BILL ANALYSIS
AB 360
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Ed Hernandez, Chair
AB 360 (Ma) - As Amended: April 15, 2009
SUBJECT : State teachers' retirement: creditable service:
community colleges.
SUMMARY : Specifically, this bill encourages the California
State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) to conduct a study
to examine the feasibility of either creating a new program for
part-time community college instructors or modifying current
programs to make retirement benefits more equitable for
part-time instructors.
EXISTING LAW :
Federal law requires all employees to be covered under a
retirement plan. California state law requires all public
school employers except for charter schools to provide the
CalSTRS Defined Benefit Program. Employers of part-time
certificated public school employees must offer must offer
either Social Security or another retirement program as an
alternative to Social Security. CalSTRS has established the Cash
Balance Benefit Program as an alternative to Social Security.
Employers may offer other alternative retirement plans as well.
Members of the CalSTRS Defined Benefit Program accrue service
credit based on the ratio of compensation actually earned
(earned compensation) to the compensation that would be earned
if the member worked full-time in their position (compensation
earnable). The full-time equivalent (FTE), the basis for
determining compensation earnable, is the time that a member who
is employed part time would be required to work in one school
year if he or she were employed full time in that position. For
members employed part time in a community college or as an adult
education instructor, the FTE must be identified specifically in
either the collective bargaining agreement or in the employment
agreement. The FTE stated in the agreement must be at least the
minimum number of days or hours specified by law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
AB 360
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COMMENTS : According to the author, "There is a staffing crisis
in higher education. Part-time and other non-tenure track
faculty are teaching a high percentage of the courses in our
California public colleges and universities and make up over 75%
of the faculty at community colleges.
"As the state's fiscal situation continues to worsen, it is
these instructors who will be the first to feel the effect of
the reduced funding. To ensure that California Community
Colleges remain competitive, we need to ensure that at-will
employees receive their fair share.
"For most full-time community college instructors, it takes five
years to vest into retirement at California State Teachers'
Retirement System (CalSTRS). Because most part-time instructors
teach 50% of a full-time work load, part-timers, on average,
should be able to vest after 10 years. However, some part-time
instructors are not earning the proper service credit. Due to a
calculated minimum, some part-time instructors who work 50% of a
full-time workload take 12, 15, and even 30 years to simply
vest.
"For example, English composition instructors work fewer
instructional hours because they work extra hours outside of
class reviewing, correcting, and grading papers. Even though a
part-time faculty member may be working 50% of a full-time
instructor's caseload, s/he is not receiving 50% service credit.
Therefore, this would result in the earning of inequitably low
service credit for the part-time instructor. In the case of
retirement benefits, part-time faculty are still not getting
what they deserve.
"Because CalSTRS was originally created for full-time employees,
many part-time faculty lack the equitable benefits that
full-time faculty receive. Although there have been tweaks to
attempt to repair the system, the current options for part-time
remains inequitable."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers (Sponsor)
American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121
California Labor Federation
AB 360
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California Retired Teachers Association
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957