Inventory of the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee Records

Kelly M. Kell
California State Archives
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
FAX: (916) 653-7363
E-mail: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
© 2006
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee Records

Collection number: See series descriptions

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California
Processed by:
Kelly M. Kell
Date Completed:
October 2006
Encoded by:
Jessica Herrick
© 2006 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee Records
Dates: 1971-2000
Collection Number: See series descriptions
Creator: Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee
Collection Size: 27 cubic feet
Repository: California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: The Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee Records consist of 27 cubic feet and span the years 1971-2000. The records reflect the work of the committee in reviewing legislation pertaining to state and local non-school public employees and public employee retirement. They are comprised of bill files, hearing files, and notices, rolls, and logs.
Physical Location: California State Archives
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please consult California State Archives staff. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement that may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives' collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Acquisition Information

The California State Archives acquired the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee records according to state law.

Committee History

The Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee was created by Senate Resolution 107 (1974). Prior to 1974, all matters pertaining to the subject of public employees and retirement were seen by the standing committee on Governmental Organization. The purpose of the newly created committee on Public Employment and Retirement was to oversee "all bills relating to state and local non-school public employees and public employee retirement." Most frequently these bills pertained to the structuring of retirement and disability benefits for retired state teachers, judges, law enforcement officers, and emergency personnel. Issues such as health benefits, vacation time, and sick leave credits for existing state employees were also addressed. The first day of existence for the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee was June 13, 1974, the day the new Senate Rules were read and adopted.
The Committee on Senate Public Employment and Retirement remains a functional standing committee in the California State Senate and continues to oversee legislation pertaining to public employees and retirement. It is composed of five members. The first chair was James Wedworth (1975-1976) subsequently followed by Newton Russell (1977-1982), Wadie Deddeh (1983-1984), Dan McCorquodale (1985-1986), Cecil Green (1987-1993), Teresa Hughes (1994-1996), Adman Schiff (1997-1998), Deborah Ortiz (1999-2000), and Nell Soto (2000-2006).

Scope and Content

The Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee Records consist of 27 cubic feet. The records cover the years 1971-2000. They are comprised of bill files, hearing files, and notices, rolls, and logs. It is anticipated that the Archives will receive further records from the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee, as it remains a functional standing committee in the California State Senate. Researchers might inquire about recently received, unprocessed records of the committee.
The majority of records consist of bill files that cover the years 1971-2000. Committee hearing files span from 1975-1992 and comprise two cubic feet of the collection. Furthermore, there are files from the years 1973-1992 that contain notices, rolls, and logs.
The Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee reviewed many bills that drew public interest since the population of current and retired government employees in California had a vested interest in the legislation. The correspondence in support and opposition for bills proved especially fervent in cases involving financial benefits. However, individuals were not the only followers of the committee's agenda. Several state bargaining units and organizations kept a close watch on the committee's actions as the bills they addressed held bearing on the lives of their constituencies. These bargaining units and organizations included, but were not limited to, the State Teachers' Retirement System, Public Employees' Retirement System, California State Firefighters Association, and Peace Officer's Research Association.
The California State Archives received the records of the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee over a number of years and archives staff arranged them at various times. While the physical arrangement of the records reflects this variety, this inventory describes all of the records according to present archival descriptive standards for legislative committee records. Therefore, the physical arrangement of these records does not necessarily follow the order listed in this inventory.

Arrangement

The Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee records are arranged into three series: bill files, hearing files, and notices, rolls, and logs files.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
California. Legislature. Senate. Public Employment and Retirement Committee.
Public employees
Civil service
Civil service Retirement

Related Collections at the California State Archives

Wadie Deddeh Papers
Cecil Green Papers
Teresa Hughes Papers
Dan McCorquodale Papers
Newton Russell Papers
Debrah Ortiz Papers
Nell Soto Papers

Oral Histories of Committee Chairs

Nell Soto, Oral History Interview, Conducted 1988 by Carlos Vasquez, UCLA Oral History Program, for the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program.

See below for LP numbers

Series 1 Bill Files 1971-2000

Physical Description: 476 file folders

Arrangement

Bill files are arranged chronologically by legislative session and numerically by bill number.

