BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2125|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 2125
          Author:   Hall (D)
          Amended:  4/10/12 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/13/12
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price, 
            Simitian
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Blakeslee, Vargas, Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/17/12 (Consent) - See last page 
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    School district employees:  merit system:  
          appointments

           SOURCE  :     Los Angeles Unified School District


           DIGEST  :    This bill, until December 31, 2015, provides 
          exemptions from the requirement that merit system school 
          districts fill classified employee vacancies with 
          applicants from the first three ranks on an eligibility 
          list.  This bill applies only to school districts with a 
          pupil population over 400,000.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law establishes a system of 
          classified personnel management, known as the merit system, 
          which has been adopted by nearly 100 school districts in 
          California, including the Los Angeles Unified School 
          District (LAUSD), the bill's sponsor, which adopted the 
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          merit system in 1936.  In a merit system district, a 
          personnel commission establishes guidelines that the 
          district governing board must follow in the hiring, 
          retention, and promotion of classified employees.  The 
          commission is comprised of one commissioner selected by the 
          exclusive representative of the classified employees, one 
          commissioner selected by the school district, and a third 
          commissioner selected by the other two. 

          Vacancies in the classified service are filled from 
          applicants on eligibility lists, except for vacancies 
          filled by transfer, demotion, reinstatement, and 
          reemployment in accordance with rules of the commission.  
          An applicant's place on an eligibility list is determined 
          by his or her performance on a competitive examination.  
          All eligible applicants with the same score are considered 
          as having the same rank, and positions generally are filled 
          by applicants from the first three ranks on an eligibility 
          list.  Appointments may be made from other than the first 
          three ranks when the ability to speak, read, or write a 
          language in addition to English or possession of a valid 
          driver's license is a requirement of the position. 

          This bill applies only to the LAUSD.  Specifically, this 
          bill:

          1. Authorizes the LAUSD, until December 31, 2015, to fill a 
             vacancy with an applicant who is not among the first 
             three ranks of an eligibility list if the position 
             requires a person of a specific gender or requires 
             specialized licenses, certifications, knowledge, or 
             ability that cannot reasonably be acquired during the 
             probationary period.  Specifies this authority extends 
             only to the following nine classifications:  

                   Principal financial analyst.  
                   Principal administrative analyst.  
                   Senior administrative analyst.  
                   Senior administrative assistant.  
                   Senior financial analyst.  
                   Information technology electronic communications 
                technician.  
                   Information technology solution technician.  
                   Senior human resource specialist.  







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                   Any classifications that have been designated as 
                management or confidential.  

          2. Requires the recruitment bulletin announcing the 
             examination to indicate the special requirements that 
             may be necessary for filling one or more of the 
             positions in the classification.  

          3. Requires, if this authority is used, the appointment to 
             be made from among the highest three ranks of eligible 
             candidates on the appropriate eligibility list who meet 
             the special requirements of the position and who are 
             ready and willing to accept the position.  

          4. Authorizes provisional appointments, as specified, when 
             there are insufficient applicants who meet the special 
             requirements.  

          5. Requires the LAUSD to study the effectiveness of the 
             selection method, the vacancy rates for each class, and 
             the length of time to hire for each class, and submit a 
             report on its findings to any affected labor union.  

          6. Provides that this authority shall remain in effect 
             until December 31, 2015, and as of that date is 
             repealed, unless a later statute that is enacted before 
             December 31, 2015, deletes or extends that date.  

           Comments  

           History of LAUSD exemption  .  Prior law, until January 1, 
          2012, authorized the LAUSD to fill vacancies in specified 
          job classifications from ranks other than the top three 
          ranks of an employment list if specialized licenses, 
          certifications, knowledge, ability or a specific gender is 
          required.  The unique selection process established for 
          LAUSD was originally authorized by AB 424 (Richman, Chapter 
          881, Statutes of 2003).  The original exemption expired on 
          January 1, 2006, and was extended to January 1, 2007, by AB 
          1772 (Assembly Public Employees Retirement and Social 
          Security Committee, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2005).  AB 580 
          (Smyth, Chapter 528, Statutes of 2007) extended the 
          expiration date again to January 1, 2012, and limited its 
          application to 16 specified positions.  AB 415 (Karnette, 







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          Chapter 186, Statutes of 2008) added "any classifications 
          that have been designated as management" to the listed 
          classifications.  AB 1293 (Hall, Chapter 145, Statutes of 
          2009) added nine additional positions to which the 
          exemption applied.  

           Merit systems  .  There are about 100 merit system school 
          districts in California, including the LAUSD, which adopted 
          the merit system in 1936.  About 60% of classified 
          employees statewide are employed in districts that operate 
          under a merit system.  Personnel decisions in merit system 
          districts are governed by a local personnel commission that 
          is responsible for maintaining the system and establishing 
          guidelines that the district governing board must follow in 
          the hiring, retention, and promotion of classified 
          employees.  A local personnel commission is comprised of 
          one member selected by the governing board of the school 
          district, one member nominated by the classified employees 
          of the district (and appointed by the district governing 
          board), and a third member who is appointed by the other 
          two.  

          In a merit system, vacancies in the classified service are 
          filled from applicants on eligibility lists, except for 
          those filled by employees who are transferred, demoted, 
          reinstated, or reemployed in accordance with rules the 
          local personnel commission has established.  Applicants are 
          placed on an eligibility list in the order of their 
          "relative merit" based on their performance on a 
          competitive examination; applicants with the same score 
          have the same "rank" on the list.  Generally speaking, 
          appointments must be made from individuals in the first 
          three ranks on the list, however the law provides 
          exemptions when the ability to speak, read, or write a 
          language other than English or possession of a valid 
          driver's license is a requirement of the position.  This 
          bill temporarily provides the LAUSD with additional 
          exemptions for specific classifications by authorizing 
          appointments to be made from other than the first three 
          ranks on the eligibility list if the position requires 
          specialized licenses, certification, knowledge or ability 
          that cannot reasonably be acquired during the probationary 
          period or if a specific gender is required for successful 
          job performance of a position.  







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

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/12/12)

          Los Angeles Unified School District (source) 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          this bill creates flexibility in the hiring process that 
          allows the LAUSD to dramatically reduce the average time it 
          takes to fill a vacancy.  The LAUSD Personnel Commission 
          oversees a classification system of approximately 1,150 
          separate classifications.  Selective certification allows 
          the district's personnel commission to have an efficient 
          hiring process without affecting the merit system.  


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/17/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth 
            Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, 
            Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, 
            Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Smyth, 
            Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, 
            Williams, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Fletcher, Bonnie Lowenthal, Perea, 
            Skinner, Yamada


          PQ:m  6/14/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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