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. I . 1.A-1 INITIATIVE UPDATE: SIGNATURE- LEAGUE, FIREFIGHTERS AND OTHERS - GATHERING KICKS OFF TESTIFY AT CAlPERS HEALTH BENEFITS City officials and their local govemment partners HEARING- COMMlmE DEFERS DECISIONS mad 1 good progress over the past week in begin- TO MARCH 16 ning te gather the 300,000 signatures targeted for the volunte.¡r signature-gathering effort for the League! The League joined with the Califomia Profes- CSAC/CSDA initiative. sional Firefighters and others during the CalPERS Health Benefits Committee hearing this week, in The campaign goal is to gather a total of 1 million an effort to facilitate discussions stemming from signatures by April 15, with the remaining 700,000 recent recommendations made by the Contracting collected by paid signature gatherers. Every volun- Agency Panel, a group of retirees, labor represen- teer signature gathered means dollars saved for tatives, and public agency representatives that advertising and other purposes as the November convened to develop solutions to the increased election draws nearer. costs of health care, and to encourage public City officials and others who want to help can agencies to stay in the PEMHCA system. find out how to get involved by visiting the campaign The Panel presented nine recommendations, webs~e at www.DrotectJocalservices.com. City not all of which reflected a group consensus. The officials are also encouraged to contact their League Board responded well to the comments of Justin- Regional Representative about how they can help ian Caire, Human Resources Director from the pass the Local Taxpayers and Public Safety Protec- City of San Leandro, who did an outstanding job of lion Act, presenting the problems that public agencies face Reminder: City officials who want to work on and why these recommendations are so important the initiative may do so ONLY with the use of for our cities. non-public funds. To find out more about these Some of the panel recommendations included: - rules, vis~ the Initiative page on the League's website the establishment of a public agency pool and joint (www.cacities.orQ/initiative). Look for "Legal Do's statewide drug purchasing pool; adjust PEMHCA and Don'ts for City Officials" and "Legal Issues for to the health care marketplace; altemative self- City Officials". A good rule of thumb: always consult funded PPO options and optional benefit designs. your city attomey if you have questions about the propriety of any given action or conduct. The Board voted to defer acting on the recom. mendations until its March meeting, with the exception of extending the re-entry provisions from two to five years. The CalPERS Board will debate For more information on this and the remaining recommendations at its March 16th meeting, other League issues, visit A complete list of panelists and details on their www.cacities.org. recommendations can be found at on the Issues and Advocacy/Employee Relations Section of League's website at www.cacities.org/ employeerelations. '.' ~. Visit the League's Official Web Site--www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 7