By a vote of 80-0, the state Assembly has approved a CTA-sponsored bill guaranteeing that the state will repay the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) the $500 million it owes.
The action sends AB 265 by Assembly Member Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco) and Assembly Member Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) to the Senate for further action.
AB 265 would require the state to restore to the pension system at a future date the 2003-04 payment of $500 million - plus interest - that the state has withheld from STRS in order to fill a budget deficit.
The deferred payment comes from the STRS Supplemental Benefits Maintenance Account (SBMA), which underwrites the cost of protecting teachers' pensions against inflation. The funds are used to adjust STRS retirees' pensions so that the amount paid each month has at least 80 percent of the buying power of the retiree's original pension.
Without the repayment, STRS will find it harder to raise the guarantee above 80 percent in future years.
To become law, AB 265 still needs the approval of the state Senate and the governor's signature.
To send e-mail and faxes to legislators on key issues like AB 265, visit CTA's website [www.cta. org] and click on Politics and Legislation.