Membership in the retirement system shall consist of all regularly compensated classified employees and appointive and elective officials of employers, as defined in this chapter, with the following exceptions:

     (1) Persons in ineligible positions;

     (2)(a) Persons holding elective offices or persons appointed directly by the governor: PROVIDED, That such persons shall have the option of applying for membership during such periods of employment: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That any persons holding or who have held elective offices or persons appointed by the governor who are members in the retirement system and who have, prior to becoming such members, previously held an elective office, and did not at the start of such initial or successive terms of office exercise their option to become members, may apply for membership to be effective during such term or terms of office, and shall be allowed to establish the service credit applicable to such term or terms of office upon payment of the employee contributions therefor by the employee with interest as determined by the director and employer contributions therefor by the employer or employee with interest as determined by the director: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That all contributions with interest submitted by the employee under this subsection shall be placed in the employee's individual account in the employee's savings fund and be treated as any other contribution made by the employee, with the exception that any contributions submitted by the employee in payment of the employer's obligation, together with the interest the director may apply to the employer's contribution, shall not be considered part of the member's annuity for any purpose except withdrawal of contributions;

     (b) A member holding elective office who has elected to apply for membership pursuant to (a) of this subsection and who later wishes to be eligible for a retirement allowance shall have the option of ending his or her membership in the retirement system. A member wishing to end his or her membership under this subsection must file on a form supplied by the department a statement indicating that the member agrees to irrevocably abandon any claim for service for future periods served as an elected official. A member who receives more than fifteen thousand dollars per year in compensation for his or her elective service, adjusted annually for inflation by the director, is not eligible for the option provided by this subsection (2)(b);

     (3) Retirement system retirees: PROVIDED, That following reemployment in an eligible position, a retiree may elect to prospectively become a member of the retirement system if otherwise eligible;

     (4) Persons enrolled in state-approved apprenticeship programs, authorized under chapter 49.04 RCW, and who are employed by employers to earn hours to complete such apprenticeship programs, if the employee is a member of a union-sponsored retirement plan and is making contributions to such a retirement plan or if the employee is a member of a Taft-Hartley retirement plan;

     (5) Persons rendering professional services to an employer on a fee, retainer, or contract basis or when the income from these services is less than fifty percent of the gross income received from the person's practice of a profession;

     (6) Substitute employees, except for the purposes of the purchase of service credit under RCW 41.35.033. Upon the return or termination of the absent employee a substitute employee is replacing, that substitute employee shall no longer be ineligible under this subsection;

     (7) Employees who (a) are not citizens of the United States, (b) do not reside in the United States, and (c) perform duties outside of the United States;

     (8) Employees who (a) are not citizens of the United States, (b) are not covered by chapter 41.48 RCW, (c) are not excluded from membership under this chapter or chapter 41.04 RCW, (d) are residents of this state, and (e) make an irrevocable election to be excluded from membership, in writing, which is submitted to the director within thirty days after employment in an eligible position;

     (9) Employees who are citizens of the United States and who reside and perform duties for an employer outside of the United States: PROVIDED, That unless otherwise excluded under this chapter or chapter 41.04 RCW, the employee may apply for membership (a) within thirty days after employment in an eligible position and membership service credit shall be granted from the first day of membership service, and (b) after this thirty-day period, but membership service credit shall be granted only if payment is made for the noncredited membership service under RCW 41.50.165(2), otherwise service shall be from the date of application; and

     (10) Employees who are removed from membership under RCW 41.35.683 or 41.35.423.

[2005 c 131 § 9; 2003 c 157 § 2; 1998 c 341 § 4.]

NOTES:

     Effective date -- 2005 c 131: See note following RCW 41.40.823.