53215-53224

GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 53215-53224




53215.  "Local agency" as used in this article means a city, city
and county, district, school district, municipal or public
corporation, political subdivision, or other public agency of the
State, or any instrumentality of one or more of any such agencies.




53216.  The legislative body of a local agency may establish a
pension trust funded by individual life insurance contracts,
individual annuities, group policies of life insurance, or group
annuities, or any one or combination of them, or by any other
investment authorized by this article for the benefit of its officers
and employees.
   The legislative body of a local agency may make participation in
any plan under such pension trust optional with the officers and
employees of the local agency or it may make participation in such
pension trust plan compulsory for the officers and employees of such
agency.
   Officers and employees who participate in such pension trust plan,
whether it is optional or compulsory, shall have their plan
contributions deducted from their compensation.



53216.1.  It is the intent of the Legislature, consistent with the
mandate of the voters in passing Proposition 21 at the June 5, 1984,
Primary Election, to allow the board of any retirement system
governed by this article to invest in any form or type of investment
deemed prudent by the board pursuant to the requirements of Sections
53216.5 and 53216.6. It is also the intent of the Legislature to
repeal, or amend as appropriate, certain statutory provisions,
whether substantive or procedural in nature, that restrict the form,
type, or amount of investments that would otherwise be considered
prudent under the terms of those sections. This will increase the
flexibility and range of investment choice available to these
retirement systems, while ensuring protection of the interests of
their beneficiaries.



53216.2.  A county that has established a pension trust pursuant to
this article may contract with the courts within the county, and with
other local agencies within the county, to permit the officers and
employees of those courts and local agencies to participate in any
plan under the county's pension trust.


53216.3.  The legislative body shall employ investment counsel or
trust companies or trust departments of banks to render service in
connection with its investment program.



53216.4.  The legislative body of the local agency shall report
annually to the beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries of the
pension trust on the status of the trust. The report shall include a
description of securities held and a comprehensive report of
transactions involving the investment of the assets similar to that
required of a life insurance company licensed to do business in
California.
   The annual report shall also include a detailed statement of the
expenses of operating the pension trust, including compensation paid,
fees paid, operating ratios, and net profit and loss statements,
including the acquisition cost, the book value, and market value of
the total assets as of the date of the report.
   In the matter of commission fees and other fees paid to persons
not employed by the local agency for services in connection with
investments under this article, the names of those persons to whom
such fees are paid and the amounts paid shall be clearly identified
in the report.



53216.5.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article and
except as otherwise expressly restricted by the California
Constitution and by law, the legislative body, trust, or other body,
authorized to make investments for a pension trust, may invest, or
delegate the authority to invest, the assets of the pension trust,
through the purchase, holding, or sale of any form or type of
investment, financial instrument, or financial transaction when
prudent in the informed opinion of that body pursuant to Section
53216.6.


53216.6.  The assets of the pension trust are trust funds and shall
be held for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to
participants in the pension or retirement system and their
beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the
system.
   The legislative body, trust, or other body authorized to make
investments for a pension trust, shall discharge its duties with
respect to investing the assets of the pension trust.
   (a) Solely in the interest of, and for the exclusive purposes of
providing benefits to, participants and their beneficiaries,
minimizing employer contributions thereto, and defraying reasonable
expenses of administering the trust.
   (b) With the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the
circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like
capacity and familiar with these matters would use in the conduct of
an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.
   (c) Shall diversify the investments of the trust so as to minimize
the risk of loss and to maximize the rate of return, unless under
the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so.




53216.7.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the
contrary, separate rates of contribution for male and female
employees shall not be maintained or established nor shall different
allowances or benefits for male or female employees be maintained or
established.



53216.8.  In the case of a pension trust established pursuant to
this article which provides for individual accounts and permits a
participant or beneficiary to direct investments in his or her
account, if a participant or beneficiary directs investments in his
or her account, no person who is a corporate custodian or a corporate
trustee that provides services to the pension trust shall be liable
for any loss, or by reason of any breach, which results from that
participant's or beneficiary's directions with respect to the assets
in his or her account.


