412 [7 9 O p
. A tt ’y

Th e se se c tio ns are pa

rt of Di vis ion I I , “ Pe ns ion s, ” of th e S tate 1 Personnel and Pensions Ar ticle, which will bec ome ef fec tive on October 1, 1994. SeeChapter 6 of th e L aw s o f Maryland 1994, Section 18. For e a seof re ferenc ein t

hefuture , we sh a ll re fer t o th eprov isi on s a s th e y wi ll a p p e ar i nS P P D i v i s i o nII. Amongother prerequisites , th e employee must haveat least 16 2 year s of servic e

) hencethe moniker “ 16-year rule.” R E T I R E ME N T S Y S T E MS
A PPL I CA B I L I T Y OF “ 1 6 -Y E AR R ULE ” T O E MP LOYEES W HO H A VE T RA NS FE RR E D T O I NDEPENDENT P ERSONNEL S YSTEM

J ul y27, 1994
M r
. P et erV

aughn E xec ut i ve D i r ector Mar yland St at e Ret i r em ent

A gency Y our pr edec es s or as A ct i ng E xecut i ve D i r ect or r eques t ed our opi ni on w hetheran empl oy ee w ho t r ans fer s fr om t he unc l as s i fi ed s ervi ce i nt o an i ndepende ntper s onnel s y s t em re m ai n s el i gi bl e for ear l yr et i r ement undert he “16- y earrul e, ” curr ent l ycodi fi ed at A r t ic l e 73B , §§2- 408 and 4- 410 of the M ary l and C ode, s oon t o be r ecodi f i e d a t§ § 2 2

- 4 0 4 a n d 2 3

- 4 0 4 o f th e St a t e Pe r s o n n e l a nd Pens i ons ( “SPP”) A r t i cl e, M ary l and C o d e. T he r eques tci t es as 1 exampl es t hos e empl oy ees w ho have tr ans ferr ed i nt o t he per s onnel s y s t ems thatt he M ary l and D epart m entof Tra ns por t at i on and the M a ryla n d E n v ir o n m e n ta l S e rv ic e e a c h h a v e e s ta b lis h e d

. Th e s e p r o v i s i o n s c o n t a i n i d e n t i c a l c r i t e r i a t h a ta n e mpl oy ee m u st s a tisf

yin o rd e r to q u a li f

yf o r e a rlyre tirem e n t

)a mo n g t h e m, a n d m o st p e rtin e n t to th is o p in io n , th a t th e e m p lo y e e “ [ h ]a s b e e n in t he uncl as s i fi ed s ervi ce of t he St at e cont i nuous l yfr om J une 30, 1982

. . . . ” C o n ce rn h as b ee n ex p resse d that an em p loy ee w h o tr a n s f e rs in to a n in d e p e n d e n t p e rso n n e l sys te m m ig h t n o t sa tisf yth is par t i cul arcr i t er i on an d thus w oul d be i nel i gi bl e t o r ece i ve the benef i tof the ea r l yr et i r ement e ven i f the empl oy ee mett he other cr i t er i a. 2
F o r r e a s o n s e x p l a i n e d b e l o w, we c o n c l u d e a s f o l l o ws : An empl oy ee w ho, as a re s ul t of a t r ans ferfr om an uncl as s i fi ed pos i t i onG en. 412] 413
in to a n in d e p e n d e n t p e rso n n e l sy ste m , h o ld s a p o sitio n th a t su b jec ts t he empl oy ee t o t he r i s k of t erm i nat i on w i t houtcaus e i s el i gi bl e for ear l yr et i r ement u n derSPP §§22- 404 or23- 404 ( as s um i ng, of co u rse, th at all o f th e o ther statutoryp rereq u isi tes are m et).

I
E a r ly R e tir e m e n t U n d e r T h e 1 6 -Y e a r R u le
A par tfr om t he fac t t hat SPP §22- 404 r efe r s t o t he R et i r ement Sy s t em and t hatSPP §23- 404 r efe r s t o t he Pens i on Sy s t em, t he l anguage of thes e tw o s ect i ons i s i dent i cal

. B ot h s ect i ons pr ovi de, in p e rtin e n t p a rt, as f

o llo w s: ( b ) T h e B o a r d o f

T ru s t e e s s h a l l p a y a m ember

. . . w ho qual i fi es unders ubs ect i on ( c) of thi s s ect i on .
. . r egar dl ess of age, i f the m em b er: (1 ) H a s a t lea st 1 6 y e a rs o f c re d itab le s er vi ce; and (2) E le cts t o h av e the m em b er’s a c c u m u late d c o n trib u tio n s p a id a s a n a n n u ity of equi val entactuar i al val ue i ns t ead of w i t hd raw i ng t he acc um ulat ed co ntr i bu t i on s. ( c) A m emberqual i fi es
. . . under su b sec ti o n (b) o f th is secti o n if t h e m em b er:

