BYLAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE MARIN COUNTY

EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION

___________________________________

 

 

PART I.  ADMINISTRATION

 

Section 101:    Name

 

The name of this Association, organized in accordance with Government Code Section 31550, is: 

 

Marin County Employees' Retirement Association

 

 

Section 102:    Board Members and Officers

 

Retirement Board members are elected and appointed pursuant to Section 31520.1 of the Government Code.  At the first regular meeting in November of each year, the Retirement Board shall elect from its members a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary for a term of one (1) year or until a successor is duly elected and qualified.  At the first regular meeting in December of each year, the Chairperson will appoint all committee chairpersons and members.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

 

Each member of the Board of Retirement not appointed to a particular committee, shall be an ex-officio member of that committee and shall be a voting member of that committee in an ex-officio capacity when said vote is needed to establish a quorum of said committee.

 

(Amended April 8, 1992 by Resolution #91/92-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors April 14, 1992)

 

 

PART II.  MEETINGS

 

Section 201:    Regular Meetings

 

Regular meetings of the Retirement Board shall be held on the second Wednesday of each month commencing at 9:00 a.m. at the office of the Marin County Retirement Administrator, Civic Center, San Rafael, California, or such other place as the Retirement Administrator may designate.

 

In the event that the regular meeting cannot be held on the stated date, the Chairperson shall designate the date and time of the meeting and properly notify as to a special meeting.      

 

Whenever scheduled meetings of the Retirement Board or committees thereof are scheduled to have such meetings in the morning and afternoon of the same day, the members of the Retirement Board or of the committee shall, at their discretion, be entitled to lunch at the expense of the Association.

 

(Amended April 19, 1983 by Resolution #83-1)

(Amended July 13, 1994 by Resolution #93/94-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors July 19, 1994)

(Amended September 12, 2001 by Resolution #2001/02-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors September 25, 2001)

 

Section 202:    Special Meetings

 

Special meetings of the Retirement Board may be called at any time by the Chairperson or a majority of the members of the Retirement Board.  A notice of not less than twenty-four (24) hours shall be given to each member and all other parties in satisfaction of the Brown Act.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

(Amended November 13, 1991 by Resolution #91/92-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 14, 1992)

 

Section 203:    Rules of Order

 

Robert’s "Rules of Order", newly revised addition, except as otherwise provided herein, shall guide the Retirement Board in its proceedings.  Further, the provisions of Chapter 9, Division 2, Title V of the California Government Code (the Ralph M. Brown Act) shall also govern the Retirement Board in its proceedings.

 

(Amended July 13, 1994 by Resolution #93/94-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors July 19, 1994)

 

Section 204:    Quorum

 

Five (5) permanent members of the Retirement Board constitute a quorum.  With respect to committees, a majority of membership of any committee shall constitute a quorum.  In the event a majority of the members of the Retirement Board or a committee thereof find themselves attending a purely social or ceremonial occasion, such members shall not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Retirement Board.

 

(Amended July 13, 1994 by Resolution #93/94-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors July 19, 1994)

 

Section 205:  Agenda

 

In order to ensure that items for the agenda are presented at the regular monthly Retirement Board meeting, proposed agenda items must be in writing and received by the Retirement Administrator not later than 4:30 on the last Thursday of the month preceding the scheduled Board meeting.  All Board members and all other parties appearing on the agenda shall receive a preliminary agenda prior to the monthly meeting.  There shall also be a copy of the agenda posted outside the meeting place.

 

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved By Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

(Amended September 9, 1998 by Resolution #98/99-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors Res. #98-133 September 22, 1998)

 

Section 206:  Minutes

 

The Secretary shall cause to be recorded in the minutes the time and place of each meeting of the Retirement Board, the names of members present and absent, all official acts of the Retirement Board, the votes by members of the Board, except where the action is unanimous, and when requested, a member's dissent or approval with his reasons, and shall cause the minutes to be written up forthwith and presented for approval at the next regular meeting.  The minutes or a true copy thereof, submitted by the Secretary and signed by the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson, shall form part of the permanent records of the Retirement Board.

