Amended in Assembly August 31, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 24, 2015

Amended in Senate May 5, 2015

Senate BillNo. 682


Introduced by Senator Leno

(Coauthor: Senator Wieckowski)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, Gipson, and Jones-Sawyer)

February 27, 2015


An act to add Section 71621 to the Government Code, relating to courts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 682, as amended, Leno. Courts.

The Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act establishes a trial court employee personnel system that provides authority to hire trial court personnel, regulates the classification and compensation of trial court employees, labor relations, and personnel files, and requires each trial court to establish a system of employment selection and advancement and an employment protection system.

Existing law authorizes state agencies to use personal services contracts to achieve cost savings if specified standards are satisfied, including, among other things, the contract does not cause the displacement of civil service employees and the contract is awarded through a publicized, competitive bidding process. The State Personnel Board is required to review a proposed contract upon the request of an employee organization for compliance with those standards.

This bill would establish specified standards if a trial court intends to enter into a contract for any services that are currently or customarily performed by that trial court’s employees. Among other things, the bill would require the trial court to clearly demonstrate that thebegin insert proposedend insert contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court. The bill would provide that those standards do not apply to a contract under certain circumstances, including, among others, when the services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or lease of real or personal property.

begin delete

This bill would require a trial court to provide a report by February 1, 2016, to the Department of Finance, the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and the Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Assembly Committee on Judiciary if the trial court entered into, or renewed or extended, a contract between July 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015, inclusive, for services that were provided or are customarily provided by its trial court employees and the contract has a term extending beyond March 31, 2016. The bill would require that report to provide specified information relating to these contracts, including an analysis of whether the contract resulted in the displacement of trial court employees.

end delete

This bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 71621 is added to the Government Code,
2to read:

3

71621.  

The purpose of this section is to establish standards for
4when a trial court intends to enter into a contract for any services
5that are currently or have been customarily performed by that trial
6court’s employees.

7(a) Contracts for services that are currently or customarily
8performed bybegin insert aend insert trialbegin delete courtend deletebegin insert court’send insert employees are permissiblebegin insert to
9achieve cost savingsend insert
inbegin delete aend deletebegin insert thatend insert trial court when all of the following
10conditions are met:

11(1) The trial court clearly demonstrates that thebegin insert proposedend insert
12 contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court,
13provided that:

P3    1(A) In comparing costs, there shall be included the trial court’s
2additional costs of providing the same service as proposed by a
3contractor. These additional costs shall include the salaries and
4benefits of additional staff that would be needed and the costs of
5additional space, equipment, and materials needed to perform the
6function.

7(B) In comparing costs, there shall not be included the trial
8court’s indirect overhead costs unless these costs can be attributed
9 solely to the function in question and would not exist if that
10function was not performed by the trial court. Indirect overhead
11costs shall mean the pro rata share of existing administrative
12salaries and benefits, rent, equipment costs, utilities, and materials.

13(C) In comparing costs, there shall be included in the costs of
14a contractor providing a service any continuing trial court costs
15that would be directly associated with the contracted function.
16These continuing trial court costs shall include, but not be limited
17to, those for inspection, supervision, and monitoring.

18(2) Proposals to contract out work shall not be approved solely
19on the basis that savings will result from lower contractor pay rates
20or benefits. Contracts shall be eligible for approval if the
21contractor’s wages are at the industry’s level and do not
22significantly undercut trial court pay rates.

23(3) The contract does not cause the displacement of trial court
24employees. The term “displacement” includes layoff, demotion,
25loss of employment or employment seniority, involuntary transfer
26to a new class, involuntary transfer to a new location requiring a
27change of residence, and time base reductions. Displacement does
28not include changes in shifts or days off, nor does it include
29reassignment to other positions within the same class and general
30location.

31(4) The savings shall be large enough to ensure that they will
32not be eliminated by private sector and trial courtbegin insert costend insert fluctuations
33that could normally be expected during the contracting period.

34(5) The amount of savings clearly justifies the size and duration
35 of the contracting agreement.

36(6) The contract is awarded through a publicized, competitive
37bidding process.

38(7) The contract includes specific provisions pertaining to the
39qualifications of the staff that will perform the work under the
P4    1contract, as well as assurance that the contractor’s hiring practices
2meet applicable nondiscrimination standards.

