BILL NUMBER: AB 439 CHAPTERED 09/19/00 CHAPTER 482 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 16, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 10, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 5, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 15, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 8, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Pescetti (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Honda) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alquist, Cox, Cunneen, Dutra, Lempert, Steinberg, and Thomson) (Coauthors: Senators Johannessen, Johnston, McPherson, Ortiz, and Sher) FEBRUARY 16, 1999 An act to amend Section 31470.2 of, and to add Sections 20441.5 and 31639.76 to, the Government Code, relating to county employees' retirement. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 439, Pescetti. County employees' retirement: park rangers. The Public Employees' Retirement Law and the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 provide generally higher benefit formulas and higher contribution rates for safety members than those provided for general members. Under the Public Employees' Retirement Law, "county peace officers," as defined, among others, are safety members. This bill would define "county peace officers" to include parks and recreation department employees in the Park Ranger class series in Santa Clara County who perform specified duties. Under the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, sheriffs, deputies sheriff, and other specified individuals whose principal duties consist of active law enforcement are eligible for safety member status. Under that law, general members who become safety members may elect to receive service credit for prior service upon payment of specified additional contributions. This bill would provide that peace officers in the Park Ranger class series, employed, as specified, by the County of Sacramento, may, at the election of the board of supervisors, be eligible for safety member status and receive credit as a safety member for prior service pursuant to the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the employer and employee representative. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 20441.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 20441.5. "County peace officer" shall also include persons employed by the county parks and recreation department in the Park Ranger class series whose primary responsibility is maintaining the peace and whose duties include law enforcement, emergency medical care first response, or fire suppression and prevention. This section shall not apply to the employees of any contracting agency nor to any agency unless and until the contracting agency elects to be subject to the provisions of this section by amendment to its contract with the board, made as provided in Section 20474 or by express provision in its contract with the board. This section shall only be applicable in Santa Clara County. SEC. 2. Section 31470.2 of the Government Code is amended to read: 31470.2. (a) All sheriffs, undersheriffs, chief deputies sheriff, jailers, turnkeys, deputies sheriff, bailiffs, constables, deputies constable, motorcycle officers, aircraft pilots, heads and assistant heads of all divisions of the office of the sheriff, detectives and investigators in the office of the district attorney, marshals, court service officers only in a county of the third class, as defined in Sections 28020 and 28024, and all regularly appointed deputy marshals are eligible. (b) In a county of the eighth class, as defined in Sections 28020 and 28029, both as amended by Chapter 1204 of the Statutes of 1971, all peace officers in the Park Ranger class series in the Department of Regional Parks, Recreation, and Open Space are eligible. This subdivision shall not be operative until such time as the county board of supervisors shall, by resolution adopted by a majority vote, make this subdivision applicable in the county. SEC. 3. Section 31639.76 is added to the Government Code, to read: 31639.76. Notwithstanding Section 31639.7, a safety member described in subdivision (b) of Section 31470.2 may receive credit as a safety member for all or any part of the time during which he or she was not within the field of membership as a safety member to the extent and subject to the terms and conditions provided in a memorandum of understanding between the employer and the designated employee representative. This section shall apply only to a county of the eighth class, as defined in Sections 28020 and 28029, both as amended by Chapter 1204 of the Statutes of 1971, if the board of supervisors in that county has elected to make subdivision (b) of Section 31470.2 applicable in the county.