Public officials' pension benefits: felony conviction.

Existing law provides that any elected public officer who takes public office, or is reelected to public office, on or after January 1, 2006, who is convicted of any specified felony arising directly out of his or her official duties, forfeits all rights and benefits under, and membership in, any public retirement system in which he or she is a member, effective on the date of final conviction, as specified. This bill would additionally require a public officer, as defined, who is convicted of any felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, tampering with a witness, money laundering, the preparation of false documents, any felony arising directly out of his or her official duties, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes arising directly out of his or her official duties, to forfeit all rights and benefits under any public retirement system in which he or she is a member, effective on the date of conviction. The bill would require any contributions made by that public officer to the public retirement system to be returned to the public officer without interest. The bill would prohibit these provisions from being construed to abrogate the rights of an innocent spouse or dependent who was not involved in the commission of any criminal activity to pension or other benefits.