2013 Legislation

Assembly Bill

AB 125 (Wieckowski) – Board Authority over Senior Management Classifications

Authorizes the Teachers’ Retirement Board to establish the desired competencies, set conditions of employment and performance standards, and establish the compensation, as specified, for the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and allows the board to recruit for these positions from broader sources. Requires the board to report to the fiscal committees of the Legislature, as specified, on the improvements and cost savings realized because of these new positions.

  • Version: Amended 5/24/13
  • Sponsor: CalSTRS
  • Location: Senate Floor
  • Board Position: Sponsor
Assembly Bill

AB 761 (Dickinson) – Public Retirement Investments in Firearm-Related Companies

Prohibits CalSTRS and CalPERS from investing in companies that manufacture firearms or ammunition for a recipient other than the U.S. military, subject to a process specified in the bill and consistent with previous divestment legislation, but subject to the board’s fiduciary duties.

  • Version: Amended 3/19/13
  • Sponsor: Author
  • Location: Assembly Appropriations Committee
  • Board Position: Neutral, if amended
Assembly Bill

AB 989 (Mullin) – Electronic Communication Authorization

Authorizes CalSTRS to provide the annual Retirement Progress Report along with various other retirement communications electronically in lieu of mailing them, unless the member, nonmember spouse, participant, nonparticipant spouse or beneficiary to whom that communication is addressed specifically requests to continue receiving the communication by mail.

  • Version: Chaptered (Chapter 459, Statutes of 2013)
  • Sponsor: CalSTRS
  • Location: Signed by Governor
  • Board Position: Sponsor
Assembly Bill

AB 1381 (PER&SS) – Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act Conforming Bill

Makes various technical corrections and conforming changes that align the Teachers’ Retirement Law with the provisions of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), as enacted in AB 340 (Furutani).

  • Version: Chaptered (Chapter 559, Statutes of 2013)
  • Sponsor: CalSTRS
  • Location: Signed by Governor
  • Board Position: Sponsor
Assembly Bill

HR 1628 (Nunes)/S 779 (Burr) – Public Employee Pension Transparency Act

Require state and local government employee pension plan sponsors to report their respective financial data to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury each plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2014, utilizing existing valuation methods and calculation assumptions, as well as alternative methods and assumptions prescribed by the Secretary, including use of a “risk free rate of return” to discount plan liabilities. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements would result in the forfeiture of federal tax benefits to bonds issued by the state or political subdivisions for which the plan benefits until noncompliance is remedied. Also, direct the Secretary to create and maintain a public website to post the information received from the reporting plans and specify that the U.S. government will not be liable for obligations related to current or future shortfalls in state or local government employee pension plans.

  • Version: Introduced 4/18/13 and 4/23/13, respectively
  • Sponsor: Authors
  • Location: House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee, respectively 
  • Board Position: Oppose