BILL NUMBER: AB 1733 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 30, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wildman
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Shelley)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bock, Keeley, Knox, Leach,
Lempert, Strom-Martin, Washington, Wayne, and Zettel)
(Coauthors: Senators Alpert, Peace, Perata, and Solis)
JANUARY 6, 2000
An act to amend Section 24214 of Sections
22461 and 24214 of, and to repeal Sections 24216 and 24216.5 of,
the Education Code, relating to the State Teachers' Retirement
System.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1733, as amended, Wildman. State Teachers' Retirement System:
postretirement earnings.
Under the State Teachers' Retirement Law, the service retirement
allowance of a retired member is generally required to be reduced if
the member's postretirement compensation from specified activities
exceeds a certain dollar amount.
This bill would increase , with an
exception, eliminate the postretirement earnings limitation
, as specified, and make related technical
changes and findings and declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature find and declares:
(a) As a result of the enactment of the Class-Size Reduction
Program, over 22,000 emergency credentialed teachers are currently
teaching tens of thousands of students across the state. Because
many of these teachers are minimally qualified and inexperienced, the
quality of instruction for these students has been adversely
affected.
(b) The average teaching experience of retired teachers in this
state is 27 years.
(c) Under the State Teachers' Retirement Law, postretirement
earnings of retired teachers are limited, thereby creating a
disincentive for retired teachers to reenter the teaching profession.
(d) Teachers who retired on or before July 1, 1998, who choose to
reenter the teaching profession under the Class-Size Reduction
Program, and who satisfy other conditions are exempt from those
postretirement earnings limitations. Since the enactment of this
exemption, over 1,600 retired teachers throughout the state have
returned to teaching, providing approximately 32,000 students with
the benefits of experienced, highly qualified teachers.
(e) The pool of retired teachers represents a valuable resource.
All California students would benefit if more retired teachers chose
to return to teaching.
SEC. 2. Section 22461 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
22461. (a) Upon retaining the services of a retired member under
Section 24116 , 24214, or 24215, the
school district, community college district, county superintendent of
schools, California State University , or other
employing agency shall do both of the following
regardless of whether the retired member performs the services as an
employee of the employer, an employee of a third party, or an
independent contractor :
(1) Advise the retired member of the earnings limitation set forth
in Sections 24116 , 24214, and 24215.
(2) Maintain accurate records of the retired member's earnings and
report those earnings monthly to the system and the retired member
regardless of the method of payment or the fund from which the
payments were made.
(b) This section shall not be construed to make any
school district, community college district, county superintendent of
schools, the California State University , or
other employing agency liable for any amount paid to the
retired member in excess of the earnings limitation under any
circumstance, including the failure to inform the retired member that
continuation of service would exceed the limitations.
SEC. 3. Section 24214 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
24214. (a) A member retired for service under this part may
perform the activities identified in paragraphs (1) to (9),
inclusive, of subdivision (a), or subdivision (b), of Section 22119.5
as an employee of an employer, as an employee of a third party, or
as an independent contractor within the California public school
system, but the member shall not make contributions to the retirement
fund or accrue service credit based on compensation earned from that
service.
(b) The rate of pay for service performed by a member retired for
service under this part as an employee of the employer shall not be
less than the minimum, nor exceed that paid by the employer to other
employees performing comparable duties.
(c) A member retired for service under this part shall not be
required to reinstate for performing the activities identified in
paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (a), or subdivision
(b), of Section 22119.5, as an employee of an employer, as an
employee of a third party, or as an independent contractor within the
California public school system.
(d) A member retired for service under this part may earn
compensation for performing activities identified in paragraphs (1)
to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (a), or subdivision (b), of Section
22119.5 in any one school year up to the limitation
specified in subdivision (f) as an as an
employee of an employer, as an employee of a third party, or an
independent contractor, within the California public school system,
without a reduction in his or her retirement allowance.
(e) The postretirement compensation limitation provisions set
forth in this section shall not be applicable to compensation earned
for the performance of the activities described in subdivision (a)
for which the employer is not eligible to receive state apportionment
or to compensation that is not creditable pursuant to Section
22119.2.
(f) The limitation that shall apply to the compensation for
performance of the activities identified in paragraphs (1) to (9),
inclusive, of subdivision (a), or subdivision (b), of Section 22119.5
by a member retired for service under this part either as an
employee of an employer, an employee of a third party, or as an
independent contractor, shall be thirty-six thousand dollars
($36,000), in any one school year, adjusted annually by the board
each July 1 by the annual amount of increase in the All Urban
California Consumer Price Index using December 1999 as the base.
