Dear CJA Member:
Senate Bill 184 (
SB 184
),
authored by Senator John Moorlach,
was approved unanimously today in a hearing before the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement. CJA thanks its Government Relations and Compensation and Benefits Committee, our members, and CJA’s legislative advocates who have contacted legislators to support this bill.
SB 184 addresses the unfair cliff-vesting under the Judicial Retirement System II (JRS II). Under the current provisions of JRS II, a judge at age 65 with at least 20 years of service, or at age 70 with a minimum of 5 years of service, may retire and receive a defined benefit. SB 184 provides for a deferred early retirement for a judge who is at least 60 years of age with 5 or more years of service or who has 20 or more years regardless of age.
SB 184 now moves on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Additionally, CJA’s sponsored pension bill, Senate Bill 430
(
SB 430
), authored by Senator Bob Wieckowski,
was not put up for a vote before the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement (PEPRA). Instead, SB 430 has now become a two-year bill, giving CJA the opportunity to work with the Committee on SB 430 and our other pension-sponsored bill,
AB 979
.
SB 430 will help a group judges who were elected in 2012 but were not sworn into office until 2013, thus subjecting them to the new pension contribution rates under PEPRA.
The combination of these bills will address inequalities under the Judicial Retirement System and provisions under PEPRA.
