(a) “Public service” with respect to a local member, other than a school member, also means active service with the Armed Forces or the Merchant Marine of the United States, including time during any period of rehabilitation afforded by the United States government other than a period of rehabilitation for purely educational purposes, and for six months thereafter prior to the member’s first employment by the employer under this section in which he or she was a member.

(b) Any member electing to receive credit for that public service shall make the contributions as specified in Sections 21050 and 21052. However, any eligible member who requests costing of service credit between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2003, may, instead of making those contributions, make the payment calculated under this article as it read on December 31, 2000, which payment shall be made in the manner described in Section 21050.

(c) The public service under this section shall not include military service (1) in any period for which credit is otherwise given under this article or Article 4 (commencing with Section 20990) or (2) to the extent that total credit under this section would exceed four years.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 21034, a member may select which of two or more periods of service entitles him or her to receive public service under this section.

(e) This section shall apply to a member only if he or she elects to receive credit while he or she is in state service in the employment of one employer on or after the date of the employer’s election to be subject to this section.

(f) This section shall not apply to any contracting agency nor to the employees of any contracting agency until the agency elects to be subject to this section by amendment to its contract made in the manner prescribed for approval of contracts or in the case of contracts made after this section takes effect, by express provision in the contract making the contracting agency subject to this section. The amendments to this section made during the second year of the 1999–2000 Regular Session shall apply to contracts subject to this section on January 1, 2001.

(g) An employer shall inform a new employee at the time of hire of his or her rights to purchase service credit under this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 707, Sec. 3. (SB 294) Effective January 1, 2017.)