BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 769 (Jones-Sawyer) - State employees: disciplinary action
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|Version: April 12, 2016 |Policy Vote: P.E. & R. 3 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: June 20, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 769 would require that any adverse action taken
against a state employee for any cause for discipline based on
any state civil service law, other than for fraud, embezzlement,
the falsification of records, or the unauthorized accessing or
disclosure of confidential tax information, be initiated and the
investigation completed within one year after the cause for
discipline arose.
Fiscal
Impact: The bill would result in unknown costs, likely in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, for state departments
to shorten timeframes related to adverse actions. To the extent
that the backlog is reduced, out-year costs could be reduced.
Background: Current law (1) authorizes an appointing power to take adverse
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action against a state employee for specified causes, and (2)
establishes administrative procedures for review of an adverse
action. Notice of any adverse action against a state employee
for any cause for discipline based on any civil service law must
be served within three years of the cause for discipline.
Additionally, current law specifies that in cases of fraud,
embezzlement, or falsification of records, notice must be served
within three years after the discovery of the activity.
Proposed Law:
This bill would provide that any adverse action taken against a
state employee for any cause for discipline based on any civil
service law, except as specified, shall not be valid unless
notice of the adverse action is served and any investigation is
completed within one year after the cause for discipline arose.
The bill would except from the one year limitation an adverse
action based on fraud, embezzlement, the falsification of
records, or the unauthorized accessing or disclosure of
confidential tax information, in which case an adverse action
shall be valid if notice of the adverse action is served within
three years after the related discovery.
Related
Legislation: This bill is similar to AB 811 (Salas) of 2015, AB
1783 (Jones-Sawyer) of 2014, AB 872 (Dickinson) of 2013, AB 1655
(Dickinson) of 2012, AB 920 (Portantino) of 2011, and AB 1744
(Portantino) of 2010. All of these bills were held on the
Suspense File of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Staff Comments: Reducing the timeline to investigate and
complete adverse actions would likely result in additional costs
across departments, including a combination of hiring additional
staff and increased overtime for current staff to process
disciplinary actions. To the extent that the shortened timeframe
precludes departments from completing adverse actions, employees
could potentially avoid legitimate discipline.
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