BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1651
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Alberto Torrico, Chair
AB 1651 (De La Torre) - As Amended: March 2, 2010
SUBJECT : Public Employees' Retirement Law: furloughs:
retirement credit.
SUMMARY : Ensures that specified school employees and local
safety members of the California Public Employees' Retirement
System (CalPERS) who are subject to mandatory furloughs are
credited with the same amount of service and compensation they
would have received absent the furlough. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires that the calculations for CalPERS retirement
allowances for specified school employees and local safety
members that are subject to mandatory furloughs include, as
credit for service and compensation, the amount of service and
compensation that would have been credited and paid had the
employee not been subject to mandatory furloughs.
2)Specifies that "mandatory furlough" includes any time period
on or after July 1, 2008, during which a member is directed to
be absent from work without pay as designated by either their
employer or by a memorandum of understanding entered into on
or after July 1, 2008.
3)Requires employers to notify CalPERS and, if applicable, the
county superintendent of schools of the terms and conditions
of any mandatory furlough, as specified, and to provide
CalPERS with any additional information they may require to
ensure proper implementation of this provision.
EXISTING LAW : AB 399 (Brownley), Chapter 240, Statutes of 2009,
ensured that all state employees (executive, legislative,
judicial, and California State University) subject to mandatory
furloughs during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years receive
the same amount of retirement service credit and final
compensation he or she would have received absent the furlough.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
AB 1651
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COMMENTS : According to CalPERS, "Under existing law, a
full-time school or local safety employee that is furloughed but
still accrues at least 10 months, 1,720 hours, or 215 days of
service will earn a full year of retirement service credit.
However, part-time school and local safety employees, and those
full-time employees hired or retired mid-year who are furloughed
and unable to reach the 10-month, 1,720 hours, or 215 day
threshold, will experience a reduction in the overall amount of
service credit accrued. Most school employees are part-time."
According to the sponsor, the California School Employees
Association, this bill, "?would provide classified school
employees, local police officers and firefighters with
retirement service credit if they are furloughed as a result of
the state budget crisis. AB 1651 is essentially a parity bill
that provides these important employee groups with the same
protection that state employees, court employees, California
State University employees, officers of the executive branch and
judges receive through legislation signed into law last year."
Supporters conclude, "AB 1651 recognizes the deep pain that
state budget cuts have had on all employee groups across the
state and at different levels of government. Employees are
suffering. They are being laid off, losing health benefits,
having their hours reduced and are being furloughed. AB 1651
would prevent employees from also suffering a loss in their
service credit when they are furloughed and also losing their
pay for the day. It also corrects an inequity in providing
retirement service credit protection to some furloughed
employees and not others."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California School Employees Association (Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO (Co-sponsor)
CDF Firefighters Local 2881
California Association of School Business Officials
California Correctional Supervisors Organization
California Federation of Teachers
California Professional Firefighters
California Public Employees' Retirement System
California School Boards Association
AB 1651
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California State Employees Association
California Teachers Association
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Service Employees International Union
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957