BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 1667
Lou Correa, Chair Hearing date: June 28, 2010
AB 1667 (Swanson) as amended 5/06/10 FISCAL: NO
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT: COUNTY OF ALAMEDA COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
HISTORY :
Sponsor: County of Alameda
Prior Legislation: none
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
Assembly Rules 10-0 3/11/10
PER & SS 6-0 5/05/10
Assembly Floor 72-0 5/20/10
SUMMARY :
Would allow implementation of the memorandum of understanding
(MOU) between Alameda County and the Alameda County Deputy
Sheriffs' Association. The MOU eliminates the current 3% at
age 50 retirement formula for new hires and replaces it with
the choice between 2 new retirement formulas: 2% at age 50,
or 3% at age 55 with increased member contributions. URGENCY
BILL .
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1) Existing law :
a) allows public employers and employee representatives
to collectively bargain over wages, including benefits,
and working terms and conditions.
b) authorizes various safety retirement formulas,
including the 3% at age 50 safety retirement formula,
which is the retirement formula for currently-employed
deputy sheriff members of the Alameda County Employees
Retirement Association (ACERA).
c) sets forth the required member contributions for
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Date: 6/21/10 Page 1
safety retirement benefits but allows those
contributions to be higher (i.e., employer pays less) or
lower (i.e., employer pays more), as agreed to in a MOU.
2) This bill will allow implementation of the collective
bargaining agreement between the Alameda County Deputy
Sheriffs' Association and Alameda County. Specifically,
this bill:
a) allows the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, as
agreed to in an MOU with a safety employee group, to
offer different safety retirement formulas to safety
employees hired after the effective date of a resolution
to that effect.
b) requires new safety employees hired after the
effective date of the resolution to choose between two
other existing retirement formulas: 2% at age 50 or
3% at age 55.
c) requires that new employees make this election within
45 days of beginning employment, or they will
automatically be placed in the 2% at age 50 formula.
d) requires that the employee election be irrevocable.
e) allows the resolution to require specific member
contribution rates, which may or may not include part of
the employer contribution.
f) prohibits the resolution from requiring that a
bargaining unit be divided solely for the reason of
providing different retirement benefits.
g) provides that this is an urgency statute in order to
timely implement the terms of the MOU between the County
of Alameda and the Deputy Sheriffs' Association.
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Date: 6/21/10 Page 2
COMMENTS :
1) Arguments in support
According to the author:
Alameda County recognizes the need to address what has been
identified as a looming statewide problem in need of a
timely fix: the future costs associated with the provision
of retirement benefits to public sector employees. In its
effort to avoid negative consequences or runaway retirement
costs, Alameda County has conscientiously pursued
modifications to the retirement benefits for its respective
employee bargaining units. To that end, the County
recently reached agreement with the Deputy Sheriff's
Association (DSA) that will result in substantial long-term
savings to County taxpayers.
Based on information provided to the Assembly Public
Employment, Retirement, and Social Security Committee, the
terms of the bargaining agreement are as follows:
The DSA contract expired on March 7, 2009. There are
four classes represented by the DSA. They are: Deputy
Sheriff Recruit; Deputy Sheriff I; Deputy Sheriff II;
and Sergeant. There are 1,004 total authorized
positions. The County and DSA began negotiating a
successor memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May 2009.
The new MOU was adopted by the Board on January 26,
2010.
The new six-year contract that expires on March 14, 2015
provides for no salary increases for the contract's
first three years and then incrementally aligns the DSA
salaries with the median of similarly-sized law
enforcement agencies during the final three years. The
DSA also agreed to share in 10% of the health premium
costs, effective plan year 2010.
Furthermore, the contract will eliminate the current 3%
at 50 safety pension arrangement for all new deputies
hired after April 17, 2010, replacing it with the basic
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Date: 6/21/10 Page 3
2% at 50 formula. New deputies may opt for a 3% at 55
formula which will require an additional employee
contribution of 5% of salary annually for five years
until vested and 3% of salary annually thereafter until
retirement. Currently, deputies pay up to 15% of salary
towards their pensions. The DSA agreed to jointly
support state legislation necessary to accomplish this
change in the retirement formula.
2) SUPPORT :
County of Alameda (Sponsor)
Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Alameda County
3) OPPOSITION :
None to date
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Date: 6/21/10 Page 4