HB71 Summary

• Amends Section 36-27-59 of the Code of Alabama 1975 to allow full-time emergency medical services (EMS) personnel employed by local units under the Employees' Retirement System to purchase hazardous duty time in the same manner as firefighters, law enforcement officers, and correctional officers.

• EMS personnel receive one year of hazardous duty time for every five years of service, with proportional credit awarded for service periods less than five years, provided they make required contributions.

• Establishes contribution rates for EMS personnel effective October 1, 2024: 6% of earnable compensation if employer has not elected to increase contributions, or 8.5% if employer has elected to increase contributions under Act 2011-676.

• Allows EMS personnel to purchase prior eligible service credit by paying 1% of current or previous year's annual earnable compensation (whichever is higher) per year of claimed credit, purchasable in increments of five years.

• Provisions apply only to Tier I plan members and become effective October 1, 2024; retroactively applies the Commissioner of Corrections and deputy commissioners' designation as correctional officers to March 1, 2022.