BILL NUMBER: AB 67 CHAPTERED 05/14/03 CHAPTER 10 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 14, 2003 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR MAY 14, 2003 PASSED THE SENATE MAY 1, 2003 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Negrete McLeod DECEMBER 10, 2002 An act to amend Sections 20161, 20467, 20530.1, 20533, 20752, 20814, 20822, 20826, 20903, 21051, 21261, 21407, 21465, 21499, 21535, 21621, 50953, 75093, 75094, 75580, and 75590 of, to amend and renumber Section 75030.9 of, to amend the heading of Part 3.4 (commencing with Section 21750) of Division 5 of Title 2 of, to add Section 9359.02 to, and to repeal Sections 20162, 20791, 20794, 20795, 20796, 20800, 20801, 20802, 20804, 20807, 20908, 21000, 21262, and 21401 of, the Government Code, relating to public employees' retirement, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 67, Negrete McLeod. Public employees' retirement. (1) The Legislators' Retirement Law establishes various retirement benefits for members of that system. This bill would provide that the amount of compensation used to compute benefits for specified members of that system cannot exceed the limitations placed upon retirement systems by certain provisions of the federal Internal Revenue Code. (2) Under the Public Employees' Retirement Law, the system may dispense with a recalculation of benefit payments under certain circumstances. This bill would revise and recast those provisions. (3) The Public Employees' Retirement Law authorizes contracting agencies to provide service credit for their employees' prior service, and authorizes the transfer of assets, as specified, in connection therewith. This bill would additionally authorize interest to be charged in connection with that transfer and would make related changes to this provision. (4) The Public Employees' Retirement Law provides that the state's employer contribution shall be annually adjusted in the Budget Act according to actuarial assessments of the liability for benefits on account of state employees, as specified, and, for certain members, shall be appropriated annually from the General Fund to the retirement fund. State employer contributions from other funds in the State Treasury are appropriated quarterly. This bill would delete obsolete provisions that prescribe specific state employer contribution rates for certain members of the system and would provide that the General Fund appropriation to the retirement fund shall be made quarterly. The bill would also make related, conforming changes, and would delete other obsolete provisions. (5) Existing law authorizes a contracting agency of the Public Employees' Retirement System to elect to provide its employees with additional service credit if certain conditions exist and requires that agency to transmit to the retirement fund an amount equal to the actuarial equivalent of the increase in the member's benefit after the receipt of that service credit. This bill would instead require the contracting agency making that election to agree that the added cost to the retirement fund for those employees receiving the additional service credit shall be included in the contracting agency's employer contribution rate, as specified. (6) The Public Employees' Retirement Law requires that the basic death benefit, as specified, be increased by a factor that is based on the difference between the actuarial interest rate, as defined, and 6 percent. This bill would clarify that no increase to that benefit is provided if the actuarial interest rate is less than 6 percent. (7) The Volunteer Firefighters Length of Service Award Act authorizes cities, counties, cities and counties, or districts, that have fire departments with volunteer firefighting members, to offer members an award as an incentive for service. Under the act, the award system is administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, and assets of this award program are deposited in the Volunteer Firefighters Length of Service Award Fund. This bill would specify that assets of that fund attributable to the benefits of registered volunteers of a department shall be subject to the claims of creditors of the department in the case of the department's insolvency. (8) Under the Judges' Retirement Law, certain benefits are provided to the surviving spouse of a judge who dies in office, as specified. This bill would clarify that those provisions do not prevent a surviving spouse of a judge from also receiving payments to which he or she may be entitled under the Extended Service Incentive Program. (9) Under the Judges' Retirement System II Law, a judge who is retired for disability may not receive a retirement allowance, except as specified, while he or she is less than 70 years of age and engages in the practice of law or other gainful occupation. This bill would instead provide that a judge who is retired for disability may not receive a retirement allowance while he or she, prior to his or her normal retirement age, engages in the practice of law or other gainful occupation involving duties substantially similar to those that the judge was found unable to perform due to his or her disability. (10) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 9359.02 is added to the Government Code, to read: 9359.02. (a) The amount of compensation used to compute benefits payable to any person who becomes a member of this system on or after July 1, 1996, may not exceed the limitations upon public retirement systems set forth in Section 401(a)(17) of Title 26 of the United States Code, as that section may be amended from time to time and as that limit may be adjusted by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for increases in the cost of living. (b) The