BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2012-13 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 619
AUTHOR: Yee
INTRODUCED: February 22, 2013
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 3, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
NOTE : This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Public
Employment and Retirement. A "do pass" motion should
include referral
to the Committee on Public Employment and Retirement.
SUBJECT : State Employees' Civics Orientation.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to
develop and make available online a state employee civics
orientation on federal and state government by January 1,
2015, and require employees hired or promoted after July 1,
2015, to complete the orientation.
BACKGROUND
The Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is elected by
voters on a nonpartisan ballot for a four-year term, leads
the SDE and together, they are responsible for administering
K-12 public education programs, reporting to the federal
government, and providing technical assistance to local
education agencies (LEAs). The functions in administering
education programs include the allocation of funds to LEAs,
curriculum and management leadership, assessment and program
review, school improvement intervention, and the development
of policies and practices to close the state's student
achievement gap.
The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) was
created on July 1, 2012, consolidating the state's two
personnel departments-the Department of Personnel
Administration with certain programs of the State Personnel
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Board. CalHR has responsibility for all issues related to
salaries and benefits, job classifications, civil rights,
training, exams, recruiting, and retaining.
Existing law requires CalHR to devise plans for and cooperate
with appointing powers and other supervising officials in the
conduct of employee training programs so that the quality of
services rendered by persons in the state civil service may
be continually improved. (Government Code § 19995)
Existing law also authorizes CalHR to prescribe regulations
and conditions for the purpose of meeting the needs of the
state service for continuing employee educational
development, the upgrading of employee skills, and improving
productivity and quality service.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to
develop and make available online a state employee civics
orientation on federal and state government by January 1,
2015, that would provide a basic understanding of the
responsibilities and operation of the three branches of
government and the importance of civic engagement and include
practical examples. The orientation would be required to be
updated as necessary.
In addition, the bill:
1) Provides that an appropriation to the SDE for the
development of the orientation shall not be encumbered
unless the total amount is matched by private funds.
Any monies appropriated for the orientation that are not
matched by private funds shall revert to the General
Fund.
2) Requires the appointing power or supervising official
for an employee hired, promoted, or reclassified after
July 1, 2015, using existing processes and resources, to
certify annually to the California Department of Human
Resources that the employee has completed the civics
orientation.
STAFF COMMENTS
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1) Need for the bill . The author's office has indicated
that even with 22.2 million people working for state and
federal governments in the United States, only a third
of Americans are able to name the three branches of
government. Further, the Civic Learning and Democratic
Engagement National Task Force recently reported that
the United States ranked 139th out of 172 democracies in
voter participation and that only 10 percent of citizens
contacted a public official in 2008-09. According to
the author's office, this bill would make California a
leader in civic engagement and guarantee that a larger
segment of the population would be better informed of
the functions of their state and federal government,
empowering them to participate in and strengthen our
democracy.
2) Committee amendments . While this bill would require
private matching funds in order to encumber any state
funds appropriated for the orientation, it is unclear
what would happen if no appropriation is provided for
this purpose. Would the SDE still be required to
develop the orientation? If so, then staff assumes that
the SDE would be required to absorb any costs within
existing resources. Therefore, staff recommends that
the bill be amended to make the requirement for the SDE
to develop the orientation permissive.
3) Fiscal effect . Unknown, but likely minor state
operations costs, for the SDE to develop and make
available online the civics orientation.
SUPPORT
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Council for the Social Studies
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Labor Federation
OPPOSITION
None on file.
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