 

Section 207:  Vacancies

 

If a vacancy on the Board occurs for any cause other than on the expiration of a term of office of such member, a successor shall be chosen in the same manner as his predecessor to complete the term of office, except that if the vacancy is in the office of an elected member, a special election shall be called within eighty (80) days of said vacancy by the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters to be held within 150 days of said vacancy in accordance with these Bylaws; it being the intent that the election be held as soon as practical with the seating of the new member following the certification of the election.

 

(Added April 14, 1980, by Resolution #80-1)

 

 

PART III.  MEMBERSHIP

 

Section 301

 

The following persons shall be eligible for membership in the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association:

 

1.   Any employee in an allocated budgeted position devoting not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of that full- time allocated budgeted position; provided, however, that any employee electing membership under this subsection shall accrue service credit towards retirement in accordance with the provisions of Section 750 of these Bylaws.

 

2.   A full-time contractual employee; excepting, however, contractual employees hired solely for a specific project.

 

3.   An elected official.

 

4.   An employee of a geographical area, or for a specific function such as, but not limited to, "on-call" physicians in the County Physician's Office, if the Personnel Director certifies that such employee's compensation is greater than seventy-five percent (75%) of full-time compensation for comparable duties. 

 

5.   An employee who was a member of the Association prior to August 5, 1968, even though presently or subsequently employed for less than seventy-five (75%) of full-time compensation, at the option of the employee, shall remain eligible for membership so long as said employee has had continuous service from said date.

 

6.   All Marin County employees eligible for membership in the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association shall become members of the Association as of their date of employment with the County.  City of San Rafael employees eligible for membership in the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association shall become members of the Association as of the first day of any pay period.

 

7.   Membership in the Marin County Employees’ Retirement Association shall cease on the day following the last date of employment unless the member is eligible for  deferred retirement.

 

Persons hired, otherwise eligible for membership on or after December 8, 1980, who have attained the age of sixty (60) years at the time of their employment, may waive membership in the Marin County Employees’ Retirement System on a form and in a manner acceptable to the Retirement Administrator.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

(Amended September 9, 1998 by Resolution #98/99-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors Resolution 98-133)

 

Section 302:

 

Persons in all other categories of employment shall be excluded from membership in the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association.  Persons otherwise qualified for membership pursuant, to Section 301 of these Bylaws, employed after June 30, 1979, under the provisions of the Public Service Employment Program of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act Amendments of 1978 (29 U.S.C. 801), shall be excluded from membership unless the Government of the United States makes the employer contributions required by law.

 

(Amended June 11, 1979 by Resolution #79-03)

 

PART IV.   MEMBERS' CONTRIBUTIONS

 

Section 401:  Withdrawal Upon Termination

 

Upon termination of service other than by retirement or death, a member shall submit an application to the Retirement Board for the withdrawal of accumulated contributions.  In addition to the amount of accumulated contributions, the Retirement Board shall allow the payment of interest credited to the member's account at the rate set yearly by the Retirement Board.

 

Payment in the amount as determined by the Retirement Board shall be made to the members as follows:

 

Upon receipt of an approved application, payment in the amount as determined by the Retirement Board, shall be made to the members within ninety (90) days of receipt of said application.  The Retirement Administrator is authorized to refund these contributions prior to Retirement Board approval.  On a monthly basis the Retirement Administrator shall report to the Retirement Board those individuals who have received a refund of contributions, indicating their employer as well as the amount refunded.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

(Amended December 16, 1998 by Resolution 98/99-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors Res. 98-133 September 22, 1998)

 

 

PART V.   COMPENSATION EARNABLE

 

Section 501:

 

(a)   Compensation earnable for the purpose of computing retirement benefits shall be defined as the average compensation as determined by the Board for the period under consideration upon the basis of the average number of days ordinarily worked by persons in the same rate or class of positions during the period  and at the same rate of pay, pursuant to Government Code Section 31641, as interpreted by the courts of record.

