BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 312|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 312
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 4/8/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/26/13
AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez, Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/23/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Local government: employees: firefighters
SOURCE : California Professional Firefighters
DIGEST : This bill removes the requirement which dictates the
placement of eligible firefighters on the hiring list by length
of service, and decreases the amount of months, from 48 to 36
months that an eligible firefighter will remain on the list.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship
Program (CFFJAP) to administer, prepare, and circulate to
local governments a list of permanent career civilian federal,
state, and local government firefighters who are eligible for
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appointment.
2.Requires placement on the list to be governed by length of
service as a permanent career civilian federal, state, or
local government firefighter.
3.Allows an eligible firefighter to apply for placement on the
list after receiving a notice of termination of position or a
priority placement notice.
4.Provides that an eligible firefighter will remain on the list
for a period of 48 months.
5.Authorizes a local government, fire protection district, joint
powers agency, city, charter city, county or city and county,
upon approval of its governing body when hiring new
firefighters to appoint any person who meets all of the
following criteria:
A. Was serving as a permanent career civilian federal
firefighter in good standing at any military installation
or was a permanent career firefighter employed by the state
or a local government within the state;
B. Has satisfactorily completed all required firefighter
training; and
C. Was, as a consequence of the closure, downsizing, or
realignment of a federal military installation, terminated
as a permanent career civilian federal firefighter or as a
consequence of job-elimination, terminated as a permanent
career state or local government firefighter, within 48
months prior to the appointment.
1.States the appointment authority takes precedence over any
provision or, or any condition or circumstance arising from a
provision or condition of a charter, ordinance, or resolution
that governs employment of firefights, as specified.
2.Prohibits a local government from employing a person from the
list if a special reemployment list is in existence for the
firefighter position to be filled.
3.Requires local governments to give first priority to residents
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of the jurisdiction, and second priority to residents of the
county not residing in the jurisdiction when using this
appointment authority.
4.Specifies that a local government is not required to hire a
person into a position that guarantees the same seniority,
seniority-related privileges, and rank as their previously
held position.
This bill reduces, from 48 months to 36 months, the length of
time that a permanent career civilian federal, state, or local
government firefighter's name must remain on the local hiring
eligibility list maintained by the CFFJAP.
This bill repeals the requirement that placement on the list
maintained by the CFFJAP must be governed by length of service
as a permanent career civilian federal, state, or local
government firefighter.
Comments
The displaced firefighter hiring list program administered by
the CCFJAP has saved fire departments time and money in the
hiring process, while also allowing highly-trained firefighters
to continue working in their chosen careers. This bill amends
the statutes governing this successful program to clarify that
departments hiring from the list are not required to hire
displaced firefighters based on seniority, but can choose to
hire any firefighter on the list. The bill also shortens the
length of time that a displaced firefighter's name must remain
on the list, bringing state law in line with the length of time
it takes for most displaced firefighters to find work after
their names are added to the list.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/13)
California Professional Firefighters (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor argues that the decrease in
months "reflects a historically-appropriate length of time that
a displaced firefighter has remained on the list before being
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hired by another fire department." The sponsor also argues that
"deleting the requirement to sort the list based on length of
service will help dispel any misconceptions that any priority is
involved based on the order of the list."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/23/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John
A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove, Holden, Jones, Waldron, Vacancy,
Vacancy
AB:ej 8/13/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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