BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1382|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1382
Author: Negrete McLeod (D)
Amended: 6/11/12
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIREMENT COMM. : 3-1, 4/9/12
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Gaines, Vargas
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
SENATE FLOOR : 28-11, 4/16/12
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez,
Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Dutton, Emmerson,
Fuller, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : County Retirement Act of 1937: retiree
organizations
SOURCE : California Retired County Employees Association
DIGEST : This bill amends the 1937 Act County Retirement
Law (37 Act) to clarify terminology related to recognized
retiree organizations, the items that a retiree under that
CONTINUED
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system may have deducted from his/her pay warrant, and the
nature and extent of assistance provided to the recognized
retiree organization by the retirement system with regard
to mailings to the retiree organization's members.
Assembly Amendments (1) allow county retirement boards to
require that payment for any retiree benefit programs be to
a single party designated by the recognized retiree
organization, either to itself or to a third-party
administrator; (2) does not make a board liable for
contents of any communications between recognized retiree
organization and its retired members; and (3) clarifies
that the fee for mailings can include staff time for
preparation.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes the 1937 Act County Employees' Retirement
Law, which covers 20 independent county retirement
systems, each governed by an independent board of
retirement.
2. Authorizes the retirement board to appoint an alternate
retired member to the office of the eighth member of the
board, from a list of nominees submitted by a qualified
retiree organization.
3. Allows certain deductions to be taken from the retiree's
warrant to make various payments, such as for medical
premiums and life insurance, payments to charitable
organizations, and payment of personal income taxes.
4. Requires a retirement board to notify the retiree
organization with advance notice of any proposed program
changes or uses of excess funds, and to allow the
retiree organization reasonable time to comment prior to
any formal action taken by the board on the proposed
changes.
5. Contains references to retiree organizations using
varying terminology.
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This bill:
1. Defines the term "recognized employee organization" and
amends various references to retiree organizations so
that the term is used consistently.
2. Allows a retiree's payment for any retiree benefit
program available through a retiree organization to be
deducted from the retiree's pay warrant.
3. Requires that, upon the recognized retiree
reorganization's request, the retirement system to
assist the organization in distributing communications
regarding membership in, and retiree programs available
through, the retiree organization to some or all of the
retirees in the system.
4. Specifies that the content of the communications is
wholly the responsibility of the retiree organization
and that the retirement board will have no liability for
the content.
5. Authorizes the retirement system to charge the retiree
organization a reasonable fee for the mailings,
including staff time for preparation, which may not
exceed the actual cost to the system.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/12)
California Retired County Employees Association (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor,
the California Retired County Employees Association, "SB
1382 would make the '37 Act and a related Government Code
section internally consistent with respect to references to
the organization recognized by the Board of Retirement as
representing retirees of the system (the recognized retiree
organization), and clearly define such organization. The
bill would also clarify the types of deductions that may be
made from a retirement allowance upon written authorization
by a retiree. Finally, it would establish a means by which
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the recognized retiree organization can communicate by mail
with the retirees it represents, and make the organization
responsible for the costs. In this manner, the recognized
retiree organization can fulfill its obligations to those
they represent."
DLW:m 6/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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