2007 California Government Code Chapter 6. County Peace Officers And Fire Service Retirement, Disability And Death Benefit Plans .. 33000-33017

CA Codes (gov:33000-33017)

33000.  This chapter may be cited as the County Peace Officer and
Fire Service Retirement Plan Law.



33001.  It is the intent of this chapter to enable any county to
adopt such a retirement, disability and death benefit plan as may be
determined upon by the board of supervisors or qualified electors
thereof for those officers and employees in the public service whose
duties expose them to more than ordinary risks, and in recognition of
a public obligation to such officers and employees and to provide a
means whereby such officers and employees who become incapacitated in
the performance of their duties by injury, sickness, or age, may,
without hardship or prejudice, be replaced by more capable officers
and employees to the betterment of the public service, and whereby
the surviving spouse, or minor children, or dependent parents of any
such officer or employee may be provided for upon his death.




33002.  This chapter and every retirement, disability and death
benefit plan adopted pursuant to its terms, shall be given a liberal
interpretation with a view to carrying out its purposes.



33003.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and
phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section,
unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context:
   "County peace officers" shall comprehend and include all persons
duly and regularly appointed under civil service rules and
regulations and sworn in as provided by law to perform the duties of
undersheriff, chief deputy sheriff, jailers, turnkeys, deputy
sheriffs, bailiffs, process servers, constables, deputy constables,
motorcycle officers, the head and assistant heads of all divisions of
the sheriff's office, and all their regularly appointed deputies,
detectives and investigators in the office of the district attorney
whose duties are substantially similar to those of peace officers and
marshals and deputy marshals.  Clerks, bookkeepers, stenographers,
and other employees who may have been appointed as deputy sheriffs or
deputy marshals but who do not perform the duties of any of the
peace officers enumerated and honorary deputy sheriffs or deputy
marshals or other persons holding appointments as deputy sheriffs or
deputy marshals who receive no compensation therefor and who do not
regularly perform particular official duties are not included.
   The duly elected, qualified and acting sheriff of any county shall
also be included in the phrase "county peace officers."
   "County foresters, fire wardens and firemen" shall comprehend and
include all persons duly and regularly appointed under civil service
rules and regulations to perform the duties of county forester,
deputy or assistant county fire wardens, heads and assistant heads of
all divisions of any county forester's or county fire warden's
department, and all fire apparatus engineers, fire prevention
inspectors, forest firemen, fire patrolmen, fire observers and
foremen assigned to fire suppression crews, and all other personnel
not specifically excluded, who are assigned to fire prevention and
suppression in any county forester's or county fire warden's
department and the officers, engineers and firemen of any county fire
protection district, and all other personnel not specifically
excluded, who are assigned to fire prevention and suppression in any
fire protection district.  Clerks, bookkeepers, stenographers, cooks,
laborers, county fire protection district volunteer employees or
persons who are not employed for full time duty, or other employees
not performing the duties of any of the persons enumerated and any
honorary deputy county fire warden or honorary deputy, county
forester, or voluntary fire warden holding appointment as such but
receiving no compensation therefor and not regularly performing
particular official duties are not included.
   "City police officers" shall comprehend and include all persons
duly and regularly appointed under civil service rules and
regulations and sworn in as provided by law to perform the duties of
a regular police officer in the organized police department of a
municipal corporation.
   "City firemen" shall comprehend and include all persons duly and
regularly appointed under civil service rules and regulations to
perform the duties of a regular fireman in the organized fire
department of a municipal corporation.


33004.  Subject only to the limitations of this chapter, any county
may, by ordinance adopted by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the board of
supervisors, or by a majority vote of the qualified electors of said
county, establish and maintain a retirement, disability and death
benefit plan for county peace officers, foresters, fire wardens, and
firemen.



33005.  Any retirement plan established pursuant to this chapter
shall be under the exclusive control and management of a "board of
administration" to be composed of not less than three (3) nor more
than seven (7) members.  The members of said board shall be chosen in
such manner, shall serve for such terms and receive such
compensation as may be provided in the ordinance creating the
retirement plan.  The county treasurer shall be ex officio a member
of said board.


