Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Scott Hood, Chief Executive Officer, SamCERA
Subject: Amendment to the Board of Retirement Regulations
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution approving an amendment to the San Mateo County Employees’ Retirement Association (SamCERA) Board of Retirement’s Regulation 2.1 in Article II-Board Officers and Chief Executive Officer.
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BACKGROUND:
Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution provides that the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system shall have the plenary authority and sole and exclusive responsibility to administer such system. In administering the retirement system, Government Code Section 31525 authorizes the Board of Retirement to adopt regulations which become effective upon approval by the Board of Supervisors.
Each year, the Chair of the Board of Retirement is authorized by its Regulations (the “BOR Regulations”) to appoint all committees. In relevant part, the BOR Regulations provide as follows:
2.1 Election of Chair: At the regular meeting in July or August, the Board of Retirement shall elect one of its members chair for a term of one year or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Board, shall appoint all committees and shall perform all duties incidental to that office.
DISCUSSION:
As noted above, the Regulations provide that the Chair appoints all committees at the beginning of the fiscal year. Given that committees may have begun projects or assignments that extend past the fiscal year, continuity on committees across fiscal years is an important factor to be considered. For example, the financial audit engagement process crosses the Fiscal Year, beginning in the Spring of each year and ending in the Fall with the acceptance of the financial audit reports and approval of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
The following is a summary of the changes to the Board of Retirement’s regulations approved by the Board of Retirement at its April 22, 2025, meeting:
Board Officers and Chief Executive Officer (Article II)
The BOR adopted an amendment to Regulation 2.1 Election of Chair to provide that the incoming Chair considers the continuity of committees when making committee assignments.
Specifically, the revised Regulations added the following sentence to Regulation 2.1:
In appointing committees, the chair should consider that some committee work and projects may extend past the fiscal year end and in making committee assignments should strive for maintaining and ensuring continuity on the committees.
The County Attorney has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
The proposed amendments to the Board of Retirement regulations will result in greater continuity on Board of Retirement committees which will, in turn, facilitate more effective administration of the retirement system benefitting all members and their beneficiaries.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None