 

(b)   Compensation for the purpose of computing contributions by each member shall be defined as the base pay and all other cash payments constituting compensation earnable for each period for such member.

 

Notwithstanding Subsection (b) above, any member who retires will contribute through the day before the member's retirement.  If excess contributions have been deducted, the member shall be refunded such excess.

 

(Amended May 10, 1976, by Board of Supervisors Res. #76-208)

(Amended February, 1984 by Resolution #84-1)

 

 

 

 

 

Section 502:  Leaves of Absence, Contributions and Service Credit

 

In the event that any member is required by his or her employer to take a leave of absence or take a leave of absence voluntarily at the invitation of the employer without pay, such person shall nevertheless be entitled to full credit for service upon payment of the full pay period's retirement contribution by the employer sand member if he works at least one half of such pay period.  If, however, the member works less than one half of such pay period, no contributions will be made and no service credit will be given.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the member shall have all such rights as are contained in Section 31642 as it may be from time to time amended.

 

(Amended March 10, 1993 by Resolution #92/93-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors March 16, 1993)

 

 

PART VI.   BIRTH CERTIFICATES

 

Section 601:

 

Every member of the Association shall be required to submit to the Retirement Administrator a certified copy of their birth certificate to be retained in the files of said office.  If unable to secure a certified copy of birth certificate, the member must submit documentation that is acceptable to the Administrator.

 

Upon failure of a member to provide the foregoing, the member's rate for purposes of contribution shall be set at the highest current rate available.  Upon later submission of proof of age, an employee may receive, upon written request, a refund of excess contributions for a period of no greater than three (3) years from date of submission of acceptable proof of age.

 

The employer shall satisfy the Retirement Board of the discontinuance of service of each employee whether final, by leave of absence, sick leave or otherwise as soon as is possible.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

(Amended September 9, 1998 by Resolution #98/99-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors Res. #98-133 September 22, 1998)

 Amended September 12, 2001 by Resolution #2001-02-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors September 25, 2001)

 

 

PART VII.   CERTIFICATES

 

Section 701:

 

Prior to the time the first warrant is issued to a member for retirement allowance, such member shall be furnished with a statement indicating the amount of his retirement allowance calculated in accordance with the unmodified and various optional modes of settlement.

 

Such statement shall provide a place for the signature of the member, indicating the choice as to the type of retirement allowance selected and, when signed by the Retirement Administrator or any other authorized retirement staff, shall constitute the annuity certificate provided for in Section 31526 of the Government Code, as amended.

 

(Amended September 9, 1998 by Resolution #98/99-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors Res. 98-133 September 22, 1998)

 

Section 750:

 

For purposes of Government Code Section 31640.5, all employees who qualify for membership in the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association, pursuant to Sections 301 and 302 of these Bylaws and Regulations, shall be considered full-time employees and entitled to one (1) year credit for each calendar year of employment, both for the purpose of computing eligibility for retirement, pursuant to Government Code Section 31672 and computing retirement benefits; provided, however, that members working less than a full-time budgeted position shall be entitled to only a proportional year's credit for each calendar year of employment for the purpose of computing retirement benefits.  Said proportional credit shall be computed by comparing the hours worked or compensation received to that of a full-time employee in the same category of employment.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

 

 

PART VIII.   ELECTIONS

 

Section 801:

 

Where not otherwise provided, the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters will conduct all elections according to procedures established in the California Election Code.

 

The following rules and regulations are adopted as the manner of nomination and election by the members of the Retirement Association of the second, third, seventh and eighth members of the Board of Retirement to serve for terms of three (3) years.

 

Nominations

 

1.  Nomination of the members to be elected from and by members  of the Retirement Association shall be by petition signed by  not less than ten (10) members of the Association.  No person  shall sign more than one petition of nomination for each member.

 

(Amended June 8, 2005 by Resolution #2004/2005-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors July 28, 2005)

 

2.     The nomination petition shall specify the name of the nominee and agency which will also appear on the official ballot and whether the member is nominated as the second, third,

seventh or eighth member of the Board of Retirement.