. . . ( 3) ( i ) W as pr o mot e d t o an uncl as s i fi ed pos i t i on on orbefor e J une 30, 1982; ( i i ) H as been i n t he uncl as s i fi ed s er vi ce of

t he St at e cont i nuous l y fr om J une 3 0 , 1 9 8 2 , u n til se p a ra tin g f ro m e m p lo ym e n t; and ( i i i ) Se p a r a t e d f r o m e mpl oy m ent i nvo l u n t a r i l y , a s c e r t i f

i e d b yt h e Se c r e t a r yof P e rs o n n e l.414 [7 9 O p
. A tt ’y
T he bene fi t pr ovi ded by t hi s s ect i on w as di s cus s ed i n an ea r l i er o p in io n o f

th e A tto rn e yG e n e ra l:
T h e b asic p u rpo s e
. . . ap p ea rs stra ig h tf o rw a rd : to p ro v id e a sp e c ial b e n e f it t o t hos e w h o, w hi l e mem ber s of the R et i r ement Sy s t em, have c hos en t o cont i nue t hei rs ervi ce t o t he S t at e i n an unt enur ed, or , at b e st, a lim ited -te n u re d p o sitio n , w ith little if anyj ob s ecur i t y
. T he t enur e of an uncl as s i fi ed empl oy ee .
. . , unl i ke thatof a cl as s i fi ed e m p lo y e e w ith m e rit sy ste m p ro tec tio n , is u n iq u e ly “a t r is k .” T h a t is , th e e m p lo y e e ’s

... ten u re is pa rt icularlysu sce p ti b le t o “e arly ,” e v e n if u n d e s ir e d te rm in a tio n
... )a t erm i nat i on t hat m i ght w el l occur befor e the i ndi vi d u al has been a bl e t o m eett he us ual r et i r ement r equi r ement s
. . . . Sect i on [22- 404] t hus pr ovi des a “tr ade- off” agai ns t t hi s “r i s k”: t he abi l i t y , unders peci fi ed ci r cumst ance s , for o n e w h o h a s b e e n s u b j e c t e d t o a n “ e a r l y” t e r m i n a t i o n t o o b t a i n t h e b e n e f i t s o f a n “ e a r l y” re tir e m e n t. 66 O pi ni ons of

the At t or ney G ener al2 1 1 , 2 1 4 (19 8 1 ).

II Scope of R ecodi f i ed E arl y R et i rem ent P rovi s i on “The car di nal rul e of s t atut or y cons t ruct i on i s t o as cert ai n and carr youtt he i nt entof the l egi s l atur e. ” Mo n t g o mer y C ount y v. Bu c km an , 3 3 3 M d . 5 1 6 , 5 2 3 , 6 3 6 A .2 d 4 4 8 (1 9 9 4 ). T h is a n a ly sis b e g in s w ith th e la n g u a g e o f th e s t a t u te its e lf

. G a rg lia n o v . S ta te , 3 3 4 M d

. 4 2 8 , 4 3 5 6 3 9 A .2 d 6 7 5 (1 9 9 4 ). T h e w o rd s o f th e sta tu te “mustnotbe r ead i n a vacuum, ” how ever , “buts houl d be cons i der ed i n l i ghtof otherm ani fes t at i ons of l egi s l at i ve i nt ent

. ” I n r e D ougl as P. , 333 M d. 387, 393, 635 A

. 2d 427 (19 94)

. T hes e i ncl ude the hi s t or yof the ena ctm ent , i t s r el at i ons hi p t o ot hers t atut es , and other in d ic ia o f

th e p u rp o s e , a im , o r p o lic ie s o f th e L e g is la tu re
. F i karv. Mo n tg o m e ry C o u n ty , 3 3 3 M d

. 4 3 0 , 4 3 4 , 6 3 5 A

. 2 d 9 7 7 (19 9 4 ).
T h e e a rlyre tirem e n t p ro v isio n s re q u ire th e w o u ld -b e re tiree to

“ h a [ v e ] b e e n in th e u n c las sif ied se rv ice o f

th e S tate c o n tin u o u slyG en. 412] 415
fro m Ju n e 3 0 , 1 9 8 2 , u n ti l se p ara ti n g fro m em p loy m en t. ” T h e term

