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.








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          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 








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          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
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          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