19-13-104. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply in this chapter:
     (1) Any reference to "city" or "town" includes those jurisdictions that, before the effective date of a county-municipal consolidation, were incorporated municipalities, subsequent districts created for urban firefighting services, or the entire county included in the county-municipal consolidation.
     (2) "Compensation" means:
     (a) for a full-paid firefighter, the regular remuneration, excluding overtime, holiday payments, shift differential payments, compensatory time payments, and payments in lieu of sick leave, paid for the firefighter's service as a firefighter out of funds controlled by an employer before any pretax deductions allowed under the Internal Revenue Code have been made;
     (b) for a part-paid firefighter employed by a city of the second class:
     (i) 15% of the regular remuneration, excluding overtime, holiday payments, shift differential payments, compensatory time payments, and payments in lieu of sick leave, paid on July 1 of each year to a newly confirmed, full-paid firefighter of the city that employs the part-paid firefighter; or
     (ii) if that city does not employ a full-paid firefighter, 15% of the average regular remuneration, excluding overtime, holiday payments, shift differential payments, compensatory time payments, and payments in lieu of sick leave, paid on July 1 of each year to all newly confirmed, full-paid firefighters employed by cities of the second class.
     (3) "Dependent child" means a child of a deceased member who is:
     (a) unmarried and under 18 years of age; or
     (b) unmarried, under 24 years of age, and attending an accredited postsecondary educational institution as a full-time student in anticipation of receiving a certificate or degree.
     (4) "Employer" means any city that is of the first or second class or that elects to join this retirement system under 19-13-211 or, with respect to firefighters covered in the retirement system pursuant to 19-13-210(2), the department of military affairs established in 2-15-1201.
     (5) "Final average compensation" means the monthly compensation of a member averaged over the last 36 months of the member's active service or, if the member has not been a member that long, over the period of the member's service. Lump-sum payments for annual leave paid to the member upon termination of service may be used to replace, on a month-for-month basis, the normal compensation for a month or months included in the calculation of final average compensation.
     (6) "Firefighter" means a person employed as a full-paid or part-paid firefighter by an employer.
     (7) "Full-paid firefighter" means a person appointed as a firefighter under 7-33-4106.
     (8) "Minimum retirement date" means the first day of the month coinciding with or immediately following, if none coincides, the date on which a member becomes both age 50 or older and completes 5 or more years of membership service.
     (9) "Part-paid firefighter" means a person employed under 7-33-4109 who receives compensation in excess of $300 a year for service as a firefighter.
     (10) "Prior plan" means the fire department relief association plan of a city that elects to join the retirement system under 19-13-211 or the fire department relief association plan of a city of the first or second class.
     (11) "Retirement date" means the date on which the first payment of benefits is payable.
     (12) "Retirement system" means the firefighters' unified retirement system provided for in this chapter.
     (13) "Surviving spouse" means the spouse married to a member at the time of the member's death.

     History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 566, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 186, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 282, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 585, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 206, Ch. 265, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 457, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 40, Ch. 58, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 81, Ch. 562, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 290, L. 2001.