(a) Any state agency, department, board, commission, institution, or political subdivision, covered on July 1, 1972, by chapters 34-37 of this title, or who may thereafter elect to bring its employees into the retirement system as general employees, shall have the option of establishing a period of temporary employment not to exceed six (6) months.

(b)

(1) At the request of a political subdivision employer and upon approval by the board of trustees, the six-month temporary employment period may be extended for specific groups of employees. These employees are ones employed for specific construction projects expected to be completed within four (4) years. Such projects must be outside the usual duties and/or customary responsibilities of the employer.

(2) Requests from political subdivisions for board approval for an extended temporary employment period shall contain all information considered necessary by the board including, but not limited to, the nature of the construction project, expected duration and the number of employees to be temporarily employed.

(3) No service credit may be established for extended temporary employment as provided by this subsection (b).

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or any other law to the contrary, any employer participating in the retirement system on July 1, 1995, who has not established a temporary employment period on such date, and any employer who thereafter becomes a participating employer, shall be prohibited from establishing a temporary employment period pursuant to this section.

(d) In the event an employee completes a period of temporary employment with an employer pursuant to this section and subsequently terminates employment for any reason, such employer shall not require the employee to complete an additional period of temporary employment in the event the employee is ever rehired by the same employer.