State retirement: benefit programs.

(1) The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) provides a comprehensive set of rights and benefits for various employees of the state and local agencies. That law also establishes the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and sets forth the provisions for the delivery of benefits, including retirement benefits, health benefits, and an optional tax-deferred compensation program, to its members. Under that law, the retirement benefits of a retirement system member are based, in part, on the completed service credit and compensation received by that member. This bill would make technical and clarifying changes to those provisions of law, including amendments that rename the current "deferred compensation program" as the "tax-preferred retirement savings program." (2) PERL permits the Board of Directors of PERS to select, purchase, or acquire in the name of the system, real property, improved or unimproved, and to construct or remodel, and equip, an office building, including appropriate satellite structures, as specified. Existing law authorizes the board to lease any space in its buildings and improvements that is in excess of the immediate requirements of the board at rates that are equal to fair market value and sufficient to pay a reasonable rate of return for the costs of construction and maintenance of the leased portions of the buildings and improvements. This bill would eliminate the requirement that the lease rates are to be equal to fair market value and sufficient to pay a reasonable rate of return for the costs of construction and maintenance of the leased portions of the buildings and improvements. (3) PERL requires the Board of Directors of PERS to annually employ a certified public accountant, who is not in public employment, to audit the financial statements of this system. Existing law limits the contract period to 5 years and prohibits the board from contracting with the same certified public accountant for 2 consecutive 5-year terms. This bill would eliminate the provisions that restrict the period of time for which the board may retain the same certified public accountant to audit the financial statements of the system. (4) Existing law provides health benefits to employees and annuitants of specified contracting public agencies. Existing law requires the employer and each employee or annuitant to contribute a portion of the costs of providing these benefits. These contributions are deposited into the Public Employees' Contingency Reserve Fund, which is a continuously appropriated trust fund. This bill would authorize a contracting public agency to elect to provide health benefits to a family member of a deceased annuitant who retired from a contracting agency prior to the effective date of the agency's contract to provide health coverage, and who was validly enrolled in the agency's health benefit plan on the day prior to the effective date of the contract, if that family member does not receive an allowance in place of the annuitant. This bill would require the contracting agency to pay the costs of the benefits and premiums and would authorize the employer to require the family member to pay all or a portion of the costs of the health premium. By increasing member contributions into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.