HERBERT E. O'CONOR, GOVERNOR. 1679

employee who elects to join the said Retirement System
within one calendar year thereafter, shall be entitled to a
prior service certificate covering full credit for service ren-
dered prior to date of approval.

(b) Membership shall be compulsory on all employees
entering the service of such -municipal corporations after
date of approval if membership would have been compul-
sory had they entered the State service in similar positions

20. (Local Pension Systems. ) (a) If sixty (60%)
per centum of the members of any retirement or pension
system of any municipal corporation, hereafter referred
to as a local pension system, elect to become members
of the Employees' Retirement System of the State, by a
petition duly signed by such members, the participants
of such members in said Employees' Retirement System
of the State may be approved by the legislative body of
Such municipal corporation as though such local pension
system were not in operation and the provisions of this
sub-title shall also apply, except that the existing pension-
ers or annuitants of the local pension system who were
being paid pensions on the date of the approval shall be
continued and paid at their existing rates by the Employees'
Retirement System of the State and the liability on this
account shall be included in the computation of the accrued
liability by the actuary as provided by Section 22.

(b) Any cash and securities to the credit of the local
pension system shall be transferred to the Employees'
Retirement System of the State of Maryland as of the
date of approval. The trustees or other administrative head
of the local pension system as of the date of the approval,
shall certify the proportion, if any, of the funds of the
local system that represents the accumulated contributions
of the members, and the relative shares of the members
as of that date. Such shares shall be credited to the respec-
tive annuity savings accounts of such members in the
Employees' Retirement System of the State of Maryland.
The balance of funds transferred to the said Employees'
Retirement System shall be offset against the accrued lia-
bility before determining the special accrued liability con-
tribution to be paid by the municipal corporation as pro-
vided by Section 22. The operation of the said local pension
system shall be discontinued as of the date of approval.

21. (Duties of Certain Fiscal Officers. ) The chief
fiscal officer of each municipal corporation which approves
the inclusion of its officers and employees in the Employees'
Retirement System of the State of Maryland shall submit
to the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement