Galloway

Each plaintiff is a former employee of the state, now receiving a pension or retirement allowance under the Public Employees Retirement Law. Each claims such income (insofar as it exceeds contributions paid by her from income previously taxed to her) to be exempt from income taxation, and seeks refund of the portion of her income tax attributable to such income only. Each side moved for summary judgment. The cases were submitted upon a stipulation of facts. The motions of plaintiffs were denied and those of defendant Franchise Tax Board were granted. Judgments of dismissal followed, and plaintiffs appeal.

Appellants rely upon the code provision (Gov. Code, § 21200.5) that the right of a person to a pension or retirement allowance under the state retirement law is “exempt from taxation, including any inheritance tax.” Although the issue is wholly one of statutory construction, we do not look solely to the face of this section but, under established principles, consider also the legislative-judicial history of its language. A statute adopted in 1937. (Stats. 1937, ch. 677, p. 1900, now Gov. Code, § 31452) and derived from a 1919 act (Stats. 1919, ch. 373, p. 782) provided…