BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2331|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2331
          Author:   Skinner (D)
          Amended:  6/29/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 6/22/10
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  Not relevant


           SUBJECT  :    Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act

           SOURCE  :     California Professional Firefighters


           DIGEST  :    This bill amends the Firefighters Procedural  
          Bill of Rights Act relative to a memorandum of  
          understanding and administrative appeals.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, the Firefighters Procedural Bill  
          of Rights Act, provides a set of rights and procedural  
          protections to specified firefighters.  The Act requires an  
          administrative appeal instituted by a firefighter under the  
          act to be conducted in conformance with rules and  
          procedures adopted by the employing department or licensing  
          or certifying agency that are in accordance with specified  
          provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.  (Section  
          3254.5 of the Government Code)

          This bill specifies notwithstanding the above provision, if  
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2331
                                                                Page  
          2

          the employing department is subject to a memorandum of  
          understanding (MOU) that provides for binding arbitration  
          of administrative appeals, the arbitrator or arbitration  
          panel shall serve as the hearing officer in accordance with  
          Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of  
          Division 3 of 
          Title 2.  However, an MOU negotiated with an employing  
          agency shall not control the process for administrative  
          appeals instituted with licensing or certifying agencies.   
          Any administrative appeal instituted with licensing or  
          certifying agencies shall adhere to the requirements  
          prescribed in existing law as described above.

           Background
           
          In 2007, the Legislature enacted AB 220 (Bass), Chapter  
          591, Statutes of 2007, which established the Firefighters  
          Procedural Bill of Rights Act.  In general, the Act  
          specified the procedures to be followed whenever a  
          firefighter is subject to investigation and interrogation  
          for alleged misconduct which may result in punitive action,  
          such as dismissal, demotion, suspension, salary reduction,  
          written reprimand, transfer, or even temporary  
          reassignment.  Pursuant to the Act, a firefighter may bring  
          suit in superior court for alleged violations of the act,  
          and obtain appropriate injunctive or other extraordinary  
          relief to remedy the violation and to prevent future  
          violations.  (Section 3260 of the Government Code)  In  
          addition, punitive action or denial of promotion on grounds  
          other than merit may not be undertaken by any employing  
          department or licensing or certifying agency against any  
          firefighter who has successfully completed the probationary  
          period without providing the firefighter with an  
          opportunity for administrative appeal.  (Section 3254 of  
          the Government Code)  The Act further provides that an  
          administrative appeal instituted by a firefighter under the  
          Act shall be conducted in conformance with rules and  
          procedures adopted by the employing department or licensing  
          or certifying agency that are in accordance with the  
          Administrative Procedures Act.  (Section 3254.5 of the  
          Government Code)

          This bill seeks to correct apparent conflicts between the  
          provisions of the Act pertaining to administrative appeals  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2331
                                                                Page  
          3

          and existing MOUs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/29/10)

          California Professional Firefighters (source)


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The bill's sponsor, the California  
          Professional Firefighters, states:  "Now that the Act has  
          been in effect for a few years, firefighter organizations  
          and their employers are realizing that the current  
          application of the law may not clearly provide for an  
          alternative, collectively-bargained appeals procedure.   
          With that, it's evident that the provisions of the Act  
          governing the administrative appeals process are in need of  
          clarification - specifically, with respect to those  
          jurisdictions that have effectively mitigated past appeals  
          through a locally-adopted grievance arbitration procedure.   
          Rather than strapping these jurisdictions with the hefty  
          cost of revamping their appeals process to conform with the  
          Office of Administrative Law rules under the Administrative  
          Procedures Act (APA) - costs that in many cases would be  
          prohibitive given the current economic climate - there is a  
          need to enable jurisdictions to utilize their existing,  
          effective grievance arbitration appeals process as an  
          acceptable alternative to the APA process."



          RJG:mw  6/29/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****








                                                           CONTINUED