CA AB 1054
vetoedPublic employees' retirement: deferred retirement option program: public employee health benefits.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
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Quick answers
Did CA AB 1054 pass?
No. CA AB 1054 passed the legislature but was vetoed. Latest recorded action (2026-09-27): Vetoed by Governor.
What is CA AB 1054 about?
Existing law, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, prescribes retirement benefits for members of specified county and district retirement systems. Existing law establishes the Deferred Retirement Option Program as an optional benefit program for specified safety members of those systems that, by ordinance or resolution by the county board of supervisors or the governing body, elect to adopt it. The program provides eligible members access, upon service retirement, to a lump sum or, in some cases, monthly payments in addition to a monthly retirement allowance, as specified. Existing law, the Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) , creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension benefits to state employees and employees of contracting agencies and prescribes the rights and duties of members of the system and their beneficiaries. Existing law vests management and control of PERS in its board of administration. PERS provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. This bill would establish the Deferred Retirement Option Program as a voluntary program within PERS for employees of State Bargaining Units 5 (Highway Patrol) and 8 (Firefighters) , and certain supervisory or managerial employees of the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The bill would require certain actions to occur, including completion of an actuarial analysis to determine the proposed program will be cost neutral, before the program becomes effective and applicable. The bill would require members who elect to participate in the program to meet certain requirements, including waiving any claims with respect to age and other discrimination in employment laws relative to the program. The bill would establish a program account for each participant and would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to, among other things and at least once annually, provide a statement to the participant that displays the value or balance of the participant's program account. The bill would require PERS to commence paying the member their monthly retirement allowance as of the first day of the month following the deferred retirement date. The bill would authorize the participant to designate a person or persons as beneficiaries of the participant's program account at any time during the program period from their election date to the deferred retirement calculation date. Beginning on July 1 of the fiscal year the program is implemented, and every 5 years thereafter, the bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to submit a report of an actuarial analysis to specified entities. The bill would entitle participants who entered the program prior to the effective date of any modifications by the Legislature to elect whether to become subject to those modified provisions or to remain subject to the program as it existed on the participant's election date. The bill would specify that the Legislature reserves the right to suspend the program through legislative action ratified by the Governor under certain circumstances. If the Legislature and the Governor approve the program's suspension, the bill would terminate all participants' benefit accrual and would prohibit any participant, eligible spouse, or beneficiary from having any vested right to any prospective program benefit, as specified. The bill would require the member's spouse, as applicable, to execute a signed statement acknowledging the spouse's understanding of, and agreement with, the member's election to participate in the program together with an express statement of the spouse's understanding and agreement that benefits payable to the spouse may be reduced as a result of participation in the program. Existing law requires the board of administration of PERS to administer the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) . PEMHCA further grants the board the power to approve health benefit plans and to contract with carriers offering health benefit plans. Under PEMHCA, an employee or annuitant may enroll in a health benefit plan approved or maintained by the board either as an individual or for self and family. Existing law defines an annuitant for purposes of receiving postretirement health benefits pursuant to PEMHCA and generally requires that a person retire within 120 days of separation from public employment, with specified exceptions. This bill would expand the definition of annuitant, thereby permitting a person, or a surviving family member of that person, as specified, whose deferred retirement date is within 120 days of separation from the Deferred Retirement Option Program and who receives a retirement allowance under any state retirement system to which the state was a contributing party to enroll in a health benefit plan under PEMHCA.
Who sponsors CA AB 1054?
Gipson is the primary sponsor of CA AB 1054, joined by 1 cosponsor.
