BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 455|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 455
Author: Campos (D)
Amended: 3/31/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIRE. COMMITTEE : 3-2, 5/9/11
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Vargas
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-25, 4/7/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public employment: local public employee
organizations
SOURCE : American Federation of State, County and
Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
DIGEST : This bill specifies the composition of local
public agency personnel or merit system commissions and the
process of appointment of their members and chairperson.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), which provides a statutory
framework for local government employer-employee relations
by providing a reasonable method of resolving disputes
regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment between local public employers and public
employee organizations.
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This bill:
1.Requires, in public agencies that have established merit
or personnel commissions, that the governing board of the
public agency appoint one-half of the commission members,
and appoint the other one-half as nominated by the
recognized employee organization.
2.Specifies that whenever there are multiple bargaining
units represented by different recognized employee
organizations, the one representing the largest number of
employees will be the one to designate commission
members, as specified.
3.Requires the commission members to jointly elect one
additional member of the commission who will act as its
chairperson.
Comments
Need for the Bill . According to the author's office, "Many
municipalities and public agencies appoint merit and
personnel commissions, which promulgate and administer the
rules and regulations relating to employee selection,
recruitment, pay, retention, promotion, evaluation, and
discipline. ÝHowever], despite the importance of merit and
personnel commissions to employment relations, the MMBA is
silent as to how these commissions should be composed. A
requirement that personnel and merit commission
appointments be shared by the employer and employee
organization would ensure that the commissions will be more
balanced and fair."
What are Merit Systems in Civil Service ? A merit system is
a personnel system based on the principle of employment and
promotion on the basis of merit for the purpose of
obtaining the highest efficiency while assuring the
selection, retention and promotion of the most qualified
individuals in the job. Many local public agencies have
established merit or personnel commissions to promulgate
and administer the rules and regulations for operating
these systems.
The Merit System in State Civil Service . The merit system
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for State employees is established in statute and the State
Constitution, and is overseen by the State Personnel Board
(SPB) which was "constitutionally created in 1934 to
administer the civil service system and ensure that state
employment is based on merit and free of political
patronage."
The SPB, whose members are appointed by the Governor and
approved by the Senate, is charged with enforcing civil
service statutes, prescribing probationary periods and job
classifications, adopting other rules authorized by
statute, and reviewing disciplinary actions.
Selection of Personnel Commission Members in K-12
Education. Current law provides that a personnel
commission established by a school district must have three
members - one member appointed by the governing board of
the district, one member nominated by the classified
employees of the district and appointed by the governing
board of the district, and a third member jointly appointed
by the two members.
Current law also defines "classified employees" in this
regard as the exclusive representative that represents the
largest number of noncertificated employees in a unit or
units within the district. However, if there is no
exclusive representative within the district, the governing
board must, by written rule, prescribe the method by which
the recommendation is to be made by its classified
employees.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/10/11)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO (source)
California Labor Federation
California State Pipe Trades
Coalition of California Utility Employees
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Union of Elevator Constructors
Service Employees International Union, Local 100
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Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
Utility Workers Union of America
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/10/11)
California State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
League of California Cities
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the source, the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, "Currently the MMBA does not specify a
requirement for the composition of merit and personnel
commissions that are appointed by municipalities and public
agencies. Because these commissions decide on rules and
regulations relating to employees, their impact on
employees is tremendous. Allowing the employer to select
its members skews the commission unfairly. ÝThis bill]
would prescribe how the membership of public agency merit
and personnel commissions must be appointed?and will help
protect the rights of public agency employees."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : In opposition, the League of
California Cities states, "AB 455 unnecessarily intrudes
into what is fundamentally a local municipal affair over
the compensation method of appointment, qualifications,
tenure of office, and removal of employees. Additionally,
agencies that no longer have authority to appoint the full
board will likely forgo the civil/personnel commission and
instead took to an outside hearing officer or binding
arbitration. Either of these options would be more costly
to the agency and to employees."
The California State Association of Counties and the
Regional Council of Rural Counties contend, "We do not see
any reason why the compositions of personnel commissions
should be changed as a matter of state law. We would
encourage the supporters of AB 455 to seek changes in the
composition at the local level, and if the need arises,
reconstruct each commission on a
jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. Furthermore, we
question the need for changes. We are unaware of any such
abuses when used by counties as a way to address certain
employment practices. Note, that when there are unfair
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labor practices (alleged or otherwise), current law
provides a number of remedies. Altering the composition of
each and every composition appears to be a misguided
attempt if there are concenrs about one or more selected
commissions."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall,
Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Lara, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Fletcher,
Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Charles Calderon, Cedillo,
Furutani, Gorell, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mitchell, Portantino,
Vacancy
CPM:cm 5/10/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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