BILL NUMBER: AB 1929 CHAPTERED 07/09/04 CHAPTER 126 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 9, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 8, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JUNE 28, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 24, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 3, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Samuelian (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Wiggins) FEBRUARY 10, 2004 An act to amend Section 53270 of the Government Code, relating to firefighters. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1929, Samuelian. Firefighters: employment by cities and counties. (1) Existing law authorizes a fire protection district or the fire department of a county or city, including a charter city, to appoint as a member or officer any person who was serving as a civilian federal firefighter of any United States military installation within the state, who was terminated as a consequence of the closure of the military installation. This bill would extend this provision to the appointment by any local government of any permanent career firefighter terminated by the state or a local government as a result of job elimination. (2) Existing law authorizes the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program to prepare and circulate a list of permanent career civilian federal firefighters eligible for appointment. This bill would authorize that list to include eligible state and local government firefighters. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Fiscally strapped fire agencies often propose eliminating public employee jobs, including career firefighter positions, in an effort to relieve local budget shortfalls. (b) Firefighters who are displaced as a result of job elimination have spent many months qualifying for professional work and have completed probation periods of up to one year, and in some cases two years, to prove their competency. (c) The loss of a career job is not only devastating to a firefighter, but to his or her family members as well. (d) Current law enables the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program to establish and administer a list of federal firefighters displaced due to military base closures and gives fire departments the ability to hire from the established list. (e) The creation and management of a similar hiring list for use by local fire agencies will save local governments time, as well as money with regard to the hiring process. It will also give professional firefighters the ability to continue working in their chosen fire service career. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature to allow the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program to establish and administer a list of all displaced state and local government firefighters due to layoffs in any jurisdiction in California and give fire agencies the authority to grant special hiring consideration to displaced fire service personnel. SEC. 2. Section 53270 of the Government Code is amended to read: 53270. (a) The Legislature hereby finds that the hiring of permanent career civilian federal, state, and local government firefighters by local agencies as specified in this section is in need of uniform statewide regulation and constitutes a matter of statewide concern that shall be governed solely by this section. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon approval by its governing body, a local government, including, but not limited to, a fire protection district, joint powers agency, or the fire department of a city, including a charter city, county, or city and county, or any political subdivision of one of these agencies, when hiring additional firefighters, may appoint as a member or officer any person who meets all of the following criteria: (1) Was serving as a permanent career civilian federal firefighter in good standing at any United States military installation or was a permanent career firefighter employed by the state or a local government within the state. (2) Has satisfactorily completed all firefighter training required for employment as a permanent career civilian federal, state, or local government firefighter. (3) Was, as a consequence of the closure, downsizing, or realignment of a federal military installation, terminated as a permanent career civilian federal firefighter, or as a consequence of job-elimination, terminated as a permanent career state or local government firefighter, within 48 months prior to the appointment. (c) The appointment authority created by this section shall take precedence over any provision of, or any condition or circumstance arising from a provision of, a charter, ordinance, or resolution that governs employment of firefighters, that would otherwise frustrate the purpose of this section, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) The local government maintains a civil service or merit system governing the appointment of firefighters. (2) The local government has available to it an eligible or regular reemployment list of persons eligible for those appointments. (3) The appointed person is not on any eligible list. (d) A local government may not employ a person pursuant to this section if a special reemployment list is in existence for the firefighter position to be filled. (e) If a local government determines to appoint a person pursuant to this section, it shall give first priority to residents of the jurisdiction, and second priority to residents of the county not residing in the jurisdiction. (f) The seniority, seniority-related privileges, and rank that a permanent career civilian federal, state, or local government firefighter possessed while employed at a federal military installation or by the state or a local government shall not be required to be transferred to a position in a local government fire department obtained pursuant to this section. (g) To effectuate the purposes of this section, the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program may administer, prepare, and circulate to local governments a list of permanent career civilian federal, state, and local government firefighters eligible for appointment pursuant to this section. Placement on the list shall be governed by length of service as a permanent career civilian federal, state, or local government firefighter. A permanent career civilian federal, state, or local government firefighter may apply for placement on the list after he or she receives a notice of termination of position or a priority placement notice, and shall remain on the list for a period of 48 months.