ABOUT LACERA

DISABILITY PROCEDURES & SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES - 3-4-09

MEMBERSHIP

• James P. Harris, Chair
• Yves Chery, Vice Chair
• Sadonya Antebi
• Ed C. Morris
• Simon S. Russin, Alternate

MEMBERS AT LARGE

• Simon Frumkin
• William de la Garza
• Edward Blecksmith
• William Pryor
• Les Robbins

STAFF, ADVISORS, PARTICIPANTS

• Gregg Rademacher
• Janice Golden
• James Castranova
• Vincent Lim
• Frank Boyd
• Steve Tallant
• Debbie Juul
• J. Patrick Joyce
• Oliver Kuzma, M.D.
• Penelope Rodriguez
• Laura Gonzalez
• Shari Altmark
• Darren Huey
• Jim Alvarez
• Tamara Caldwell
• Maisha Coulter
• Andy Demetroulis
• Mercie Martinez
• Debbie Semnanian
• Nichelle Porter
• Kerri Wilson
• Anna Kwan
• Debra Martin
• Vicki Neely
• Richard Schlosser

ATTORNEYS

• Allison Barrett
• Thomas Wicke

GUESTS

1. APPOINTMENT OF VOTING MEMBER(S) IN THE EVENT ONE OR MORE REGULAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE ABSENT
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF February 4, 2009

   A motion was made by Mr. Chery and seconded by Mr. Morris to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of February 4, 2009.

   The motion passed unanimously.

3. FOR INFORMATION
   1. Manager’s Report Debbie Juul discussed the following topics with the Committee:
      1. Alan Cutler, referee has resigned from LACERA referee panel. He will send his cases back to LACERA. The cases will be reassigned to new referee.
      2. Ms. Juul will work on the timeline for the recruitment of attorneys to serve as referees for LACERA Disability Appeals and will discuss it at the April Committee meeting.
4. ACTION ITEMS
   1. Consider the Application of David Paul Taylor, M.D., as a LACERA Panel Physician

      The application of David Paul Taylor, M.D., was presented to the Committee for review. A motion was made by Mr. Morris and seconded by Miss Antebi to accept staff’s recommendation and submit the application to the Board of Retirement for approval to the LACERA Panel of Examining Physicians.

      The motion passed unanimously.

   2. Consider the Application of Jane Y. Chung, M.D., as a LACERA Panel Physician

      The application of Jane Y. Chung, M.D., was presented to the Committee for review. A motion was made by Mr. Chery and seconded by Mr. Morris to accept staff’s recommendation and submit the application to the Board of Retirement for approval to the LACERA Panel of Examining Physicians.

      The motion passed unanimously.

   3. Consider the Application of Jeffery T. Miller, D.D.S., as a LACERA Panel Physician

      The application of Jeffery T. Miller, D.D.S., was presented to the Committee for review. A motion was made by Mr. Morris and seconded by Miss Antebi to accept staff’s recommendation and submit the application to the Board of Retirement for approval to the LACERA Panel of Examining Physicians.

      The motion passed unanimously.

   4. Consider the Application of Alexander Raskin, M.D., as a LACERA Panel Physician

      The application of Alexander Raskin, M.D., was presented to the Committee for review. A motion was made by Miss Antebi and seconded by Mr. Chery to accept staff’s recommendation and submit the application to the Board of Retirement for approval to the LACERA Panel of Examining Physicians.

      The motion passed unanimously.

   5. Adopt a Procedure Relating to the Transcription of Oral Arguments during Board of Retirement Meetings

      At the January 7, 2009, meeting, after a lengthy discussion and input from J. Patrick Joyce, Allison Barrett, and James Castranova, the Committee decided that staff will provide a transcription of the recording made during oral argument when a transcript is ordered. Additional information was then gathered by staff regarding the process and costs, and staff requested that the matter be returned to the Committee for further evaluation. Ms. Juul explained the concerns the court reporting firms had regarding transcribing from tape and that they thought it would be better to have a court reporter present at the meetings. J. Patrick Joyce stated that he no longer felt that a transcription of the oral argument is the best method if no reporter were to be present because of the difficulty in distinguishing the numerous speaking voices. Mr. Joyce suggested that when the attorneys argue the case they should make it clear to the Board which portions of the transcript they are emphasizing in support of their arguments. Further, he suggested a letter be sent to all attorneys practicing before the Board stating the need to reference the transcript during oral argument. Also, Mr. Joyce and Applicant’s attorney Thomas Wicke respectfully reminded the Committee of the Board’s need to review and be familiar with the entire record. After further discussion, Ms. Juul revised staff’s recommendation to: staff will notify the attorneys that they will need to clearly state why they are asking the board to request a transcript when they are presenting oral arguments, and staff will include a summary of that statement with the transcript when it is sent to the board members. A motion was made by Mr. Chery and seconded by Miss Antebi to accept staff’s revised recommendation and submit it to the Board of Retirement for approval.

      The motion passed unanimously.

5. MISCELLANEOUS (Discussion)
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
7. GOOD OF THE ORDER
8. ADJOURNMENT

The Board of Retirement has adopted a policy permitting any member of the Board to attend a standing committee meeting open to the public. In the event five or more members of the Board of Retirement (including members appointed to the Committee) are in attendance, the meeting shall constitute a joint meeting of the Committee and the Board of Retirement. Members of the Board of Retirement who are not members of the Committee may attend and participate in a meeting of a Board Committee but may not vote on any matter discussed at the meeting. The only action the Committee may take at the meeting is approval of a recommendation to take further action at a subsequent meeting of the Board.

Documents distributed to members of the Committee less than 72 hours prior to the meeting will be available for public inspection at LACERA at the time they are distributed to a majority of the Committee, provided the documents are subject to public disclosure and relate to an open session of the Committee. Such documents may be viewed Monday through Friday during normal 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. business hours. LACERA is located at 300 N. Lake Avenue, Suite 820, Pasadena, California.

Persons requiring an alternative format of this agenda pursuant to Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may request one by calling Cynthia Guider at (626)-564-6000, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but no later than 48 hours prior to the time the meeting is to commence. Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters are available with at least three (3) business days notice before the meeting date.

4/2/09