(a) “Local safety member” also includes local prosecutors, local public defenders, and local public defender investigators.

(b) For purposes of this part, “local prosecutor” means any one of the following:

(1) A county officer or employee who meets all of the following criteria:

(A) He or she is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was employed in the office of the district attorney.

(B) His or her job classification is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was district attorney, deputy district attorney, chief deputy district attorney, senior deputy district attorney, assistant district attorney, chief assistant district attorney, senior assistant district attorney, or any other similar classification or title.

(C) His or her effective date of retirement is on or after the date this section becomes applicable to the member’s contracting agency as provided in subdivision (g).

(2) A county officer or employee who meets all of the following criteria:

(A) He or she was employed in the office of a district attorney prior to the date the local child support agency transitioned from the district attorney to a new county department, as specified in Section 17304 of the Family Code.

(B) His or her job classification was district attorney, deputy district attorney, chief deputy district attorney, senior deputy district attorney, assistant district attorney, chief assistant district attorney, senior assistant district attorney, or any other similar classification or title.

(C) He or she is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was an attorney in a local child support agency, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 17000 of the Family Code, with no break in service between employment by a district attorney and the local child support agency.

(D) His or her effective date of retirement is on or after the date this section becomes applicable to the member’s contracting agency as provided in subdivision (g).

(3) A city officer or employee who meets all of the following criteria:

(A) He or she is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was employed in the office of the city attorney.

(B) He or she is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was primarily engaged in the active enforcement of criminal laws within any court operating in a county.

(C) His or her job classification is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was city attorney, deputy city attorney, chief deputy city attorney, assistant city attorney, chief assistant city attorney, or any other similar classification or title.

(D) His or her effective date of retirement is on or after the date this section becomes applicable to the member’s contracting agency as provided in subdivision (g).

(c) For purposes of this part, “local public defender” means a city or county officer or employee who meets all of the following criteria:

(1) He or she is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was employed in the office of the public defender, the alternate public defender, or any similar office title.

(2) His or her job classification is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was public defender, deputy public defender, chief deputy public defender, senior deputy public defender, assistant public defender, chief assistant public defender, senior assistant public defender, or any other similar classification or title.

(3) His or her effective date of retirement is on or after the date this section becomes applicable to the member’s contracting agency as provided in subdivision (g).

(d) For purposes of this part, “local public defender investigator” means a city or county officer or employee who meets all of the following criteria:

(1) He or she is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was employed in the office of the public defender, the alternate public defender, or any other similar office title.

(2) His or her job classification is or, on or after January 1, 2002, was inspector, investigator, detective, or any other similar classification or title.

(3) His or her principal duties are or, on or after January 1, 2002, were to investigate crime and criminal cases.

(4) His or her effective date of retirement is on or after the date this section becomes applicable to the member’s contracting agency as provided in subdivision (g).

(e) Notwithstanding Section 20890, past local miscellaneous service performed by a local prosecutor, local public defender, or local public defender investigator who becomes a local safety member pursuant to this section shall be converted to local safety service if the past service was rendered in a position that has subsequently been reclassified as a safety position pursuant to this section. For local prosecutors described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), service in the office of a district attorney and a local child support agency shall be considered service for the district attorney for the purposes of this section. Any unfunded liability resulting from this section shall be paid by the employer.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part or any provision of the contracting agency’s contract with the board, local prosecutors, local public defenders, and local public defender investigators shall be subject to the benefit formula contained in Section 21362, 21363, or 21363.1, or any other benefit formula applicable to local safety members that does not provide benefits greater than those benefits provided under Section 21363.1, as designated in the contract amendment or express contract provision described in subdivision (g).

(g) This section shall not apply to any officers and employees of a contracting agency or to the agency unless and until the contracting agency elects to be subject to this section by amendment to its contract with the board, made as provided in Section 20474, or by express provision in its contract with the board. If a contracting agency elects to be subject to this section, the contracting agency shall include all local prosecutors, local public defenders, and local public defender investigators described in this section.

(h) This section does not apply to any officer or employee of a contracting agency who dies prior to the date the contracting agency elects to be subject to this section.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1152, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2003.)