determination of compensation for each 12-month period shall be subject to the annual compensation limit in effect for the calendar year in which the 12-month period begins. In a determination of average annual compensation over more than one 12-month period, the amount of compensation taken into account for each 12-month period shall be subject to the applicable annual compensation limit. SEC. 2. Section 20161 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20161. Notwithstanding any other provision of this part or of Section 13943.2 or 16302.1 to the contrary, the following shall apply: (a) When there has been a payment of death benefits or a return of accumulated contributions, this system may refrain from collecting an underpayment of accumulated contributions if the amount to be collected is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or less. (b) When there has been a payment of death benefits or a return of accumulated contributions and there is a balance of fifty dollars ($50) or less remaining posted to a member's individual account, this system may dispense with a return of accumulated contributions. (c) When there is a positive or negative balance of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or less remaining posed to a member's individual account, or the balance exceeds two hundred fifty dollars ($250) but the difference to the monthly allowance unmodified by any optional settlement is less than five dollars ($5), this system may dispense with any recalculation of, or other adjustment to, benefit payments. (d) The dollar amounts specified in subdivisions (a) and (c) shall be adjusted in accordance with any changes in the dollar amounts specified in Section 13943.2. SEC. 3. Section 20162 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 4. Section 20467 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20467. 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. SEC. 5. Section 20530.1 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20530.1. (a) An agency whose contract provides for participation of its employees in this system may request the employees' service, with the contracting agency, prior to the date the employees became members of this system, be credited under this system. If the employees are members of a local retirement system and received service and contribution credits under that local retirement system, credit in this system may be granted if the system administrator certifies that the local system may be transferred. (b) This section shall apply only to members employed by the contracting agency on the effective date of the contract or the amendment to the contract in which the contracting agency elects to be subject to the provisions of this section. Any cash and securities to the credit of the local retirement system and held on account of affected employees shall be transferred to this system as of said effective date. (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the board may make arrangements with the agency for the transfer of all or a portion of assets, or all or a portion of service credit, over an appropriate period following the effective date of the contract or the amendment to the contract, if it finds that transfer as of the effective date is not possible without hardship to the agency or its employees. Nothing in these arrangements for the partial transfer of assets or service credit shall affect the crediting of service for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under this system. Interest may be charged at the discretion of the board. (d) This section may not apply to any contracting agency unless and until the agency elects to be subject to this section by contract or amendment to the contract made in the manner prescribed for approval of contracts. SEC. 6. Section 20533 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20533. The employer contribution rate adopted under this part or because of amendments to the contract or to this part, apply to all compensation upon the basis of which member's contributions are deducted after those percentages became or become effective, without regard to the time when the service was rendered for which the compensation is paid. If correction of the amount of compensation reported requires additional employer contributions, the contributions shall be computed using the employer rate in effect at the time of the adjustment. SEC. 7. Section 20752 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20752. (a) A member of the Judges' Retirement System, the Judges' Retirement System II, the Legislators' Retirement System, the State Teachers' Retirement System, the University of California Retirement System, or a county retirement system, who has withdrawn accumulated contributions from this system shall have the right to redeposit those contributions, subject to the same conditions as imposed for redeposits of accumulated contributions by Section 20750, including the rights that he or she would have had under Section 20638 had he or she not withdrawn his or her contributions. (b) Provisions of this section extending a right to redeposit accumulated contributions withdrawn from this system shall also apply to members of any retirement system established under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 45300) of Division 5 of Title 4 with respect to which an ordinance complying with Section 45310.5 has been filed with, and accepted by, the board or any retirement system established by, or pursuant to, the charter of a city or city and county or by any other public agency of this state which system, in the opinion of the board, provides a similar modification of rights and benefits because of membership in this system and with respect