, or other similar 36
situations as contemplated by subsection (3)(c)(iii) of this section 37
do not result in a reduction in service credit that otherwise would 38
have been earned for that month of work, and the member shall receive 39
p. 56 SB 5792
the full service credit for the hours that were scheduled to be 1
worked before the reduction. 2
(23) "State actuary" or "actuary" means the person appointed 3
pursuant to RCW 44.44.010(2). 4
(24) "State treasurer" means the treasurer of the state of 5
Washington. 6
Unless the context expressly indicates otherwise, words importing 7
the masculine gender shall be extended to include the feminine gender 8
and words importing the feminine gender shall be extended to include 9
the masculine gender. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The director of the office of financial 11
management and the director of the department of retirement systems 12
shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the temporary salary 13
reductions in this act.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Section 13 of this act expires June 30, 15
2029.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Section 14 of this act takes effect June 17
30, 2029.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. Except for section 14 of this act, this 19
act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, 20
health, or safety, or support of the state government and its 21
existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2025.22
--- END ---
p. 57 SB 5792