BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 769 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 769 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Introduced February 25, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |PERSS |Vote:|6 - 1 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill requires that any adverse action taken against a state employee for any cause for discipline based on any civil service law be initiated and the investigation completed within one year after the cause for discipline arose. However, the bill does not amend the process for adverse actions based on fraud, embezzlement, or falsification of records, which must be initiated within three years of the discovery of the cause for action. AB 769 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT: Significant costs, GF and special funds, in the range of $500,000 annually statewide, for employers to manage shortened timeframes for adverse actions. These costs would likely diminish after the existing backlog is reduced. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, the lengthy timeframe for investigations causes prolonged disruption of the workplace, unnecessary costs for extended administrative leave or backpay, and delayed correction of improper or inefficient behavior of employees. Additionally, investigations may become prejudiced by the unnecessary passage of time as witnesses' memories can fade, evidence can be lost, and many of the individuals involved can move on. 2)Similar Legislation. This bill is similar to AB 811 (Salas) of this session, however AB 811 amends the three-year statute of limitations from the date of discovery of any fraud, embezzlement, or falsification of records to a single year. AB 811 is currently on the Suspense File of this committee. The bill is nearly identical to AB 1783 (Jones-Sawyer) of 2014, which was amended to provide a two year statute of limitations from the date of discovery in this committee. This bill is also similar to AB 872 (Dickinson) of 2013, AB 1655 (Dickinson) of 2012, AB 920 (Portantino) of 2011, and AB 1744 (Portantino) of 2010, all of which were held on the Suspense File of this committee. AB 769 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081