Article 2. Administration, Award System, And Membership of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 5. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4.5. >> Article 2.

(a) The award system shall be administered by the board and the board shall comply with the following requirements:
  (1) The board shall maintain a plan as described in Section 457(e) (11) of Title 26 of the United States Code.
  (2) The representatives on the board shall be elected.
  (3) The representatives on the board shall administer the award system with the reasonable care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with the award system would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.
  (4) The representatives on the board shall be subject to the prudent investor standard with regard to the fund.
  (5) The award system shall be administered for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to members of the award system.
  (6) The board shall select a custodian of the fund, as described in subdivision (j) of Section 50952.
  (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the assets of the fund attributable to the benefit of registered volunteers of a department are subject to the claims of creditors of the department in the case of the insolvency of the department. The assets of the fund that are not attributable to the benefits of registered volunteers of an insolvent department are not subject to the claims of the creditors of the insolvent department.

(a) The board shall adopt rules and regulations to administer the award system, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
  (1) Eligibility requirements for a member to receive an award, including, but not limited to, minimum age and minimum years of certified service credit.
  (2) Eligibility requirements for a member to include certified prior service credit as certified service credit in calculating the amount of his or her award or to qualify for an award.
  (3) The amount of an award payable under this chapter and any cost-of-living adjustments or supplemental payments based upon that award.
  (4) Eligibility requirements for membership in the award system.
  (5) The maximum years of certified service credit a member may accrue under the award system.
  (6) Other rules and regulations that the board determines are appropriate to administer this chapter.
  (b) In addition to those powers and duties, the board shall determine if participation in the award system is adequate to ensure that sufficient funds will be available for the payment of awards on an actuarial reserve basis before any awards are paid. If the board determines that participation in the award system is inadequate to assure the financial success of the system, the board may terminate the award system pursuant to Section 50974 or may amend the award system pursuant to the rules and regulations of the board.

(a) The board shall, from time to time, determine and fix the annual interest rate and actuarial interest rate.
  (b) The board shall keep in convenient form the data necessary for the actuarial valuation of the award system. The board shall, at least quadrennially, cause to be made an actuarial investigation into the mortality and service experience of members and persons receiving awards and an actuarial valuation of the assets and liabilities of the award system.
  (c) When there is insufficient data upon which to establish mortality rates or other actuarial assumptions required to evaluate the obligations of the award system, the board may adopt appropriate assumptions that, upon the advice and recommendation of the actuary, are necessary.

(a) On the basis of investigation and valuation, the board shall adopt the mortality, service, and other tables as it deems necessary, and shall make changes in the contributions required from contracting departments as the board considers appropriate in order to assure the actuarial soundness of this award system.
  (b) The board shall credit all contributions of departments in the fund with interest at the annual interest rate compounded at each June 30.
  (c) Data filed by a member or department with the board is confidential, and no individual record shall be divulged by an official or employee having access to that data to a person other than the member to whom the information relates or his or her authorized representative, or the department that employs the member. That information shall be used by the board for the sole purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this chapter.
  (d) Each volunteer member and department shall file with the board the information and evidence as may be required by the board in administration of this award system.

The custodian of the fund shall be subject to the exclusive control of the board to administer and invest the assets of the fund. The assets in the fund shall be used to pay the costs of administration and for the payment of awards under this chapter.