SEC. 12.100. RETIREMENT BOARD.
The Retirement Board shall consist of seven members as follows: one member of the Board of Supervisors appointed by the President, three public members to be appointed by the Mayor pursuant to Section 3.100, and three members elected by the active members and retired persons of the Retirement System from among their number. The public members appointed by the Mayor shall be experienced in life insurance, actuarial science, employee pension planning or investment portfolio management, or hold a degree of doctor of medicine. There shall not be, at any one time, more than one retired person on the Board. The term of the members, other than the Board of Supervisors member, shall be five years, one term expiring on February 20th of each year. The three elected members need not be residents of the City and County. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled by the Mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term, except that in the case of elected employee members, a vacancy shall be filled by a special election within 120 days after the vacancy occurs unless the next regularly scheduled employee member election is to be held within six months after such vacancy occurred. Elections shall be conducted by the Director of Elections in a manner prescribed by ordinance.
The Board shall appoint and may remove an executive director and an actuary. The Board may employ a consulting actuary.
In accordance with Article XVI, Section 17, of the California Constitution, the Retirement Board shall have plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of monies and administration of the Retirement System.
The Board shall be the sole authority and judge, consistent with this Charter and ordinances, as to the conditions under which members of the Retirement System may receive and may continue to receive benefits under the Retirement System, and shall have exclusive control of the administration and investment of such funds as may be established.
The Retirement Board shall discharge its duties with respect to the system with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with these matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.
The Board shall determine City and County and District contributions on the basis of a normal contribution rate which shall be computed as a level percentage of compensation which, when applied to the future compensation of the average new member entering the System, together with the required member contribution, will be sufficient to provide for the payment of all prospective benefits of such member. The portion of liability not provided by the normal contribution rate shall be amortized over a period not to exceed twenty years.
The Board may act by a majority of the members present at a meeting so long as a quorum is in attendance.
SEC. 12.102. HEARING OFFICER.
Any application for retirement or death allowance made pursuant to this Charter shall be heard by a hearing officer employed under contract by the Retirement Board and selected by procedures set forth in its rules, which shall include rules setting forth the qualifications and selection procedure necessary to appoint a qualified and unbiased hearing officer. Following public hearing, the hearing officer shall determine whether such application shall be granted or denied. All expenses related to processing and adjudicating such applications shall be paid from the Trust Fund.
At any time within 30 days after the service of the hearing officer's decision, the applicant or any other affected party, including the Retirement System, may petition the hearing officer for a rehearing upon one or more of the following grounds and no other:
1. That the hearing officer acted without or in excess of the hearing officer's powers;
2. That the decision was procured by fraud;
3. That the evidence does not justify the decision; or
4. That the petitioner has discovered new material evidence which could not, with reasonable diligence, have been discovered and produced at the hearing.
The decision of the hearing officer shall be final upon the expiration of 30 days after the petition for rehearing is denied, or if the hearing is granted, upon the expiration of 30 days after the rendition of the decision. Such final decision shall not be subject to amendment, modification or rescission by the Board, but shall be subject to review by the Board only for the purpose of determining whether to seek judicial review.
SEC. 12.200. HEALTH SERVICE BOARD.
There shall be a Health Service Board which shall consist of seven members as follows: one member of the Board of Supervisors, to be appointed by the President of the Board of Supervisors; the City Attorney or designated Deputy City Attorney, except that on May 15, 2005, the City Attorney's tenure on the Health Service Board shall expire and that seat shall be filled by a member elected from the active and retired members of the System from among their number; two members appointed by the Mayor pursuant to Section 3.100, one of whom shall be an individual who regularly consults in the health care field, and the other a doctor of medicine; and three members (in addition to the elected member assuming the seat vacated by the City Attorney) elected from the active and retired members of the System from among their number. Elections shall be conducted by the Director of Elections in a manner prescribed by ordinance. Elected members need not reside within the City and County. The terms of members, other than the ex officio members, shall be five years, and shall expire on May 15 of each year.
A vacancy on the Board appointed by the Mayor shall be filled by the Mayor. A vacancy in an elective office on the Board shall be filled by a special election within 90 days after the vacancy occurs unless a regular election is to be held within six months after such vacancy shall have occurred.
The Health Service Board shall:
1. Establish and maintain detailed historical costs for medical and hospital care and conduct an annual review of such costs;
2. Apply benefits without special favor or privilege;
3. Put such plans as provided for in Section A8.422 into effect and conduct and administer the same and contract therefor and use the funds of the System;
4. Make rules and regulations for the administration of business of the Health Service System, the granting of exemptions and the admission to the System of persons who are hereby made members, and such other officers and employees as may voluntarily become members with the approval of the Board; and
5. Receive, consider and, within 60 days after receipt, act upon any matter pertaining to the policies of, or appeals from, the Health Service System submitted to it in writing by any member or any person who has contracted to render medical care to the members.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, the Health Service Board shall have the powers and duties and shall be subject to the limitations of Charter Sections 4.102, 4.103 and 4.104.
Subject to the requirements of state law and the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter, the Health Service Board may make provision for heath or dental benefits for residents of the City and County of San Francisco as provided in Section A8.421 of Appendix A of the Charter.
SEC. 12.204. RETIREE HEALTH CARE TRUST FUND.
The Retiree Health Care Trust Fund ("RHCTF") shall be an irrevocable trust fund established under Section A8.432. and separate from the Health Service System trust fund described in Charter Sections 12.203 and A8.428, to provide a funding source to defray the cost of the City's, and other Participating Employers', obligations to pay for health coverage for retired persons and their survivors entitled to health coverage under Section A8.428. Trust assets shall be held for the sole and exclusive purpose of providing health coverage to eligible retired persons and their survivors, and to defray the reasonable expenses of administering the RHCTF, including but not limited to educational, actuarial, consulting, administrative support and accounting expenses associated with the RHCTF. Administrative costs, including but not limited to educational, actuarial and consulting expenses associated with the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund, as adopted by the board of supervisors in the annual budget, shall be paid from the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund, but only upon adoption of a resolution by the Retiree Health Trust Fund Board approving such expenses.
The RHCTF shall be governed by a Retiree Health Trust Fund Board ("Board"). The Board shall consist of five trustees, one of whom shall be appointed by the City Controller, one of whom shall be appointed by the City Treasurer, one of whom shall be appointed by the Executive Director of the San Francisco Employees Retirement System, and two of whom shall be elected from among active employee and retired members of the City's Health Service System. One of the elected trustees shall be an active employee member and one shall be a retired member as of the date of their respective elections. Each elected trustee shall serve for a term of five years. No person may serve simultaneously as a trustee on the Board and as an elected or appointed member of the San Francisco Employees Retirement System Board or the Health Service System Board.
(Amended by Proposition B, 6/3/2008)