 

3.     Nomination petitions shall be in substantially the following form:

 

"We, the undersigned (regular) (safety) (retired) members of the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association do hereby nominate as the member of the Retirement Board of the Marin County Employees' Retirement Association to serve for a term of three (3) years to be elected from and by the members of said Association."

 

4.     Nomination petitions shall be available from the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters not earlier than 8:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of June and must be filed not later than 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of June of each year in which the term of office of one of the elected members of said Board shall terminate.

 

5.     If the incumbent member of the Retirement Board fails to file by 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of June, the filing period shall be extended to 4:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of June for the nomination of candidates other than the incumbent.

 

6.  The Retirement Board Administrator shall, within three (3) working days, verify these signatures and send a certified list of eligible candidates and their agency/department to the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters for preparation of the ballots.

 

Candidate's Statement of Qualifications

 

1.  Each candidate for the Retirement Board may prepare a Candidate's Statement of Qualifications on a form to be provided by the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters.

 

2.     The Statement may include the name, age and occupation of the candidate and a brief description, no more than 200 words in length, of the candidate's education and qualifications.

 

(Amended June 8, 2005 by Resolution #2004/2005-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors July 28, 2005)

 

3.     The Statement shall be filed in the office of the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters at the time of filing nomination papers.

 

4.     The County Clerk/Registrar of Voters shall send to each voter, together with the ballot, a copy of all written statements filed.

 

Elections

 

1.     Election shall be by secret ballot.  Only the names of those duly nominated for each position as provided herein shall be printed on the ballot.

 

2.     The election shall be held on the last Friday of July of each year in which the term of office of the elective members of said Board shall terminate.

 

3.     Ballots shall be prepared by the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters and mailed to each eligible voter no later than one (1) week before the third Friday in July of each election year.

 

(Amended March 10, 1999 by Resolution #98/99-3;

Approved by Board of Supervisors March 23, 1999)

 

4.     Each miscellaneous member of the Association may vote for one candidate for the second board member and/or one candidate for the third board member.  No miscellaneous member shall vote for the seventh or eighth member.  Each safety member may vote for one candidate for the seventh member.  No safety member shall vote for the second or third or eighth member. Each retired member may vote for one candidate for the eighth member.  No retired member shall vote for the second or third or seventh member.

 

5.     Each member shall place the voted ballot in the ballot envelope provided for that purpose and shall seal and enclose said envelope in an identification envelope which the member shall personally seal and sign.  The member shall then deposit said envelope in the ballot box provided at one of several designated locations or shall mail said ballot to the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters to be received not later than 4:30 p.m. on the day on which said election is held.

 

6.     The County Clerk/Registrar of voters shall submit said identification envelopes containing the ballots, with a statement of the number so delivered, to the Administrator of the Retirement Association who will check against a list of existing members of said Association.  Each member shall be allowed one identification envelope only with one ballot envelope enclosed.  These shall be returned to the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters by the Administrator with a report of the number of identification envelopes so received. Safety, retired and/or miscellaneous envelopes should be separated.

 

7.     The County Clerk/Registrar of Voters shall count the votes in accordance with rules established in the California Elections Code and shall submit the results of the election to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, and said Board shall declare the nominee receiving the most votes for the respective memberships duly elected. Said members shall assume office on the next November 1st, or if the seat is vacant, upon certification of the election.

 

8.     Write-in votes shall not be counted.

 

9.     All costs for the conduct of the election, including the printing of the ballots and related supplies, shall be billed to the Retirement Board by the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters at actual cost.

 

 

(Amended December 14, 1981, by Resolution #81-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 26, 1982)

 

 

PART IX.   AMENDMENTS

 

These Bylaws shall be amended as follows:

 

1.         Amendments must be read at a regular meeting.

 

2.         No vote may be taken earlier than the next regular scheduled meeting.

 

3.     There must be a two-thirds (2/3) affirmative majority vote of the Retirement Board members in attendance.

 

4.         Such amendments shall not become effective until approved by the Board of Supervisors.

 

If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause or phrase of these Bylaws and Regulations is for any reason held to unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable, such decisions shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining portions of these Bylaws and Regulations.

