AB 566, as amended, Wieckowski. Courts: personal services contracting.
The Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act establishes a trial court employee personnel system that provides authority to hire trial court personnel, regulates the classification and compensation of trial court employees, labor relations, and personnel files, and requires each trial court to establish a system of employment selection and advancement and an employment protection system.
Existing law authorizes state agencies to use personal services contracts to achieve cost savings if specified standards are satisfied, including, among other things, the contract does not cause the displacement of civil service employees and the contract is awarded through a publicized, competitive bidding process. The State Personnel Board is required to review a proposed contract upon the request of an employee organization for compliance with those standards.
This bill, until January 1, 2020, would establish specified standards if a trial court intends to enter into a new contract, or renew or extend an existing contract, for any services that are currently or customarily performed by that trial court’s employees. Among other things, the bill would require the trial court to clearly demonstrate that the contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court for the duration of the entire contract as compared with the trial court’s actual costs of providing the same services. The bill would require a contract for services in excess of $100,000 annually to include specific, measurable performance standards and provisions for audits on performance and cost savings, as specified.
This bill would provide that these standards apply to any contract entered into, renewed, or extended after the effective date of this measure. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply to a contract under specified circumstances, including when services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or lease of real or personal property.
This bill would require each trial court to provide a report by February 1, 2014, to the chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee if the trial court entered into a contract between July 1, 2013, and the effective date of this measure for services that were provided or are customarily provided by its trial court employees if the contract has a term extending beyond March 31, 2014. This report would be required to include specified information relating to these contracts, including an analysis of whether the contract resulted in the displacement of trial court employees.
The bill would provide that its provisions are severable.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 71621 is added to the Government Code,
2to read:
(a) If a trial court intends to enter into a new contract,
4or renew or extend an existing contract, for any services that are
5currently or customarily performed by that trial court’s employees,
6all of the following requirements shall apply:
7(1) The trial court shall clearly demonstrate that the contract
8will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court for the
9duration of the entire contract as compared with the trial court’s
10actual costs of providing the same services. In comparing costs,
11all of the following shall occur:
12(A) The trial court’s additional cost of providing the same
13services
as proposed by the contract shall be included. These
14additional costs shall include the salaries and benefits of additional
15staff that would be needed and the cost of additional space,
16equipment, and materials needed to perform the services.
17(B) The trial court’s indirect overhead costs shall not be included
18unless those costs can be attributed solely to the function in
19question and would not exist if that function was not performed
20by the trial court. For the purposes of this subparagraph, “indirect
21overhead costs” means the pro rata share of existing administrative
22salaries and benefits, rent, equipment costs, utilities, and materials.
23(C) The cost of a contractor providing a service for any
24continuing trial court costs that would be directly associated with
25the contracted function
shall be included. Continuing trial court
26costs shall include, but not be limited to, costs for inspection,
27supervision, and monitoring.
28(2) The contract shall not be approved solely on the basis that
29savings will result from lower contractor pay rates or benefits.
30Contracts shall be eligible for approval if the contractor’s wages
31are at the industry’s level and do notbegin delete significantlyend deletebegin insert materiallyend insert
32 undercut trial court pay rates.
33(3) The contract shall not cause an existing trial court employee
34to incur a loss of his or her employment or employment seniority,
35a reduction in wages, benefits, or hours, or an involuntary
transfer
36to a new location requiring a change in residence.
37(4) The contract shall not be approved if, in light of the services
38provided by trial courts and the special nature of the judicial
P4 1function, it would be inconsistent with the public interest to have
2the services covered by the contract performed by a private entity.
3(5) The contract shall be awarded through a publicized,
4competitive bidding process.
5(6) The contract shall include specific provisions pertaining to
6the qualifications of the staff that will perform the work under the
7contract, as well as assurances that the contractor’s hiring practices
8meet applicable nondiscrimination standards.
9(7) The contract shall provide that it may be terminated at any
10time by the trial court without penalty if there is a material breach
11of the contract and notice is provided within 30 days of termination.
12(8) If the contract is for services in excess of one hundred
13thousand dollars ($100,000) annually, all of the following shall
14occur:
15(A) The trial court shall require the contractor to disclose all of
16the following information as part of its bid, application, or answer
17to a request for proposal:
18(i) A description of all charges, claims, or complaints filed
19against the contractor with a federal, state, or local administrative
20agency during the prior 10 years.
21(ii) A description of all civil complaints filed against the
22contractor in a state or federal court during the prior 10 years.
23(iii) A description of all state or federal criminal complaints or
24indictments filed against the contractor, or any of its officers,
25directors, or managers, at any time.
26(iv) A description of any debarments of the contractor by a
27public agency or licensing body at any time.
28(B) The trial court shall include in the contract specific,
29measurable performance standards and provisions for a
30performance audit by the trial court, or an independent auditor
31approved by the trial court, to determine whether the performance
32standards are being met and whether the contractor is in compliance
33with
applicable laws and regulations. The trial court shall not renew
34or extend the contract prior to receiving and considering the audit
35report.
36(C) The contract shall include provisions for an audit by the
37trial court, or an independent auditor approved by the trial court,
38to determine whether and to what extent the anticipated cost
39savings have actually been realized. The trial court shall not renew
P5 1or extend the contract before receiving and considering the audit
2report.
3(9) The contract shall be awarded only if the amount of savings
4clearly justifies the size and duration of the contracting agreement.
5(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), “services that
are
6customarily performed” includes services that have been
7historically performed by trial court employees.
8(b)
end delete
9begin insert(c)end insert This section does not preclude a trial court or the Judicial
10Council from adopting more restrictive rules regarding the
11contracting of court services.
12(c)
end delete
13begin insert(d)end insert This section does not apply to a contract in any of the
14following circumstances:
15(1) The contract is between a trial court and another trial court
16or a government entity for services to be performed by employees
17of the other trial court or employees of the government entity.
18(2) The contract is for a new trial court function and the
19Legislature has specifically mandated or authorized the
20performance of the services by independent contractors.
21(3) The services contracted for are of such a highly specialized
22or technical nature that the necessary expert knowledge, experience,
23and ability are not available from the court’s trial court employees.
24(4) The services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or
25lease of real or personal property. Contracts described in this
26paragraph, known as “service agreements,” shall include, but not
27be limited to, agreements to service or maintain office equipment
28or computers that are leased or rented.begin insert
Contracts described in this
29paragraph shall not include agreements to operate equipment or
30computers, except as necessary to service or maintain that
31equipment.end insert
32(5) The legislative, administrative, or legal goals and purposes
33cannot be accomplished through the utilization of trial court
34employees because of the need to protect against a conflict of
35interest or to ensure independent and unbiased findings in situations
36where there is a clear need for an independent, outside perspective.
37(6) Due to an emergency, a contract is necessary for the
38immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, or safety.
39(7) The contractor will conduct training courses for which
40appropriately qualified trial court
employee instructors are not
P6 1available from the court, provided that permanent instructor
2positions shall be filled through the process for hiring trial court
3employees.
4(8) The services are of such an urgent, temporary, or occasional
5nature that the delay incumbent in their implementation through
6the process for hiring trial court employees would frustrate their
7very purpose. This paragraph shall not apply to the services of
8official court reporters, but individual official reporters pro tempore
9may be used by a trial court when the criteria of this paragraph are
10satisfied.
11(9) The contract is a personal services contract developed
12pursuant to rehabilitation programs in accordance with Sections
1319403 and 19404 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, pursuant
14to habilitation
programs in accordance with Chapter 13
15(commencing with Section 4850) of Division 4.5 of the Welfare
16and Institutions Code, or pursuant to a program vendored or
17contracted through a regional center or the State Department of
18Developmental Services in accordance with the Lanterman
19Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5
20(commencing with Section 4500) of the Welfare and Institutions
21Code), and the contract will not cause an existing trial court
22employee to incur a loss of his or her employment or employment
23seniority; a reduction in wages, benefits, or hours; or an involuntary
24transfer to a new location requiring a change in residence.
25(10) The contract is for the services of any court interpreter.
26Contracts for the services of any court interpreter, and restrictions
27on contracting out interpreter services, shall be governed by
the
28Trial Court Interpreter Employment and Labor Relations Act
29(Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 71800)) and any
30memorandum of understanding or agreement entered into pursuant
31to that act, or by the other provisions of this chapter, the Trial Court
32Employment Protection and Governance Act, and any
33memorandum of understanding or agreement entered into pursuant
34to that act, as applicable.
35(11) The contractor will provide equipment, materials, facilities,
36or support services that could not feasibly be provided by the court
37in
the location where the services are to be performed. This
38paragraph shall not apply to services contracted in order to open
39closed courthouses if those services were performed by trial court
40employees before the closure.
P7 1(d)
end delete
2begin insert(e)end insert This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
3and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
4is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
Section 71621 of the Government Code, as added by
6Section 1 of this act, shall apply to any contract entered into,
7renewed, or extended after the effective date of this act.
(a) Each trial court shall provide a report by no later
9than February 1, 2014, to the chairperson of the Joint Legislative
10Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary
11Committee and Assembly Judiciary Committee if the trial court
12entered into a contract between July 1, 2013, and the effective date
13of this act, for services that were provided or are customarily
14provided by its trial court employees and that contract has a term
15extending beyond March 31, 2014. The report shall provide the
16following information for each of these contracts:
17(1) A copy of the contract.
18(2) An analysis of whether the contract would have been
19permissible under the standards set forth in Section 71621 of the
20Government Code, as added by Section 1 of this act.
21(3) An analysis of whether the contract resulted in the
22displacement of trial court employees.
23(4) An analysis of whether the contract involves the use of
24contractors to perform the type of services that were customarily
25performed by trial court employees.
26(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to consider the reduction
27of future budget appropriations to each trial court by the amount
28of any contract analyzed pursuant to subdivision (a) if the
29Legislature concludes that the contract would not have been
30permissible under the standards
provided in Section 71621 of the
31Government Code, as added by Section 1 of this act.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any
33provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
34shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
35effect without the invalid provision or application.
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