BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 286  
                                                         Page 1

Date of Hearing: May 7, 1997

   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL  
                             SECURITY
                         Wally Knox, Chair

        AB 286 (Honda) - As Introduced:  February 13, 1997

  SUBJECT  :  Public employee retirement.

  SUMMARY  :  Authorizes CalPERS contracting agencies, other than  
school employers, to amend their contracts to reclassify employees  
whose functions fall within the scope of hazardous materials  
services from miscellaneous members to local firefighter members.   
Specifically,  this bill  :

1) Would add Section 20434.5 which would define the hazardous  
   materials position as a "local firefighter".

  FISCAL EFFECT  :  Actuarial costs will be individually calculated  
for each contracting agency that chooses to provide this benefit.   
Administrative costs are anticipated to be minimal.

  COMMENTS  :  

1) Existing law (Gov. Code Sec. 20434) permits contracting  
   agencies to reclassify positions from miscellaneous to local  
   firefighter whose functions fall within the scope of hazardous  
   materials positions, or several other special classifications  
   (emergency medical services, fire prevention, arson  
   investigation etc.).  Government Code section 20434 does not  
   allow agencies to  selectively  reclassify one or more of these  
   positions.  Under current law  all  of these positions must be  
   reclassified at the same time.

    This bill would add a  new  code section (20434.5) which would  
define the hazardous materials position as a local firefighter  
  distinct  from the positions listed above.  Both prospective and  
retroactive service would be credited as local firefighter  
service.  This section must be enacted by contract amendment. 
 
2) Due to current interpretation of state law by CalPERS,  
   individuals hired as Senior Hazardous Materials Specialists are  
   not eligible for safety retirement status in CalPERS.  CalPERS  
   contends that these employees are not eligible because their  
   duties do not include active firefighting activities.  This  
   bill amends state CalPERS law to recognize Senior Hazardous  
   Materials Specialists as safety members and therefore eligible  
   for safety retirement status.                            

3) For example, a hazardous materials specialist, wearing the same  
   safety clothing as a firefighter, may be required to enter a  
   burning building in order to assess a chemical hazard so that  
   he or she can make proper handling recommendations to the  
   incident commander.  Such an individual is also required to  
   respond to non-fire emergencies when it is determined that the  







                                                          AB 286  
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   level of hazardous materials involvement is beyond the scope of  
   a firefighter's training.





























































                                                          AB 286 
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  REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

  Support  

California Professional Firefighters

  Opposition  

None at this time.

  Analysis prepared by  :  Clem Meredith / aper&ss / (916) 322-4320