BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1062
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1062 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended August 19, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 23, 2013) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 26, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: P.E.,R. & S.S.
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 No. 1 of 2011 (GRP 1) and updates civil
service statutes to reflect modern processes and promote greater
efficiency. Specifically, this bill :
1)Transfers certain functions and duties of the SPB to CalHR and
designates CalHR to share certain functions and duties with
the SPB. Makes other related changes.
2)Modifies, with regard to civil service, the requirement that
the appointing power provides service of notice of certain
actions including a disciplinary action, by requiring service
to be conducted in the manner provided in specified provisions
of the Code of Civil Procedure that relate to service of
process.
3)Deletes provisions that authorize the SPB to hold hearings and
make investigations concerning all matters relating to the
enforcement and effect of the State Civil Service Act, as
specified. Also deletes the provision that prohibits the SPB
from holding hearings and making investigations on certain
disciplinary matters relating to state employees in State
Bargaining Unit 5.
4)Revises the SPB's requirements related to rendering decisions
within a reasonable time after the conclusion of a hearing or
investigation and instead requires the SPB to reach a decision
within six months and deletes the SPB's authorization to
extend the six-month period by 45 additional days.
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5)Repeals the provisions that require the SPB, by resolution, to
define the term "salary step" for the purpose of administering
civil service laws and rules that control movement of
employees between classifications subject to specified
requirements.
6)Revises provisions that authorize the SPB to require various
types of documentary evidence in establishing minimum
qualifications for determining the identity, fitness, and
qualifications of employees for each class of position in the
state civil service, for temporary appointments, and for
applicants for examination, and additionally requires,
whenever the law requires that an applicant for a position as
a peace officer be screened to ensure that the applicant is
free from emotional and mental impairment, that CalHR or the
designated appointing authority undertake the screening
subject to the applicant's right to appeal to the SPB.
7)Revises provisions that authorize CalHR to refuse to examine
or, after examination, to refuse to declare as eligible, or to
withhold or withdraw from certification, prior to appointment,
anyone who, among other things, is physically or mentally so
disabled as to be rendered unfit to perform the duties of the
position to which he or she seeks appointment or who is
addicted to the use of controlled substances. Instead
authorizes CalHR or a designated appointing power to refuse to
examine, or after examination to refuse to declare as
eligible, or to withhold or withdraw from an eligible list,
before the appointment, anyone who, among other things, was
found to be unsuited or not qualified for employment pursuant
to rule.
8)Repeals provisions that authorize an applicant for state
employment to elect to avail himself or herself of a specified
procedure to take an examination on a different date when the
examination is scheduled to be given during the period from
sundown on a Friday until sundown on the following day, where
it is the practice of an applicant, based upon his or her
religious convictions, to observe the Sabbath during that
period, and instead authorizes any applicant for examination
to request reasonable accommodation for a disability or
sincerely held religious belief pursuant to the Fair
Employment and Housing Act or any other applicable law.
9)Repeals provisions that require the SPB to provide, by rule,
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for grant of a blanket waiver of a requirement that allows a
dismissed employee, who meets standards to be determined by
the SPB, to apply for any civil service examination so that he
or she would not need a separate waiver for each examination.
Instead authorizes any former state employee who was dismissed
from state service, as specified, to petition CalHR to be
permitted to take a civil service examination in order to
establish eligibility for appointment to state service, as
specified.
10)Revises requirements that the appointing power submits to
CalHR, in accordance with the SPB rules, a statement of the
duties of the position, the necessary and desired
qualifications of the person to be appointed, and a request
that the names of persons eligible for appointment to the
position be certified whenever a vacancy in any position is to
be filled and not by transfer, demotion, or reinstatement, and
instead requires the appointing power to provide any
information CalHR requests including the classification of the
position, the number of vacancies to be filled, the tenure and
time base of the position, the location of the position, and
any other information CalHR may require.
11)Repeals provisions that permit any person, except for a
current ward of the Division of Juvenile Facilities, a current
inmate of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or
a current patient of a facility operated by the Department of
State Hospitals, with the consent of the SPB of the appointing
power, to file charges against a state employee in State
Bargaining Unit 5 requesting that adverse action be taken for
one or more causes for discipline, as specified.
