BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1885
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Date of Hearing: May 2, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Warren T. Furutani, Chair
AB 1885 (Bonilla) - As Introduced: February 22, 2012
SUBJECT : County employees' retirement: reciprocal benefits.
SUMMARY : Makes applicable in all counties operating retirement
systems under the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 ('37
Act) provisions that extend the reemployment period for
reciprocity eligibility for laid off employees from 6 months to
one-year.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for reciprocity of retirement benefits (using the
highest 'final compensation' for the purposes of calculating
retirement benefits) for members of specified public
retirement systems, including '37 Act retirement system, who
retire concurrently under one of those systems and another
reciprocal retirement system as long as the break between
employment in the two systems does not exceed six months.
2)Authorizes in a one-year reemployment period for reciprocity
eligibility for employees who are laid off because of lack of
work, a lack of funds, or a reduction in workforce. This
provision is only operative in '37 Act counties where the
board of supervisors have adopted a resolution to make these
provisions applicable.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, "In recent years,
fiscally-strapped public agencies up and down California have
been forced to lay-off -- or worse, eliminate - critical public
safety positions, including firefighting positions, in an effort
to relieve local budget shortfalls. Firefighters who are
displaced in this regard can have several years on the job, have
spent many months qualifying for professional work and have
completed probationary periods of up to one year to prove their
competency.
"Under existing law, a safety member's time of separation
AB 1885
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between agencies cannot be longer than six months. So, for
example, if a firefighter is laid-off from a California Public
Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) contracting agency due to
budget cuts, but later re-hired by a county that operates a '37
Act retirement system, the firefighter must be hired and become
a member of that county system within six months from the date
on which he was laid-off by the
CalPERS-contracting agency in order to continue to qualify for a
coordination of the benefits accrued in each system."
According to the sponsor, "In cases where a '37 Act county
re-hires a laid off firefighter previously employed by another
public agency, the existing six-month reciprocity cap oftentimes
leaves little to no time for that firefighter to navigate the
county's hiring and selection process, successfully complete its
firefighting academy and officially be hired by the county, all
of which is a pre-requisite for membership in the county's
retirement system. To the extent this re-hiring process takes
longer than six months, the firefighter's public employment
service with his/her former employing public agency will not be
eligible for reciprocity in the county's retirement system."
Supporters state, "AB 1885 provides '37 Act counties the
additional time needed to ensure that a re-hired firefighter's
previous public employment service is in fact kept whole in that
county system and the benefits continue to be coordinated with
the other system."
This bill is similar to AB 2795 (Negrete McLeod) of 2006 which
would have eliminated the current requirement that an employee
have no more than a six month break in service between employers
in order to qualify for reciprocity. This bill was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
This bill is also similar to AB 2956 (Wiggins) of 2004 which
would have increased the time period for members to move between
retirement systems with reciprocity from six months to 36
months. Then Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill, stating
in part, "I find no compelling policy reason why the existing
mobility under the current system of reciprocity is not
sufficient. Additionally, in the haste of last minute
amendments, the bill actually creates an unfair advantage for
only one group of members in the retirement system."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 1885
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Support
California Professional Firefighters
Service Employees International Union
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957