Public employment: County of Alameda.

The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 authorizes, until January 1, 2011, the board of supervisors of the Counties of Solano and Santa Barbara to, by resolution, ordinance, contract, or contract amendment, provide different retirement benefits for some safety member bargaining units within the safety member classification of a county retirement system, as specified. This bill would authorize the Board of Supervisors of the County of Alameda, by resolution adopted by majority vote as part of any negotiated memorandum of understanding with a bargaining unit that represents safety employees, to require a safety employee of that bargaining unit or unrepresented safety employee hired after approval of the resolution, to elect in writing a permanent choice between 2 specified pension calculations, as specified. The bill would also authorize the board to adopt a resolution by majority vote to provide a different formula or calculation of retirement benefits for new members of other safety bargaining units or other unrepresented safety employees hired after approval of the resolution, as specified, or to provide a different formula or calculation of safety retirement benefits for new safety members in one bargaining unit than that which is provided for new safety members of other bargaining units or new unrepresented safety members. The bill would also specify that the board shall not require that a bargaining unit be divided solely for the purpose of providing different retirement benefits. The bill would authorize the board to separately negotiate retirement benefits with a bargaining unit if the members of that bargaining unit so elect. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.