Client Success

City of Carson Pension Reform Legislation Retires Into Law

Through the efforts of Townsend Public Affairs, Governor Brown recently signed AB 1144 (Hall), a bill that established public employee benefit rights into law for the City of Carson.

Townsend Public Affairs worked very closely with Assemblymember Hall to address the lack of a post-retirement medical program vesting schedule in the City of Carson and eliminate a potentially harmful ambiguous provision in the City’s retirement benefit package. The provision allowed new hires with vested California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) pensions to retire from the City of Carson with as little as just one-day of service and still qualify for Carson’s employer paid post-retirement medical benefit. This previously created an unfunded liability, which is currently projected at $48 million dollars.

AB 1144 amended the provision so that the percentage of employer contribution payable for post retirement health benefits for an employee of the City of Carson is to be based on the employee’s completed years of credited service. The percentage of employer contribution increases incrementally after five years.

Collaboration between Assemblymember Hall, CalPERS, and committee staff was crucial to the success of this legislation. Townsend Public Affairs played a guiding hand in strategically crafting the legislation and shepherded it through the legislative process.

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