Although some of these bills might not effect you, it is a good idea to keep your eye on the what your government is doing to you, good or bad.
- AB 736 by Assemblymember Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) – State teachers' retirement: executive positions
The Teachers’ Retirement Law creates the State Teachers’ Retirement System and State Teachers’ Retirement Plan for the purpose of providing teachers and other specified employees with financially sound retirement plans. The law provides for the administration of the system and the plan by the Teachers’ Retirement Board and authorizes the board to appoint employees as necessary for those purposes. The law requires the board to fix the compensation of specified executive and managerial positions, including chief executive officer, chief investment officer, and general counsel.
This bill would provide the duty to fix the compensation of specified executive and managerial positions, described above, applies to a single position in the various job categories. The bill would additionally require the board to fix the compensation of a chief operating officer and a chief financial officer. The bill would impose specified limits on the annual percentage increase in salary paid to a person who served in either of those positions on January 1, 2016, and who does not separate from service in that position prior to the date on which the increase is applied.
Existing law prohibits, among others, a chief of staff, deputy chief executive officer, or an equivalent senior management position, for a period of 2 years after leaving that position, from appearing before or communicating with the board for the purpose of influencing actions or proceedings, for compensation, as specified.
This bill would remove that restriction from the positions listed above and instead apply the restriction to the chief operating officer and individuals who held career executive assignment positions that reported directly to either the chief executive officer or the chief operating officer.
- AB 1687 by Assemblymember Ian C. Calderon (D-Whittier) – Customer records: age information: commercial online entertainment employment service providers
Existing law requires a business that owns, licenses, or maintains personal information about a California resident to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information, to protect the personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. Existing law provides specified civil penalties for a violation of these provisions.
This bill would prohibit a commercial online entertainment employment service provider that enters into a contractual agreement to provide specified employment services to an individual paid subscriber from publishing information about the subscriber’s age in an online profile of the subscriber and would require the provider, within 5 days, to remove from public view in an online profile of the subscriber certain information regarding the subscriber’s age on any companion Internet Web site under the provider’s control if requested by the subscriber. The bill would define terms for purposes of these provisions. Under the bill, a provider that permits the public to upload or modify content on its own Internet Web site or any Internet Web site under its control without prior review by that provider would not be in violation of these provisions unless the subscriber first requested the provider to remove age information.
AB 2844 by Assemblymember Richard H. Bloom (D-Santa Monica) – Public contracts: discrimination
- AB 1875 by Assemblymember Rocky Chávez (R-Oceanside) – State teachers' retirement: option beneficiaries: trusts
Existing law, 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. STRS is governed by the Teachers’ Retirement Board. Existing law establishes the Cash Balance Benefit Program, administered by the Teachers’ Retirement Board, as a separate benefit program within the State Teachers’ Retirement Plan in order to provide a retirement plan for persons employed to perform creditable service for less than 50% of full-time service. Existing law permits members of STRS to select option beneficiaries and participants in the Cash Balance Benefit Program to select annuity beneficiaries for the purpose of receiving a retirement allowance or an annuity, respectively, upon the member’s or the participant’s death. Existing law specifically prohibits a trust from being an option beneficiary under STRS.
This bill would permit irrevocable trusts, with specified characteristics, that are established for individuals who are disabled to be an option beneficiary or annuity beneficiary, as described above, for the defined benefit program and the Cash Balance Benefit Program. The bill would require the trust to be for the sole benefit of a single beneficiary and that any other beneficiaries be limited to successor beneficiaries. The bill would require, with respect to the trust’s interest in the member’s or in the participant’s benefits, that the beneficiary of the trust be considered the designated beneficiary for the purpose of determining eligibility for, and the amount and determination of, benefits.
The bill would require a member or participant to provide specified documentation if a trust is to be designated an option beneficiary, including a certification that the trust meets relevant requirements, to be signed by the member or participant and acting trustees. The bill would require trustees acting at the time of the death of the member or participant to provide a similar, signed certification and additionally certify that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended, in a manner that would cause the certification to be incorrect. The bill would allow a member or participant to change a beneficiary designation without penalty for the purpose of designating a trust as a beneficiary if certain requirements are met. The bill would require, if the trust becomes invalid or terminates, that the benefit or annuity be paid to the beneficiary, if eligible, with associated rights and responsibilities also accruing to that person. The bill would provide that the board is not required to determine the powers of a trustee or the validity of a trust in the context, that such a determination shall not be inferred and, provided the board acts in good faith, as specified, would immunize the board, system, and plan from liability. The bill would make conforming changes and, with respect to the Cash Balance Benefit Program, revise the circumstances under which a participant may change an option beneficiary after retirement changes.
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