to which the governing body of the city, city and county or public agency and the board have entered into agreement pursuant to Section 20351. (c) A member who elects to redeposit under this section shall have the same rights as a member who has elected pursuant to Section 20731 to leave his or her accumulated contributions on deposit in the fund. SEC. 8. Section 20791 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 9. Section 20794 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 10. Section 20795 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 11. Section 20796 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 12. Section 20800 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 13. Section 20801 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 14. Section 20802 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 15. Section 20804 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 16. Section 20807 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 17. Section 20814 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20814. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the state' s contribution under this chapter shall be adjusted from time to time in the annual Budget Act according to the following method. As part of the proposed budget submitted pursuant to Section 12 of Article IV of the California Constitution, the Governor shall include the contribution rates submitted by the actuary of the liability for benefits on account of employees of the state. The Legislature shall adopt the actuary's contribution rates and authorize the appropriation in the Budget Act. (b) The employer contribution rates for all other public employers under this system shall be determined on an annual basis by the actuary and shall be effective on the July 1 following notice of a change in rate. SEC. 18. Section 20822 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20822. From the General Fund in the State Treasury there is appropriated quarterly, to the retirement fund, the state's contribution for all of the following: (a) All state miscellaneous members and all other categories of members whose compensation is paid from the General Fund. (b) All university members whose compensation is paid from funds of, or funds appropriated to, the university. (c) All state miscellaneous members who are employed by the State Department of Education or the Department of Rehabilitation and whose compensation is paid from the Vocational Education Federal Fund, the Vocational Rehabilitation Federal Fund, or any other fund received, in whole or in part, as a donation to the state under restrictions preventing its use for state contributions to the retirement system. (d) All state miscellaneous members and all other categories of members whose compensation is paid from the Senate Operating Fund or the Assembly Operating Fund or the Operating Funds of the Assembly and Senate. SEC. 19. Section 20826 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20826. The board shall certify to the Controller at the end of each quarter the total amount of compensation in respect to which state contributions are payable from the General Fund and each other fund in the State Treasury, and the Controller shall transfer the state's contribution from each fund, respectively, to the retirement fund. Compensation shall be included in the certification at the end of the month in which the member's contributions based upon it are paid. SEC. 20. Section 20903 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20903. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, when the governing body of a contracting agency determines that because of an impending curtailment of, or change in the manner of performing service, the best interests of the agency would be served, a local member shall be eligible to receive additional service credit if the following conditions exist: (a) The member is employed in a job classification, department, or other organizational unit designated by the governing body of the contracting agency and retires within any period designated in and subsequent to the effective date of the contract amendment, or any additional period or periods designated in any subsequently adopted resolution of the governing body of the contracting agency, provided the period is not less than 90 days nor more than 180 days. (b) The governing body agrees that the added cost to the retirement fund for all eligible employees who retire during the specified period shall be included in the contracting agency's employer contribution rate, as determined by Section 20814. (c) The governing body shall certify that it is electing to exercise the provisions of this section, because of impending mandatory transfers, demotions, and layoffs that constitute at least 1 percent of the job classification, department, or organizational unit as designated by the governing board, resulting from the curtailment of, or change in the manner of performing, its services. (d) The governing body shall certify that it is its intention at the time that this section is made operative that if any early retirements are granted after receipt of service credit pursuant to this section, that any vacancies thus created or at least one vacancy in any position in any department or other organizational unit shall remain permanently unfilled thereby resulting in an overall reduction in the workforce of the department or organizational unit. (e) The amount of additional service credit shall be two years regardless of credited service. (f) This section is not applicable to any member otherwise eligible if the member receives any unemployment insurance payments during the specified period. (g) Any member who qualifies under