The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the state‘s obligation to pay its pension obligations to the Public Employees’ Retirement System in the amounts established by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System, cannot be deferred by the state; that the state’s pension obligations are due and payable at predetermined times; and that the Controller is required to pay those pension obligations when they are due. The Legislature further finds that the state’s pension obligations cannot be included in an accumulated state budget deficit, as defined in Section 1.3 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. Further, the Legislature finds that its pension obligations are imposed by law, and not subject to § 1 of Article XVI of the California Constitution and that the bonds authorized to be issued under this chapter have the same character under the Constitution as the pension obligations funded or refunded.

(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 215, Sec. 4. Effective August 11, 2004.)