“ un cl assi fi ed servi ce” i s not defi ned for pu rposes of t he early r et i r ement s ect i ons , t he t i t l es i n w hi ch theyar e i ncl uded, ori ndeed t he enti re D ivi s i on I I , “Pens i ons , ” of the St at e Per s onnel and Pens i ons A r t i cl e. F o r pu rpo ses o f S P P D ivisi o n I, “S tat e P erso n n el, ” the term

“ un cl assi fi ed servi ce” m eans “all of those po si t i on s i n the State Per s onnel M anage m ent Sy s t em thatar e exc l uded fr om t he cl as s i fi ed ser vice byl aw
. ” S P P §1 -101(o). T hu s, an em ploy ee ho l ds a pos i t i on i n t he “unc l as s i fi ed s ervice” onl yi f the pos i t i on i s “i n t he S tate P e rso n n e l M a n a g e m e n t S y ste m .” T h is s y ste m is d e f in e d in SPP §1- 101( n) as “the per s onnel s y s t em es t abl i s hed under§1- 201 of t hi s t i t l e. ” SPP §1- 201, i n tur n, s t at es t hatt he St at e Per s onnel M anage m entSy s t em i s “undert he aut hor i t yof the Secr et aryof Per s onnel

. ” The hal l m ark o f an i ndepende ntper s onnel s y s t em, by con t ras t , i s that i ti s not u n dert he author i t yof the Secr et aryof P e rs o n n e l. T h a t is w h a t “i n d e p e n d e n t” m e a n s
. See 77 O pi ni ons of the At t or ney G ener al147, 150 ( 1992) ; 73 O pi ni ons of

the At t or ney G ener al2 8 5 , 2 8 6 (1 9 8 8 ). T o m a k e th is po in t all th e m o re e x p licit, SPP §1- 203( b) pr ovi des t hat “any pos i t i on i n a uni ti n t he Execut i ve B r anch of

St at e G overnm entw i t h an i ndepende ntper s onnel s y s t em i s excl uded fr om t he St at e Per s onnel M anage m entSy s t em. ”
H ence , i f w e w er e t o cons t rue t he t erm “uncl as s i fi ed s ervi ce” in th e e a rlyre tirem e n t p ro v isio n s in lig h t o f th e d e f in iti o n o f

th is t er m i n SPP §1- 101( o) and the ot her pr ovi s i ons fr om D i vi s i on I t hat ar e l i nked t o i t , w e w oul d be compel l ed t o concl ude thatempl oy ees i n i ndepende ntper s onnel s y s t ems ar e excl uded fr om t he bene fi t s of t he ea r l yr et i r ement pr ovi s i ons , beca us e theyar e not i n t he “uncl as s i fi ed s er vi ce” as t hus defi ned. T her efor e, t heycoul d not m e e t th e re q u ire m e n t in S P P § § 2 2 -4 0 4 (c )(3 )(ii) a n d 2 3 -4 0 4 (c )(3 )(ii) t h a tt h e e mpl o y e e h a v e b e e n i n t h e u n c l a s s i f i e d s e r vi ce “cont i nuous l y ” unt i l s epar at i on. Th a t i s n o t o u r c o n c l u s i o n , h o wev e r
. Ra t h e r , we fi nd i n t he leg is la tiv e h isto ryo f

th e e a rlyre tirem e n t p ro v isio n s u n m ista k a b le evi dence of a l egi s l at i ve purpos e t o pr es erve the bene fi t s of the 16- y earrul e for al l empl oy ees w ho w oul d ot herw i s e be e l i gi bl e fort hat b e n e f it, in c lu d in g th o s e in in d e p e n d e n t p e rs o n n e l s y s te m s
. Pr i or t o 1989, for m er A r t i cl e 73B , §11( 12) defi ned one of the cr i t er i a forel i gi bi l i t yfort he ea r l yr et i r ementbenef i tt o be w hether an empl oy ee “ has been .

. . pr om ot ed .

. . t o anypos i t i on w i t hi n t he St at e governm entw hi ch i s nota partof the cl ass i fi ed s ervi ce a nd416 [7 9 O p
. A tt ’y

The only appellate case construing this statute i s anunrepor ted 3 decision of the Court of Special Appe als. Ma ry lan d S tateRe tire ment & Pens ion Sy

stems v . H

owa rd, No. 1704, Sep’t. Ter m, 1987 (filed Jul y

18, 1988) (holdingthat §11(12) a pplied to an employee who had never ser ved in a classifie d position). w h i ch is no tcov ered byt he p rovi si on s of A rt i cl e 64 A (M erit S y s te m ) ....” 3
T he l aw w as r el at i vel y cl ear
. T hi s cr i t er i on forel i gi bi l i t yfor t he 16- y earbenef

i tw as w hethert he per s on had been promot ed t o a pos i t i on w hi ch w as notpar tof the cl as s i fi ed s ervi ce a nd notcover ed byfor m er A r t i cl e 64A