this section, upon subsequent reentry to this system shall forfeit the service credit acquired under this section. (h) This section does not apply to any member who is not employed by the contracting agency during the period designated in subdivision (a) and who has less than five years of service credit. (i) This section does not apply to any contracting agency unless and until the agency elects to be subject to the provision of this section by amendment to its contract made in the manner prescribed for approval of contracts, except an election among the employees is not required, or, in the case of contracts made after January 1, 2000, by express provision in the contract making the contracting agency subject to the provisions of this section. Before adopting this provision, the governing body of a contracting agency shall, with timely public notice, place the consideration of this section on the agenda of a public meeting of the governing body, at which time disclosure shall be made of the additional employer contributions, and the funding therefor, and members of the public shall be given the opportunity to be heard. The matter may not be placed on the agenda as a consent item. Only after the public meeting may the governing body adopt this section. The governing body shall also comply with the requirements of Section 7507. The employer shall notify the board of the employer's compliance with this subdivision at the time of the governing body's application to adopt this section. (j) The contracts of contracting agencies that adopted the provisions of former Section 20903, prior to the repeal of that section on January 1, 1999, shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms and the terms of this section. Notwithstanding subdivision (i), those contracting agencies need not amend their contracts or otherwise comply with the requirements of subdivision (i) to be subject to this section. Without limiting the foregoing, eligibility periods under subdivision (a) of former Section 20903, designated by the governing body of a contracting agency by resolution pursuant to the terms of its contract or contract amendment, shall remain in effect in accordance with their terms as if designated pursuant to this section. (k) Notwithstanding Section 20790, an election to become subject to this section may not exclude an agency from the definition of "employer" for purposes of Section 20790. SEC. 21. Section 20908 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 22. Section 21000 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 23. Section 21051 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21051. (a) A member electing to receive credit for service subject to this section shall contribute, in accordance with Section 21050, an amount equal to the following: (1) The contributions the member would have made to the system for the period for which current service credit is granted, assuming that the rate of contribution under his or her employer's formula at the rate age applicable to him or her at the beginning of his or her first subsequent period of service in membership and his or her compensation earnable on that date had applied to the member during the period for which credit is granted. (2) The interest that would have accrued on those contributions if they had been deposited at the beginning date of his or her first subsequent period of service in membership, from that date until the date of completion of payments. (3) If the member is authorized under Section 21050 to contribute in other than a lump-sum payment, interest on the unpaid balance of the amounts payable under paragraphs (1) and (2), which interest shall begin to accrue as of the date of the election to receive credit. (b) The beginning date of the first subsequent period of service, for purposes of computation of contributions and interest, shall be deemed to be the end of the period of service credited for a member who has no subsequent return to service. SEC. 24. Section 21261 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21261. The sole purpose of this section is to notify the current spouse of the selection of benefits or change of beneficiary made by a member. This section is not intended to conflict with community property law. An application for a refund of the member's accumulated contributions, an election of optional settlement, a designation of beneficiary, or a change in beneficiary designation shall contain the signature of the current spouse of the member, unless the member declares, in writing under penalty of perjury, any of the following: (a) The member is not married. (b) The current spouse has no identifiable community property interest in the benefit. (c) The member does not know, and has taken all reasonable steps to determine, the whereabouts of the current spouse. (d) The current spouse has been advised of the application and has refused to sign the written acknowledgment. (e) The current spouse is incapable of executing the acknowledgment because of an incapacitating mental or physical condition. (f) The member and the current spouse have executed a marriage settlement agreement pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 4 of the Family Code that makes the community property law inapplicable to the marriage. SEC. 25. Section 21262 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 26. Section 21401 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 27. Section 21407 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21407. Upon retirement of a state peace officer/firefighter member or a local safety member subject to Section 21363, 21363.1, 21363.3, or 21363.4 for industrial disability, the member shall receive a disability allowance of 50 percent