09/23/2026
The Santa Cruz Deputy Sheriffs Association is deeply disappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent veto of Assembly Bill 1383, which passed 33-0 in the Senate and 69-2 in the Assembly, and would have modified the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) by, among other things, setting the retirement age at 55 years for public safety employees. The fact that this bill received bipartisan and nearly unanimous support from California legislators shows that our elected officials recognize the importance and value of this legislation. But not Governor Newsom.
In the more than 10 years since PEPRA passed, departments such as ours have begun to see the unintended disastrous effects of this legislation: increased officer burnout and injury due to hiring and retention issues exacerbated by the fact that public safety employees are expected to work longer for a smaller pension. When PEPRA passed, public safety employees were told that they are expected to work until age 57 (instead of the classic age of 50) and for a smaller pension than their predecessors. Most people inherently understand that the bodies and minds of public safety employees take a substantial beating over the course of one’s career, which is why the retirement age was 50 to begin with. But not Governor Newsom.
AB 1383, far from returning public safety employees to the original retirement formula, would lower the retirement age to a more reasonable (but still grueling) 55 years. It is our belief that this legislation would have a meaningful positive impact on those currently working in public safety, as well as generations to come. But not Governor Newsom.
The Santa Cruz Deputy Sheriffs Association hopes that whoever becomes the next Governor of California will stand on the side of public safety employees and the rest of the state government and pass AB 1383.
