HB71 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Steve ClouseRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

RSA, full-time emergency medical services technicians and paramedics allowed to purchase hazardous duty time for prior eligible service the ERS in same manner as firefighters, law enforcement officers, and correctional officers, Tier I

Summary

HB71 lets full-time EMS personnel in Alabama’s Employees' Retirement System purchase hazardous-duty time for prior eligible service, like firefighters and police, effective October 1, 2024.

What This Bill Does

Expands eligibility to include emergency medical services personnel for purchasing hazardous duty time in the ERS Tier I. Members earn one year of hazardous duty time for every five years of prior eligible service, provided they pay the required contributions for each year claimed. Starting October 1, 2024, EMS personnel must contribute 6% of earnable compensation if their employer has not increased contributions under Act 2011-676, or 8.5% if the employer has increased contributions; they must also pay 1% of current or prior-year compensation for each year of credit claimed. The bill does not apply to Tier II and includes retroactive designation of certain corrections officers for purposes of this section back to March 1, 2022; the act becomes effective October 1, 2024.

Who It Affects

• Full-time emergency medical services personnel employed by local units of the Employees' Retirement System who are certified as EMS personnel by the State Board of Health (eligible to purchase hazardous duty time for prior service).
• Local employers participating in the ERS under Section 36-27-6, whose decisions on employee contribution levels (Act 2011-676) affect EMS personnel contribution rates (6% or 8.5%).

Key Provisions

• Adds emergency medical services personnel to the group eligible to purchase hazardous duty time in the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama (ERS) as Tier I.
• Hazardous duty time credits are awarded as one year for every five years of service for prior eligible service, subject to paying the required contributions for each year of credit.
• Requires a prerquisite payment of 1% of current annual earnable compensation (or the previous year’s amount, whichever is higher) for each year of claimed service.
• Starting October 1, 2024, EMS personnel contribute 6% or 8.5% of earnable compensation to ERS depending on whether their employer has increased employee contributions under Act 2011-676.
• Not applicable to Tier II members; retroactive designation makes the Commissioner of Corrections and a deputy commissioner treated as correctional/law enforcement officers for purposes of this section back to March 1, 2022.
• Effective date of the act is October 1, 2024.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Retirement