Description
Existing law, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, prescribes retirement benefits for members of specified county and district retirement systems. Existing law establishes the Deferred Retirement Option Program as an optional benefit program for specified safety members of those systems that, by ordinance or resolution by the county board of supervisors or the governing body, elect to adopt it. The program provides eligible members access, upon service retirement, to a lump sum or, in some cases, monthly payments in addition to a monthly retirement allowance, as specified. Existing law, the Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) , creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension benefits to state employees and employees of contracting agencies and prescribes the rights and duties of members of the system and their beneficiaries. Existing law vests management and control of PERS in its board of administration. PERS provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. This bill would establish the Deferred Retirement Option Program as a voluntary program within PERS for employees of State Bargaining Units 5 (Highway Patrol) and 8 (Firefighters) , and certain supervisory or managerial employees of the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The bill would require certain actions to occur, including completion of an actuarial analysis to determine the proposed program will be cost neutral, before the program becomes effective and applicable. The bill would require members who elect to participate in the program to meet certain requirements, including waiving any claims with respect to age and other discrimination in employment laws relative to the program. The bill would establish a program account for each participant and would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to, among other things and at least once annually, provide a statement to the participant that displays the value or balance of the participant's program account. The bill would require PERS to commence paying the member their monthly retirement allowance as of the first day of the month following the deferred retirement date. The bill would authorize the participant to designate a person or persons as beneficiaries of the participant's program account at any time during the program period from their election date to the deferred retirement calculation date. Beginning on July 1 of the fiscal year the program is implemented, and every 5 years thereafter, the bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to submit a report of an actuarial analysis to specified entities. The bill would entitle participants who entered the program prior to the effective date of any modifications by the Legislature to elect whether to become subject to those modified provisions or to remain subject to the program as it existed on the participant's election date. The bill would specify that the Legislature reserves the right to suspend the program through legislative action ratified by the Governor under certain circumstances. If the Legislature and the Governor approve the program's suspension, the bill would terminate all participants' benefit accrual and would prohibit any participant, eligible spouse, or beneficiary from having any vested right to any prospective program benefit, as specified. The bill would require the member's spouse, as applicable, to execute a signed statement acknowledging the spouse's understanding of, and agreement with, the member's election to participate in the program together with an express statement of the spouse's understanding and agreement that benefits payable to the spouse may be reduced as a result of participation in the program. Existing law requires the board of administration of PERS to administer the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) . PEMHCA further grants the board the power to approve health benefit plans and to contract with carriers offering health benefit plans. Under PEMHCA, an employee or annuitant may enroll in a health benefit plan approved or maintained by the board either as an individual or for self and family. Existing law defines an annuitant for purposes of receiving postretirement health benefits pursuant to PEMHCA and generally requires that a person retire within 120 days of separation from public employment, with specified exceptions. This bill would expand the definition of annuitant, thereby permitting a person, or a surviving family member of that person, as specified, whose deferred retirement date is within 120 days of separation from the Deferred Retirement Option Program and who receives a retirement allowance under any state retirement system to which the state was a contributing party to enroll in a health benefit plan under PEMHCA.
- Introduced
- 2025-03-24
- Latest action
- 2026-09-27 — Vetoed by Governor.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Gipsonauthor
- Alaniscoauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-09-27
Vetoed by Governor.
executive-veto
2026-09-03
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
executive-receipt
2026-08-26
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).
2026-08-26
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2026-08-26
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 71. Noes 2.).
2026-08-26
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 71. Noes 2. Page 6626.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-08-17
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2026-08-13
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).
2026-08-13
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
2026-08-03
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
2026-06-25
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-06-24
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 24).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-05-06
Referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.
referral-committee
2026-01-27
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-01-26
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 68. Noes 1. Page 3834.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-01-22
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-01-22
Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 3806.)
2026-01-22
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 1.) (January 22).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-01-22
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-01-14
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (January 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-01-14
Coauthors revised.
2026-01-06
Re-referred to Com. on P. E. & R.
referral-committee
2026-01-05
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. E. & R. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-23
In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
2025-03-25
Re-referred to Com. on P. E. & R.
referral-committee
2025-03-24
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. E. & R. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-24
Referred to Com. on P. E. & R.
referral-committee
2025-02-21
From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2025-02-20
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
Versions
- 02/20/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-20Compare
- 03/24/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-03-24Compare
- 01/05/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-01-05Compare
- 06/25/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-06-25Compare
- 08/13/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-08-13Compare
- 08/30/26 - Enrolled — 2026-08-30Compare
- (document, no version)Compare
- AB1054Compare
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Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-01-14 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Garcia: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Chen: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Boerner: yes
Do pass.
2026-01-22 · pass · 14-1
Member-level votes (15)
- Hoover: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Krell: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Solache: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Fong: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Ta: yes
- Dixon: no
AB 1054 Gipson Assembly Third Reading
2026-01-26 · pass · 68-1
Member-level votes (80)
- Ahrens: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ward: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Bains: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Soria: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Berman: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Lee: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Davies: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Krell: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Chen: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
- DeMaio: no
- Johnson: other
- Dixon: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Arambula: other
- Papan: other
- Lackey: other
- Tangipa: other
- Gallagher: other
- Sanchez: other
- Macedo: other
- Ta: other
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-06-24 · pass · 5-0
Member-level votes (5)
- Laird: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Cortese: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
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