(a) Definitions.  For the purposes of this section:

(1)  “Economic development corporation” means the Rhode Island economic development corporation, a governmental agency and public instrumentality of the state of Rhode Island.

(2)  “Employee contribution accumulation” means an amount equal to the total member contributions of the transferred employees which were picked up and paid by the economic development corporation to the trust maintained by the economic development corporation to receive the contributions during the interim period plus actual earnings on those contributions. The employee contribution accumulation attributable to each transferred employee shall be treated as the employee’s accumulated contributions for purposes of chapter 9 and 10 of this title.

(3)  “Employer contribution accumulation” means an amount equal to the required contributions applicable to the interim period.

(4)  “Interim period” means the period from the transfer date to the date that the requirement of subsection (c) is satisfied.

(5)  “Required contribution” means the amount or amounts required to be contributed to the retirement system by the economic development corporation in addition to the member contributions of the transferred employees in order to fund the benefits attributable to the transferred employees earned after the transfer date in accordance with the provisions of this section. The amount of the economic development corporation’s required contribution for any relevant period following the transfer date shall be an amount determined by multiplying the rate percent established in accordance with § 36-10-2 for the period by the compensation paid by the economic development corporation to the transferred employees during such period. The economic development corporation shall make its required contribution, other than the required contribution for the interim period, in bi-weekly installments, each to be made within three (3) business days following the pay day. The required contribution applicable to the interim period shall be made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section.

(6)  “Transfer date” means the effective date of this article.

(7)  “Transferred employee” means any individual who was an employee of the department of economic development of the state of Rhode Island on the date immediately preceding the transfer date and was an active member of the retirement system on the date immediately preceding the transfer date and who became an employee of the economic development corporation on the transfer date.

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(b)  Subject to subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section, the period of service of any transferred employee with the economic development corporation after the transfer date shall be treated as service as an employee of the state of Rhode Island for purposes of Chapters 8, 9, and 10 of this title.

(c)  The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply unless within ninety (90) days following the date of enactment of this section, the economic development corporation transfers or causes to have transferred from a trustee or other custodian to the retirement system, an amount equal to the sum of the employee contribution accumulation and the employer contribution accumulation.

(d)  Notwithstanding the foregoing, any individual who is a transferred employee shall not be considered an employee of the state of Rhode Island under subsection (b) for any period of employment during which he or she elects to participate in any other retirement income benefit funded by the economic development corporation under a retirement plan sponsored by the economic development corporation and intended to qualify under § 401(a)(4), 26 U.S.C. § 401(a)(4), of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

(e)  Provided the requirement of subsection (c) of this section is satisfied:

(1)  Any retirement or death benefit provided to or on behalf of a transferred employee during the interim period by the economic development corporation, or a trust established and maintained by the economic corporation shall be considered provided by the retirement system and the amount of benefit paid by the economic development corporation or the trustee shall reduce the amount required to be transferred to the retirement system under subsection (c) of this section.

(2)  Subsection (b) shall continue to apply after the date of transfer specified in subsection (c) with respect to the period for which the economic development corporation thereafter makes its required contribution to the retirement system. In the event that the economic development corporation ceases to make its required contribution, the transferred employees shall be considered inactive members of the retirement system as of the date of cessation.

(3)  The member contributions of the transferred employees shall be considered picked up and paid by the economic development corporation to the retirement system after the interim period pursuant to the provisions of § 414(h)(2), 26 U.S.C. § 414(H)(2), of the United States Internal Revenue Code. The contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions in determining the tax treatment under the United States Internal Revenue Code and shall not be included as gross income of the transferred employee until such time as they are distributed.

(4)  All transferred employees who are contributing members of the employees retirement system shall continue as members unless they elect to cease contributions as of October 31, 1995. Any transferred employee who has contributed for at least ten (10) years may elect to participate in an alternative retirement program and still maintain vested rights to a pension within the employees retirement system. All transferred employees shall have ninety (90) days to make their election to participate in an alternative retirement program.