BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1653
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Date of Hearing: April 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Warren T. Furutani, Chair
AB 1653 (Cook) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
SUBJECT : Public employees: pensions: forfeiture.
SUMMARY : Requires a public employee who is an at-will employee
of an elected public officer, as specified, and who is convicted
of a felony arising out of his or her official duties, to
forfeit all public pension benefits, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a public employee who is convicted of a felony
arising directly out of his or her official duties to forfeit
all rights and benefits, and membership in, any public
retirement systems in which they are a member.
2)Specifies that only the rights and benefits that accrue on or
after January 1, 2013, will be forfeited.
3)Requires any contributions made by the public employee for the
forfeited service be returned to the employee without
interest.
4)Requires the employer of the public employee to notify the
public retirement system of the person's conviction.
5)Defines "public employee" for purposes of these provisions as
any person employed at-will to provide services to an elected
public officer who takes public office, or is reelected to
public office, on or after January 1, 2013.
6)Declares that this is an issue of statewide concern and not a
municipal affair and, therefore, will apply to all cities and
counties, including charter cities and counties.
EXISTING LAW requires, as enacted by AB 1044 (Aghazarian),
Chapter 322, Statutes of 2005, any elected public officer, who
first takes the office on or after January 1, 2006, to forfeit
any retirement benefits that accrue during his or her term of
office if he or she is convicted of any felonies arising out of
his or her official duties.
AB 1653
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : The Committee is informed that this bill is in
response to a corruption scandal that has been unfolding in San
Bernardino County over the last several years. The corruption
scandal is centered on a $102 million settlement that the county
reached with Colonies Partners, a group of developers.
According to information provided by the author's office,
"Following years of investigation, the former Chairman of the
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors pled guilty to
multiple felony charges, including bribery, conspiracy, and
embezzlement. Additionally, the developer, another former San
Bernardino County Supervisor, and two former chiefs of staff to
San Bernardino County Supervisors have been charged in the case.
If convicted, both former supervisors are facing the loss of
their pension. Despite being charged with similar crimes as part
of the same case, the former chiefs of staff will be allowed to
keep their pensions if convicted. This could leave the
taxpayers on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in
pension payments. Unfortunately, the Colonies Case is not an
isolated incident, as corruption scandals in Bell, Vernon, and
other California cities have shown. The failure to hold high
level staff of elected officials to the same standard as their
bosses is a major oversight in current law."
According to the author, "It's outrageous that corrupt staffers
could continue receiving tens of thousands of dollars each year
in pension or salary benefits after being convicted of felonies
stemming from their time as a public employee. Those who
violate the public's trust have no business retiring at taxpayer
expense. My legislation will put an end to convicted felons
receiving big retirement paydays."
In 2011, the Legislature established the Conference Committee on
Public Employee Pensions under the provisions of AB 340
(Furutani) and SB 827 (Simitian). The Conference Committee is
tasked with crafting "?responsible, comprehensive legislation to
reform state and local pension systems in a manner that reflects
both the legitimate needs of public employees and the fiscal
circumstances of state and local governments." Since that time,
the Conference Committee has met five times and anticipates
releasing its report in the next several months. The
Legislature will then have the opportunity to vote on the
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Conference Committee report in both houses.
The subject matter of this bill is under the purview of the
Conference Committee. It is, therefore, the recommendation of
this Committee that this bill be referred to interim study.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
California Association of Professional Scientists
California School Employees Association
Professional Engineers in California Government
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957