***CITY LETTERHEAD***
DATE
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 May 13, 2026)
Dear Assembly Member McKinnor,
The City of Cotati 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.
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 Cotati respectfully opposes AB 1383.
Sincerely,
Sylvia Lemus
Mayor
City of Cotati
Cc: The Honorable Tina McKinnor, Chair, Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement
Honorable Members, Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee The Honorable Senator Chris Cabaldon
The Honorable Assembly Member Damon Connolly
Nancy Hall Bennett, Public Affairs Manager, Cal Cities North Bay (via email) League of California Cities, (via email: [email protected])