BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 99
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Date of Hearing: August 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUDGET
Shirley Weber, Chair
SB
99 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) - As Introduced
January 9, 2015
SENATE VOTE: Vote not relevant
SUBJECT: Budget Act of 2015.
SUMMARY: Makes necessary statutory and technical changes to
implement the Budget Act of 2015 related to Civil Service
improvement provisions. Specifically, this bill:
1. Updates and expands the definition of career executive
to mean an employee appointed from an employment list
established for the express purpose of providing a list of
persons who are eligible for career executive assignment
(CEA) as specified for persons employed by the Legislature,
persons who served in the US military, persons holding
nonelected exempt positions in the executive branch of
government and private sector employees.
2. Simplifies and streamlines the process for persons
employed by the Legislature, persons who served in the US
military, and to persons holding nonelected exempt
positions in the executive branch of government to obtain
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eligibility on a civil service list by taking a promotional
or CEA exam.
3. Clarifies the termination rights of CEAs who were, prior
to their CEA appointment, legislative employees or
nonelected exempt executive branch employees to state that
he or she shall have the right to request a deferred
examination for any promotional list that his or her
appointment power has in existence at the time of
termination and for which he or she meets the minimum 1
qualifications.
4. Repeals Government Code Section 19057 relating to the
Rule of Three Names for candidates who are eligible for
promotion within civil service.
5. Expands the list of eligible employees for the purpose
of hiring persons into civil service positions by making
the Rule of Three Ranks the default certification list.
a. Allows appointing powers discretion to look at
candidates based on a full evaluation of their merit
(shown by results other than the exam results through
a hiring process).
6. Repeals Government Code Section 19057.2 relating to
creating a list of Six Ranks for the purpose of hiring
managers.
7. Makes conforming changes to reflect repealing Government
Code Section 19057.
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8. Repeals Government Code Section 19057.4 relating to the
Rule of One Rank.
9. Extends existing due process rights to private sector
employees when an appointment power terminates a career
executive assignment, specifically,
a. An employee who at the time of his or her
appointment to a CEA was employed by the state and had
civil service status shall be reinstated to a civil
service position that is (1) not a CEA and (2) that is
at least at the same salary level as the last position
that he or she held as a permanent or probationary
employee.
b. If an employee had completed a minimum of five
years of state service, he or she may return to a
position that is (1) at substantially the same salary
level as the last position or (2) at a salary level
that is at least two steps lower than that of the CEA
position from which he or she is being terminated.
c. Allows an employee who at the time of his or
her appointment to a CEA was from the outside civil
service shall be eligible to compete in any
promotional examination at multiple departments for
which he or she meets the minimum qualifications as
outlined in the class specifications.
d. An employee receiving a passing score shall
have his or her name placed on the promotional list
resulting from the examination or otherwise gain
eligibility for appointment.
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e. The employee shall have the right to request a
deferred examination for any promotional eligible list
that is in existence at the time the CEA is
terminated.
f. Requires a request for a deferred examination
to be made not later than 10 days after the effective
date of termination of the CEA.
g. Requires the department or its designee to
administer the deferred examination within 30 days of
the date of the request.
10. Includes various technical clean up language.
11. Appropriates $300,000 to Department of Finance for the
posting on the department's internet website of all budget
requests included as part of the Governor's budget.
FISCAL EFFECT: The bill would appropriate $300,000 one-time
General Fund for the Department of Finance to post all budget
requests included as part of the Governor's budget on its
website.
COMMENTS: According to the Department of Finance, this trailer
bill includes the first round of Civil Service Improvement
proposals aimed at simplifying the state's outdated processes.
These specific proposals will make modest improvements to
streamline the state's existing hiring process and broaden the
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pool of eligible candidates for Rank and File or Managerial
appointments within state civil service. Additionally, this
proposal will increase state resource transparency by requiring
the Department of Finance to make all budgetary requests
available electronically on its website.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Genevieve Morelos / BUDGET
/916-319-2099