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Home My WebLink AboutAB 1383 (Mckinnor) Public Employees Retirement Benefits - City of SLO - OPPOSECity of San Luis Obispo, Office of the City Council, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401-3249, 805.781.7114, slocity.org April 6, 2026 The Honorable Tina McKinnor Chair, Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement 1020 N Street, Room 153 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: AB 1383 (McKinnor) Public employees’ retirement benefits. OPPOSE (As Amended January 22, 2026) Dear Assembly Member McKinnor, The City of San Luis Obispo must respectfully oppose AB 1383, which would make several significant changes to public employees’ retirement benefits and lead to increased pension liability for public agencies. The Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) was designed to address a wide range of issues involving public employee pensions and was a major step in helping local agencies better manage future pension costs and prevent the California Public Employees Retirement System from sliding into insolvency. AB 1383 would upend many of the reforms put in place in 2013 by PEPRA. While we recognize and appreciate the intent of the bill to support recruitment and retention of essential public safety professionals, the bill would increase mandated costs without funding. The potential cost of this bill comes at a time of uncertainty. The fiscal volatility in the market compounded with the increased benefit costs from this bill could lead to serious cost increases for local government. Without consideration to the impacts of AB 1383, the City of San Luis Obispo is already forecasting a deficit for its General Fund in the coming years and is including recommended expenditure reductions of over $1 million in FY 2026-27. Since 2019, the City of San Luis Obispo has diligently made $24.8 million in Additional Discretionary Payments to CalPERS using onetime funds to reduce unfunded liability and stabilize contribution rates in the long term. Any change to benefit formulas or employer contributions may alter the actuarial assumptions on which those payments were based and could affect future rate projections. While our City supports competitive recruitment and retention for all public employees, AB 1383 represents an unfunded mandate that fails to balance sustainable retirement benefits with taxpayer fairness and long-term financial stability. For these reasons, the City of San Luis Obispo respectfully opposes AB 1383. Sincerely, Erica A. Stewart Mayor City of San Luis Obispo Cc: The Honorable Tina McKinnor, Chair, Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement Honorable Members, Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement Assemblymember Addis Senator Laird Dave Mullinex, dmullinax@calcities.org League of California Cities, (via email: cityletters@calcities.org)