BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                    Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
          
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          |                               |AB 1933  (Strom-Martin)     |
          |-------------------------------+----------------------------|
          |                               |                            |
          |-------------------------------+----------------------------|
          |Hearing Date: 8/7/2000         |Amended: 6/15/2000          |
          |-------------------------------+----------------------------|
          |Consultant: Maureen Brooks     |Policy Vote: P. E. & R. 3-1 |
          |                               |                            |
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          ____________________________________________________________ 
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          BILL SUMMARY:   AB 1933 establishes a "Rule of 85"  
          retirement option and increases the career bonus for  
          members of the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS).   
          Additionally, the bill requires the Teachers' Retirement  
          Board to conduct a study on the feasibility of a service  
          based retirement formula and report to the Legislature  
          before July 1, 2001.

                              Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
           
          Major Provisions                      2000-01             2001-02          
           2002-03                     Fund  
          
          Career bonus              $6.5 mill          $17.7 mill      $30.5  
          mill          STRF

          Rule of 85                $6.2 mill          $16.9 mill     $29.3  
          mill          STRF

          Study                      $25                                        
                                   STRF
          STAFF COMMENTS:  This bill meets the criteria to be placed  
          on the Suspense file.   The present value of the total  
          long-term costs for the career bonus enhancement is $4  
          billion.  The total cost for the Rule of 85 retirement  
          option is $3.989 billion assuming  all  employers elected to  
          provide the benefit.  

          Existing law provides a career bonus of .2% for members of  
          STRS with 30 or more years of credited service.  This bill  
          will change the career bonus to a formula of a bonus of .1%  
           for members with 29 years of service, a .3%  bonus for 30  










          years and .4% bonus for members with 31 or more years of  
          service.  The bills increases the cap on the percentage of  
          final compensation from 2.4% to 2.5%.

          The "Rule of 85" retirement option provides that a member  
          whose age and service credit add up to at least 85 will  
          receive a benefit equal to 2.4% of final compensation for  
          each year of credited service.  Therefore, a teacher age 55  
          with 30 years of service would retire with 72% of final  
          compensation.  The minimum retirement age is 55.    
          Employees of a school district, community college district,  
          county superintendent of schools will be eligible for the  
          "Rule of 85" but it must first be agreed to in collective  
          bargaining.

          A service based retirement formula bases the allowance on  
          years of service and final compensation without using an  
          age factor, except for a minimum retirement age.  CalSTRS  
          will conduct a study on the feasibility of that formula.

          Staff notes that this bill is similar to AB 1213  
          (Strom-Martin) which was held on the Assembly  
          Appropriations Committee Suspense file earlier this year.