BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1354|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1354
Author: Fong (D)
Amended: 6/24/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMP. & RET. COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/28/10
AYES: Correa, Ashburn, Corbett, Ducheny, Hollingsworth,
Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/14/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : County employees retirement
SOURCE : State Association of County Retirement Systems
DIGEST : This bill brings state laws governing the County
Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 ('37 Act) into conformity
with federal laws regarding public employees who die while
serving on active military duty, and make other clarifying
changes to bring the statutes into conformity with federal
Internal Revenue code provisions.
ANALYSIS :
Existing '37 Act law:
1.Requires the board of retirement of a '37 Act retirement
system to adjust the payment of benefits from the system
to members as necessary in order to maximize the benefits
available to members who are subject to Internal Revenue
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AB 1354
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Code Section 415 limits.
2.Provides that those adjustments include, but are not
limited to, cost-of-living adjustments, cost-of-living
banks, temporary annuities, or survivor continuance
benefits.
3.Provide death benefits for active employees who die prior
to retirement and while in active service that are based
on factors such as years of service, and age and
compensation at the time of death.
Existing federal law:
The HEART Act, requires that the survivors of a public
employee who is killed while on active military service
must receive whatever benefits would have been paid had the
employee died from non-industrial causes while actively
employed.
This bill:
1.Prohibits the amount payable, including cost-of-living
adjustments, to a member of a county retirement system
being operated under the '37 Act from exceeding the
Internal Revenue code Section 415 limits, as specified.
2.Specifies that adjustments to the Internal Revenue Code
Section 415 limits continue to apply after a member's
severance from employment or annuity starting date.
3.Specifies that the survivors of an employee who dies
while on active military duty shall receive the benefits
that would have been due had the employee reinstated,
following the military duty, into active service and then
died from non-work related causes.
4.Specifies that the death benefits shall not include
benefit accruals occurring during the period of military
service, but that the military service time will be
credited for purposes of vesting.
5.Clarifies that this provision is effective for death
occurring on or after January 1, 2007, the effective date
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of the HEART Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Unable to verify time of writing)
State Association of County Retirement Systems (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Los Angeles Probation Officers' Union, AFSCME, Local 685
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF
Local 3631
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, the State
Association of County Retirement Systems is in the process
of reviewing the '37 Act body of law for areas where the
'37 Act may not comply precisely with the federal and
Internal Revenue Code laws.
This bill conforms to Internal Revenue Service rules for
compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 415
distributions and conforms to the HEART Act with regard to
public employees who die while on leave to perform active
military duty.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Fuentes, Gaines, Garrick,
Saldana, Smyth, Bass
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AB 1354
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CPM:cm 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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