BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 312 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 312 (Wieckowski) - As Amended: April 8, 2013 Policy Committee: Local GovernmentVote:9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill makes changes to the placement of eligible displaced firefighters on the hiring list and to the time period which they remain on the hiring list administered by the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible fiscal impact. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . According to the author, AB 312 clarifies the number of months that a firefighter may remain on the list, from the current law of 48 months to 36 months. If a firefighter is hired from the list sooner than 36 months from the date on which the firefighter was placed on it, AB 312 enables the program to remove the individual from the list accordingly. The author contends, doing so reflects an appropriate length of time a displaced firefighter should remain on the list before being hired by another fire department. 2)Support . According to the California Professional Firefighters, the displaced firefighter hiring list has been successfully administered under this program and has saved fire departments time and money in the hiring process, while also allowing highly trained firefighters to continue working in their chosen fire service career. They argue AB 312 is a technical clean-up measure that simply conform statute in a manner that reflects the need for practical administration of the list. AB 312 Page 2 3)Background . The California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program, established in 1980, is a non-profit program sponsored and administered by the State Fire Marshal and the California Professional Firefighters. This program is designed to improve the quality and quantity of training for professional firefighters and to provide an avenue of entry into the California Fire Service for qualified individuals. 4)There is no registered opposition to this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081