. T he l anguage “any pos i t i on
. . . notcover ed byt he pr ovi s i ons of [the] M er i t Sy s t em [Law ]

. . . ” pr es um abl ym eant pos i t i ons fr om w hi ch the empl oy ee c oul d be t erm inated w i t hout c a u s e a t a n ytim e
. See 66 O pi ni ons of the At t or ney G ener alat214. I f a n “ a tr i s k ” p o s i t i o n wa s p a r t o f a n i n d e p e n d e n tp e r s o n n e l s y s t e m, th e e m p lo y e e s a tis f

ie d th is c ri te ri o n f

o r e lig ib ility.
T he l aw w as change d byC hapt er 570 ( Senat e B i l l 346) of the L aw s of M ary l and 19 89

. A s d i scussed abo ve, pri or t o 1 98 9, t he tes t forel i gi bi l i t yw as w hethert he m ember w as pr om ot ed t o a pos i t i on w hi ch “i s nota part of t he cl as s i fi ed servi ce. ” In 1989, how ever , t he t es tforel i gi bi l i tybeca m e w hethert he mem berw as pr om ot ed “t o an uncl as s i fi ed pos i t i on. ”
I f the G ener al A s s embl yi nt ended the t erm “uncl as s i fi ed pos i t i on, ” as us ed i n C hapt er570, t o have the m eani ng now found fo r th e p ara ll el t erm “u n classified serv ic e” in S P P § 1 -10 1 (i ), pos i t i ons i n i ndepende ntper s onnel sy s t ems w oul d have be en excl uded byt he 1989 ena ctm ent

. A ccor di ngl y , i t s eff ectw oul d have been t o m ake s ubs t ant i v e ch an g es t o t he 16- y earrul e. T he le g is la tiv e h is to ry su g g e s ts ju s t th e o p p o s ite , h o w e v e r. F irst, th e G e n e ra l A ss e m b ly d id n o t in ten d th e 1 9 8 9 c h a n g e s to t he 16- y earrul e t o h ave anyfi s cal i m pact

. T he Fi s cal N ot e for Sen at e B i l l 346 des cr i bed the ef fec tof the bi l l as fol l ow s : “Si nce t his bil l m erel ycl ari fi es exi st i ng l aw and t hu s w i l l neither i ncrease nordecr eas e the number of m em b er s w ho curr ent l yqual i fyfort he

‘ 16 y ear ’ benef

i t , i tdoes notaff

ectSt at e expe ndi tur es
. ” I n addi t i on, t he Senat e B udgetand Taxat i on Fl oorR epor t on t he bi l l s t at ed that it h a d n o f

is c a l im p a c t. See a l

so Joi nt C om m i t t ee on P ensi on s, R e p o rt of the 1 9 8 8 In ter im to th e M a ry la n d G e n e ra l A ss e m b ly 207. I f a na r r ow defi ni t i on of the t erm “uncl as s i fi ed pos i t i on” had be enG en. 412] 417
i nt ended, t he bi l l w oul d have had a fi s cal i m pact , s i nce the cl as s of m ember s e l i g i b l e f

o rt h e b e n e f

i twou l d h a v e b e e n r e d u c e d b yt he exclusi on of em ploy ees i n indepe nd ent per sonn el sy st em s. S ec o n d , w h e n the G en era l A ssem b lyu sed the term “unc l a s s i f

i e d p o s i t i o n , ” i tp r o b a b l yh a d i n mi n d t h e d e f i n i t i o n of

“ u n c l a s s i f

i e d s e r v i c e ” a d d e d t o th e l a w b yCh a p t e r5 4 3 o f t h e L a ws of M ary l and 1988: “al l pos i t i ons s peci fi cal l yexcl uded fr om t he cl as s i f i e d s e r v i c e b yt h e Ann o t a t e d Cod e o f M a r y l a n d

. ” For m er A r t i cl e 6 4 A , §1( 20)

