BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 629
AUTHOR: Lowenthal
AMENDED: March 22, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: March 30, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : California Community College Chancellor's Office
Hiring
SUMMARY
This bill expands the authority of the Board of Governors
of the California Community Colleges to appoint persons
without permanent civil service status to vice chancellor
and assistant vice chancellor positions through the career
executive assignment process.
BACKGROUND
Current law requires the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges to employ and fix the
compensation, in accordance with law, of assistants,
clerical, and other employees as it deems necessary for the
effective conduct of the work of the board and the
chancellor's office.
(Education Code § 71092)
Current law also authorizes the Governor, with the
recommendation of the Board of Governors, to appoint up to
a total of six deputy and vice chancellors, who are exempt
from state civil service. (Education Code § 71090.5)
Current law outlines a comprehensive personnel system for
state civil service, encourages the development and
effective use in the civil service of well-qualified and
carefully selected executives, and, for this purpose,
establishes a category of civil service appointment called
a "career executive assignment," or CEA. Until January 1,
2013, eligibility for appointment to a career executive
assignment includes; 1) persons with permanent status, or
who previously had permanent status, in the civil service,
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(2) persons employed by the Legislature for two or more
consecutive years, and 3) persons holding, for two or more
consecutive years, nonelected exempt positions in the
executive branch. (Government Code § 19889.3)
After January 1, 2013, CEA appointments are reserved
exclusively for persons with permanent civil service
status.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Expands the existing authority of the Board of
Governors (BOG) of the California Community Colleges
(CCC) to appoint individuals to positions classified
as career executive assignments.
2) Authorizes the BOG of the CCC to appoint persons
without permanent civil service status to vice
chancellor or assistant vice chancellor positions
classified as CEAs if they have a minimum of 5 years
of work experience in:
a) A local community college.
b) A higher education policy position.
c) A technical or occupational
capacity for which there is a shortage of
qualified workers.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . Currently, the process of
appointing a vice chancellor or assistant vice
chancellor to the Community College Chancellor's
Office can be delayed for months, creating significant
gaps in executive level staffing. Additionally, the
Chancellor's Office is limited in assembling a team
that could bring significant higher education or
industry experience. This proposed change in the
appointment process would give the Chancellor the
ability to hire his own staff and ensure each
appointment possesses the relevant expertise necessary
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to address critical community college issues in a
timely fashion.
2) Current process . Under current law, there are two
ways in which appointments to the executive management
team at the Chancellor's office can occur; through a
Governor's appointment, or through the career
executive assignment process. In the past, however,
appointments from the Governor's office have often
taken months before a key appointment can be approved.
As a state agency, the BOG also has the authority to
hire individuals who have, or had, permanent civil
service status, or former legislative or nonelected,
exempt executive employees into a CEA position.
Current law, however, precludes the appointment of
individuals who may have significant community
college, higher education, or industry related
experience.
3) Maximum flexibility . As noted in the background of
this analysis, the current authority for any state
agency to hire outside the permanent civil service
ranks into a CEA position sunsets on January 1, 2013.
It is unclear whether the existing authority will be
extended beyond the sunset date. After 2013, the
Chancellor's Office may not have the ability to hire
persons with prior civil service, legislative, or
executive agency experience.
Consistent with the author's intent to ensure the
Chancellor maintains the flexibility to hire staff
that possess the relevant expertise necessary for the
executive management team, staff recommends the bill
be amended to include, consistent with current law, 1)
persons with permanent status, or who previously had
permanent status, in the civil service, (2) persons
employed by the Legislature for two or more
consecutive years, and 3) persons holding, for two or
more consecutive years, nonelected exempt positions in
the executive branch.
4) Who's affected ? This bill expands the BOG authority
to hire persons outside the civil service into a
position classified as a CEA. According to the
Chancellor's Office, nine vice chancellor positions
are currently eligible to be filled by persons outside
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the civil service system. Three of these are
currently classified as CEA positions. Six positions
are classified as exempt positions. The expanded
authority would apply only to those positions
classified as CEAs.
5) Cross reference to existing law needed . Current law
makes provision for the designation of positions as
career executive assignments and clarifies the
application of civil service law, treatment of
termination, appeal rights, and the inapplicability of
civil service rights or status for persons in these
CEA positions. As currently drafted it is unclear
whether staff appointed by the BOG and the positions
affected would be subject to these same laws. Staff
recommends the bill be amended to clarify that these
positions are subject to the Government Code
provisions governing the classification and treatment
of persons employed in CEA positions.
6) Prior legislation . AB 2109 (Ruskin, 2010) would have
removed the California Community College (CCC) from
the definition of "state agency" for all legislation
enacted after January 1, 2011, and would have provided
the CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) with expanded
personnel hiring authority. The hearing for AB 2109
was cancelled at the request of the author and the
bill was withdrawn from the Assembly Higher Education
Committee without further action.
SUPPORT
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
OPPOSITION
None received.