Amended in Assembly April 15, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1144

Introduced by Assembly Member Hall

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section begin delete 22900.1 end delete begin insert 22893.1 end insert to the Government Code, relating to public employee benefits.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1144, as amended, Hall. Public Employees’ Medical and Hospital Care Act: begin delete City of Carson. end delete begin insert contracting agencies. end insert

The Public Employees’ Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) authorizes the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System to contract with carriers for health benefit plans for employees and annuitants, as defined. Existing law requires an agency contracting for coverage under PEMHCA and each employee or annuitant to contribute a portion of the cost of providing the benefit coverage afforded under the health benefit plan in which the employee or annuitant may be enrolled and prescribes various schedules for employer payments and requirements in relation to those payments.

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This bill would authorize a contracting agency, the employees’ exclusive representative, and unrepresented employees to agree that the employer contribution for postretirement health coverage be subject to specified factors, including that the contributions be subject to a mutually agreed upon memorandum of understanding that is not subject to impasse procedures. The bill would prohibit a memorandum of understanding entered into in this context from applying to retired employees. The bill would prohibit an employer contribution for an employee with less than 5 years of credited service with the contracting agency.

end insert begin delete

This bill would require the employer contribution for postretirement health benefit coverage for an employee of the City of Carson to be based on percentages associated with the annuitant’s credited years of service. The bill would provide a formulation for the employer contribution that would reach 100% when the employee attains 10 years of credited service, with specified exceptions. The bill would define credited service and would require that at least 5 years of credited service to have been performed with the City of Carson. The bill would require that the employer provide any information requested by the board that the board deems necessary to implement the section. The bill would except from the formulation annuitants who have retired for disability and annuitants who have 10 or more years of service entirely with the city. The bill would require the board to establish application procedures and eligibility criteria to implement this provision.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 22893.1 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 22893.1. end insert   

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part,
the contracting agency, the exclusive representative of employees
of the agency, and unrepresented employees of the agency may
agree that the employer contribution for postretirement health
coverage shall be subject to the following:

(1) Credited years of service that the employee worked with the
contracting agency.

(2) A memorandum of understanding regarding postretirement
health coverage mutually agreed upon through collective
bargaining. This issue may not be subject to the impasse
procedures set forth in Article 9 (commencing with Section 3548)
of Chapter 10.7 of Division 4 of Title 1.

(3) The employer shall certify to the board, in the case of an
employee not represented by a bargaining unit, that there is not
an applicable memorandum of understanding.

(b) A memorandum of understanding regarding employer
contributions entered into pursuant to the authorization provided
by this section shall not apply to an employee who retired before
the effective date of the memorandum of understanding and, to the
extent a memorandum of understanding purports to apply to a
employee who is retired, those provisions shall be without effect.

(c) An agreement reached pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not
be valid if it provides an employer contribution for an employee
with less than five years of credited service with the contracting
agency.

(d) The contracting agency shall provide, in the manner
prescribed by the board, a notification of the agreement established
pursuant to this section and any additional information necessary
to implement this section.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 22900.1 is added to the Government
Code, to read:

22900.1.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part,
the percentage of employer contribution payable for postretirement
health benefits for an employee of the City of Carson, California,
except as provided in subdivision (b), shall be based on the
employee’s completed years of credited service, provided that the
City of Carson shall not pay an employer contribution for the first
five years of that credited service, and shall pay thereafter as shown
in the following table:

 

Credited Years of Service   Percentage of Employer Contribution

5     50

6     60

7     70

8     80

9     90

10     100

 

The application of this subdivision shall be subject to the
following:

(1) The employer contribution with respect to each annuitant
shall be adjusted by the employer each year by resolution of the
City of Carson City Council, and that resolution shall be filed with
the board annually.

(2) The employer shall certify to the board, in the case of
employees not represented by a bargaining unit, that there is not
an applicable memorandum of understanding.

(3) The credited service of an annuitant for the purpose of
determining the percentage of employer contributions applicable
under this section shall mean state service as defined in Section
20069, except that at least five years of credited service shall have
been performed with the City of Carson.

(4) The employer shall provide the board any information
requested that the board determines is necessary to implement this
section.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the contribution payable
by the employer subject to this section shall be equal to 100 percent
of the amount established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) on behalf of any annuitant who either:

(1) Retired for disability.

(2) Retired for service with 10 or more years of service credit
entirely with that employer, regardless of the number of days after
separation from employment. The contribution payable by the
employer under this paragraph shall be paid only if it is greater
than, and made in lieu of, a contribution payable to the annuitant
by another employer under this part. The board shall establish
application procedures and eligibility criteria to implement this
paragraph.

end delete