1.__Election.__If the Maine Judicial Retirement System determines at the time a member retires that the member's benefit would be increased as a result of the inclusion of compensation that would have been paid for fiscal year 2002-03 days off without pay as described in section 1201, subsection 3, the retirement system shall advise the member of that result and shall allow the member to elect to have that compensation included in the calculation of the member's benefit and to make payments as set forth in subsection 2.

2.__Payment.__The amount that a member who makes the election permitted in subsection 1 must pay is the amount equal to the employee contribution that person would have made on wages that would have been paid to that person on the days off without pay during the 2002-03 fiscal year as described in section 1201, subsection 3, plus interest at the same rate as that required for payment of back contributions pursuant to Title 5, section 17704, subsection 3.__If the member elects to make the payment, the Maine Judicial Retirement System shall withhold the required amount from the member's first retirement benefit check.

3.__Benefit calculation.__If the member fails to make the election within 31 days of the notification provided under subsection 1, the Maine Judicial Retirement System shall calculate the member's retirement benefit without inclusion of the days off without pay during the 2002-03 fiscal year.

Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §17001, sub-§4, ķA, as amended by PL 1993, c. 410, Pt. RR, §1, is further amended to read:

A. The average annual rate of earnable compensation of a member during the 3 years of creditable service as an employee in Maine, not necessarily consecutive, in which the member's annual rate of earnable compensation is highest. However, if a member is subject to a temporary layoff or other time off without pay as a result of a Governor's Executive Order, time off without pay or loss of pay pursuant to the agreements of February 15, 1991, October 23, 1991 and June 11, 1993 between the Executive Department and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 93, time off without pay pursuant to the agreement of June 11, 1993 between the Executive Department and the Maine State Employees Association, days off without pay as authorized by legislative action or days off without pay resulting from any executive order declaring or continuing a state of emergency relating to the lack of an enacted budget document for fiscal years ending June 30, 1992 and June 30, 1993, or, if a member elects to make the