BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1294|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1294
Author: Berryhill (R)
Amended: 6/13/12
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIREMENT COMM. : 5-0, 4/18/12
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Walters, Gaines, Padilla, Vargas
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/14/12
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Strickland, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/16/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Public employee health benefits: Mariposa
County
SOURCE : Mariposa County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the County of Mariposa and
the employees' exclusive representative to enter into an
agreement providing that the employer's health benefit
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coverage contribution is subject to a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) if agreed upon through collective
bargaining, or by a resolution adopted by a majority of the
board of supervisors for employees not represented by a
bargaining unit. This bill provides that the employer
contribution under an MOU or resolution could be higher
than that required by statute. It also authorizes an
agreement between the employees' exclusive representative
and Mariposa County that permits higher employer
contribution for annuitants than for employees, except as
specified.
Assembly Amendments make clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires that public employers and official employee
representatives collectively bargain over issues
relative to wages and working conditions.
2. Establishes the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital
Care Act (PEMHCA), administered by the California Public
Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), which creates a
statutory framework for state employee and retiree
health care benefits and allows local public agencies to
voluntarily contract with CalPERS for health care
coverage for their employees and retirees.
3. Requires a local public employer who contracts for
PEMHCA coverage for active employees to also provide
PEMHCA coverage for retirees.
4. Requires, as a specific contracting condition, that the
local public contracting employer pay the same level of
premiums for active employees as for retirees, and that
the employer contribution be no less than $97 per month
(as set in 2009), adjusted annually for cost of living
increases since that time.
5. Makes an exception to the equal premium rule by allowing
an employer to establish a lower premium for retirees
for a time, but in those cases, requires the employer to
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incrementally increase premiums for retirees by 5% per
year until the retirees receive the same premium amounts
as active employees.
This bill:
1. Allows Mariposa County, subject to an MOU or, for
employees not represented by a bargaining unit, upon
adoption of a resolution by the Board of Supervisors,
to:
A. Establish employer contributions for employees of
no less than the statutorily required amount.
B. Provide an employer contribution that is higher
for retirees than for active employees. This
provision will only apply to employees who retired
prior to the effective date of the MOU or resolution,
regardless of any retroactivity required by the MOU
or resolution.
2. Requires Mariposa County to provide CalPERS with
notification of the MOU agreement or resolution and to
provide any necessary information in order to implement
the requirements of these changes.
3. Specifies that the obligations or benefits of either the
annuitants or the county that exist at the time of the
bill's enactment will not be affected.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/12)
Mariposa County Board of Supervisors (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
The county has negotiated a change to their benefit
package, which would reduce the health insurance benefit
for some current employees. This change also eliminates
an automatic escalator in benefits which was incorporated
in some, but not all, of the County's labor agreements.
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At this time the employees' overall compensation would
not change; however, the health insurance benefit is
being adjusted. For many employees it will increase, but
others will see a decrease. Because the Public
Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act requires the
county to provide retirees exactly the same health
insurance benefit as current employees, when this program
is enacted some of the County retirees would see a
reduction in their health benefits, thus running contrary
to existing statute.
SB 1294 would allow Mariposa County to provide current
CalPERS retirees with a different level of health
insurance benefit than will be provided to current
employees. This would only apply to those who have
already retired. This change will ensure that actions
taken by the County will not negatively impact retirees'
health benefits.
The bill's sponsor, Mariposa County Board of Supervisors,
states the following:
In order to address disparate treatment of County
employees' health benefits, the Mariposa County Board of
Supervisors has recently negotiated new terms with each
of the County's bargaining units. The agreed-upon terms
now provide equal medical insurance benefits for all
county employees.
An unintended consequence has been a reduction in medical
insurance benefits for some Mariposa County retirees.
Since this was not their intent, the Board of Supervisors
believes it is important to take whatever actions are
possible to allow these retirees to keep their current
level of medical insurance benefits. Senate Bill 1294
provides the legal means for the County to "grandfather"
current retirees medical insurance benefits at their
present level.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
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Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell,
Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza,
Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara
DLW:m 8/17/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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