 

The Retirement Board hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted these Bylaws and Regulations, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, sub-sections, sentences, clauses and phrases may be declared unconstitutional, invalid or unenforceable.

 

(Amended December 16, 1987 by Resolution #87/88-1;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors January 5, 1988)

 

 

PART X.  PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATIONS FOR DISABILITY RETIREMENT

 

Section 1001:

 

Applications for disability retirement shall be on a form approved by the Retirement Administrator.  Each applicant for disability retirement shall authorize the release to the Retirement Association and/or its counsel all medical information relating to any physical or mental illness or injury of applicant, and shall waive any physician-psychotherapist/patient privilege connected therewith, and shall authorize the Association and/or or its counsel to access all records relating to the applicant’s current and prior employment. Said authorizations for release of information shall be on forms approved by the Retirement Administrator or on such other forms as a medical provider, employer or government entity may require for its particular records. All information received by the Association or its agents and counsel shall be treated as confidential and not released to anyone except insofar as may be necessary for the administration of the retirement system or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, as provided by Govt. Code Section 31532.

 

 

Upon the submission of an application for retirement for any cause, or benefits payable or alleged to be payable, under the provisions of Chapter 3, Division 4, Title III of the California Government Code (Section 31540, et seq.), the Retirement Administrator shall examine the application and supporting documents for completeness.  For purposes of this section, an application shall be deemed complete if the information required by the Administrator and these Bylaws is furnished upon the form provided by the Administrator and approved by this Board.  An application for retirement due to alleged incapacity or service-connected incapacity shall be accompanied by written proof relative to each of the issues applicable pursuant to Section 31720 of the Government Code, and an opinion relative to the application submitted by the applicant's employer.  The Retirement Administrator may refer the applicant for further evaluations and written reports.

 

If an application is deemed incomplete by the Retirement Administrator for failure to execute a required authorization for release of information, the Retirement Administrator shall notify the applicant of the incompleteness of the application.  If the applicant has not submitted the required authorization within sixty (60) days of notification, the Retirement Administrator may request that the Retirement Board issue an Order to Show Cause requiring that the applicant or his or her counsel, appear before the Retirement Board at a meeting more than thirty (30) days after the issuance of the Order, and show cause why the applicant should not be required to execute the authorization.  If the applicant or applicant’s counsel fails to appear before the Board or fails to show cause as to why the authorization should not be required, then the Board may, in its discretion, order that the application be summarily denied with prejudice unless the required authorization is executed and delivered to the Retirement Administrator within thirty (30) days.

 

After a period of six (6) months from date of submission of an application for disability retirement, should it be deemed by the Administrator that the applicant has not submitted documentation to support said application, then the Administrator shall give written notice to the applicant that the applicant has a ninety (90)-day period in which to submit additional documentation.  The applicant shall further be notified that at the conclusion of the ninety (90)-day period, said application will be presented to the Retirement Board for action and that the Board's decision will be based on the application and any other documentation received from the applicant on or before the expiration of the ninety (90)-day period.  Said notice to the applicant shall be in the form of a certified return receipt letter and shall advise the applicant that a written appeal may be submitted to the Retirement Board for an extension of the ninety (90)-day period, providing said appeal is received no later than sixty (60) days after notification.

 

(Added April 8, 1992 by Resolution #91/92-2;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors April 14, 1992)

(Amended by Resolution #98/99-2 September 9, 1998;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors Resolution September 22, 1998)

(Amended by Resolution #2001/02-1 September 12, 2001;

 Approved by Board of Supervisors September 25, 2001)

 

Section 1002:

 

A complete application shall be presented to the Retirement Board by the Administrator.  Upon presentation of the application and accompanying documents, the Retirement Board shall have the following powers with respect to said application: