Introduced by Senator Rubio

The California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) requires a public retirement system to comply with the act and, among other provisions, establishes new retirement formulas that may not be exceeded by a public employer offering a defined benefit pension plan for employees first hired on or after January 1, 2013.  Existing law, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, generally authorizes 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, to jointly exercise any common power, which may include hiring employees and establishing retirement systems.  Existing law authorizes a joint powers authority to offer defined benefit plans or formulas that are not PEPRA plans or formulas, provided that the plans or formulas were those the employees received prior to the creation of the authority, the employees are not new members under PEPRA, and they are employed by the authority within 180 days, as specified.  This bill authorizes a joint powers authority, after obtaining approval from a retirement system, to offer those defined benefit plans or formulas to a member agency that is a non-founding member of the joint powers authority, for employees who are not new members under PEPRA and are employed by the joint powers authority within 180 days of the agency becoming a member agency.  (Gov’t Code secs. 7522.02 and 7522.05.)  This bill was approved by the Governor on October 13, 2025.

Status: Enacted. Effective 1/1/2026.