53216.8.  (a) Any former member who left the service of a local
agency with established reciprocity, and who became a member of a
county retirement system, a retirement system established under the
Public Employees' Retirement Law, or another reciprocal retirement
system and who did not elect to, or was not eligible to, leave his or
her contributions on deposit, may elect to redeposit those
contributions if he or she is an active member of a reciprocal
retirement system or the Public Employees' Retirement System at the
time of redeposit. A former member may exercise this right by
redepositing in the retirement fund of the local agency he or she
left, the amount of accumulated contributions and interest that he or
she withdrew from that retirement fund plus regular interest thereon
from the date of separation.
   (b) A former member who redeposits under this section shall have
the same rights as a member who elected to leave his or her
accumulated contributions on deposit in the local agency's fund. The
deferred retirement allowance of the member shall be determined in
accordance with provisions applicable to a member retiring directly
from local agency employment on the date of his or her retirement.
   (c) A former member who redeposits under this section shall be
entitled to a reduced age at entry, commencing with contributions
payable the first day of the month following the date the local
agency receives notice of the redeposit, if applicable.
   (d) This section does not apply to either of the following:
   (1) A member or former member who is retired.
   (2) A former member who is not in the service of an employer
making him or her a member of a county retirement system, a
retirement system established under the Public Employees' Retirement
Law, or another reciprocal retirement system.
   (e) This section shall only apply to either of the following:
   (1) A former member who is in the service of an employer as an
officer or employee of a law enforcement agency or fire department
whose principal duties consist of active law enforcement or
firefighting and prevention service, but excluding one whose
principal duties are those of a telephone operator, clerk,
stenographer, machinist, mechanic, or otherwise, and whose functions
do not clearly come within the scope of active law enforcement or
firefighting and prevention service, even though the officer or
employee is subject to occasional call, or is occasionally called
upon, to perform duties within the scope of active law enforcement or
firefighting and prevention service.
   (2) A former member who is in the service of an employer and seeks
to redeposit contributions for past employment as an officer or
employee of a law enforcement agency or fire department in this
system whose principal duties consisted of active law enforcement or
firefighting and prevention service, but excluding one whose
principal duties were those of a telephone operator, clerk,
stenographer, machinist, mechanic, or otherwise, and whose functions
did not clearly come within the scope of active law enforcement or
firefighting and prevention service, even though the officer or
employee was subject to occasional call, or was occasionally called
upon, to perform duties within the scope of active law enforcement or
firefighting and prevention service.
   (f) For purposes of this section, a "former member" is a member
who left service under a retirement system established under this
article and who did not elect to, or was not eligible to, leave his
or her contributions on deposit.
   (g) Each retirement system subject to this section shall establish
criteria to determine the eligibility of a former member to
redeposit contributions, and the amount of contributions that may be
redeposited, in those cases in which the system no longer maintains
complete records with respect to the former member.
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to recognize a statewide public obligation to all those whose duties
as local public safety officers expose them to more than ordinary
risks through their contribution to ensuring public safety and to
ensure that those who do serve or have served as local public safety
officers shall have the ability to receive pension benefits for past
public service in other jurisdictions within the state.



53217.  From funds under its jurisdiction the legislative body may
authorize payment to the trust of amounts equaling all or any portion
of the moneys necessary to fund any pension trust established
pursuant to this article. The legislative body may also authorize
payment of amounts to cover the reasonable expenses of the
administration of the trust. Such expenditures are charges against
the funds of the agency making them.



