ACA 15

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing statutory law establishes various public agency retirement systems, including, among others, the Public Employees' Retirement System, the State Teachers' Retirement System, the Judges' Retirement System II, and various county retirement systems pursuant to the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, and these systems provide defined pension benefits to public employees based on age, service credit, and amount of final compensation. The California Constitution permits a city or county to adopt a charter for purposes of its governance that supersedes general laws of the state in regard to specified subjects, including compensation of city or county employees. The California Constitution establishes the University of California as a public trust with full powers of organization and government, subject only to specified limitations. Under their respective independent constitutional authority, charter cities and counties and the University of California may and have established retirement systems. The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) generally requires the retirement systems to which it applies to modify their provisions to conform with its requirements. PEPRA excepts from its provisions retirement systems established by charter cities and counties and the University of California. PEPRA requires the retirement systems that it regulates and that offer defined benefit plans to provide specified defined benefit formulas and prescribes requirements regarding employer and employee contributions to defined benefit pension plans. This measure would enact the Protecting Schools and Keeping Pension Promises Act of 2018. The measure would prohibit a government employer from enhancing employee pension benefits, as defined, without approval by the voters of the jurisdiction, and would prohibit a government employer from enrolling a new government employee, as defined, in a defined benefit pension plan without approval by the voters of the jurisdiction. The measure also would prohibit a government employer from paying more than 12 of the total cost of retirement benefits, as defined, for new government employees without approval by the voters of the jurisdiction. The measure would prohibit retirement boards from imposing charges or other financial conditions on a government employer that proposes to close a defined benefit pension plan to new members unless the voters or the sponsoring government employer approve those charges or conditions. The measure would require challenges to the legality of actions taken by a government employer or a retirement board to comply with its provisions to be brought in state or federal courts. The measure would prohibit its provisions from being interpreted to modify or limit disability benefits provided for government employees or death benefits for families of government employees, even if provided as part of a retirement benefits system, or from requiring voter approval of disability or death benefits. The measure would prescribe various requirements and prohibitions regarding its interpretation and the effect of any other competing measures, among other things.