California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 868


Introduced by Assembly Member Obernolte

February 26, 2015


An act to amend Sections 20588 and 31657 of the Government Code, relating to public employees’ retirement.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 868, as introduced, Obernolte. Public Employees’ Retirement System: contracting agencies: transfer of membership.

Existing law authorizes public agencies to contract with the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System to have their employees become members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). Existing law, with respect to the Counties of Kern, Los Angeles, and Orange, permits the board to enter into an agreement with the contracting agency’s board of retirement for termination of the contracting agency’s participation in PERS and inclusion of the agency’s employees in the retirement system of the city or county, if specified requirements are met, with respect to certain safety members, including firefighters. The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 establishes a corresponding authority for accepting these people as members for retirement systems created pursuant to its provisions, and granting them service credit for their service credited by PERS.

This bill would expand the application of the provisions described above to the County of San Bernardino.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 20588 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:

3

20588.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
4the board may, pursuant to this section and Section 31657, enter
5into an agreement with the board of retirement of a county
6maintaining a county retirement system, for termination of
7participation of a public agency whose contract has been in effect
8for at least five years in this system or the state with respect to
9certain safety members who have ceased to be employed by the
10public agency or the state and have been employed by a county,
11fire authority, or district as a result of a transfer of firefighting or
12law enforcement functions from the public agency or the state to
13the county, fire authority, or district and inclusion of the former
14public agency employees in that county retirement system.

15(b) The agreement shall contain provisions the board finds
16necessary to protect the interests of this system, including
17provisions for determination of the amount, time, and manner of
18transfer of cash or securities, or both, to be transferred to the county
19system representing the actuarial value of the interests in the
20retirement fund of the public agency or the state and the transferred
21employees by reason of accumulated contributions credited to that
22public agency or the state and the employees transferred. The
23agreement may also contain any other provisions that the board
24deems necessary to address issues related to the transfer, including,
25but not limited to, benefits subject to an outstanding domestic
26relations order and benefits subject to a lien. The agreement shall
27apply only to employees who are employed by the county or district
28on the effective date of the agreement.

29(c) All liability of this system with respect to the members
30transferred under that agreement shall cease and shall become the
31liability of the county retirement system as of the date of transfer
32specified in the agreement. Liability of the county retirement
33system shall be for payment of benefits to transferred employees
34in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 31450)
35of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 3.

36(d) Any member transferred who becomes a member of a county
37retirement system upon that transfer date shall be subject to
38provisions of this part and of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
P3    131450) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 3 extending rights to a
2member or subjecting him or her to limitations because of
3membership in another retirement system to the same extent that
4he or she would have been had he or she been a member of the
5county retirement system during his or her membership in this
6system.

7(e) This section shall apply only inbegin insert the Counties ofend insert Kern, Los
8Angeles,begin delete andend delete Orangebegin delete Countiesend deletebegin insert, and San Bernardinoend insert.

9

SEC. 2.  

Section 31657 of the Government Code is amended
10to read:

11

31657.  

Subject to Section 20588, whenever, as a result of the
12assumption by a county, fire authority, or district of firefighting
13or law enforcement functions performed by a public agency or the
14state subject to the Public Employees’ Retirement Law, any person
15ceases to be employed by a public agency or the state and is
16employed by a county, fire authority, or district in which this
17chapter has become operative, that person shall become a member
18of the retirement system of a county immediately upon entering
19county service. That member of the county retirement system shall
20be entitled to service credit in the county retirement system for the
21service for which he or she was entitled to credit in the Public
22Employees’ Retirement System at the time of cessation of
23employment by the public agency or the state, without necessity
24of payment of any additional contributions in respect to that
25service, when and if all of the following occur:

26(a) The board of retirement receives certification from the Board
27of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System
28of the service with which the person was entitled to be credited by
29the Public Employees’ Retirement System at the time of cessation
30of his or her public agency or state employment.

31(b) There is paid into the county retirement fund of the county,
32an amount equal to the normal contributions of the person to the
33Public Employees’ Retirement System, together with all interest
34credited thereto, which amount shall be credited to the individual
35account of the member in the county retirement system, and shall
36thereafter for all purposes be deemed to be the member’s
37contribution to the county retirement system with respect to the
38service so certified.

39(c) There is paid to the retirement system of the county an
40amount equal to all contributions of the public agency or the state
P4    1made to the Public Employees’ Retirement System on account of
2service rendered by the person together with interest credited to
3the public agency or the state thereto.

4(d) The board of retirement elects to apply this section as a
5prudent means of mitigating against potential adverse financial
6impact upon the county retirement system from the cost of
7disability retirements that may be applied for in the future by
8persons injured while being employed by the county, fire authority,
9or district after ceasing to be employed by a public agency or the
10state as a result of the assumption by a county, fire authority, or
11district of firefighting or law enforcement functions.

12This section shall apply in a county of the first, the second,begin insert the
13seventh,end insert
or the fourteenth class, as defined by Section 28020, as
14amended by Chapter 1204 of the Statutes of 1971, and Section
1528022, as amended by Chapter 43 of the Statutes of 1961, and
16begin delete Section 28023,end deletebegin insert Sections 28023, 28028, and 28035,end insert as amended
17by Chapter 1204 of the Statutes of 1971.



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