BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1136|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1136
Author: Fong (D)
Amended: 7/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMP. & RET. COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/22/09
AYES: Correa, Ducheny, Liu, Padilla, Wiggins
NOES: Ashburn, Benoit
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-26, 6/1/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (37
Act):
optional settlements
SOURCE : California Retired County Employees Association
DIGEST : This bill permits, upon adoption by a county
board of retirement, a retired member of a county
retirement system being operated under the 37 Act to change
previously elected optional survivor settlements, as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law permits a member of a '37 Act
retirement system, prior to the first payment of any
retirement allowance, to elect certain optional
settlements, which reduce the allowance payable to the
member through his/her life and provide for a subsequent
payment to another party or parties, including a spouse.
CONTINUED
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Upon the death of a '37 Act member who died after a service
retirement or non-service related disability and did not
elect an optional settlement, an allowance equaling 60
percent of his/her retirement allowance will be continued
throughout life to a surviving spouse to whom he/she was
married to for at least one year prior to the effective
date of retirement.
AB 979 (Negrete McLeod), Chapter 441, Statutes of 2004,
allowed, upon adoption by a county board of supervisors,
retired '37 Act members, who marry after retirement, to
purchase, at no cost to the retirement system, an optional
survivor benefit in order to increase the survivor benefit
that would be paid to their new spouse if the member dies
first.
This bill:
1. Allows a '37 Act retired member, in order to provide for
his or her spouse, to revoke an optional settlement, as
specified, if both of the following apply:
A. The member retired on or before the date the
post-retirement spouse provision was made applicable
in the county from which they retired.
B. The member was unmarried or had been married less
than one year at the time of retirement.
2. Requires the signature of the designated beneficiary, or
a written declaration of one or more of the following as
may be applicable to the member.
3. Specifies that a person who knowingly provides false
information in the written declaration submitted
pursuant to the above shall be subject to a civil
penalty of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000)
and not more than twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000), in addition to any civil remedies available
to the board. An action to impose a civil penalty
pursuant to this paragraph may be brought by any public
prosecutor in the name of the people of the state.
4. Specifies that after revocation, the member's retirement
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allowance will be adjusted prospectively to the amount
he/she would have been entitled to had they not elected
an option and to reflect any cost-of-living increases
that would have been added to the retirement allowance.
5. Specifies that the spouse, after revocation, would be
entitled to any provisions for which he/she may qualify,
as if no optional settlement had been elected by the
member.
6. Prohibits a retired member that has revoked an optional
settlement pursuant to these provisions from electing
other optional settlements.
7. Specifies that the retirement system is under no
obligation to locate or otherwise contact retired
members who may qualify for these provisions.
8. Specifies that any action taken pursuant to these
provisions does not excuse the obligation of a member to
provide a continuing benefit to a former spouse pursuant
to a court order.
9. Specifies that these provisions will not become
effective in a county until adopted by the county board
of retirement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/7/09)
California Retired County Employees Association (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, Local 685
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Glendale City Employees Association
Los Angeles Probation Officers' Union
Organization of SMUD Employees
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
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Santa Rosa City Employees Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor,
the California Retired County Employees Association, "This
bill is of importance to older retirees in counties where
the retirement plan was established under the '37 Act. In
their case, they might have selected a particular
retirement option provided under the '37 Act because what
is commonly referred to as the 'post-retirement spouse
provision' had not yet been made applicable in their
county. In fact, the post-retirement spouse provision' may
not have even been a part of the '37 Act at the time they
retired. This bill will enable them to avail themselves of
this provision if their life circumstances have changed
since retirement."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hall,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones,
Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,
Nava, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller,
Gaines, Garrick, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue,
Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra
Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Cook
DLW:mw:n 7/8/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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