FROM: Debby Cherney, Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: AB 2493 - County Employees' Retirement: Disallowed Compensation /Benefit Adjustments
RECOMMENDATION:
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Approve the submission of a letter of concern or opposition to the California State Legislature regarding AB 2493 - County Employees' Retirement: Disallowed Compensation /Benefit Adjustments.
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BACKGROUND:
Assembly Member Chen introduced AB 2493 on February 17, 2022. If passed and signed into law as currently drafted, the bill will add section 31541.2 to the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL). The purpose of the bill is to provide relief to retired sworn safety members of county retirement systems whose retirement allowances are adjusted by plan implementation of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA).
The language of the bill is similar to a bill passed in 2021 (SB 278) that provided relief to all CalPERS retirees whose retirement allowances were reduced due to error or omission, as defined in the statute. In the Senate Floor analysis on that bill, the bill identified that "According to CalPERS, in 2019 and 2020, there were a total of 18 adjustments due to disallowed compensation in the system." SB 278 was clearly targeting the "once in a blue moon" type error. The legislation itself also focused on CalPERS seeking "repayment of the purported overpayment directly from" retirees, as well as "substantial future reduction" in a retiree's monthly allowance.
By contrast, while the language of AB 2493 is similar, there are some striking contrasts to SB 278, most notably that the bill takes aim at all pay items that were disallowed as a direct result of the Supreme Court's decision in Alameda County Deputy Sheriff's Association v. Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (2020) 9 Cal.5th 1032 (Alameda). Those are not "once in a blue moon" errors; they are numerous, and they range from very small adjustments to larger ones. Notably too, the SBCERA...
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