under the contract and under this part.

The board may refuse to contract with, or to agree to an amendment proposed by, any public agency for any benefit provisions that are not specifically authorized by this part and that the board determines would adversely affect the administration of this system.

The governing body of a public agency that has established a pension trust or retirement plan funded by individual or group life insurance or annuity contracts may, notwithstanding any provision of this part to the contrary, enter into a contract to participate in this system making its employees members of this system, and continue the trust or plan with respect to service rendered prior to the contract date. A pension trust or retirement plan so continued shall be deemed not a local retirement, pension, or annuity fund or system for the purpose of this chapter. The public agency shall have all the rights of any other contracting agency to provide prior service benefits for its employees but may elect in the contract instead not to provide a benefit with respect to prior service, in which case the service rendered by its employees prior to the contract date shall be deemed not to be state service.

The approximate contribution quoted by the board and the actual contribution to be made if a contract results shall be determined by actuarial valuations by the actuary of the prior and future service liability under this system, on account of the employees involved in the computation, in the same manner as the contribution required of the state on account of its employees was originally determined, except that in consideration of the number of employees of the agency or other circumstances, a different manner of determining the contribution may be adopted by the board, upon recommendation of the actuary.

Notwithstanding Section 20466, the approximate contribution quoted by the board and the actual contributions for a contracting agency that is an employer for purposes of Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 20790) shall be the employer rate under Chapter 9, plus the additional amount required under that chapter on account of liability for service to date of contract and for benefits with respect to which it is not subject to Section 20506, the amount to be determined in accordance with Section 20466.

The approximate and actual contributions are similar to premiums under insurance policies. The approximate contribution quoted by the board to the public agency is subject to the contingency that the actual contribution certified by the board after the approval of a contract may differ from the approximate contribution because of:

If after receiving the approximate contribution quotation the governing body intends to approve the proposed contract, it shall adopt a resolution giving notice of that intention. The resolution shall contain a summary of the major provisions of the proposed retirement plan. The contract shall not be approved unless an election has been held to permit the employees proposed to be included in this system to express by secret ballot their approval or disapproval of the retirement proposal. Prior to the election each governing body shall be furnished with a schedule of rates of contribution of members, which shall be made available by the governing body to each employee proposed to be included in this system. The ballot at the election shall include the summary of the retirement plan as set forth in the resolution. The election shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the governing body which shall be such as to permit the firefighters, the police officers, the county peace officers, and the other employees proposed to be included in this system to express separately their approval or disapproval.

The governing body shall not include in this system any group if a majority of its members voted to disapprove the proposed plan or if two-thirds of those of its members who are also members of an existing local retirement pension or annuity fund or system do not vote for approval of the proposed plan. If there are no members of any group when the election is held, the governing body may include the group in this system, and members subsequently entering the group shall become members of this system under the provisions of this part.

Approval of the contract shall be by ordinance adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the governing body, not less than 20 days after the adoption of the resolution of intention, or by ordinance adopted by a majority vote of the electorate of the public agency voting thereon.

Notwithstanding Section 20471, and except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 20469.1, approval of a proposed joint contract by a trial court and county shall be by ordinances or resolutions adopted by both the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the governing body of a county and the presiding officer of the trial court, not less than 20 days after the latest adoption of the notices of intention. The resolution of the presiding officer of the trial court and the resolution or ordinance of the governing body of the county which approve the joint contract must be adopted within 30 days of each other.

agreement or a period of 24 months, whichever is longer, unless the county and its recognized employee organizations or the trial court and its recognized employee organizations mutually agree to a modification.

Errors in any contract may be corrected through amendments approved by the adoption of suitable resolutions by the contracting parties. Excluded employees may be included by groups through amendments approved in the manner prescribed for the approval of the contracts, except that if there were no members of an excluded group when the contract was entered into, an election among the employees is not required. Additional benefits for prior service provided in this part but not included in a contract, may be included through amendments so approved except that an election among employees is not required.

Investigations and valuations necessary to adjust the agency’s contributions on account of changed benefits or conditions of retirement shall be made in the manner prescribed for valuations and investigations to determine the approximate and actual contributions. Amendments in the contract necessary because of those valuations and investigations shall be approved in the manner prescribed for the approval of the contracts, except that an election among employees is not required.

Whenever by any provision of law an election is given to contracting agencies to subject themselves and their employees to provisions of this part otherwise not applicable to contracting agencies and their employees, and no other means of making the election is expressly provided, any contracting agency may make the election by amendment to its contract with the board approved in the manner provided for the approval of the contracts including an election among the employees affected unless the amendment only adds benefits without affecting members’ contributions, in which case the election among the employees is not required. An amendment to a joint contract that has been approved by the governing body of the county shall be deemed approved by the presiding officer of the trial court located within the county. The amendment shall specify the date upon which the agency and its employees shall become subject to the provisions. That date shall not be earlier than the first day following the approval of the contract pursuant to Section 20471, except that if the rate of the employer’s contributions changes, the effective date shall not be earlier than the first day of the pay period following the approval. Any election made by amendment to the contract shall be irrevocable until the contract is terminated. However, benefits provided by the amendment may be increased or improved from time to time by further amendment to the contract. From and after the date specified in the amendment to the contract the provisions, as they are in effect at the time of election and as they may be amended in the future, shall apply to the contracting agency and to its employees, and the rights, privileges, duties, liabilities, and responsibilities of the contracting agency and of each of its employees included in this system shall be governed thereby.

Notwithstanding Section 20474, a contracting agency may amend its contract or previous amendments to its contract, without election among its employees, to reduce benefits, to terminate provisions that are available only by election of the agency to become subject thereto, to provide different benefits or provisions or to provide a combination of those changes with respect to service performed after the effective date of the contract amendment made pursuant to this section, if the contracting agency has fully discharged all of the obligations imposed by Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1 with respect to the contract amendments, and if the amendment provides that:

respect to all members within each of the following classifications: local miscellaneous members, local police officers, local firefighters, county peace officers, local sheriffs, local safety members, school safety members, or all local safety members other than local police officers, local firefighters, county peace officers, local sheriffs, local safety members, or school safety members.

amendment.

Amendments to the contract and amendments of previous amendments to the contract may be effected pursuant to this section only once during any three-year period with respect to each of the classifications.

Whenever any provision of this part requires action by ordinance, action by resolution is authorized, except with respect to cities and counties, if the governing body of the public agency is authorized to take action by resolution.