53217.5.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section, to provide a uniform limit on the pension trust benefits for
the members of the legislative bodies of all political subdivisions
of the state, including charter cities and charter counties. The
Legislature finds and declares that uneven, conflicting, and
inconsistent pension trust benefits for legislative bodies distort
the statewide system of intergovernmental finance. The Legislature
further finds and declares that the inequities caused by these
problems extend beyond the boundaries of individual public agencies.
   Therefore, the Legislature finds and declares that these problems
are not merely municipal affairs or matters of local interest and
that they are truly matters of statewide concern that require the
direct attention of the state government. In providing a uniform
limit on the pension trust benefits for the legislative bodies of all
political subdivisions of the state, the Legislature has provided a
solution to a statewide problem that is greater than local in its
effect.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the pension trust
benefits of any member of a legislative body of any city, including a
charter city, county, including a charter county, city and county,
special district, school district, or any other political subdivision
of the state shall be no greater than that received by nonsafety
employees of that public agency. In the case of agencies with
different benefit structures, the benefits of members of the
legislative body shall not be greater than the most generous schedule
of benefits being received by any category of nonsafety employees.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, members of the
legislative body of a city, including a charter city, county,
including a charter county, city and county, special district, school
district, or any other political subdivision of the state shall not
be eligible to accrue multiple pension trust benefits greater than
the most generous schedule of benefits being received by any category
of nonsafety employees from two or more public agencies for
concurrent service except in the case of a member who serves as a
regular full-time employee in a separate public agency.
   (d) This section shall be applicable to any member of a
legislative body whose first service commences on and after January
1, 1995.


53217.6.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section to recognize a public obligation to all those whose duties as
local prosecutors, local public defenders, and local public defender
investigators expose them to more than ordinary risks in their
contribution to an effective statewide criminal justice system and to
ensure that those who serve as local prosecutors, local public
defenders, and local public defender investigators and who become
incapacitated in the performance of their duties or by age may be
replaced by more capable employees and shall receive pension benefits
commensurate with those received by local prosecutors, local public
defenders, and local public defender investigators in other
jurisdictions within the state.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the pension trust
benefits of any officer or employee of any city, including a charter
city, county, including a charter county, or city and county whose
positions meet or, on or after January 1, 2002, met the criteria of a
local prosecutor, local public defender, or local public defender
investigator, as described in Section 20423.6 or 31469.2, shall be
those pension trust benefits accorded to safety members of the
applicable county sheriff's department or the applicable police or
fire department of the public agency. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
the pension trust benefits accorded to a local prosecutor, local
public defender, or local public defender investigator may not be
greater than those benefits provided to local safety members of the
Public Employees' Retirement System under Section 21363.1 or safety
members of a county retirement system under Section 31664.2.
   (c) Except as provided in subdivision (e) and notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, past service shall be converted to
safety service, if the past service was rendered in a position that
has been made subject to safety benefits pursuant to this section.
For local prosecutors described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
of Section 20423.6, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
31469.2, service in the office of a district attorney and a local
child support agency shall be considered service for the district
attorney for purposes of this section. Any unfunded liability
resulting from this section shall be paid by the employer.
   (d) This section shall apply only to a person whose effective date
of retirement is on or after the date this section becomes operative
in the city, including a charter city, county, including a charter
county, or city and county.
   (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, within 90
days after this section becomes operative in the city, including a
charter city, county, including a charter county, or city and county,
or on the first day of the calendar month following his or her
entrance into service, whichever is later, any local prosecutor,
local public defender, or local public defender investigator may file
a written election not to become subject to the pension benefits
accorded to safety members under the retirement system of the city,
including a charter city, county, including a charter county, or city
and county.
   (f) This section shall not be operative in a city, including a
charter city, county, including a charter county, or city and county
unless and until the city council or board of supervisors, by
ordinance or resolution adopted by majority vote, makes this section
operative in the city, county, or city and county. A resolution to
make this section operative shall include all local prosecutors,
local public defenders, and local public defender investigators as
described in Section 20423.6 or 31469.2.
   (g) This section does not apply to any local prosecutor, local
public defender, or local public defender investigator, as described
in Section 20423.6 or 31469.2, who dies prior to the date this
section becomes operative in the city, county, or city and county.



