Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee Records, 1969-2014, bulk 1990-2014

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Summary

Title:
California State Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee Records
Dates:
1969-2014, bulk 1990-2014
Creators:
Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee Assembly Employment and Public Employees Committee Assembly Public Employees and Retirement Committee
Abstract:
Since 1969, the Assembly has continually established a committee related to public employment, retirement, and social security. The committee's name and responsibility have changed since this time. The overall scope and responsibilities of the committee have essentially remained the same since its inception, focusing primarily on issues related to retirement, health care, and employment issues involving State employees. The California State Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee records consists of 30 cubic feet of textual records of the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee, the Assembly Employment and Public Employees Committee, the Assembly Public Employees and Retirement Committee, and the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee.
Extent:
38.5 cubic feet of textual files and 239 audio cassette tapes
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The California State Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee records consists of 38.5 cubic feet of textual records of the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee, the Assembly Employment and Public Employees Committee, the Assembly Public Employees and Retirement Committee, and the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee. The record group also includes 239 audiocassette tapes of the Assembly Public Employees and Retirement Committee and the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee hearings. The records were created between 1969 and 2014, with the bulk of records created between 1990 and 2014. The record group is organized into three series: bill files, hearing files, and subject files. See the series description for further details.

Because of the size and complexity of issues relating to health care, retirement, and labor relations with State employees, many topics and issues contained in the record group include: cost of living adjustments, actuarial evaluations, investment strategies, medical benefits, county participation, safety member classifications, pension abuses, pension plans, and divestment issues.

The bill files are useful for observing the development of State health and retirement systems through technical and formulaic revisions, the expansion of medical and retirement packages and investment parameters, alterations to member and beneficiary classifications, and the crafting of labor agreements. Technical and formulaic revisions include adjustments to the cost of living payments and the mathematical computations for determining retirement ages. The expansion of eligible members’ medical coverage includes a debate over inclusion of domestic partner coverage, the eligibility of newly married spouses for death benefits, and the ongoing efforts to bring medical coverage to employees in rural areas or in counties participating under older legislation. The bill files also contain the passing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between labor organizations and the State, highlighting negotiations for increased coverage, alterations in employee classifications, and negotiations for wage and benefit modifications.

The subject files are useful for providing background information, individual analyses, public reaction, and correspondence related to matters involving legislation or the operation of State retirement systems. These files include material on pension abuses, namely the American River Fire District. Reforms of State pension plans include the efforts in 1991 and 1992 to initiate structural pension plan reforms and allocate retirement funds to balance the State budget using AB 702 and the accumulation of New York City pension plans for consideration towards potential reforms in California. Investment portfolios and financial solvency reports contain various actuarial and fiduciary reports for the Legislators Retirement System, the Judges Retirement System, the State Teachers Retirement System, and financial evaluations of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) investment in Catellus, a redevelopment agency, provide expanded coverage of the Committee’s attempts to maintain financial solvency of the retirement and health care plans. The investment portfolios also contain information involving the CalPERS Home Loan Program and correspondence relating to the debate over continued association with companies in South Africa and Arab nations that boycotted Israel.

The hearing files are useful for determining the perspectives of opposing viewpoints comprising the testimonies over CalTrans safety, actuarial valuations and fiduciary reports, the relative strengths and weaknesses of deferred compensation programs, the taxation of pension plans with IRS code 415 and changes to the Federal Medicare Law, efforts to develop low-cost alternatives to PEMCHA, continued CalPERS investing in South Africa, concerns over CalPERS investments in Catellus and Drexel, Burnham, and Lambert, and several bill hearings devoted to discussing the technical language and validity of various bill provisions.

Biographical / historical:

Since 1969, the Assembly has continually maintained a committee related to public employment, retirement, and social security. Although the committee’s name has changed over time, the core functions have remained constant.

The Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security had its origins as an advisory committee to the Joint Legislative Retirement Committee, established by ACR 46 in 1966. The committee offered technical advice and expertise to retirement and actuarial problems, assisting the Legislature with the scores of complex bills relating to the retirement systems to which the State contributed. This committee maintained an advisory role until 1969, when the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement was assigned the subject matter relating to the State Civil Service System, State personnel, and public retirement systems by House Resolution 414. From 1969 to 1970, the committee was called the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement. From 1971 to 1973, the responsibilities of the committee were split with creation of the Assembly Committee on Employment and Public Employees and a separate committee for retirement. In 1974, the passage of House Resolution 208 on August 31 begat a reunification of duties, creating the Assembly Committee on Public Employees and Retirement. In 1987, it became the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security and has remained so to the present.

The original advisory committee consisted of members selected by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Rules Committee of the Senate, with no more than three members from each house. The number of standing committee members has shifted over the years, fluctuating from as low as six members in 1999 to as many as eleven in 1975 and 1993-1994.

The overall scope and responsibilities of the committee have essentially remained the same since its inception, focusing primarily on issues related to retirement, health care, and employment issues involving State employees. The primary responsibilities of the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security involve: creating and advising on legislation for the maintenance or revision of retirement plans and formulas for State retirement systems, creating and advising on legislation relating to health care plans for State employees, and crafting the frameworks for regulations and procedures for bargaining between State employees and unions.

The chairs of the committees from 1974-2014 were as follows:

Fong Eu, March K. (Dem.), 1973-1974

Dixon, Julian C. (Dem.), 1975

Deddeh, Wadie P. (Dem.), 1976-1979

Tucker, Curtis (Dem.), 1980-1982

Elder, David (Dem.), 1983-1992

Canella, Sal (Dem.), 1993-1994

Kaloogian, Howard (Rep.), 1995-1996

Knox, Wally (Dem.) 1997

Honda, Mike (Dem.), 1998

Correa, Lou (Dem.), 1999-2000

Havice, Sally (Dem.), 2001-2002

Negrete McLeod, Gloria (Dem.), 2003-2004

Torrico, Alberto (Dem.), 2005-2006

Hernandez, Edward P. (Dem.), 2007-2010

Furutani, Warren (Dem.), 2011-2012

Bonta, Rob (Dem.), 2013-2014

Acquisition information:
The State Archives received these records in accordance with California Government Code 9080(b) which requires legislative committees to transfer their records to the State Archives when they are no longer needed by the committee.
Arrangement:

Organized into three series: (1) Bill Files, (2) Subject Files, and (3) Hearing Files.

Accruals:

Further accruals are expected.

Physical location:
California State Archives
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Colin Hoffman and Michael McNeil
Date Prepared:
© 2007
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Colin Hoffman. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: 1 March 2020

Access and use

Restrictions:

While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

Terms of access:

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], Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 653-2246
reference@sos.ca.gov
Website