BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1008
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1008 (Buchanan and Bonta)
As Amended September 4, 2013
2/3 vote. Urgency
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |35-2 |(September 6, |
| | | | | |2013) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Prohibits the Alameda Health System (AHS) from
privatizing services provided by physicians and surgeons, as
specified, and establishes eligibility for retirement benefits
for employees of a facility that is acquired or merged into AHS.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Prohibit AHS, before January 1, 2024, from entering into a
contract with any private person or entity to replace services
being provided by physicians and surgeons who are employed by
AHS and in a recognized collective bargaining unit as of March
31, 2013, with services provided by a private person or entity
without clear and convincing evidence that the needed medical
care can only be delivered cost-effectively by a private
contractor.
2)Require AHS, prior to entering into a contract for any of
those services, to negotiate with the representative of the
recognized collective bargaining unit of its physician and
surgeon employees over the decision to privatize and, if
unable to resolve any dispute through negotiations, to submit
the matter to final binding arbitration.
3)Prohibit specified AHS employees from automatically becoming
members of the Alameda County Employees' Retirement
Association (ACERA), and establish, on or after the effective
date of this bill, the eligibility of an AHS employee to
participate in ACERA, as follows:
a) Prohibit a person who is an employee of a facility on
the date that the facility is acquired or who later becomes
AB 1008
Page 2
an employee of the facility, who is not currently an ACERA
member, and who is not subject to an memorandum of
understanding (MOU), from becoming a member of ACERA.
Require the employee to instead become a participant in one
or more retirement plans adopted by AHS on November 27,
2012, or subsequently amended;
b) Allow a person who is an employee of the facility on the
date that the facility is acquired or who later becomes an
employee of the facility, who is not currently an ACERA
member, and is subject to an MOU, to become a member of
ACERA or one or more of the retirement plans adopted by AHS
on November 27, 2012, or subsequently amended, or in a
pension trust sponsored by a third party, dependent on the
collective bargaining agreement;
c) Prohibit, upon adoption of a resolution by AHS, a person
who is hired by AHS on or after the effective date of this
bill and the resolution, who is not an ACERA member, and
who is not subject to an MOU from becoming a member of
ACERA. Require the employee to instead participate in one
or more retirements plans adopted by AHS on November 27,
2012, or subsequently amended; and,
d) Prohibit a person who is employed by AHS on or before
the effective date of this bill, and who is not qualified
for ACERA membership at that time from becoming qualified
for membership as a result of subsequent employment with
AHS. Require the employee to instead participate in one or
more retirement plans adopted by AHS on November 27, 2012,
or subsequently amended.
4)Include an urgency clause allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
5)Make findings and declarations about an agreement that has
been reached between Sutter Health, operators of San Leandro
Hospital, and AHS transferring ownership of San Leandro
Hospital to AHS as of October 31, 2012.
6)Make findings and declarations that this bill is necessary to
prevent the closure of the San Leandro Hospital in order to
ensure the continuation of employment and benefits for the
employees of San Leandro Hospital and continuation of care for
the residents of Alameda County.
AB 1008
Page 3
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to
establish a hospital authority separate and apart from the
county to manage, administer and control the Alameda County
Medical Center.
2)Requires the hospital authority to be governed by a board
appointed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
3)Establishes the following powers for the hospital authority:
a) To acquire and possess real or personal property;
b) To sue or be sued;
c) To employ personnel; and,
d) To contract for services required to meet its
obligations.
4)Provides that a hospital authority to which the maintenance,
operation, management of the medical center is transferred
shall be a "district" pursuant to the County Employees
Retirement Law of 1937 which governs 20 independent county
retirement systems.
5)States that employees of the authority are eligible to
participate in the County Employees Retirement System to the
extent permitted by law.
6)Establishes requirements for a personnel transition plan, as
specified.
7)Provides that the hospital authority is bound by the terms of
the MOU executed by and between the county and healthcare and
management employee organizations that is in effect at the
time of the creation of the authority.
8)Provides the hospital authority, upon expiration of the MOU at
the time the hospital authority was created, with sole
authority to negotiate subsequent memorandums of understanding
with appropriate employee organizations.
AB 1008
Page 4
9)Requires that the MOU to be approved by the hospital
authority.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY this bill clarified that a clerk of
the superior court must attend every session of the superior
court and upon judges in chambers when requested.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Following the passage of AB 2374 (Bates) of 1996, the
Alameda County Board of Supervisors appointed a board of
trustees to separately manage, administer and control the
Alameda County Medical Center, now known as the Alameda Health
System (AHS). According to AHS, their integrated public health
care system employs more than 3,000 people including 500
physicians throughout Alameda County. In the 1990s the Highland
Hospital, a regional trauma center and teaching hospital, John
George Psychiatric Hospital, an acute and emergency care
facility, Fairmont Hospital, an acute rehabilitation hospital
and skilled nursing facility, and the community wellness
centers, in Highland, Newark, Eastmont, and Hayward consolidated
as the Alameda County Medical Center.
Current law authorizes AHS to employ personnel, to contract for
services, and to negotiate MOUs with the appropriate employee
organizations. Current law also authorizes AHS employees to
participate in the County Employee Retirement System, the
Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA).
This bill makes two changes to the special act governing AHS.
First, the bill prohibits AHS from privatizing any work
performed as of March 31, 2013, by physicians and surgeons
employed by AHS without clear and convincing evidence that the
needed medical care can only be delivered cost-effectively by a
private contractor. This bill requires, before those services
are privatized, that AHS must negotiate with the representative
of its physician and surgeon employees over the decision to
privatize. If any dispute cannot be resolved through
negotiations, this bill requires AHS to submit the matter to
final binding arbitration.
Second, this bill prohibits specified employees, including those
who are employees of a facility that is acquired by or merged
into AHS, from automatically becoming members of ACERA. This
bill limits the eligibility of an employee to participate in
AB 1008
Page 5
ACERA, and instead requires that employees participate in a
retirement plan adopted by AHS or in a pension trust sponsored
by a third party depending on several characteristics which
include a person's employment with the acquired or merged
facility or AHS, current membership in ACERA, and whether their
employment is subject to an MOU.
This bill is an urgency measure and sponsored by AHS, the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.
Support arguments: Supporters argue that this bill will allow
AHS to protect existing levels of retirement benefits earned by
represented employees and ensure access to healthcare for the
residents of Alameda County.
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that some of the
provisions of this bill could be negotiated at the local level.
This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the
Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted. The
subject matter of this bill, as amended in the Senate, has not
been heard in any Assembly policy committee this legislative
session.
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0002628