of his or her final compensation plus an annuity purchased with his or her accumulated additional contributions, if any, or, if qualified for service retirement, the member shall receive his or her service retirement allowance if the allowance, after deducting the annuity, is greater. SEC. 28. Section 21465 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21465. (a) Optional settlement 5 consists of a partial distribution of the actuarial present value of the portion, as specified in this section, of the member's unmodified monthly allowance, as prescribed in Section 21362, 21362.2, 21363, 21363.1, 21363.4, or 21423, when a service retirement allowance is payable. The actuarial present value shall be based upon the investment return and postretirement mortality assumptions adopted by the board for that purpose. The member may elect to receive the actuarial present value of no less than 20 percent and no more than 50 percent of his or her unmodified allowance. The member may elect to receive the remaining portion of the unmodified allowance, not distributed as a lump-sum payment, under one of the settlements specified in this article for the remainder of his or her lifetime and thereafter to his or her designated beneficiary, unless this amount is solely limited to the survivor continuance portion. The portion of the unmodified allowance equivalent to the survivor continuance pursuant to Section 21624 may not be distributed as a lump-sum payment. The benefits provided under this section may not exceed the benefits that would have otherwise been provided under any other section in this article. (b) This section shall only apply to the following members who retire on or after January 1, 1999: (1) State peace officer/firefighter members in State Bargaining Unit 6. (2) State peace officer/firefighter members in State Bargaining Unit 8 and state patrol members in State Bargaining Unit 5, if a memorandum of understanding has been agreed upon by the state and the recognized employee organization to become subject to this section. (3) This section shall also apply to state peace officer/firefighter members and state patrol members in related supervisory and confidential positions, if the Department of Personnel Administration has approved their inclusion. SEC. 29. Section 21499 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21499. (a) Notwithstanding Section 21498, when either an initial payment of a preretirement or postretirement death allowance or a preretirement or postretirement lump-sum benefit is payable in an amount of ten dollars ($10) or more, it shall be authorized to the Controller within 45 days of receipt by this system of all the necessary information, including the return of warrants issued or any overpayment outstanding after the date of the death of the annuitant. (b) If any payment is not made within that time limitation, the payment shall also include interest at the greater of the interest crediting rate specified in Section 20178 or the net earnings rate (including capital gains and losses) in effect at the time the payment is made, for time following the expiration of that time limitation. (c) The system shall submit, annually, as part of the report required by Section 20237, to the Legislature and the Governor a summary of the experience of the system in making payments pursuant to subdivision (b). SEC. 30. Section 21535 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21535. Notwithstanding Section 20178, for member deaths occurring on or after January 1, 1994, if the actuarial interest rate exceeds 6 percent, the accumulated contributions of a member payable pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 21532 shall be increased by a factor determined by the board that is based on the difference between the current actuarial interest rate defined in Section 20014 and the 6 percent interest crediting rate on member contributions. If the actuarial interest rate is less than 6 percent, no increase may be provided under this section. SEC. 31. Section 21621 of the Government Code is amended to read: 21621. If the beneficiary of a member retired under this system is entitled to receive a comparable lump-sum death benefit from any other retirement system supported, in whole or in part, by public funds in which he or she was a member in employment subsequent to his or her last employment in which he or she was a member of this system, no payment shall be made under Section 21620, 21622, 21623, 21623.5, or 21623.6 providing for payment of a lump-sum death benefit to a member's designated beneficiary. SEC. 32. The heading of Part 3.4 (commencing with Section 21750) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code is amended to read: PART 3.4. INTERNAL REVENUE CODE COMPLIANCE AND REPLACEMENT BENEFIT PLAN SEC. 33. Section 50953 of the Government Code is amended to read: 50953. (a) (1) The award system shall be administered by the board. All provisions of the Public Employees' Retirement Law, Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2, governing the board's rights, powers, duties, obligations, and procedures in administration of that system and investment of the Public Employees' Retirement Fund which are not inconsistent with this chapter shall apply with equal force and effect to the award system and the investment of the fund created under this chapter. (2) In addition to those powers and duties, the board shall determine if participation in the system is adequate to insure that sufficient funds will be available for the payment of awards on an actuarial reserve basis before any awards are paid. If the board determines that participation in the system is inadequate to assure the financial success of the system, it shall terminate the system prior to payment of the first award. In case of termination, evaluation fees shall be considered to have been fully earned and are nonrefundable. