Bill Text: CA SB216 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: The Public Employees' Retirement System.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2015-09-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 244, Statutes of 2015. [SB216 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB216-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 216 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 244
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 16, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 3, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pan
FEBRUARY 12, 2015
An act to amend Sections 20222.5, 20235, 21002, and 21013 of, and
to repeal Section 20194 of, the Government Code, relating to public
employees' retirement.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 216, Pan. The Public Employees' Retirement System.
(1) The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public
Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing
pension benefits to specified public employees and prescribes the
rights and duties of members and annuitants of the system. PERL vests
management and control of PERS in the Board of Administration. The
California Constitution and PERL grant the board control over the
investment of the retirement fund subject to certain restrictions.
PERL directs the board to invest not less than 25% of all funds that
become available in a fiscal year for new investments in specified
obligations and securities connected with residential realty, subject
to the board's authority to substitute other investments consistent
with its fiduciary obligations to the retirement system and standards
for prudent investment. PERL requires the board to report on these
investments.
This bill would repeal the provisions regarding investing in
residential realty, described above.
(2) PERL authorizes the board to require employers participating
in the system to provide specified information, as deemed necessary
by the board, for examination and copying in the course of an audit
to determine the correctness of retirement benefits, reportable
compensation, enrollment in the system, and reinstatement to the
system.
This bill would provide that the authority described above also
applies to determining the eligibility for retirement benefits.
(3) PERL requires the board to submit a quarterly review of system
assets to the Legislature, which is required to include reporting on
the system's portfolio on the basis of cost and market value, among
other things.
This bill would change the frequency of this report to semiannual,
would eliminate the requirement to report on the investments on a
cost basis, and would make other changes to the content of the
report.
(4) PERL permits a member who returns to active service following
an employer-approved uncompensated leave of absence, as defined,
because of his or her serious illness or injury to purchase service
credit for that period of absence upon the payment of contributions,
as specified.
This bill would specify that the option to purchase service credit
shall be elected prior to retirement, that the member be returning
to state service, and would make other related and clarifying
changes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 20194 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 20222.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
20222.5. (a) The board may, during the course of an audit,
require each state employer, school employer, including each school
district represented by a school employer, and contracting agency, to
provide information or make available for examination or copying at
a specified time and place, or both, books, papers, any data, or any
records, including, but not limited to, personnel and payroll
records, as deemed necessary by the board to determine eligibility
for, and the correctness of, retirement benefits, reportable
compensation, enrollment in, and reinstatement to this system.
(b) Before initiating an audit, the board shall notify the subject
of the audit of the estimated time required to complete the audit.
The estimate shall be based upon various factors, including, but not
limited to, the following:
(1) The number of employees.
(2) Employment classifications.
(3) Benefits.
(4) Contract provisions.
(5) Geographical location.
(6) Time required for audits of comparable entities.
(7) Additional time factors raised by the subject of the audit.
(c) If an audit requires an excess of the time estimated, the
board may assess a reasonable charge upon the employer to recover
additional costs incurred for the excess time to complete the audit.
A contracting agency shall not be assessed for delays during the
course of an audit that are reasonably outside of the agency's
control.
(d) The information obtained from an employer under this section
shall remain confidential pursuant to Section 20230.
SEC. 3. Section 20235 of the Government Code is amended to read:
20235. (a) The board shall submit a review of this system's
assets to the Legislature on a semiannual basis. The report shall
also be made available to all contracting agencies. The report shall
discuss the system's assets, including review of all defined benefit
trusts and defined contribution plans, and shall contain the
following information:
(1) Defined benefit trust and defined contribution plan total
current market value and allocation of investments across primary
asset classes, if appropriate.
(2) Review of all portfolio and partnership current market value
by primary asset class and strategy.
(3) Historical time-weighted return for all defined benefit
trusts, defined contribution plans, portfolios, and partnerships on a
five-year, three-year, and one-year basis.
(4) Summary of performance of an alternative theoretical portfolio
for all defined benefit trusts and defined contribution plans based
upon policy benchmarks approved by the board.
(5) Description of policy benchmark components represented in the
alternative theoretical portfolio.
(b) Upon written request from a contracting agency that does not
participate in a risk pool, the board shall also submit quarterly
reports to the contracting agency as described in this subdivision.
For the first quarter of the fiscal year, the report shall be
submitted within 120 days after the end of the quarter and shall
contain the agency's beginning balance for the fiscal year. For the
second and third quarters of the fiscal year, the report shall be
submitted to the contracting agency within 90 days after the end of
the quarter. For the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, the report
shall be submitted within 180 days after the end of the quarter and
shall contain the agency's balance as of the end of the fiscal year.
The report shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) All contributions made to the system by the contracting agency
and its employees. The contributions shall be reported as the
amounts paid and the amounts due from the contracting agency for both
employer contributions and employee contributions.
(2) All benefits paid by the system to members of the contracting
agency and their survivors and beneficiaries, including payments on
account of pension, death, and disability benefits, and withdrawals
of contributions. The benefits shall be reported as the total monthly
allowances paid to retirees, survivors, and beneficiaries; the
amount of total refunds paid; and the amount of any other lump sums
paid.
(3) An amount that represents any miscellaneous adjustments,
including transfers in and out.
(4) That quarter's portion of the agency's estimated share of the
system's administrative costs that shall be assessed at the end of
the fiscal year.
(5) The rate of return for the system during the quarter as
reported to the board by the investment committee.
(6) The estimated interest applied to the agency's account as
determined by the system. For purposes of this paragraph, the
"estimated interest applied" means the estimate of the annual net
earnings, as defined in Section 20052, and is subject to adjustment
at the end of the fiscal year based on the actual dollar-weighted
amount of investment return that shall be credited to the agency's
account for the fiscal year. The report for the fourth quarter of the
fiscal year shall also include the actual dollar-weighted amount of
investment return for the fiscal year that shall be credited to the
contracting agency's account.
(c) Upon written request from a contracting agency that
participates in a risk pool, the board shall submit to the
contracting agency quarterly reports that reflect the total
contributions made to the system by agencies in the risk pool, the
total benefits paid by the system with respect to the risk pool, the
total estimated share of administrative costs for the risk pool, and
the total estimated share of investment returns for the risk pool.
(d) A contracting agency requesting quarterly reports pursuant to
subdivision (b) or (c) shall pay a fee, in an amount determined by
the board, not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500)
quarterly per agency while the manual process of collecting the
information is in use.
(e) Any report received by a contracting agency pursuant to this
section shall be made available by the agency to any employee
organization that represents the agency's employees and that requests
a copy of the report.
SEC. 4. Section 21002 of the Government Code is amended to read:
21002. A member who returns to active state service following an
employer-approved leave of absence because of his or her serious
illness or injury may elect to receive service credit for that period
of uncompensated absence at any time prior to retirement by making
contributions as specified in Sections 21050 and 21052. The purchase
of additional service credit pursuant to this section shall not
reduce the amount of service credit that the member is eligible to
purchase pursuant to this chapter. A member may purchase service
credit pursuant to this section for a leave of absence that occurred
either before or after the effective date of these provisions.
SEC. 5. Section 21013 of the Government Code is amended to read:
21013. "Leave of absence" also means any time, up to one year,
during which a member is granted an approved maternity or paternity
leave and returns to active state service at the end of the approved
leave for a period of time at least equal to that leave. Any member
may elect to receive service credit for that leave of absence at any
time prior to retirement by making the contributions as specified in
Sections 21050 and 21052. This section applies to both past and
future maternity or paternity leaves of absences by members of the
system.
