(a) Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or public utility, either in proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise, and terminates the corporation or operates the facilities itself, that has a pension plan in operation, the members and beneficiaries of the pension plan shall continue to have the rights, privileges, benefits, obligations, and status with respect to the plan.

The board shall consider, and take into account, the outstanding obligations and liabilities of the corporation or of the publicly or privately owned public utility, as the case may be, by reason of the pension plan, and may negotiate an allowance in the purchase price of the corporation or the utility for the assumption of those obligations and liabilities when acquiring the corporation or the utility.

(b) Instead of maintaining an existing pension plan applicable to bargaining unit employees of an acquired facility, the board, with the consent of any exclusive collective bargaining representative of employees of an acquired facility whose rights are protected by Section 120520, may enroll the employees in, or transfer them to, the Public Employees’ Retirement System or another retirement system.

(c) A contract to enroll employees in the Public Employees’ Retirement System shall be subject to the provisions of Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(d) Employees participating in an existing pension plan shall receive benefits immediately after enrollment in, or transfer to, the system that are at least equal to, or greater than, the benefits the employees would have been entitled to immediately before enrollment in, or transfer to, the system.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 202, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2004.)