Bill > HB300

This bill amends the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) to allow local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for full-time salaried 911 dispatchers, classifying them as employees in hazardous duty positions similar to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians. Specifically, the bill adds full-time salaried dispatchers for public safety answering points to the list of professions eligible for special retirement benefits, giving them access to retirement allowances equivalent to those provided to state police officers. The enhanced benefits will apply only to service earned on or after July 1, 2025, though employers have the discretion to apply these benefits retroactively to service before that date. A public safety answering point is a designated location where 911 emergency calls are first received and processed. The bill provides local governments with flexibility in implementing these enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers, recognizing the critical and potentially stressful nature of their emergency response work. The changes will become effective on July 1, 2025, giving local governments time to prepare for and implement the new retirement benefit provisions.