. A l t hough t erm s l i ke “unc l as s i fi ed s ervi ce” w ere n o t u sed w i t h pr eci s i on i n t he pr i orl aw , 77 O pi ni ons of

the A tto rn e y G e n e ra l 1 4 7 , 1 4 9

- 5 0 , n e v e rth e les s it is re a so n a b le to co n clud e tha t th e G en era l A ssem b lyinten d ed to u se the term “uncl as s i fi ed pos i t i on” i n Senat e B i l l 346 t o m ean any pos i t i on t hat w as not partof the cl assi fi ed servi ce and t hat carr i ed w i t h i tt he ri sk of ea r l yt er m i nat i on des cr i bed byt he A t t or neyG ener al i n hi s 1981 opi ni on. Fi nal l y , w hi l e the 1989 cha nges w er e notfor m al l ypar tof C ode R e v isio n , the R e tirem e n t A g e n c yh a d f o rm e d a c o m m it tee w ith m e m b e rs o f th e D e p a rtm e n t o f L e g isla tiv e R e f

e re n c e a n d o th e rs to begi n t he w or k of r eor gani zi ng and cl ar i fy i ng t he pr ovi s i ons of the Pens i on A r t i cl e. T hat comm i t t ee w as gui ded byt he s ame pr i nci pl es app l i cable i n o t her effort s t o revi se the M ary l and C od e. “A s a gener al rul e, s t atut es enac t ed as m er e code r evi s i on ar e pr es um ed not t o cont ai n s ubstan t i ve cha nges unl es s t he i nt entt o m ake s uch chan g es i s cl ear
. ” D epar tm ent of G ener alSer vi ces v. H ar m ans A s s oc. , 9 8 M d

. A p p
. 5 3 5 , 5 4 5 , 6 3 3 A .2 d 9 3 9 (1 9 9 3 ). P a rticu lar lyin l i ghtof the bi l l t i t l e’ s as s er t i on t hatt he bi l l w as s i m pl y“cl ar i fy i ng” t he el i gi bi l i t ycr i t er i a, w e vi ew C hapt er 570 as an ef for tt o r evi s e the 1 6 -ye a r r u le w ith o u t s u b s ta n tiv e c h a n g e
. N or di d s ubs equentr ecodi fi cat i ons change the s cope of t he 16- y earrul e. T he 1992 r evi s i on of the pens i on l aw s , C hapt er131 of the L aw s of M ary l and 1992, r ecodi fi ed for m er§§11( 12) and 117( 13) as § § 2 -408 and 4- 410, r es pect i vel y
. T he C om m i t t ee N ot es a c c o m p a n y in g th e se se c tio n s s tate d th a t th e c h a n g e s w e re “ sty listic o r t ec h n ical. ” T h e 1 9 9 4 C o d e R ev isi o n b il l add ing S P P D ivisi o n II, C h ap ter 6 o f the L aw s o f M ary land 1 9 9 4 , ex p resslyd en ies an yef fo rt ats ubs t ant i ve change. A ccor di ng t o t he R evi s or ’ s N ot es , SPP §§22- 404 and 23-404 r efl ect “new l anguage der i ved w i t houts ubs t ant i ve c h a n g e ” f

ro m th e p ri o r p ro v is io n s
.418 [7 9 O p
. A tt ’y

In light of our conc lusion, we nee d not consider whe ther a ny of 4 the statutes creating independent personne l sy stems themselves pre serve d the bene fit of the 16-year rule fo r empl oyees who transferre d to a new sy stem. See, e .g., §2-103.4(c ) and ( f)( 2) of the Transpor tation Article. I n s hor t , empl oy ees i n i ndepend en t per s onnel s y s t ems w ho l acke d j ob s ecur i t y w er e w i t hi n t he s cope of t he 16- y earrule a s of 1989. N ei t her t he 1989 amendm ent s nors ubs equentr evi s i ons of the 1 6 -y e a r ru le d im in ish e d th a t sc o p e . H e n c e , the se e m p lo y e e s re m a in e lig ib le

. III
C oncl usi on In su m m a r y, it i s o u r o p in io n th a t an o th e rw ise e lig ib le empl oy ee w ho has t r ans fe rr ed t o an i ndepende ntper s onnel s y s t em ma y s e e k e a r l y r e t i r e me n t u n d e r SP P § § 2 2

- 4 0 4 o r 2 3

- 4 0 4 i f t he empl oy ee has s erved cont i nuous l y i n a pos i t i on t hat s ubj ect s t he empl oy ee t o t he r i s k of ear l yt erm i nat i on. B eca us e thi s cons t ruct i on 4 d e p a r t s f

r o m th e l i t e r a l a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e s t a tu t o r yt e x t , we re c o m m e n d c la ri f

y in g le g is la tio n
. J. Jo sep h C u rran , Jr. A t t or ney G ener al
Ja c k S c h w a rtz C hi ef C ouns el O pi ni ons & Advi ce T h o m as F

. F il b ert A ssist a n t A tt or ney G ener

al