(g) If a member retired for service under this part earns
compensation for performing activities identified in paragraphs (1)
to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (a), or subdivision (b), of Section
22119.5 in excess of the limitation specified in subdivision (f), as
an employee of an employer, as an employee of a third party, or as
an independent contractor, within the California public school
system, the member's retirement allowance shall be reduced by the
amount of the excess compensation. The amount of the reduction may
be equal to the monthly allowance payable but shall not exceed the
amount of the annual allowance payable under this part for the fiscal
year in which the excess compensation was earned.
(h)
(f) The amendments to this section enacted during the
1995-96 Regular Session shall be deemed to have become operative on
July 1, 1996.
SEC. 4. Section 24216 of the Education Code is repealed.
24216. (a) (1) A member retired for service under this part who
is appointed as a trustee or administrator by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction pursuant to Section 41320.1, or a member retired
for service who is assigned by a county superintendent of schools
pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 42120) of Chapter 6 of
Part 24, shall be exempt from subdivisions (d), (e), and (f) of
Section 24214 for a maximum period of two years.
(2) The period of exemption shall commence on the date the member
retired for service is appointed or assigned and shall end no more
than two calendar years from that date, after which the limitation
specified in subdivisions (d), (e), and (f) of Section 24214 shall
apply.
(3) An exemption under this subdivision shall be granted by the
system providing that the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the
county superintendent of schools submits documentation required by
the system to substantiate the eligibility of the member retired for
service for an exemption under this subdivision.
(b) (1) A member retired for service under this part who is
employed by an employer to perform creditable service in an emergency
situation to fill a vacant administrative position requiring highly
specialized skills shall be exempt from the provisions of
subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of Section 24214 for creditable service
performed up to one-half of the full-time equivalent for that
position, if the vacancy occurred due to circumstances beyond the
control of the employer. The limitation specified in subdivisions
(d), (e), and (f) of Section 24214 shall apply to creditable service
performed beyond the specified exemption.
(2) An exemption under this subdivision shall be granted by the
system subject to the following conditions:
(A) The recruitment process to fill the vacancy on a permanent
basis is expected to extend over several months.
(B) The employment is reported in a public meeting of the
governing body of the employer.
(C) The employer submits documentation required by the system to
substantiate the eligibility of the member retired for service for an
exemption under this subdivision.
(c) This section shall not apply to any person who has received
additional service credit pursuant to Section 22715 or 22716.
(d) A person who has received additional service credit pursuant
to Section 22714 shall be ineligible for one year from the effective
date of retirement for the exemption provided in this section for
service performed in the district from which he or she retired.
(e) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1995, and shall
remain in effect only until July 1, 2003, and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before
July 1, 2003, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 5. Section 24216.5 of the Education Code is repealed.
24216.5. (a) The compensation earned by a member who retired for
service under this part shall be exempt from subdivisions (d), (f),
and (g) of Section 24214, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The member retired for service with an effective date on or
before July 1, 1998.
(2) The member retired for service is employed by a school
district to provide either one of the following:
(A) Direct classroom instruction to students in classrooms that
were created to meet the objectives of a program to reduce class
sizes pursuant to Part 28 (commencing with Section 51000).
(B) Is temporarily filling a position that was vacated due to a
teacher transferring to a classroom within the same district that was
created to meet the objectives of a program to reduce class sizes
pursuant to Part 28 (commencing with Section 51000).
(3) All members retired for service whose employment with a school
district meets the conditions specified in this section shall be
treated as a distinct class of temporary employees within the
existing bargaining unit whose service shall not be included in
computing the service required as a prerequisite to attainment of or
eligibility for classification as a permanent employee of a school
district. The compensation for service performed by this class of
employees shall be established in accordance with subdivision (b) of
Section 24214 and agreed to in the collective bargaining agreement
between the employing school district and the exclusive
representative for the existing bargaining unit within which these
temporary employees of the school district are treated as a distinct
class.
(4) The employing school district submits documentation required
by the system to substantiate the eligibility of the temporary
employment of a member retired for service for the exemption under
this subdivision.
(b) A school district that employs a member retired for service
pursuant to this section shall maintain accurate records of the
retired member's compensation earned and shall report that
compensation monthly to the system regardless of the method of
payment or the source of funds from which the compensation is paid.
(c) This section shall not apply to the compensation earned for
creditable service performed by a member retired for service for a
county office of education or a community college district.
(d) The amendments made to this section by an act enacted in the
first year of the 1999-2000 Regular Session shall apply to the
1999-2000 school year and all subsequent school years.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2002,
and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute which
is enacted before July 1, 2002, deletes or extends that date.