BILL NUMBER: SB 1057 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Huff
( Coauthors: Senators
Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella,
Dutton, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines,
Harman, La Malfa, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, and Wyland )
FEBRUARY 13, 2012
An act to amend Section 65580 of add
Section 1243.5 to the Government Code, relating to
housing public employees' retirement .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1057, as amended, Huff. Housing availability.
Public e mployees' retirement: felony
forfeiture.
Existing law provides that any elected public officer who takes
public office, or is reelected to public office, on or after January
1, 2006, who is convicted of any specified felony arising directly
out of his or her official duties, forfeits all rights and benefits
under, and membership in, any public retirement system in which he or
she is a member, effective on the date of final conviction, as
specified.
This bill would require that an employee of a school district,
county office of education, or charter school, who is convicted of
any state or federal felony for conduct arising out of, or in the
performance of, his or her official duties in pursuit of the office
or appointment, or in connection with obtaining salary, disability
retirement, or service retirement, or other benefits, forfeit
retirement benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the
commission of the felony to the forfeiture date, as specified. The
bill would also require any contributions to the public retirement
system made by the employee on or after the earliest date of
commission of the felony to be returned, without interest, to the
employee upon the occurrence of a distribution event, as defined,
unless otherwise ordered by a court or determined by the pension
administrator.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, and city
and county to prepare and adopt a general plan that contains certain
mandatory elements, including a housing element that analyzes
existing and projected housing needs. Existing law includes various
legislative findings and declarations related to the statewide
importance of housing availability and the responsibility of local
government to address regional housing needs.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
legislative findings and declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1243.5 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
1243.5. (a) If an employee of a school district, county office of
education, or charter school is convicted by a state or federal
trial court of any felony under state or federal law for conduct
arising out of or in the performance of his or her official duties,
in pursuit of the office or appointment, or in connection with
obtaining salary, disability retirement, service retirement, or other
benefits, he or she shall forfeit all accrued rights and benefits in
any public retirement system in which he or she is a member to the
extent provided in subdivision (b) and shall not accrue further
benefits in that public retirement system, effective on the date of
the conviction.
(b) (1) An employee of a school district, county office of
education, or charter school shall forfeit all the retirement
benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the commission
of any felony described in subdivision (a) to the forfeiture date,
inclusive. The retirement benefits shall remain forfeited
notwithstanding any reduction in sentence or expungement of the
conviction following the date of the employee's conviction.
Retirement benefits attributable to service performed prior to the
date of the first commission of the felony for which the employee was
convicted shall not be forfeited as a result of this section.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "forfeiture date" means the
date of the conviction.
(c) (1) Any contributions to the public retirement system made by
the employee described in subdivision (a) on or after the earliest
date of the commission of any felony described in subdivision (a)
shall be returned, without interest, to the employee upon the
occurrence of a distribution event unless otherwise ordered by a
court or determined by the pension administrator.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, a "distribution event"
means any of the following:
(A) Separation from employment.
(B) Death of the member.
(C) Retirement of the member.
(d) A school district, county office of education, or charter
school that employs an employee described in subdivision (a) and that
employee shall each notify the public retirement system in which the
employee is a member of that employee's conviction within 60 days of
conviction in the trial court. The school district, county office of
education, or charter school's notification obligations shall not
apply if the employee's conviction occurs after the employee
separates from employment or office with that school district, county
office of education, or charter school. The operation of this
section is not dependent upon the performance of the notification
obligations specified in this subdivision.
(e) A public retirement system may assess a school district,
county office of education, or charter school a reasonable amount to
reimburse the cost of audit, adjustment, or correction, if it
determines that the school district, county office of education, or
charter school failed to comply with this section.
(f) If an employee's conviction is reversed and that decision is
final, the employee shall be entitled to recover the forfeited
retirement benefits as adjusted for any contributions received
pursuant to subdivision (c).
SECTION 1. Section 65580 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
65580. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The availability of housing is of vital statewide importance,
and the early attainment of decent housing and a suitable living
environment for every Californian, including farmworkers, is a
priority of the highest order.
(b) The early attainment of this goal requires the cooperative
participation of government and the private sector in an effort to
expand housing opportunities and accommodate the housing needs of
Californians of all economic levels.
(c) The provision of housing affordable to low- and
moderate-income households requires the cooperation of all levels of
government.
(d) Local and state governments have a responsibility to use the
powers vested in them to facilitate the improvement and development
of housing to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all
economic segments of the community.
(e) The Legislature recognizes that in carrying out this
responsibility, each local government also has the responsibility to
consider economic, environmental, and fiscal factors and community
goals set forth in the general plan and to cooperate with other local
governments and the state in addressing regional housing needs.