BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1667|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1667
Author: Swanson (D)
Amended: 5/6/10 in Assembly
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC EMP. & RET. COMMITTEE : 6-0, 06/28/10
AYES: Correa, Ashburn, Corbett, Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/20/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public employment: County of Alameda
SOURCE : County of Alameda
DIGEST : This bill allows implementation of the
memorandum of understanding between Alameda County and the
Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Alameda County. The MOU
eliminates the current 3% at age 50 retirement formula for
new hires and replaces it with the choice between two new
retirement formulas: 2% at age 50, or 3% at age 55 with
increased member contributions.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Allows public employers and employee representatives to
collectively bargain over wages, including benefits, and
working terms and conditions.
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2.Authorizes various safety retirement formulas, including
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).
3.Sets forth the required member contributions for 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.
This bill allows implementation of the collective
bargaining agreement between the Deputy Sheriffs'
Association of Alameda County and Alameda County.
Specifically, this bill:
1.Allows the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, as agreed
to in a 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.
2.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.
3.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.
4.Requires that the employee election be irrevocable.
5.Allows the resolution to require specific member
contribution rates, which may or may not include part of
the employer contribution.
6.Prohibits the resolution from requiring that a bargaining
unit be divided solely for the reason of providing
different retirement benefits.
7.Provides that this is an urgency statute in order to
timely implement the terms of the MOU between the Alameda
County and the Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Alameda
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County.
Comments
Based on information provided to the Assembly Public
Employment, Retirement, and Social Security Committee, the
terms of the bargaining agreement are as follows:
The Deputy Sheriffs' Association (DSA) expired on March
7, 2009. There are four classes represented by the
DSA. They are (1) Deputy Sheriff Recruit, (2) Deputy
Sheriff I, Deputy Sheriff II, and Sergeant. There are
1,004 total authorized positions. Alameda County and
DSA began negotiating a successor MOU in May 2009. The
new MOU was adopted by the Board on January 26, 2010.
The new six-year contract that expires 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, effect 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
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/10)
County of Alameda (source)
Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Alameda County
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"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 that will result in substantial long-term
savings to County taxpayers."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: De La Torre, Evans, Fletcher, Harkey,
Nava, Villines, John A. Perez, Vacancy
CPM:cm 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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