Cal. Government Code § 31520.3

(a) Notwithstanding Section 31520.1, the board of retirement of a county of the 16th class, as defined by Sections 28020 and 28037, as amended by Chapter 1204 of the Statutes of 1971, may, by majority vote, appoint, from a list of nominees submitted by an organization consisting solely of retired members, an alternate retired member to the office of the eighth member, who shall serve until the expiration of the current term of the current eighth member and thereafter the alternate retired member shall be elected by the retired members of the association in the same manner and at the same time as the eighth member is elected. (b) The term of office of the alternate retired member shall run concurrently with the term of office of the eighth member. The alternate retired member shall vote as a member of the board only in the event the eighth member is absent from a board meeting for any cause. If there is a vacancy with respect to the eighth member, the alternate retired member shall fill that vacancy for the remainder of the eighth member’s term of office. (c) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the alternate retired member shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges and shall have the same responsibilities and access to closed sessions as the eighth member. The alternate retired member may hold positions on committees of the board independent of the eighth member and may participate in the deliberations of the board or any of its committees to which the alternate retired member has been appointed whether or not the eighth member is present. (d) The alternate retired member shall be entitled to the same compensation as the eighth member for attending a meeting, pursuant to Section 31521, whether or not the eighth member is in attendance at those meetings. (e) (1) In the event that this section is made applicable in any county, by the appointment of an alternate eighth member, the alternate seventh member shall not sit and act for the retired member, except as described in paragraph (2). (2) If both the eighth member and the alternate retired member are not attending a meeting, the alternate seventh member may sit and act for the eighth member as described in Section 31520.1.