Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona), chair of the Senate Public Employment & Retirement Committee, announced that Committee members passed several significant bills today:

SB 105 (Speier), to allow CalPERS to require a member who retired for disability after age 50 to submit to a medical re-evaluation for up to 36 months or face a penalty or benefit cancellation for refusal. There has been a growing concern that PERS disability retirement programs are being abused, due to the fact that (a) the disability retirements available to public safety employees are exempt from federal taxes and (b) the age at which a member retired for disability is exempt from further medical re-evaluation after age 50. This has given rise to what some in the media, most notably the Sacramento Bee, have labeled “Chief’s Disease.” According to PERS, SB 105 would create a disincentive for an employee to apply for a disability retirement if that employee is thinking about pursuing similar work after retirement, by increasingly the currently low threshold regarding medical re-evaluations. In addition, SB 105 may help deter disability retirement fraud by increasing the probability that such fraud will be detected;

SB 697 (Soto), to allow CalPERS investigators greater access to information maintained by the Employment Development Department (EDD), or by Workers' Compensation insurers, with respect to an investigation of benefit eligibility or unlawful application for or receipt of PERS disability retirement benefits. As part of its responsibilities, CalPERS investigates cases of potential fraud involving its members. But current law does not provide PERS investigators with adequate access to employment and related information retained by other entities, something which can hamper PERS' ability to efficiently investigate cases. SB 697 would grant CalPERS the authority to request information regarding any specific investigation from Workers' Compensation insurers, information which can then be used for determining eligibility for, and unlawful receipt of, CalPERS retirement benefits. SB 697 would also enable PERS investigators to request information from EDD when investigating an individual for which CalPERS is seeking criminal, civil or administrative remedies in connection with unlawful application for or receipt of CalPERS retirement benefits;

SB 1007 (Ducheny), to provide the Port of San Diego with additional options to possibly withdraw from the City of San Diego's retirement system, and permit the Port District to establish its own retirement and disability system. In 1962, state legislation authorized the Port of San Diego's Unified Port District to contract for retirement and disability benefits through CalPERS, but UPD officials chose to remain within the San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS) instead. Withdrawal from the troubled SDCERS is supported by port management and workers alike.