53217.10.  (a) On or after January 1, 2003, a member who is credited
with less than the number of years of service required for vesting
shall have the right to elect to leave accumulated contributions on
deposit in the local agency's retirement fund. Failure to make an
election to withdraw accumulated contributions shall be deemed an
election to leave accumulated contributions on deposit in the
retirement fund.
   (b) An election to allow accumulated contributions to remain in
the retirement fund may be revoked by the member at any time except:
(1) while the member is employed in service in a position in which
the member is not excluded from membership in the local system
retirement fund with respect to that service; (2) while the member is
in service as a member of public retirement system supported, in
whole or in part, by state funds; or (3) while the member is in
service, entered within six months after discontinuing county
service, as a member of a reciprocal retirement system. All
accumulated contributions contributed up to the time of revocation
may then be withdrawn.
   (c) A member whose membership continues under this section is
subject to the same age, service, and disability requirements as
apply to other members for service or disability retirement. After
the qualification of the member for retirement by reason of age,
which shall be the lowest age applicable to any membership category
in which the member has credited service, disability, the member
shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance based upon the
amount of the member's accumulated contributions and service standing
to the member's credit at the time of retirement and on the employer
contributions held for the member and calculated in the same manner
as for other members.
   (d) Service, solely for purposes of meeting minimum service
qualifications for service or disability retirement, shall also
include service credited as an employee of a reciprocal system when
the member retires concurrently from all reciprocal retirement
systems. A member whose combined service from all reciprocal
retirement systems does not meet the minimum service qualifications
may not receive a service or disability retirement from this system.
   (e) For purposes of this section, "accumulated contributions"
means the sum of all member contributions standing to the credit of a
member's individual account, and interest thereon.
   (f) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to recognize that the state has a compelling interest in ensuring
that its public agencies recruit and retain the highest caliber of
public employees by allowing local public employees to retain the
service credit that they earned through their service as local public
employees in order to encourage them to return to public employment
and continue to serve the public.



53218.  Any law prohibiting, restricting, or limiting the assignment
of or order for wages or salary does not prohibit, restrict, or
limit the powers conferred in this article nor the power of officers
or employees to authorize and approve payment of trust contributions
by wage and salary deductions.


53219.  A pension trust established pursuant to this article shall
have trustees, agents or officers who shall carry on the business of
the pension trust. The by-laws or declaration of trust shall
prescribe the manner in which and the officers or agents by whom the
pension trust may be conducted and the manner in which its funds
shall be collected and disbursed. The funds and investments of a
pension trust shall be held separately and independently of the funds
and investments of the employer and of any other person.



53220.  Unless the legislative body of the local agency specifically
provides that a pension trust plan established pursuant to this
article is compulsory upon the officers and employees of the local
agency, it shall not be compulsory for an officer or employee of such
agency to accept or join in such plan.
   If, pursuant to Section 53216, the legislative body of the local
agency makes such plan compulsory, it may provide that every officer
and employee of the local agency who is eligible for membership,
except for elective officers, shall on the start of the first pay
period following the effective date of this section automatically
become a member of said plan; and, that thereafter each other
employee and officer of said agency who is eligible for membership in
said plan under its terms, except for elective officers,
automatically becomes a member of said plan on the day of his entry
into employment with said agency. The legislative body of the local
agency may provide that elective officers of said agency become
members of said plan either on the first day of taking office or on
the first day of the payroll period following the filing of a
declaration by such an officer with the board of trustees of the
pension trust to become a member.



53221.  The legislative body of the local agency which establishes a
pension trust plan pursuant to the provisions of this article may
provide for waiver of membership by prospective employees in the case
of newly hired employees who have obtained the age of 60 years of
age. Such legislative body may also provide that an employee shall at
the end of the pay period in which he or she obtains the age of 70
automatically cease to be an employee of the agency which hired him.



53222.  The legislative body of a local agency which establishes a
pension trust plan pursuant to the provisions of this article may
grant reciprocal retirement benefits to members who are entitled to
retirement rights or benefits from other retirement systems
established under this article, Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
45300) of Division 5 of Title 4 of this code, the Public Employees'
Retirement Law, or the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937.



53222.5.  If a local legislative body establishes a pension trust
pursuant to this article that provides for disability retirement or
has established reciprocity with a retirement system that provides
for disability retirement, the legislative body of the local agency,
in determining whether a member is eligible to retire for disability,
shall make a determination on the basis of competent medical opinion
and shall not use disability retirement as a substitute for the
disciplinary process.



53223.  The legislative body of the local agency which establishes a
pension trust plan pursuant to the provisions of this article may
adopt any other provisions and regulations concerning such plan which
are not specifically prohibited by statute.



53224.  The legislative body of a local agency which establishes a
pension trust plan pursuant to the provisions of this article may
contribute to a plan which is established pursuant to the Federal
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.