Law Enforcement Officers' Pension System - Military Service Credit Eligibility - Helicopter Pilots
HB0789 expands eligibility for military service credit within the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System (LEOPS) for a narrow group of members and former members who served as helicopter pilots in a State law enforcement aviation unit. Under current law, members of a State retirement system generally may receive military service credit only if they meet certain service requirements and do not receive overlapping credit from another retirement system. This bill creates a specific exception allowing qualifying LEOPS helicopter pilots to receive military service credit even if they have already received military service credit in another retirement system, so long as the other statutory conditions are met.
The bill also preserves the existing limits on military service credit, including the overall cap on creditable military service and the rule that an individual may not receive the same service credit more than once. It amends State Personnel and Pensions law to add this LEOPS helicopter pilot exception to the list of exclusions from the general prohibition on receiving military service credit from another retirement system. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.
HB0789 amends § 38-104 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article, changing how military service credit may be awarded to certain LEOPS members and former members. The practical effect is to permit a targeted class of aviation-unit helicopter pilots to count military service toward retirement benefits even when that service has already been credited in another retirement system, which is otherwise prohibited. The bill does not broadly alter pension rules for all State employees or all law enforcement officers; it creates a narrow statutory exception for this specific occupational group while keeping the general five-year cap and anti-duplication rules in place.
The available record suggests the bill was noncontroversial and ultimately favorable, as reflected by its enactment and approval by the Governor. No committee transcripts or recorded votes are provided, so there is no evidence of organized opposition in the materials supplied. The bill’s targeted nature and technical pension adjustment suggest it was likely viewed as a limited fairness or recruitment/retention measure for a specialized law enforcement aviation role.
The main point of potential contention is the bill’s carve-out from the general rule against receiving military service credit from more than one retirement system. Critics of such exceptions could argue that it creates unequal treatment among pension members or increases retirement liabilities for the State. Supporters would likely emphasize that the exception is narrowly tailored to members or former members of LEOPS who served as helicopter pilots in a State law enforcement aviation unit, and that it addresses a specific service-credit issue without broadly expanding pension eligibility. No direct objections are documented in the provided materials.