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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-1000 www.redwoodcity.org <br /> <br /> <br />MAY 21, 2018 <br /> <br />The Honorable Freddie Rodriguez <br />Chair, Assembly Public Employees, Retirement & Social Security <br />State Capitol Building, Room 2188 <br />Sacramento, CA 95814 <br />Via Fax: 916-319-2152 <br /> <br />RE: AB 1912. Public Employees’ Retirement: Joint Powers Agreements: Liability <br />Notice of Opposition <br /> <br />Dear Assembly Member Rodriguez: <br /> <br />The City of Redwood City must respectfully oppose your Assembly Bill (AB) 1912 relating to retirement <br />liabilities of Joint Powers Authorities (JPA). The City is deeply concerned that JPAs will no longer be a viable tool <br />should AB 1912 become law. JPA’s play a vital role in addressing public needs that cannot be effectively <br />achieved by a local agency acting on its own. <br /> <br />Redwood City is a member of many JPAs, including the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority, City/County <br />Association of Governments, Peninsula Clean Energy Authority, Silicon Valley Clean Water, and South Bayside <br />Waste Management Authority (Rethink Waste) to name a few. Our additional liability under the provisions of <br />this bill cannot be understated; it is in the hundreds of millions of dollars or more. <br /> <br />As amended, AB 1912 places substantial burdens and new unworkable requirements on cities by applying <br />retroactive as well as prospective joint and several liability for all retirement related obligations to any current <br />or former member of a JPA throughout its existence. Such obligations include active employee normal pension <br />costs, retiree unfunded accrued liabilities (UAL) as well as both active and retiree healthcare and other post- <br />employment retirement benefits (OPEB). <br /> <br />Additionally, the measure would mandate that a public retirement agency file suit against all agencies that have <br />ever been a member of a terminated JPA for all retirement related obligations and prohibits any retirement <br />system from approving a new JPA without express joint and several liability provisions. The provisions in AB <br />1912 create constitutional, fiscal and operational challenges, which would effectively eliminate the ability for <br />the City to create or maintain the use of most JPA’s. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Ian Bain, Mayor <br />Diane Howard, Vice Mayor <br />Alicia C. Aguirre, Council Member <br />Janet Borgens, Council Member <br />Jeffrey Gee, Council Member <br />Shelly Masur, Council Member <br />John D. Seybert, Council Member <br /> <br />1017 Middlefield Road <br />Redwood City, CA 94063 <br />(650) 780-7301 <br />Fax (650) 780-7225 <br /> <br /> <br />9.A. - Page 5