Bill > SB443

This bill amends the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) to provide specific retirement benefits flexibility for the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, a joint powers authority. Specifically, the bill allows the agency to offer existing member agencies' defined benefit pension plans to employees who are not considered "new members" and who are hired within 180 days of a retirement plan contract amendment. The Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency can select a defined benefit plan or formula from one of its member agencies that was in place on December 31, 2012, and designate that formula for its employees, but only up until April 1, 2026. Importantly, the bill explicitly states that new employees or new members will still be subject to the standard PEPRA requirements and can only participate in defined benefit plans that conform to those standards. The Legislature justified this special statute by noting the unique need to staff the agency effectively to improve flood protection in a historically vulnerable region. The bill also includes a provision that it will only become operative under certain conditions related to another pending bill (SB 853), ensuring coordination between potential legislative changes.

Budget and Finance, Labor and Employment

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB443