BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 811


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          Date of Hearing:   April 15, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          811 (Salas) - As Introduced February 26, 2015


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          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 served within one year of the cause for discipline, or in  
          the case of fraud, embezzlement, or the falsification of  
          records, within one year of the date of discovery of the cause  
          for action.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Significant costs, GF and special funds, in excess of $500,000  








                                                                     AB 811


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          annually statewide, for employers to manage shortened timeframes  
          for adverse actions.  These costs would likely diminish after  
          the existing backlog of investigations is reduced.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  According to the author, the current three year  
            statute of limitations for investigations of employees  
            suspected of wrongdoing can cause undue hardship for those  
            employees, especially when found innocent.  Delays in  
            completing investigations can lead to prolonged disruption of  
            the workplace, unnecessary costs for extended administrative  
            leave or backpay, and delayed correction of improper or  
            inefficient behavior of employees.

          2)Similar Legislation.  This bill is similar to AB 769  
            (Jones-Sawyer) of this session, however AB 769 retains the  
            three-year statute of limitations from the date of discovery  
            of any fraud, embezzlement, or falsification of records.  It  
            is similar to AB 1783 (Jones-Sawyer) of 2014, which was  
            amended to delete these provisions.  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.

          3)Special Treatment for State Employee Fraud.  Currently, the  
            statute of limitations with respect to state employee fraud  
            actions is equivalent to the general civil fraud statute of  
            limitations.  In each case, the action must be commenced  
            within three years of the date of discovery of the fraud.   
            This bill would reduce the statute of limitations for state  
            employee fraud actions to one year from the date of discovery.  
             The committee may wish to consider whether it is appropriate  
            or justifiable to afford state employees an advantageous  
            position with respect to employee fraud actions as compared  
            with other cases of civil fraud. 









                                                                     AB 811


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          Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081