BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2008
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Alberto Torrico, Chair
AB 2008 (Arambula) - As Introduced: February 17, 2010
SUBJECT : Public employment: furloughs.
SUMMARY : Prohibits state civil service employees of certain
specified agencies and boards from being furloughed by the
Governor through Executive Order or by any other action of a
state agency, board or commission. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits, except as specifically authorized by the
Legislature, employees of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Employment Development Department
(EDD), the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), and the Board of
Equalization (BOE) from being furloughed.
2)Defines "employee" as a civil service employee of the State of
California.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Sets forth the general policy that the workweek of a state
employee shall be 40 hours and authorizes workweeks of
different hours to be established in order to meet varying
needs of different state agencies.
2)Authorizes the Governor to require that the 40-hour workweek
be worked in four days in any state agency or part thereof
when the Governor determines that the best interests of the
state would be served thereby.
3)Vests the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) with
the duties and responsibilities exercised by the State
Personnel Board with respect to the administration of
salaries, hours, and other personnel-related matters.
4)Executive Orders S-16-08 and S-13-09 imposed mandatory
furloughs on state civil service employees, regardless of
funding source and with limited exemptions. The current
furlough program is scheduled to end on June 30, 2010.
AB 2008
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This measure is intended
to stop future Governors from furloughing state employees in
cases that are counter-productive to the state's overall
administration or just defy commonsense.
"It is contrary to the effective administration of state
government to limit the revenue collecting agencies, such as FTB
and BOE. Every day employees of the FTB and BOE are not working
equals less effective tax revenue collection, including ensuring
that taxpayers paying their full amount.
"For EDD, it makes little sense to furlough these employees at a
time when the economy is down and unemployment services are
needed. In addition, most employees at EDD are funded by
federal dollars, so furloughing does not help with the state's
budget shortfall.
"The bill prohibits furloughs at CDCR because this department
runs facilities and programs that must be operational at all
times. Furloughs here only present other more difficult fiscal
problems with accrued furlough time or reduced parole services."
Supporters state, "Our state employees have dealt with a
reduction of their wages by 14%, and as various studies point
out, the furlough program is actually costing the state millions
more than it is saving. In an economic time where more than
half of Californian's are worried about paying their rent or
mortgage, the furlough program currently in existence is not
sound fiscal or public policy."
This bill is similar to SBX8 29 (Steinberg) which was vetoed by
the Governor on March 24, 2010. SBX8 29 would have exempted
state civil service employees from being furloughed if employed
in positions funded at least 95% by sources other than the
General Fund, prohibited state agencies, boards, and commissions
from implementing, or assisting with implementation of,
furloughs for such employees, and specifically exempted all
employees of the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and Board of
Equalization (BOE) from being furloughed.
In his veto message of SBX8 29, the Governor stated, in part,
"It is necessary to apply furloughs across the board, with
limited exemptions as needed to protect public health and
AB 2008
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safety, to effectively manage the workforce, and to avoid
inequities and morale problems for state employees. Further,
this bill as written would be difficult, if not impossible to
implement. Many positions are funded through multiple funding
sources and as such it is not always possible to determine if
they are funded at least 95 percent by sources other than the
General Fund."
This bill is also similar to AB 1765 (Solorio) which was passed
by this Committee on April 7, 2010. AB 1765 prohibits a state
employee from being furloughed, during a time in which
California's unemployment rate reaches or exceeds 8.5%, if the
employee is in a position funded at least 95% by the federal
government, performs services that combat the state's recession,
and works for the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals
Board or EDD..
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Employees Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957