BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1382| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1382 Author: Negrete McLeod (D) Amended: 6/11/12 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIREMENT COMM. : 3-1, 4/9/12 AYES: Negrete McLeod, Gaines, Vargas NOES: Walters NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla SENATE FLOOR : 28-11, 4/16/12 AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Dutton, Emmerson, Fuller, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Walters, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-23, 6/28/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : County Retirement Act of 1937: retiree organizations SOURCE : California Retired County Employees Association DIGEST : This bill amends the 1937 Act County Retirement Law ('37 Act) to clarify terminology related to recognized retiree organizations, the items that a retiree under that CONTINUED SB 1382 Page 2 system may have deducted from his/her pay warrant, and the nature and extent of assistance provided to the recognized retiree organization by the retirement system with regard to mailings to the retiree organization's members. Assembly Amendments (1) allow county retirement boards to require that payment for any retiree benefit programs be to a single party designated by the recognized retiree organization, either to itself or to a third-party administrator; (2) does not make a board liable for contents of any communications between recognized retiree organization and its retired members; and (3) clarifies that the fee for mailings can include staff time for preparation. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Establishes the 1937 Act County Employees' Retirement Law, which covers 20 independent county retirement systems, each governed by an independent board of retirement. 2. Authorizes the retirement board to appoint an alternate retired member to the office of the eighth member of the board, from a list of nominees submitted by a qualified retiree organization. 3. Allows certain deductions to be taken from the retiree's warrant to make various payments, such as for medical premiums and life insurance, payments to charitable organizations, and payment of personal income taxes. 4. Requires a retirement board to notify the retiree organization with advance notice of any proposed program changes or uses of excess funds, and to allow the retiree organization reasonable time to comment prior to any formal action taken by the board on the proposed changes. 5. Contains references to retiree organizations using varying terminology. CONTINUED SB 1382 Page 3 This bill: 1. Defines the term "recognized employee organization" and amends various references to retiree organizations so that the term is used consistently. 2. Allows a retiree's payment for any retiree benefit program available through a retiree organization to be deducted from the retiree's pay warrant. 3. Requires that, upon the recognized retiree reorganization's request, the retirement system to assist the organization in distributing communications regarding membership in, and retiree programs available through, the retiree organization to some or all of the retirees in the system. 4. Specifies that the content of the communications is wholly the responsibility of the retiree organization and that the retirement board will have no liability for the content. 5. Authorizes the retirement system to charge the retiree organization a reasonable fee for the mailings, including staff time for preparation, which may not exceed the actual cost to the system. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/12) California Retired County Employees Association (source) ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor, the California Retired County Employees Association, "SB 1382 would make the '37 Act and a related Government Code section internally consistent with respect to references to the organization recognized by the Board of Retirement as representing retirees of the system (the recognized retiree organization), and clearly define such organization. The bill would also clarify the types of deductions that may be made from a retirement allowance upon written authorization by a retiree. Finally, it would establish a means by which CONTINUED SB 1382 Page 4 the recognized retiree organization can communicate by mail with the retirees it represents, and make the organization responsible for the costs. In this manner, the recognized retiree organization can fulfill its obligations to those they represent." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-23, 6/28/12 AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Silva, Valadao, Wagner NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Fuentes, Halderman, Norby, V. Manuel Pérez, Smyth, Torres, Williams DLW:m1 6/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED