BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2125| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 CONTINUED AB 2125 Page 2 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. AB 2125 Page 3 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, AB 2125 Page 4 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. AB 2125 Page 5 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 **** END **** AB 2125 Page 6