§ 143.1 — Approval of Retirement System Benefit

Section 143.1: Approval of Retirement System Benefit

(a) No ordinance amending the retirement system which affects the benefits of any employee under such retirement system shall be adopted without the approval of a majority vote of the members of said system. No ordinance amending the retirement system which increases the benefits of any employee, legislative officer or elected official under such retirement system, with the exception of Cost of Living Adjustments, shall be adopted without the approval of a majority of those qualified electors voting on the matter. No ordinance amending the retirement system which affects the vested defined benefits of any retiree of such retirement system shall be adopted without the approval of a majority vote of the affected retirees of said retirement system. (b) Prior to any proposed amendment of the retirement system which increases benefits of any employee, legislative officer or elected official under such retirement system being placed on the ballot, the retirement system shall prepare an actuarial study of the cost due to the benefit changes proposed based upon the amortization schedules established by Charter Section 143. A summary of the actuarial study shall be published in the ballot pamphlet. (c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent City officials from negotiating tentative agreements with employee organizations incorporating benefit changes to the extent permitted by state law, provided, however that no amendment of the retirement system which increases benefits, with the exception of the Cost of Living Adjustments, of any employee, legislative officer or elected official under such retirement system, shall become binding or effective until approved by a majority of those qualified electors voting on the matter, and shall not have any force or effect if rejected by said voters. The City Council shall have no authority to enter into final or binding agreements regarding retirement system benefit increases until and unless those increases to retirement system benefits are approved by a majority of those qualified electors voting on the matter. (d) The requirement for voter approval of retirement system benefit increases shall become operative on January 1, 2007, for all proposed increases in retirement system benefits tentatively agreed upon by the City on or after that date. This requirement shall remain in effect for a period of fifteen (15) years from that date, at which time this requirement shall be automatically repealed and removed from the Charter.

(Addition voted 06-08-1954; effective 01-10-1955.) (Amendment voted 11-06-1990; effective 02-19-1991.) (Amendment voted 11-07-2006; effective 12-13-2006.) (Amendment voted 06-05-2012; effective 07-20-2012.) (The last two sentences of Section 143.1, subdivision (a) have been declared invalid, null and void and ordered stricken from the City charter by the Judgment entered on 2/5/2021 in People of the State California ex rel. Plaintiff-Relators San Diego Municipal Employees Association, San Diego City Firefighters Local 145, IAFF, AFL-CIO, AFSCME Local 127, AFLCIO and Deputy City Attorneys Association of San Diego v. Defendants City of San Diego and Its City Council and Defendants-In-Intervention April Boling, T. J. Zane and Stephen B. Williams, SDSC Case No. 37-2019-00051308-CU-MC-CTL. The Judgment can be read here.)