33006.  When any county establishes a retirement plan under the
provisions of this chapter, there shall be created in the treasury of
the county and opened upon the books of the auditor and treasurer of
the county, a trust fund to be known as the "peace officers and fire
service retirement fund" for the payment of administration expense
and retirement, disability and death benefit allowances.  Said fund
shall consist of all moneys paid into said fund in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter and of the ordinance creating the
retirement plan and earnings from investments.  The board of
administration shall have exclusive control of the administration,
investment and reinvestment of said fund, provided, however, that all
money in said fund shall be kept on deposit in the county treasury
or be invested in bonds or other securities authorized by the laws of
the State of California as legal investments for savings banks.
Such bonds or securities shall be placed in the custody of the county
treasurer for safekeeping.


33007.  All transfers or payments to said fund and all withdrawals
and cash transactions shall be accounted for upon the books of the
auditor and treasurer.


33008.  All warrants drawn on said fund shall be on order of the
board of administration and shall be signed by the treasurer and at
least one other member of the board who shall be designated by the
board.  Every warrant shall be countersigned, numbered and recorded
by the county auditor.



33009.  Any retirement plan established pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter, shall supersede any existing retirement system for
county peace officers or county foresters, fire wardens and firemen,
and all money, property and investments standing to the credit of the
fund of the superseded system shall be transferred to the county
peace officers and fire service retirement fund created by this
chapter, whether such money and investments were derived from member
contributions, county contributions, earnings, accumulations or
profits from investments, or otherwise.



33010.  In the event a retirement plan adopted pursuant to the
authority of this chapter supersedes an existing system as
hereinbefore provided, then, and in that event, the plan adopted
under this chapter shall provide for the continued membership, with
full service credit, of all persons who are members of the superseded
system at the time such new plan becomes operative and for the
continuation of all pensions, annuities, retirement allowances and
death benefits to all pensioners, retired members and beneficiaries
of the superseded system, in amounts not less than would have been
payable to them under such superseded system.



33011.  It shall be competent in any plan adopted under this chapter
to provide for the inclusion therein, as members thereof, the city
police officers and city firemen of any municipal corporation which
elects to bring itself within the operation of such plan.



33012.  Any such inclusion shall be made by ordinance adopted by the
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the legislative
body of such municipal corporation, or by a majority vote of the
qualified electors thereof.


33013.  Whenever any municipal corporation elects to include its
city police officers and city firemen in a county retirement plan
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, such city shall assume
all cost and expense to the plan, arising out of all retirement,
disability and death benefits payable, or to become payable to, or on
account of its police officers and firemen to the same extent, in
the same manner and at the same time or times as the county assumes
and discharges its liabilities for the payment of retirement,
disability and death benefits to county peace officers and county
foresters, fire wardens and firemen, and administration expense shall
be prorated each year between the county and any municipal
corporation or corporations joining the county plan in the proportion
that each of their active membership bears to the total active
membership under the plan.



33014.  Not later than August 1st of each year, the board of
administration of any retirement plan established under the
provisions of this chapter, shall file with the board of supervisors
a written statement showing the amounts necessary to be provided by
the county during the current fiscal year for the maintenance of the
peace officers and fire service retirement fund and administration
expense.  Such statement shall be filed with said board not less than
thirty days prior to the time established by law for the annual
levying of taxes in such county.



33015.  The board of supervisors shall, each year at the same time
and in the same manner as all other county taxes are levied, levy a
special tax in such amount as will be clearly sufficient to produce
the total amount shown in the statement filed with said board by the
board of administration of the retirement plan.




33016.  In the event any municipal corporation has been included in
said plan, as hereinbefore provided, then and in that event, said
board of administration shall, not later than thirty days prior to
the time established by law for the annual levying of municipal
taxes, file with the legislative body of such municipal corporation a
written statement showing the amounts necessary to be provided by
such municipal corporation under said plan for the ensuing fiscal
year.


33017.  The legislative body of the municipal corporation with whom
such statement is filed shall, each year at the same time and in the
same manner as all other municipal taxes are levied, levy a special
tax in such amount as will be clearly sufficient to produce the total
amount shown in the statement filed with said legislative body by
the board of administration of the retirement plan.  Such special tax
shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be
levied by said municipal corporation.