BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1062
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Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Rob Bonta, Chair
AB 1062 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Human resources.
SUMMARY : Makes further clarification to the authority of the
Department of Human Resources (CalHR) resulting from the merger
of the State Personnel Board (SPB) and the Department of
Personnel Administration (DPA) initiated in the Governor's
Reorganization Plan of 2011 (GRP 1) and updates civil service
statutes to reflect modern processes and promote greater
efficiency. Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies and streamlines provisions requiring state agencies
to conduct a language survey every two years to determine the
number of employees needed to provide services to non-English
speaking people. Transfers the management of this program
from SPB to CalHR.
2)Enables CalHR to follow the same regulation adoption process
as used by SPB to implement the CalHR statutes including those
formerly administered by SPB.
3)Clarifies that SPB's authority is granted to them by the
California Constitution.
4)Deletes and clarifies references to "board" where functions
have moved from SPB to CalHR, changes references to DPA to
CalHR, and clarifies responsibilities between SPB and CalHR in
numerous sections.
5)Deletes authority given to SPB to define "month" or "calendar
month" since the authority is unnecessary and now managed by
CalHR.
6)Updates and broadens the definition of "career executive
assignment".
7)Simplifies and clarifies the rules governing service of notice
to employees in certain personnel actions, including
disciplinary action and medical actions.
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8)Repeals the requirement that SPB secure offices in Sacramento.
The Committee is informed that his requirement will be
amended back into the bill.
9)Clarifies provisions governing SPB's ability to audit
departments for civil service compliance and to order
remedies, as specified.
10)Deletes a special reference in the provisions governing SPB
hearing authority related to State Bargaining Unit (BU) 5
because it is outdated and no longer necessary.
11)Changes the term "petition" to "appeal" in provisions
establishing the time frames for hearing appeals and provides
a six month period for SPB to issue a decision.
12)Clarifies provisions governing the issuance of subpoenas and
subpoenas duces tecum and payment of fees and mileage to
subpoenaed witnesses.
13)Deletes provisions granting authority to SPB define the term
"salary step" since this authority in now resides with CalHR.
14)Clarifies CalHR's authority to audit departments to ensure
examinations are conducted properly.
15)Authorizes CalHR to require certain documentation in order to
establish an applicant's qualification for an examination and,
whenever the law requires that an applicant for a peace
officer position be free from emotional and mental impairment,
to require the department or designated appointing authority
to undertake the screening subject to the applicant's right to
appeal to SPB.
16)Clarifies application filing requirements to reflect that
electronic filing of examination applications is allowed.
17)Clarifies provisions allowing CalHR or a designated
appointing power to refuse to examine, refuse to declare
eligible, or to withhold or withdraw from an eligibility list,
anyone who, among other things, was found to be unsuited or
not qualified for employment, as specified.
18)Clarifies that CalHR, and any designated appointing power, is
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required to permit post-examination inspection for all written
test competitors.
19)Broadens provisions requiring examination accommodations for
a disability or any sincerely held religious belief pursuant
to the Fair Employment or House Act or any other applicable
law.
20)Clarifies that CalHR shall also encourage promotional
advancement of state employees, as specified.
21)Extends from 15 to 90 days the period of time in which no
petition for discovery may be filed prior to the date set for
the start of the administrative hearing.
22)Requires that SPB provide each party with a copy of a
proposed administrative law judge decision within 10 days
after SPB has adopted, modified, rejected, or remanded the
proposed decision rather than within 10 days of the proposed
decision being filed with SPB as required by current law.
23)Deletes provisions related specifically to BU 5's ability to
file charges since the provisions are outdated and no longer
necessary.
24)Extends from 60 days to 90 days the period of time in which
SPB has after receiving notice of petition rehear an issue to
decide whether to grant or deny the petition in whole or in
part.
25)Requires that a petition for a writ challenging a SPB
decision must be filed within six months of the date of the
final SPB decision.
26) Authorizes CalHR, in addition to the appointing power and
the executive director of SPB, to file charges against a state
employee who violates specified state civil service
provisions.
27)Clarifies responsibilities between SPB and CalHR with regard
to provisions governing the rights and benefits that accrue to
civil service employees during and after leave for military
service.
28)Allows CalHR to post on its public Internet web site a census
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report that is currently required to be submitted to the
Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of Finance (DOF)
in writing.
29)Clarifies the duties of the Director of CalHR.
30)Clarifies the duties of the chief counsel of CalHR.
31)Deletes provisions associated with the initial establishment
of DPA since they are obsolete and no longer necessary.
32)Authorizes CalHR to take corrective action, as specified,
when it discovers that an appointed power has allocated
positions inappropriately. If an appointing authority's
allocation authority is revoked, DOF is authorized to transfer
a sufficient number of personal from the appointing power to
the department to perform the previously delegated work.
33)Deletes provisions requiring appointments to career executive
assignments to be based on a competitive examination of
persons in the civil service to instead require that
eligibility for appointment in the class of career executive
category be limited to persons in the civil service who meet
the minimum qualifications established for the class.
34)Clarifies provisions governing career executive assignments.
35)Amends provisions of the Penal Code to transfer authority for
psychological screening of correctional peace officers from
SPB to CalHR.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Empowers the Governor to reorganize state organizations to
achieve greater efficiency with the limitation that the
reorganization may not transfer jurisdiction or any function
conferred by the California Constitution on an agency created
by the Constitution.
2)GRP 1 created CalHR to consolidate all functions of the former
DPA with the non-constitutional functions of the SPB effective
July 1, 2012.
3)Specifies, per the California Constitution, the SPB, "Shall
enforce the civil service statutes and, by majority vote of
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all its members, shall prescribe probationary period and
classifications, adopt other rules authorized by statute, and
review disciplinary actions." SPB is empowered to appoint an
Executive Director who shall administer the civil service
statutes and rules of the board." All other personnel
functions are left to CalHR.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : GRP 1 and companion measures, SB 1308 (PE&R
Committee), Chapter 665, Statutes of 2012 and SB 1309 (Negrete
McLeod), Chapter 360, Statutes of 2012, streamlined personnel
management duties between the new CalHR and the SPB but some of
the statutes describing civil service operating authority were
missed in the 2012 clean-up legislation.
This bill makes technical amendments to the Civil Service Act
and one related Penal Code provision (regarding psychological
screening of peace officers) to clarify the operating authority
of CalHR as authorized by GRP 1 in order to support the
reorganization.
This bill has been double-referred to the Assembly Judiciary
Committee. Should this bill pass out of the Assembly PER&SS
Committee, the provisions within the jurisdiction of the
Judiciary Committee will be considered in that committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Department of Human Resources (Sponsor)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957