BILL NUMBER: AB 1681	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Smyth
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Achadjian,   Bill Berryhill,   Conway, 
 Cook,   Donnelly,   Fletcher,   Beth
Gaines,   Garrick,   Grove,   Hagman,
  Halderman,   Harkey,   Jeffries, 
 Jones,   Knight,   Logue,   Mansoor,
  Miller,   Morrell,   Nestande, 
 Nielsen,   Norby,   Olsen,   Valadao,
  and Wagner   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2012

    An act to amend Section 35700 of the Education Code,
relating to school districts.   An act to add Section
1243.5 to the Government Code, relating to public employees'
retirement. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1681, as amended, Smyth.  School districts:
reorganization.   Public employees' retirement: felony
forfeiture.  
   Existing law provides that any elected public officer who takes
public office, or is reelected to public office, on or after January
1, 2006, who is convicted of any specified felony arising directly
out of his or her official duties, forfeits all rights and benefits
under, and membership in, any public retirement system in which he or
she is a member, effective on the date of final conviction, as
specified.  
   This bill would require that an employee of a school district,
county office of education, or charter school, who is convicted of
any state or federal felony for conduct arising out of, or in the
performance of, his or her official duties in pursuit of the office
or appointment, or in connection with obtaining salary, disability
retirement, or service retirement, or other benefits, forfeit
retirement benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the
commission of the felony to the forfeiture date, as specified. The
bill would also require any contributions to the public retirement
system made by the employee on or after the earliest date of
commission of the felony to be returned, without interest, to the
employee upon the occurrence of a distribution event, as defined,
unless otherwise ordered by a court or determined by the pension
administrator.  
   Existing law requires that an action to reorganize one or more
school districts be initiated upon the filing with the county
superintendent of schools of a petition to reorganize one or more
school districts if the petition is signed by any of 4 specified
groups.  
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this
provision. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 1243.5 is added to the 
 Government Code   , to read:  
   1243.5.  (a) If an employee of a school district, county office of
education, or charter school is convicted by a state or federal
trial court of any felony under state or federal law for conduct
arising out of, or in the performance of, his or her official duties,
in pursuit of the office or appointment, or in connection with
obtaining salary, disability retirement, service retirement, or other
benefits, he or she shall forfeit all accrued rights and benefits in
any public retirement system in which he or she is a member to the
extent provided in subdivision (b) and shall not accrue further
benefits in that public retirement system, effective on the date of
the conviction.
   (b) (1) An employee of a school district, county office of
education, or charter school shall forfeit all the retirement
benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the commission
of any felony described in subdivision (a) to the forfeiture date,
inclusive. The retirement benefits shall remain forfeited
notwithstanding any reduction in sentence or expungement of the
conviction following the date of the employee's conviction.
Retirement benefits attributable to service performed prior to the
date of the first commission of the felony for which the employee was
convicted shall not be forfeited as a result of this section.
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, "forfeiture date" means the
date of the conviction.
   (c) (1) Any contributions to the public retirement system made by
the employee described in subdivision (a) on or after the earliest
date of the commission of any felony described in subdivision (a)
shall be returned, without interest, to the employee upon the
occurrence of a distribution event unless otherwise ordered by a
court or determined by the pension administrator.
   (2) For the purposes of this subdivision, a "distribution event"
means any of the following:
   (A) Separation from employment.
   (B) Death of the member.
   (C) Retirement of the member.
   (d) A school district, county office of education, or charter
school that employs an employee described in subdivision (a) and that
employee shall each notify the public retirement system in which the
employee is a member of that employee's conviction within 60 days of
conviction in the trial court. The school district, county office of
education, or charter school's notification obligations shall not
apply if the employee's conviction occurs after the employee
separates from employment or office with that school district, county
office of education, or charter school. The operation of this
section is not dependent upon the performance of the notification
obligations specified in this subdivision.
   (e) A public retirement system may assess a school district,
county office of education, or charter school a reasonable amount to
reimburse the cost of audit, adjustment, or correction, if it
determines that the school district, county office of education, or
charter school failed to comply with this section.
   (f) If an employee's conviction is reversed and that decision is
final, the employee shall be entitled to recover the forfeited
retirement benefits as adjusted for any contributions received
pursuant to subdivision (c).  
  SECTION 1.    Section 35700 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
   35700.  An action to reorganize one or more school districts is
initiated upon the filing, with the county superintendent of schools,
of a petition to reorganize one or more school districts signed by
any of the following:
   (a) At least 25 percent of the registered voters residing in the
territory proposed to be reorganized if the territory is inhabited.
Where the petition is to reorganize territory in two or more school
districts, the petition shall be signed by at least 25 percent of the
registered voters in that territory in each of those school
districts.
   (b) A number of registered voters residing in the territory
proposed to be reorganized, equal to at least 8 percent of the votes
cast for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial
election in the territory proposed to be reorganized, where the
affected territory consists of a single school district with over
200,000 pupils in average daily attendance and the petition is to
reorganize the school district into two or more school districts.
   (c) The owner of the property, provided that territory is
uninhabited and the owner thereof has filed either a tentative
subdivision map with the appropriate county or city agency or an
application for any project, as defined in Section 21065 of the
Public Resources Code, with one or more local agencies.
   (d) A majority of the members of the governing boards of each of
the school districts that would be affected by the proposed
reorganization.