State government.

(1) The Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) , which is administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, governs the funding and provision of postemployment health care benefits for eligible retired public employees and their families. PEMHCA defines "family member" for these purposes. PEMHCA authorizes the board to contract with carriers offering health benefit plans and prohibits employees, annuitants, and their family members who are eligible for Medicare, as specified, from enrolling in a basic health benefit plan. PEMHCA requires the board to make certain notifications and reports to the Legislature in connection with health benefit plans offered pursuant to its provisions. This bill would clarify the definition of family for the purposes of PEMHCA by specifically excluding former spouses and former domestic partners. The bill would require the employing office, as specified, of a state employee or state annuitant, pursuant to standards established by the Department of Human Resources, to possess documentation verifying eligibility of an employee's family member prior to the enrollment of a family member in a health benefit plan and to verify continued eligibility pursuant to a specified schedule. The bill would prohibit the board from granting further exceptions to the rule against enrolling in employees, annuitants, and their family members who are eligible for Medicare, as specified, in a basic health benefit plan. The bill would revise the entities to which the board is required to provide notification of approval of proposed benefit and premium readjustments to exclude the Legislature as a whole and to instead require provision of an initial estimate of proposed changes in writing to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the chairpersons of the committees and subcommittees in each house of the Legislature that consider the Public Employees' Retirement System's budget and activities, the State Controller, the Director of Finance, and the Legislative Analyst. The bill would specify the latest date that this notification may take place. The bill would require the board to provide a specified, detailed report to the Legislature and the Director of Finance annually, on November 1, regarding the health benefit plans it provides. (2) PEMHCA establishes the Annuitants' Health Care Coverage Fund, which is continuously appropriated for the purpose of prefunding of health care coverage for annuitants, including administrative costs. PEMHCA defines "prefunding" for these purposes. This bill would prohibit the use of certain state funds in the Annuitants' Health Care Coverage Fund for the payment of benefits until the earlier of 2 specified dates. The bill would revise the definition of prefunding to include employee as well as employer payments and to provide that payments may fund the actuarially determined normal costs of postemployment health care benefits. By providing a new funding source for a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) Existing law prescribes the duties of the Controller, which generally regard supervision of the fiscal concerns of the state. Existing law requires the Controller to abolish a state position that is vacant for 6 consecutive monthly pay periods on the following July 1, and permits the Director of Finance to authorize reestablishment of a position abolished pursuant to this authority under certain conditions. Among other things, existing law requires the Controller to reestablish a position abolished pursuant to this authority if the director of the department in which that position existed prior to abolishment makes a certification by August 15, as specified. This bill would repeal the provisions pertaining to vacant positions described above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.