Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1681

Introduced by Assembly Member Allen

February 12, 2014

An act to begin delete amend Section 22942 of end delete begin insert add Sections 3509.7 and 3523.4 to end insert the Government Code, relating to public employees’ benefits.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1681, as amended, Allen. Public employees: benefits.

Existing law permits the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System to authorize an employer to participate in the prefunding of health care coverage and other postemployment benefits for annuitants. begin delete Existing law provides certain definitions of terms for purposes of this authority. end delete

begin delete

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.

end delete begin insert

This bill would require a memorandum of understanding or on the topic of postemployment health care benefits between a public employer or a state employer and employees to contain a plan to begin the permanent prefunding of postemployment health care benefits. The bill would provide that the plan may authorize any amount that otherwise would be used to permanently increase employee compensation to be used to permanently prefund members’ postemployment healthcare benefits.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 3509.7 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 3509.7. end insert   

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a public agency
shall not enter into a memorandum of understanding or on the
topic of postemployment health care benefits with employees first
hired on or after January 1, 2015, unless it contains a plan to
begin permanent prefunding of postemployment health care
benefits pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 22940)
of Chapter 1 or Part 5 of Division 5 of Title 2. The plan may
authorize any amount that otherwise would be used to permanently
increase employee compensation to be used to permanently prefund
members’ postemployment health care benefits.

(b) If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the
provisions of a memorandum of understanding, the memorandum
of understanding shall be controlling, except that upon expiration
of the memorandum of understanding or other collective
bargaining agreement, this section shall be controlling and may
not be superseded by a subsequent memorandum of understanding
or other collective bargaining agreement.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 3523.4 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 3523.4. end insert   

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the state employer
shall not enter into a memorandum of understanding on the topic
of postemployment health care benefits with employees first hired
on or after January 1, 2015, unless it contains a plan to begin
permanent prefunding of postemployment health care benefits
pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 22940) of Chapter
1 or Part 5 of Division 5 of Title 2. The plan may authorize any
amount that otherwise would be used to permanently increase
employee compensation to be used to permanently prefund
members’ postemployment health care benefits.

(b) If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the
provisions of a memorandum of understanding, the memorandum
of understanding shall be controlling, except that upon expiration
of the memorandum of understanding, this section shall be
controlling and may not be superseded by a subsequent
memorandum of understanding or other collective bargaining
agreement.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 22942 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

22942.  

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) “Annuitant” means any of the following:

(1) An annuitant described in Section 22760.

(2) A person who retires from employment with an employer
described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) and who receives
postemployment health care benefits or other postemployment
benefits from the prefunding plan provided by that employer.

(3) A surviving family member who receives postemployment
health care benefits or other postemployment benefits as a
beneficiary of a deceased person described in paragraph (2).

(b) “Employee” means an employee described in Section 22772.
“Employee” also means an officer or employee of an employer
described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).

(c) “Employer” means either of the following:

(1) An employer described in Section 22773.

(2) An entity described in Section 22920 that has one or more
employees and provides postemployment health care benefits or
other postemployment benefits to annuitants.

end delete