SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other general or special law,  rule or regulation to the contrary, a member retired prior to July 24, 1996, in a retirement system as defined in  section one who is a veteran , as defined Chapter 4 section 7, who served in the armed forces of the United States shall be entitled to credit for active service in the armed services of the United States; provided that such creditable service shall not be construed to include service for more than four years; and, provided further, that such creditable service shall not be allowed for any period of active service for which said veteran has received credit pursuant to paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section 4 of chapter thirty-two of the General Laws and provided further, that the amount does not exceed the eighty percent allowed to retire, and provided further, that no such member has accepted an offer of early retirement pursuant to the provisions of Section 83 of Chapter 71 of the Acts of 1993. This act shall also apply to National Guard and Active Reserve personnel, who are veterans, both former and present. Creditable service time, both enlisted and commissioned, may be applied toward retirement on a ratio of five years guard service or five years active reserve service substitutable for each year of active service.

SECTION 2. For the retirement system of any political subdivision, the provisions of this act shall take effect on the effective date of this act by majority vote of the board of such system and by the local legislative body. For the purposes of this paragraph local legislative body shall mean a town meeting for a town system, the city council subject to the provisions of its charter for a city system, the county commissioners for a county system, the district members for a district system and the governing body of an authority for an authority system. Acceptance shall be deemed to have occurred upon the filing of a certification of such vote with the commissioner. Members retired prior to July 24, 1996 of a retirement system eligible for said creditable service under this act shall become eligible for said creditable service the month following the acceptance of this act by the local legislative body. Terms used in this act shall have the same meaning as those terms defined in section one of chapter thirty-two of the General Laws. For purposes of this section, the state teachers’ and state employees’ retirement systems shall be deemed to have accepted the provisions of this act.

SECTION 3. Section 6 of chapter 116 of the acts of 2002 is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence.