Opinion No. (2006)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General SUSAN DUNCAN LEE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE BOB MARGETT, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: May city council members of a general law city redirect the value of health insurance benefits to a deferred compensation plan without violating the statutory limitation upon the amount of compensation authorized for council members? CONCLUSION City council members of a general law city may redirect the value of health insurance benefits to a deferred compensation plan without violating the statutory limitation upon the amount of compensation authorized for council members. ANALYSIS Government Code section 36516 1 authorizes a city to provide its city council members with a salary of between $300 and $1,000 per month, depending upon the size of the city's population. However, an exception to the salary limitation is provided by subdivision (e) of the statute, which states: "Any amounts paid by a city for retirement, health and welfare, and federal social security benefits shall not be included for purposes of determining salary under this section provided the same benefits are available and paid by the…