12)Requires the SPB to either grant or deny a petition for
rehearing a decision within 90 days instead of 60 days after
service of notice of filing the petition for rehearing.
13)Requires any petition for a writ challenging a decision of
the SPB to be filed within six months of the date of its final
decision instead of prohibiting a person from bringing a cause
of action of any type, as specified, based on or related to
any civil service law in this state, or the administration
thereof, unless that action is commenced and served within one
year after the cause of action first arose. Deletes the
provision that provides that where an appeal is taken from a
decision of the SPB, the cause of action does not arise until
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the final decision of the SPB has been issued.
14)Deletes the provisions that require both the SPB and the
CalHR to be responsible for carrying out certain provisions
related to leave for military service.
15)Repeals provisions that authorize the SPB, for specific state
services or employments, in examination to allow general or
individual preference in ratings to veterans who have suffered
permanent disability in the line of duty, if the disability
will not prevent the proper performance of the duties required
under the service or employment, and if the disability is of
record in the files of the United States Veterans'
Administration.
16)Revises requirements that the SPB submit a census report to
the Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of Finance
that includes, among other things, demographic information on
employees in the state civil service, as specified, and
information to the Legislature on laws that discriminate or
have the effect of discriminating on the basis of race,
ethnicity, gender, and disability, and instead requires CalHR
to either submit the report to the Governor, the Legislature,
and the Department of Finance or to post the data on its
Internet Web site. Also deletes the requirement that the
report include, among other things, identified
underutilizations, steps taken to ensure equal employment
opportunity in the state civil service, and information to the
Legislature on laws that discriminate or have the effect of
discriminating on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, and
disability.
17)Repeals provisions that require CalHR to succeed to and be
vested with the duties, purposes, responsibilities, and
jurisdiction exercised by the California Victim Compensation
and Government Claims Board, the Department of General
Services, and the Department of Finance, as specified.
18)Revises provisions that authorize CalHR to designate an
appointing power to allocate positions to the Personal
Classification Plan, as specified, and authorize CalHR to
audit any position allocations and to order corrective action,
and instead authorizes CalHR to order corrective action, as
specified, only if it finds that an appointing power has
allocated positions inappropriately. Also authorizes the
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Department of Finance to transfer a sufficient number of
personnel from the appointing power to CalHR, as specified, if
an appointing power's allocation authority is revoked.
19)Adds to the requirements for the survey related to its
bilingual services of each of its local offices every two
years to determine among other things, the number of qualified
bilingual employees in public contact positions, that the
language survey also includes, among other things, a detailed
description of the agency's procedures for identifying written
materials that are required to be translated, a detailed
description of the agency's procedures for identifying
language needs at local offices and assigning qualified
bilingual staff to those offices, and a detailed description
of how the agency complies with any federal or other state
laws that require the provision of linguistically accessible
services to the public.
20)Revises requirements that every state agency, as specified,
employ a sufficient number of qualified bilingual persons in
public contact positions to ensure provision of information
services to the public, in the language of the
non-English-speaking person and instead only requires each
agency that serves a substantial number of
non-English-speaking people who comprise 5% or more of the
people served to develop an implementation plan, as specified,
in every odd-numbered year.
21)Makes technical, non-substantive changes to the provisions
that require each agency to conduct a survey, related to its
bilingual services, of each of its local offices every two
years to determine among other things, the number of qualified
bilingual employees in public contact positions, as specified.
The Senate amendments:
1)Delete provisions that would have allowed CalHR to follow the
same regulation adoption process as used by SPB.
2)Delete provisions that would have changed the eligibility
requirements for "career executive assignment."
3)Delete provisions that would have shifted the authority to
audit departments to ensure examinations are conducted
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properly from SPB to CalHR.
4)Delete provisions that would have transferred authority to
develop guidelines for upward mobility from SPB to CalHR.
5)Delete provisions that would have transferred authority over
demonstration projects from SPB to CalHR.
6)Modify the provisions dealing with awarding veteran's
preference in state examinations so as not to conflict with AB
372 (Eggman), Chapter 75, Statutes of 2013.
7)Clarify that the standards for screening correctional peace
officers are subject to the approval of 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)Provides that 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
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 : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : GRP 1 and companion measures, SB 1308 (Public
Employees and Retirement 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
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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 was double-referred to the Assembly Judiciary
Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957
FN: 0001804