BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






          SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT    BILL NO:  SB 987
          Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair Hearing date:  April 9, 2012
          SB 987 (Negrete McLeod)    as amended  3/29/12           
          FISCAL:  YES

           CALPERS ANNUAL HOUSEKEEPING BILL:  MAKES VARIOUS CHANGES TO 
          THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT LAW
           

           HISTORY  :

              Sponsor:  California Public Employees' Retirement System 
                   (CalPERS), Board of   Administration

              Prior legislation:  CalPERS Annual Housekeeping Bill

           
          SUMMARY  :

          This bill would make various technical and non-controversial 
          changes to various sections of the Government Code 
          administered by the California Public Employees' Retirement 
          Board, including code sections governing the California 
          Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the Judges' 
          Retirement Systems I and II (JRS I and JRS II) and the 
          Legislators' Retirement System (LRS).


           BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS  :
          
          1)   Existing law  :

            a)  allows individuals to file a Declaration of Domestic 
              Partnership with the Secretary of State and requires that 
              registered domestic partners shall have the same rights, 
              protections, and benefits as are granted to and imposed 
              upon spouses.

            b)  allows a public employee to be absent from service on 
              employer-approved leave for an industrial illness or 
              injury and to receive temporary disability payments 
              during the absence.

          Pamela Schneider
          Date:  4/03/12                                         Page 1 










            c)  allows a CalPERS member who has been on uncompensated, 
              employer-approved leave for a personal illness or injury 
              to purchase service credit in the CalPERS system 
              equivalent to the time spent on leave. In such cases the 
              employee pays the entire cost (i.e., employer and 
              employee contributions) of the service credit.

          2)   This bill  :  
           
            a)  clarifies that references to "spouse," "surviving 
              spouse," and "marriage" in the laws governing CalPERS, 
              JRS I and II, and LRS apply equally to a registered 
              domestic partner, or partnership, to the extent provided 
              by the domestic partnership provisions in the Family 
              Code.

            b)  clarifies the definition of  an industrial "leave of 
              absence" to include leave for an industrial illness  or 
              injury  .

            c)  clarifies that members are able to purchase service 
              credit at their own expense for time away from work 
              caused by a non-work related  injury  in the same manner as 
              purchasing service credit for leave a non-work related 
              illness.


           COMMENTS  :

          1)   Argument in Support  :

            According to CalPERS, "Employers do not distinguish between 
            illness or injury when approving employee leaves, which are 
            granted for medical or disability reasons regardless of 
            cause.  The proposed change would clarify that members are 
            able to purchase service credit at their own expense for 
            time away from work caused by a non-work related injury in 
            the same manner as non-work related illness."

          2)   SUPPORT  :

            California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), 
            Sponsor
          Pamela Schneider
          Date:  4/03/12                                         Page 2 











          3)   OPPOSITION  :

            None to date




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          Pamela Schneider
          Date:  4/03/12                                         Page 3