BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1309 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 20, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY Warren T. Furutani, Chair SB 1309 (Negrete McLeod) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012 SENATE VOTE : 35-0 SUBJECT : Human resources. SUMMARY : Makes statutory changes necessary to implement the Governor's Reorganization Plan 1 (GRP 1) with respect to the consolidation of the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) and the State Personnel Board (SPB) into a single agency to be known as the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). The constitutional autonomy of the governing body of the State Personnel Board (Board) with regard to oversight of the merit principal and state civil service is retained with that body. Specifically, this bill : 1)Clarifies that CalHR inherits DPA's powers and duties as well as those necessary to operate the civil service system in accordance with the Constitution, merit principle, and SPB rules. 2)Clarifies that the Board will continue to hear cases and prescribe rules consistent with the merit principle and will conduct audits to ensure compliance with the merit principle. 3)States that appointing powers in state agencies and departments shall provide the Board and CalHR with access to records and prepare reports as needed to comply with the Board's authority over the merit system and CalHR's oversight of non-merit personnel components. 4)Establishes audit authority for the Board over personnel practices delegated to departments relative to the merit principle (e.g., exams, promotions, discipline) and provides enforcement authority, including authority to order remedies for department misconduct, loss of departmental delegation over personnel, voided appointments, and redirection of departmental authority to CalHR to perform certain of the department's personnel functions with compensation to CalHR for costs related to assuming the those functions. SB 1309 Page 2 5)Clarifies that laws, programs and rules formerly under the jurisdiction and administration of DPA and SPB will now be under the jurisdiction and administration of CalHR. 6)Eliminates references and funding parameters for the Human Resources Modernization project, which will cease to exist as an independent project. 7)Makes name changes and includes other technical clean-up to the statutes governing programs formerly administered by DPA and SPB. EXISTING LAW : 1)Merges, effective July 1, 2012, the day-to-day staff operations of the DPA and SPB organizations into a new, consolidated agency, CalHR, and will result in relocating the two former departments into a single location. 2)Retains the independence and autonomy of the SPB with regard to hearing matters related to the merit principle for state civil service employees, as required in the Constitution. 3)Requires that in the year following passage of a Governor's Reorganization Plan, conforming statutory changes be made as needed to implement the plan. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, "Redirection of an existing 14 personnel years (PYs) to support the new audit function as follows: 1)Four PYs in the Policy Unit in the amount of $442,000 (General). 2)10 PYs in the Audit Unit in the amount of $1.266 million (General/Special, reimbursed from departments that are audited). The Department of Finance has identified total savings of $8.6 million ($3.7 million General Fund) as a result of the reorganization, mostly due to a 15% reduction in positions equal to 60.5 PYs when the consolidation is complete. Most reductions are expected to be achieved through vacancies and attrition over the next few years. Additionally, 14 existing positions will be SB 1309 Page 3 maintained to support the new audit function created in this bill." COMMENTS : Supporters state, "The reorganization plan merges DPA and the State Personnel Board into a single entity: the California Department of Human Resources, or CalHR. To be properly reflected in statute, the plan requires many technical changes. While SB 1308 (Committee on Public Employment and Retirement) contains many of the changes, SB 1309 includes technical 'clean-up' items not included in SB 1308. "These changes in SB 1309 ensure that the SPB non-constitutional functions transferred to CalHR are reflected in statute, including oversight of bilingual and interpreter services, administering exams and appointments, ensuring employment forms comply with federal and state laws, and responsibility over certain civil rights issues (e.g., monitoring departments' Equal Employment Opportunity program obligations). "SB 1309 also contains language to ensure SPB preserves its constitutional jurisdiction and independence, specifying that its five-member board maintains oversight and authority over the civil service merit system, disciplinary appeals process, and other constitutionally defined duties." A coalition of state employee and civil rights organizations has raised concerns with the some of the statutory changes being proposed related to the reorganization. While they support the concept of the proposed consolidation, they are recommending amendments to ensure that civil rights within state service are preserved and strengthened. The Committee is informed that CalHR is also committed to preserving and promoting civil rights in state service and has been working with the coalition to clarify and address many of their concerns and will continue to do so throughout the consolidation process. A companion measure, SB 1308 (Public Employment and Retirement Committee) of this year, codifies the statutory changes that were put into effect upon passage of the GRP 1. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support SB 1309 Page 4 California Department of Human Resources (Sponsor) Department of Personnel Administration Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916) 319-3957