BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 334
Jim Beall, Chair HEARING DATE: June 10, 2013
AB 334 (Gomez) as introduced 2/13/13 FISCAL: YES
STATE EMPLOYEES: LEGAL SERVICE CONTRACTS
HISTORY :
Sponsor: California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges
and Hearing Officers in State Employment
(CASE)
Other legislation: AB 862 (Firebaugh),
Chapter 883, Statutes of 2003
AB 2850 (Firebaugh) 2002
Vetoed by the Governor
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 5-2 4/10/13
Appropriations 12-3 4/17/13
Assembly Floor 53-25 4/22/13
SUMMARY :
AB 334 would create an independent basis for the State
Personnel Board (SPB) to disapprove contracts by state
agencies with private law firms for the provision of legal
services if the state agency fails to provide a copy of the
contract to State Bargaining Unit 2 (BU 2)'s designated
representative as required by existing law.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1) Existing law :
a) generally prohibits state agencies from using any legal
counsel other than the Attorney General in any matter in
which the agency is a party as a result of its official
duties.
b) obliges all state agencies, except as specified, to
obtain the consent of the Attorney General (AG) before
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Date: May 28, 2013 Page
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employing legal counsel from outside the civil service
and to notify BU 2 within five business days of the date
the agency transmits the request for consent to the AG.
c) mandates the AG provide written notice, as specified,
to BU 2 within 10 days of determining that a state agency
needs to employ outside legal counsel.
d) requires state agencies to submit copies of proposed
contracts for legal services to BU 2 any time the agency
submits the proposed contracts to the Department of
General Services (DGS) for approval.
e) provides, where a state agency is not required to
obtain the AG's consent to contract for outside legal
services, the agency shall provide a copy of any proposed
contract for outside legal services to BU 2's designated
represented within five business days prior to executing
the contract or, if an emergency contract as specified
has been signed, within five business days after signing
the contract for outside counsel.
f) establishes standards for the state agencies' use of
personal services contracts, including legal services
contracts, and permits personal services contracts to
achieve cost savings when specified conditions are met,
including the contract does not cause the displacement of
civil service employees.
g) provides a procedure for state employee representatives
to challenge the use of a personal service contract by a
state agency that outsources civil service functions.
Any employee organization may request, within 10 days of
being notified that a state agency is seeking to use a
personal service contract, that the State Personnel Board
(SPB) review the personal services contract for
compliance with specified standards.
2) This bill provides that the failure of a state agency to
provide a copy of the contract for legal services to BU 2
shall be an independent basis for the State Personnel Board
to disapprove the contract.
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FISCAL:
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, AB 334
would have negligible fiscal impact to state agencies.
COMMENTS :
1) Argument in Support :
According to the sponsor, because many state agencies fail to
provide the statutorily required notice, employee
organizations "have no way of learning of the existence of
the outsourcing contract, let alone undertaking efforts to
bring it before SPB for review."
Moreover, the sponsor notes that SPB has determined that it
"is without authority to disapprove a contract based on the
state's violation of [the notice requirement in] Government
Code Section 11045, subdivision (c)."
The sponsor states that AB 334 would correct this gap in the
law, incentivize state agencies to fulfill their statutory
notice obligations, and provide SPB with a remedy in those
cases where state agencies continue to violate the law.
2) SUPPORT :
California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing
Officers in State Employment (CASE), Sponsor
3) OPPOSITION :
None to date
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