BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2473
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Rob Bonta, Chair
AB 2473 (P.E.,R.& S.S. Com.) - As Amended: April 28, 2014
SUBJECT : County Employees Retirement Law of 1937: federal law
compliance.
SUMMARY : Conforms sections of the County Employees Retirement
Law of 1937 ('37 Act) to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code
in order to ensure compliance with federal tax law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the '37 Act, which provides for retirement systems
for county and district employees in those counties adopting
its provisions. Currently 20 counties operate retirement
systems under the '37 Act.
2)Establishes comprehensive public employee pension reform
through enactment of the Public Employee Pension Reform Act
(PEPRA) that apply to all public employers and public pension
plans on and after January 1, 2013, excluding the University
of California and charter cities and counties that do not
participate in a retirement system governed by state statute.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 2473 is sponsored by
the State Association of County Retirement Systems (SACRS). All
20 county employee retirement systems operating under the '37
Act are tax-qualified plans, as determined by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). Tax-qualified status is the legal
mechanism that allows retirement contributions made by employees
and employers, and the earnings on those contributions, to
accrue to the benefit of the retirement system members on a
tax-deferred basis."
"This important technical bill conforms sections of the '37 Act
to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code in order to ensure
that all 20 retirement systems operating under the '37 Act are
governed by state law consistent with federal tax law
AB 2473
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requirements governing retirement plans."
According to the sponsor of the bill, SACRS, "The provisions of
this bill represent the work product of 3 years of discussions
with the IRS and '37 Act county retirement systems to identify
the elements of California law in need of conformity and the
specific language required. The Orange County Employees
Retirement System engaged the IRS on a formal basis to initiate
the collaborative process to bring the '37 Act into federal tax
law compliance. Since the tax conformity process began, the
PEPRA was enacted in 2012, where some PEPRA provisions now also
require federal tax law conformity."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
State Association of County Retirement Systems (Sponsor)
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Ventura County Employees Retirement Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957