BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2474 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2474 (Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee) As Amended August 14, 2014 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 15, 2014) |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 19, | | | | | | |2014) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: P.E., R. & S.S. SUMMARY : Makes various technical corrections and conforming changes that align the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 ('37 Act) with the provisions of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), as enacted in AB 340 (Furutani), Chapter 296, Statutes of 2012. Specifically, this bill : 1)Clarifies the process for calculating final compensation for members who are on a leave of absence during the three year final compensation period or in the event there is not three years of earned pensionable compensation. 2)Conforms provisions of the '37 Act governing the loss of member in the retirement system to the PEPRA requirements for benefit forfeiture in the event of a felony conviction. 3)Clarifies references to employee classifications by designating the position as "safety" or "nonsafety," as contained in PEPRA, rather than referring to multiple safety employee classifications. 4)Adds the term "pensionable compensation", as defined in PEPRA, to the '37 Act's various death benefit provisions so that benefits may be calculated appropriately. 5)Adds the term "pensionable compensation", as defined in PEPRA, to the '37 Act's various provisions governing the purchase of service for members who served in the military so that the cost may be calculated appropriately. 6)Clarifies that provisions allowing a governing board of a county or district to elect to pay members' contributions during a period of military service are inapplicable to PEPRA AB 2474 Page 2 members. The Senate amendments : 1)Make clarifying changes to the section dealing with how to calculate final compensation for members who do not have three years of service. 2)Add provisions to clarify that employers may not elect to pay members' contributions during a period of military service for PEPRA members. 3)Make other minor technical and clarifying changes. 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 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 the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : According to the sponsor of the bill, the State Association of County Retirement Systems, this bill will ensure continued implementation of PEPRA as intended by placing the act's requirements in the '37 Act. There is no registered opposition to this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916) 319-3957 AB 2474 Page 3 FN: 0004826