Scope and Content

Most bill files include all or some of the following items: bill analyses, amendments and resolutions, author's statements, testimony, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, roll calls, records of votes, and committee statements. Of particular interest are those bills relating to state teachers' retirement, judge's retirement, state employee benefits, and investments of public pension funds.
1971-1974: Retirement Legislation from Previous Years, Background (1ff) LP167:155
1973-1974: SB9-SB2464, SCR113, SJR17, SR94 (10ff) LP167:132-141
1973-1974: AB16-AB4496 (13ff) LP167:142-154
1975-1976: SB11-SB2183, SCA39, SCR21-SCR95 (14ff) LP211:23-51
1975-1976: AB17-AB4484. ACR54-ACR221 (15ff) LP211:23-51
1977-1978: SB33-SB2218, SCA55, SCR27, SJR31 (15ff) LP214:162-176
1977-1978: AB87-AB3722, ACR26-ACR127 (15ff) LP214: 177-191
1979-1980: SB8-SB2036, SCA49, SCR53, SCR83, SR19, SR 26 (13ff) LP216:17-29
1979-1980 AB44-AB3468, ACR110, ACR139 (13ff) LP216:30-42
1981-1982: SB45-SB2055, SCA18-SCA21, SCR59 (18ff) LP222:77-92
1981-1982: SB10X-SB11X (1ff) LP222:108
1981-1982: SB9X-SB11X (1ff) LP254:54
1981-1982: AB6-AB3803, ACA63, ACR11-ACR136 (15ff) LP222:93-107
1981-1982: AB15X (1ff) LP254:70
1983-1984: Preprint SB1, SB101-SB2280, SCA 36, SCA 40, SCR55, SR18 (13ff) LP254:41-53
1983-1984: AB91-AB3867, ACA16, ACA26, ACR41-ACR120 (15ff) LP254:55-69
1985-1986: SB9-SB2584, SCA5, SCA41, SCR13 (14ff) LP264:53-66
1985-1986: AB62-AB4297, ACR50, ACR120 (16ff) LP264:67-82
1987-1988: SB209-SB2759, SCA32, SCA44, SCR48, SCR72, SR17 (15ff) LP277:70-84
1987-1988: AB15-AB4664, ACR15, ACR29 (16ff) LP277:85-100
1989-1990: SB30-SB2892, SCA16, SCR34-SCR84 (30ff) LP363:1-30
1989-1990: AB46-AB53, ACR84-ACR138, AJR71 (20ff) LP363:31-50
1991-1992: SB17-SB2029, SCR61 (21ff) LP363:51-71
1991-1992: AB75-AB3823, AJR43 (19ff) LP363:72-90
1993-1994: SB53-SB2097, SCR12-SCR45, SJR38 (21ff) LP363:91-111
1993-1994: AB7-AB3832, ACR48-ACR118, AJR44 (23ff) LP363:112-134
1995-1996: SB48-SB2151, SCR58 (13ff) LP363:135-147
1995-1996: AB166-AB3453, ACR17, AJR27 (17ff) LP363:148-164
1997-1998: SB134-SB2224, SCR26 (19ff) LP363:165-183
1997-1998: AB88-AB2804, AJR63 (16ff) LP363:184-199
1999-2000: SB39-SB2206, SCA16, SCR15 (23ff) LP363:200-222
1999-2000: AB50-AB2841, ACR135 (20ff) LP363:223-242
See Appendix A for LP Numbers

Series 2 Hearing Files 1975-1992

Physical Description: 159 file folders

Arrangement

Hearing files are arranged chronologically by hearing date.

Scope and Content

Hearing files for the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee may contain agendas, audiotapes, transcripts, testimony, background, and working files for regular session hearings as well as interim hearings and select joint hearings. Tapes have been separated to a cold-storage vault for preservation purposes and separation sheets are with the hearing files to alert the researcher to the existence of such tapes. Of particular interest are those files pertaining to the Judges' Retirement System, IRS Section 415, and investments of public pension funds.
For a chronological list of hearings, see Appendix A in the master finding aid at the California State Archives.
See below for LP numbers

Series 3 Notices, Rolls, and Logs 1973-1992

Physical Description: 14 file folders

Arrangement

Notices, Rolls, and Logs are arranged chronologically by legislative session.

Scope and Content

Files include all or some of the following items: committee roll calls, records of votes, and statements.
1973-1974: Minutes, Roll Calls, and Bills Heard (1ff) LP167:131
1977-1978: Minutes, Roll Calls, and Bills Heard (1ff) LP222:74
1979-1980: Minutes, Rolls Calls, and Bills Heard (1ff) LP222:7
1981-1982: Minutes, Roll Calls, and Bills Heard (1ff) LP222:76
1981-1982: Notices, Rolls, and Logs (1ff) LP363:388
1983-1984: Notices, Rolls, and Logs (2ff) LP363:389-390
1985-1986: Notices, Rolls, and Logs (3ff) LP363:392-394
1987-1988: Notices, Rolls, and Logs (2ff) LP363:395-396
1989-1990: Notices, Rolls, and Logs (1ff) LP363:397
1991-1992: Notices, Rolls, and Logs (1ff) LP363:398