Public employees' retirement: charter schools.

(1) The Teachers' Retirement Law establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. Existing law also establishes the Cash Balance Benefit Program for the purpose of providing a retirement plan for specified teachers whose service is less than 50% of the full-time equivalent for the person's position or who are employed on a temporary basis or as a substitute, as specified. The Cash Balance Benefit Program and STRS are administered by the Teachers' Retirement Board. The Public Employees' Retirement Law establishes the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , which provides defined benefits to members of the system based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. PERS is administered by its board of administration. The California Constitution grants plenary authority for the administration of a public pension or retirement system to its retirement board, as specified, and provides that the assets of a retirement system are trust funds, as specified. Existing law creates the Teachers' Retirement Fund, which is continuously appropriated, and into which are deposited employer, state, and employee contributions, as well as funds connected with the Cash Balance Benefit Program. Existing law creates the Public Employees' Retirement Fund, which is also continuously appropriated, and into which, among other assets, employer and employee contributions are deposited. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes the establishment and operation of charter schools. Existing law authorizes charter schools to elect to make STRS, PERS, or both available to qualifying employees. This bill would require a charter school initially authorized to commence operations on and after January 1, 2025, to participate in STRS or PERS, or both. The bill would specify that this provision does not apply to a charter school seeking a renewal authorization on or after January 1, 2025, if the charter school initially received authorization to commence operations before January 1, 2025, and has continuously operated as a charter school since that initial authorization. The bill would generally require STRS, the Cash Balance Benefit Program, and PERS to apply to a charter school in the same manner as the systems and program apply to other public schools. The bill would require the chartering authority to provide notice to STRS or PERS, as applicable, of the occurrence of specified events, including approval of a charter school petition, within 30 days of the event's occurrence, on a form prescribed by the system. For the purpose of paying contributions on behalf of a charter school, the bill would require a county superintendent, district superintendent, or other employing agency that reports directly to STRS, upon state apportionment to a charter school, to draw requisitions against the funds of the charter school in amounts equal to the estimated contributions required to be paid by the charter school to STRS, as specified, and pay them to the system. The bill would prohibit these requisitions from exceeding an estimated 3 months of contributions to be paid by the charter school. The bill would also require a county superintendent, district superintendent, or other employing agency that reports directly to the retirement system to use any unencumbered funds, otherwise legally available for this purpose, to pay for any amounts due to the system that remain unpaid. The bill would require the estimated amount to be determined by the county superintendent, district superintendent, or other employing agency. The bill would create similar requirements and prohibitions for purposes of requisitions related to the Cash Balance Benefit Program and PERS. By depositing additional moneys in continuously appropriated funds, this bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law requires a county superintendent, district superintendent, chancellor of a community college district, or other employing agency that reports directly to STRS to draw requisitions for contributions required pursuant to specified provisions in favor of the system. Existing law requires employers participating in STRS to contribute monthly a specified percentage of the creditable contribution upon which member contributions are based in connection with funding the liability for benefits related to accumulated and unused sick leave. This bill would require that the monthly contributions for benefits related to accumulated and unused sick leave be subject to the above-described requisition process.