BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 329|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 329
Author: Dickinson (D)
Amended: 3/16/11 in Assembly
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIRE. COMMITTEE : 5-0, 5/9/11
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Walters, Gaines, Padilla, Vargas
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 04/04/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : County employees retirement
SOURCE : Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST : This bill allows implementation of the
memorandum of understanding between Sacramento County and
the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association, which
represents approximately 4,150 safety employees, and the
Law Enforcement Management Association, which represented
94 safety employees.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Allows public employers and employee representatives to
collectively bargain over wages, including benefits, and
working terms and conditions.
2.Creates the 1937 Act County Retirement Law (CERL), which
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governs 20 independent county retirement associations,
including Sacramento County Retirement Association, which
is the retirement system for Sacramento County employees.
3.Authorizes various safety retirement formulas in CERL,
including the three percent at age 50 safety retirement
formula, which is the retirement formula for
currently-employed deputy sheriffs of the Sacramento
County Deputy Sheriffs' Association (SCDSA) and the Law
Enforcement Management Association (LEMA).
4.Requires that all employee groups of a single employer
(such as Sacramento County) who are in the same
retirement classification (such as public safety) receive
the same retirement formula unless an exception is made
in the law.
This bill:
1.Allows the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to
adopt a resolution, by majority vote, to implement a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) mutually agreed upon
with a bargaining unit representing public safety
officers that will do the following:
A. Require new safety employees - first hired after
approval of the resolution - to be subject to a
retirement formula based on three percent at age 55
(current employees are subject to the three percent
at age 50 formula).
B. Use the three-year highest compensation average to
calculate retirements and provide retiree
cost-of-living adjustments of up to two percent
annually.
2.Clarifies that the employees covered by this statute
include both newly hired represented and newly hired
nonrepresented employees.
3.Provides that the resolution could provide a different
formula or retirement calculation for new safety members
in one bargaining unit that what is provided to safety
members in other bargaining units.
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4.States that this bill contains an urgency clause.
Similar Legislation
AB 225 (Torrico), 2009-10 Session, was similar to this
bill. Passed the Senate with a vote of 27-8 on August 30,
2010. The bill was vetoed by then-Governor Schwarzenegger.
The Governor's veto was based on certain provisions
contained in AB 226 that are not included in this bill. In
his veto message, the Governor stated:
"The other provision in this bill permits Sacramento
County to immediately implement a lower retirement tier
for newly hired safety employees, for specified
bargaining groups. I encourage Sacramento County to
reach responsible agreements with their employees, and
seek new legislation to implement that component of the
deal."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/10/11)
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (source)
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
Law Enforcement Management Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"On August 12, 2010, the Sacramento County Board of
Supervisors unanimously approved a labor agreement among
the County, SCDSA, and LEMA to establish a new lower
retirement tier for new public safety members. Instead of
using the current retirement benefits calculation of 3% at
age 50, the retirement benefit for new public safety
employees will be calculated at 3% at age 55. This new
tier raises the age for retirement from 50 to55, thereby
achieving long-term savings for the County and for the
Sheriff's Department. Legislation is needed to ratify this
agreement."
As stated by the sponsor, Sacramento County, the MOU was
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agreed to between the county, SCDSA, and LEMA in August of
2010, but that agreement cannot be implemented until the
authorizing legislation is enacted. "Under the 1937
retirement Act Law, all public safety members must receive
the same retirement benefits. Because the County's
agreement applies to members in two of our six public
safety units, AB 329 is needed so that we are in compliance
with state law and can implement our agreement."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Silva, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chesbro, Gorell, Hall, Portantino,
Skinner, Smyth, Vacancy
CPM:cm 5/10/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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