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the assets of the fund attributable to the benefit of registered volunteers of a department are subject to the claims of creditors of the department in the case of the insolvency of the department. The assets of the fund that are not attributable to the benefits of registered volunteers of an insolvent department are not subject to the claims of the creditors of the insolvent department. SEC. 34. Section 75030.9 of the Government Code, as added by Chapter 433 of the Statutes of 2001, is amended and renumbered to read: 75030.8. (a) A judge may elect, by written election filed with the board at any time prior to retirement, to make contributions and receive service credit for all of the time he or she served as a full-time subordinate judicial officer, as defined in Section 71601, prior to becoming a judge, excluding any period of time for which the judge is receiving, or is entitled to receive, a retirement allowance from any other public retirement system. (b) A judge electing to receive credit for service pursuant to subdivision (a) shall, at the time of filing his or her election, pay to the Judges' Retirement Fund, a sum equal to the actuarial present value of the increase in benefits due to the additional service. The amount shall be determined by the Judges' Retirement System in accordance with this section. SEC. 35. Section 75093 of the Government Code is amended to read: 75093. (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary, the surviving spouse of any judge who died in office on or after January 1, 1987, shall receive a monthly allowance, equal to 25 percent of the monthly salary payable at the time payment of the allowance falls due, to the judge last holding the judicial office to which the deceased judge was last elected or appointed. (b) A surviving spouse who receives an allowance pursuant to this section shall have no other claim with respect to the Judges' Retirement Fund or with respect to any other provisions of the Judges' Retirement Law except that a surviving spouse who receives an allowance pursuant to this section on account of a death in office on or after January 1, 1987, and who was eligible to elect the allowance payable pursuant to Section 75091, may elect, within a 24-month period after the date of the death of the judge, to become subject to Section 75091 in lieu of the benefit payable pursuant to this section, and that any surviving spouse who was, prior to January 1, 1987, eligible to elect the monthly allowance provided by Section 75091 but, instead, had elected at the time of the judge's death, the monthly allowance payable pursuant to this section, may elect, within a 24-month period after the date of the death of the judge, to receive the monthly allowance provided by Section 75091 in lieu of the benefit payable pursuant to this section. An election revoking the benefit payable pursuant to this section and electing to receive the monthly allowance payable pursuant to Section 75091 shall be filed with the Judges' Retirement System and the effective date of payment provided by Section 75091 shall be the first of the month following the date on which that election was filed. (c) This section does not prevent a surviving spouse from claiming or receiving any payments to which he or she may be entitled as a beneficiary under the Extended Service Incentive Program set forth in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 75085). (d) If the surviving spouse has received a benefit under Division 4 (commencing with Section 3201) of the Labor Code, on account of the death of a judge, the amount of that benefit shall be deducted from the allowance payable under this section. (e) The allowance provided by this section shall be payable commencing with the day following the date of the judge's death. (f) This section does not apply to the death of any retired judge while serving on assignment in any court. SEC. 36. Section 75094 of the Government Code is amended to read: 75094. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, the surviving spouse of a judge who (1) died in office, (2) had attained the minimum age for service retirement applicable to the judge preceding his or her death, with a minimum of 20 years of service, and (3) was eligible to receive an allowance pursuant to Section 75025 or 75033.5, shall receive an allowance that is equal to the amount that the judge would have received if the judge had been retired from service on the date of death and had elected optional settlement 2 specified in subdivision (b) of Section 75071. (b) A surviving spouse receiving an allowance pursuant to this section shall have no other claim to benefits with respect to the Judges' Retirement Fund or with respect to any other provision of the Judges' Retirement Law. (c) The benefits provided by this section are only payable to the surviving spouse of a judge who elects to come within this section. Notwithstanding Section 75090, that election may be made at any time while the judge is in office and, once made, the election is irrevocable. (d) This section does not prevent a surviving spouse from claiming or receiving any payments to which he or she may be entitled as a beneficiary under the Extended Service Incentive Program set forth in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 75085). SEC. 37. Section 75580 of the Government Code is amended to read: 75580. (a) If a judge who is retired for disability engages in the practice of law or other gainful occupation that requires the discharge of duties substantially similar to