AN ACT relating to the public defender system and declaring an emergency.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 31 to transfer employees of the Louisville and Jefferson County Public Defender Corporation (Louisville Metro Public Defender) to the Department of Public Advocacy (DPA) on July 1, 2024, and to provide employment and retirement benefits to the transferred employees based on their employment date with the Louisville Metro Public Defender; define "membership date" for Louisville Metro Public Defender employees transferring to the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS); create past service purchase exceptions for transferred employees participating in a state-administered retirement system prior to January 1, 2014, or employed by the Louisville Metro Public Defender prior to January 1, 2014 (Tier 1 and Tier 2 only); create a one-year window between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, for transferred employees (Tier 1 and Tier 2) to purchase service with the Louisville Metro Public Defender without the requirement to be vested in KERS; require past years of service purchased by transferred employees to be used to determine eligibility for and the amount of retirement benefits, including disability and early retirement, and health benefits under KRS 61.702 or 78.5536, except the health insurance benefits for this service purchase will be subject to funding of the actuarial cost of the benefit in the executive branch budget; transfer leases and contracts in the name of the Louisville Metro Public Defender to DPA, and waive liability of DPA under any legal theory or for any act, omission, or negligence by or on behalf of the Louisville Metro Public Defender; amend KRS 15A.020 to add new divisions to the organization of DPA; amend KRS 18A.115 to transfer the employees of the Louisville Metro Public Defender to the state personnel system; amend KRS 61.510 to change the definition of "membership date" in KERS as applied to Louisville Metro Public Defender employees transferring to DPA; amend KRS 61.552 allow DPA to pay a portion of the cost for the purchase of service with the Louisville Public Defender by transferred employees (Tier 1 or Tier 2) who purchase the service credit before July 1, 2025, subject to funding in the executive branch budget, and make conforming changes; amend KRS 61.557 to conform; provide that the Act will be RETROACTIVE to employees of the Louisville Metro Public Defender hired to leadership or supervisory roles within DPA between October 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024; EMERGENCY.