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AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

94

CHAPTER 749

Statutes of 2025

[ Approved by Governor October 13, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 13, 2025. ]

Introduced by Senator Grayson

February 10, 2025

An act to add Section 31566 to the Government Code, relating to retirement.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: no   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL), prescribes the rights, benefits, and duties of members of the retirement systems established pursuant to its provisions. Existing law prohibits a resolution, ordinance, contract, or contract amendment under CERL from providing retirement benefits for some, but not all, general members of a county or district.

This bill would prohibit a county or district whose officers and employees are enrolled as members of a retirement system under CERL from excluding from membership in the system any employee, group, or classification, other than those excludable officers and employees, as defined.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities and counties, including charter cities and charter counties.

The bill would also include findings that its provisions are declaratory of existing law.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 31566 is added to the Government Code, to read:

31566.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that this section is declaratory of existing law.

(b) A county or district whose officers and employees are enrolled as members of a retirement system pursuant to this chapter shall not exclude from membership in the system any employee, group, or classification, other than those excludable officers and employees.

(c) For purposes of this section, “excludable officers and employees” mean officers and employees whose tenures may be excluded pursuant to Section 31527 as being temporary, seasonal, intermittent, or part time only, as determined by the retirement board, or who are excluded pursuant to Section 31552 or 31553.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that ensuring consistency for public employees’ membership in county employee retirement systems is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 1 of this act adding Section 31566 to the Government Code applies to all cities and counties, including charter cities and charter counties.