Public retirement: leave of absence: service credit.

The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) establishes the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension benefits to state employees and employees of contracting agencies. Existing law requires administration of PERS by the Board of Administration of PERS. Existing law creates the Public Employees' Retirement Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, as a trust fund to be expended for purposes related to the system and its administration, and into which employee contributions are deposited. The Teachers' Retirement Law establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) for the purpose of providing a defined benefit to members of the program. STRS is governed by the Teachers' Retirement Board. Existing law creates the Teachers' Retirement Fund, which is continuously appropriated for specified purposes, and into which employee contributions are deposited. Existing law entitles an elected officer of an employee organization that is on a compensated leave of absence, as specified, for purposes of service with an employee organization to retirement service credit in STRS and PERS if specified conditions are met. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, or the governing board of a community college district, to grant any employee, upon request, a leave of absence without loss of compensation for the purpose of enabling the employee to serve in this manner, as specified. Existing law excepts certain employees from these provisions if they are subject to a collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for a leave of absence without loss of compensation for participation in authorized activities as an elected officer or an unelected member of the public employee organization. Existing law limits the maximum amount of the service credit earned during a compensated leave of absence for the purposes described above to 12 years. This bill would remove the 12-year limitation for service credit earned on a compensated leave of absence for purposes of service with an employee organization, as described above. The bill would state that this leave is in addition to any leave to which public employees may be entitled by other laws or by a memorandum of understanding or collective bargaining agreement. The bill, for purposes of provisions relating to community college districts, would apply its provisions retroactively to service as an elected officer in a public employee organization occurring after August 31, 1978, and would prescribe a process and conditions for receiving service credit in this context. The bill would prescribe the rates at which contributions are to be made for certain provisions. The bill would make conforming changes consistent with its retroactive effect and would make technical changes. By increasing contributions into the continuously appropriated Public Employees' Retirement Fund and Teachers' Retirement Fund, the bill would make an appropriation.