those duties that the judge was found, pursuant to Section 75560.1, to be unable to perform due to mental or physical disability, the retirement allowance otherwise payable to him or her shall cease permanently, except as provided in this section. (b) If a retired judge becomes entitled to any salary for assignment to a court by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council after retirement for disability, the retirement allowance otherwise payable shall, during the time he or she is entitled to receive that salary or other compensation, be reduced by the amount of that salary or compensation. (c) A judge who is retired for disability may, without loss or reduction in allowance, engage in the practice of law or any other gainful occupation that does not require the discharge of duties substantially similar to those duties the judge was found, pursuant to Section 75560.1, to be unable to perform due to mental or physical disability, other than a public office, as long as the compensation earned in any month when combined with the judge's allowance does not exceed 75 percent of the salary payable to the judge holding the judicial office to which the retired judge was last elected or appointed, and the retirement allowance otherwise payable to the judge shall be reduced by the amount of any earning in excess of that amount. The judge shall report the compensation earned during each month to the board by the eighth day of the following month. (d) Persons affected by this section shall report all compensation earned in a form and manner required by the board under penalty of perjury. The board shall have the authority to require these persons to grant the board permission to request wage information for the purposes of verifying the reported compensation earned. The Employment Development Department shall report compensation in a form and manner required by the board in accordance with Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code. The board shall reimburse the Employment Development Department for the costs that the department incurs in searching for and providing that information. (e) When a judge affected by subdivision (c) reaches the age at which the judge would be eligible to retire for services pursuant to Section 75522 had the judge not retired for disability, the judge's retirement allowance shall be made equal to the amount it would be if not reduced pursuant to this section, and may not again be modified for any cause. (f) A judge who is retired for disability pursuant to this chapter or becomes entitled to any salary for assignment to a court by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council after retirement for disability pursuant to this chapter is not eligible to receive service credit in another public retirement system or pursuant to this chapter or to be reinstated to this system. (g) The Legislature reserves the right to increase or reduce the benefits prescribed by this section as it may find appropriate. SEC. 38. Section 75590 of the Government Code is amended to read: 75590. (a) A surviving spouse of a judge who was eligible to retire pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 75522 shall, within 90 days after the judge's death, elect to receive either of the following: (1) A monthly retirement allowance equal to one-half of the judge' s benefit factor computed as stated in subdivision (d) of Section 75522 as of the date of death, multiplied by the judge's final compensation multiplied by the number of years of service credit. This allowance shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living as provided in Section 75523. (2) The judge's monetary credits determined pursuant to Section 75520, including the credits added under subdivision (b) of that section computed to the last day of the month preceding the date of distribution. (b) A surviving spouse of a retired judge who elected to receive a monthly allowance under subdivision (d) of Section 75522 or who was retired for disability and receiving an allowance under Section 75560.4 shall receive a monthly allowance equal to 50 percent of the deceased judge's last monthly retirement allowance. This allowance shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living as provided in Section 75523. (c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, the surviving spouse of a judge who (A) died in office, (B) had attained the minimum age for service retirement applicable to the judge preceding his or her death, with a minimum of 20 years of service, and (C) was eligible to receive an allowance pursuant to Section 75522, shall receive an allowance that is equal to the amount that the judge would have received if the judge had been retired from service on the date of death and had elected optional settlement 2 specified in subdivision (b) of Section 75571. (2) A surviving spouse receiving an allowance pursuant to this subdivision shall have no other claim to benefits with respect to the Judges' Retirement Fund or with respect to any other provision of the Judges' Retirement System II Law. (3) The benefits provided by this subdivision are only payable to the surviving spouse of a judge who elects to come within this subdivision. That election may be made at any time while the judge is in office and, once made, the election is irrevocable. (d) A monthly allowance payable to a surviving spouse pursuant to this section is payable commencing upon the death of the judge and continuing until the death of the surviving spouse. SEC. 39. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to facilitate the orderly administration of public retirement systems subject to this act at the earliest possible time, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.