| 1 | | - | Senate Joint Resolution No. 3 CHAPTER 129 Relative to Social Security. [ Filed with Secretary of State August 19, 2019. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSJR 3, Wilk. Social Security. This measure would request the Congress of the United States to enact, and the President to sign, legislation that would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security Act. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, Two Federal Social Security Administration laws, the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, passed by Congress more than 30 years ago without statistical analysis, diminish or eliminate the fully earned Social Security benefits of large numbers of public service employees in California; and WHEREAS, These provisions affect workers who have been employed in a government position that is not coordinated with the Social Security program, such as California public school teachers who have not been able to receive Social Security credits since 1965; andWHEREAS, Most peace officers, including the California Highway Patrol, firefighters, and many other public servants working for cities and special districts are not covered by Social Security, making them subject to these provisions; andWHEREAS, In California, more than 300,000 retirees have had their Social Security benefits diminished or completely eliminated by these laws; andWHEREAS, Effective government requires highly qualified and motivated personnel, and California government agencies need to compete to recruit and retain outstanding employees, including hiring 16,000 new public school teachers each year; andWHEREAS, The recruitment and retention of qualified individuals reentering the workforce is impeded by these two provisions, which reduce or eliminate the Social Security retirement benefits either earned by workers, themselves, or received through dependent status; andWHEREAS, The Government Pension Offset severely cuts, and usually eliminates, all spousal and survivor benefits that were earned from what is deemed by the State of California to be community property income; andWHEREAS, The Government Pension Offset requires that a recipient of benefits report any yearly cost-of-living increase in the recipients public pension, so that the recipients Social Security benefits may be reduced by two-thirds of that amount; andWHEREAS, The Windfall Elimination Provision cuts earned Social Security benefits from work that is separate from the work for which the individual earned a pension from a governmental entity; andWHEREAS, The Windfall Elimination Provision subverts the purpose of Social Security retirement benefits by eliminating the formula that reimburses low-income workers at a higher rate than high-income workers, causing severe hardships for those who have not had high-paying public service; andWHEREAS, Until 2005, there were no requirements that a public employer advise new workers that they would be subject to these penalties; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the Congress of the United States enact legislation to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security Act, and further requests that President Donald Trump sign that legislation; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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| 1 | + | Enrolled August 14, 2019 Passed IN Senate May 06, 2019 Passed IN Assembly August 12, 2019 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20192020 REGULAR SESSION Senate Joint Resolution No. 3Introduced by Senator Wilk(Coauthor: Senator Wieckowski)(Coauthors: Assembly Members Choi, Lackey, Voepel, Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cunningham, Daly, Diep, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Levine, Limn, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, ODonnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, and Wood)March 04, 2019 Relative to Social Security. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSJR 3, Wilk. Social Security. This measure would request the Congress of the United States to enact, and the President to sign, legislation that would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security Act. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, Two Federal Social Security Administration laws, the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, passed by Congress more than 30 years ago without statistical analysis, diminish or eliminate the fully earned Social Security benefits of large numbers of public service employees in California; and WHEREAS, These provisions affect workers who have been employed in a government position that is not coordinated with the Social Security program, such as California public school teachers who have not been able to receive Social Security credits since 1965; andWHEREAS, Most peace officers, including the California Highway Patrol, firefighters, and many other public servants working for cities and special districts are not covered by Social Security, making them subject to these provisions; andWHEREAS, In California, more than 300,000 retirees have had their Social Security benefits diminished or completely eliminated by these laws; andWHEREAS, Effective government requires highly qualified and motivated personnel, and California government agencies need to compete to recruit and retain outstanding employees, including hiring 16,000 new public school teachers each year; andWHEREAS, The recruitment and retention of qualified individuals reentering the workforce is impeded by these two provisions, which reduce or eliminate the Social Security retirement benefits either earned by workers, themselves, or received through dependent status; andWHEREAS, The Government Pension Offset severely cuts, and usually eliminates, all spousal and survivor benefits that were earned from what is deemed by the State of California to be community property income; andWHEREAS, The Government Pension Offset requires that a recipient of benefits report any yearly cost-of-living increase in the recipients public pension, so that the recipients Social Security benefits may be reduced by two-thirds of that amount; andWHEREAS, The Windfall Elimination Provision cuts earned Social Security benefits from work that is separate from the work for which the individual earned a pension from a governmental entity; andWHEREAS, The Windfall Elimination Provision subverts the purpose of Social Security retirement benefits by eliminating the formula that reimburses low-income workers at a higher rate than high-income workers, causing severe hardships for those who have not had high-paying public service; andWHEREAS, Until 2005, there were no requirements that a public employer advise new workers that they would be subject to these penalties; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the Congress of the United States enact legislation to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security Act, and further requests that President Donald Trump sign that legislation; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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