3(8) The potential for future economic risk to the trial court from
4potential contractor rate increases is minimal.

5(9) The contract is with a firm. A “firm” means a corporation,
6partnership, nonprofit organization, or sole proprietorship.

7(10) The potential economic advantage of contracting out is not
8outweighed by the public’s interest in having a particular function
9performed directly by the trial court.

begin insert

10(11) The contract shall also comply with any additional
11requirements imposed by the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual
12adopted pursuant to Section 19206 of the Public Contract Code
13to the extent those requirements are applicable to the contract.

end insert

14(b) This section does not preclude a trial court or the Judicial
15Council from adopting more restrictive rules regarding the
16contracting of court services.

17(c) Contracting shall also be permissible when any of the
18following conditions can be met:

19(1) The contract is for a new trial court function and the
20Legislature has specifically mandated or authorized the
21performance of the work by independent contractors.

22(2) The contract is between a trial court and another trial court
23or government entity for services to be performed by employees
24of the other trial court or employees of the government entity.

25(3) The services contracted for cannot be satisfactorily
26performed by trial court employees, or are of such a highly
27specialized or technical nature that the necessary expert knowledge,
28experience, and ability cannot be obtained from the court’s trial
29court employees.

30(4) The services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or
31lease of real or personal property. Contracts described in this
32paragraph, known as “service agreements,” shall include, but not
33be limited to, agreements to service or maintain office equipment
34or computers that are leased or rented. Service agreements do not
35include contracts to operate equipment or computers for purposes
36other than service or maintenance.

37(5) The legislative, administrative, or legal goals and purposes
38cannot be accomplished through the utilization of trial court
39employees because of the need to protect against a conflict of
40interest or to ensure independent and unbiased findings in cases
P5    1where there is a clear need for an independent, outside perspective.
2begin insert These contracts shall include, but not be limited to, obtaining
3expert witnesses in litigation.end insert

4(6) Due to an emergency, a contract is necessary for the
5immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, or safety.

6(7) The contractor will conduct training courses for which
7appropriately qualified trial court employee instructors are not
8available from the court, provided that permanent instructor
9positions shall be filled through the process for hiring trial court
10employees.

11(8) The contractor will provide equipment, materials, facilities,
12or support services that could not feasibly be provided by the trial
13court in the location where the services are to be performed. This
14paragraph shall not apply to services contracted in order to open
15closed courthouses if those services were performed by trial court
16employees before the closure or for the ongoing operation of new
17or reopened courthouses.

18(9) The services are of such an urgent, temporary, or occasional
19nature that the delay incumbent in their implementation through
20the process for hiring trial court employees would frustrate their
21very purpose. This paragraph shall not apply to the services of
22official court reporters, except individual official reporters pro
23tempore may be used by a trial court when the criteria of this
24paragraph are met.

25(10) The contract is a personal services contract developed
26pursuant to rehabilitation programs in accordance with Sections
2719403 and 19404 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, pursuant
28to habilitation programs in accordance with Chapter 13
29(commencing with Section 4850) of Division 4.5 of the Welfare
30and Institutions Code, or pursuant to a program vendored or
31contracted through a regional center or the State Department of
32Developmental Services in accordance with the Lanterman
33Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5
34(commencing with Section 4500) of the Welfare and Institutions
35Code), and the contract will not cause an existing trial court
36employee to incur a loss of his or her employment or employment
37seniority; a reduction in wages, benefits, or hours; or an involuntary
38transfer to a new location requiring a change in residence.

39(11) The contract is for the services of any court interpreter.
40Contracts for the services of any court interpreter, and restrictions
P6    1on contracting out interpreter services, shall be governed by the
2Trial Court Interpreter Employment and Labor Relations Act
3(Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 71800)) and any
4memorandum of understanding or agreement entered into pursuant
5to that act, or by the other provisions of this chapter, the Trial Court
6Employment Protection and Governance Act, and any
7memorandum of understanding or agreement entered into pursuant
8to that act, as applicable.

begin insert

9(12) The contract is for services provided to a court by a traffic
10assistance program, as provided in Section 11205.2 of the Vehicle
11Code.

end insert
begin delete
12

SEC. 2.  

If a trial court entered into, or renewed or extended, a
13contract between July 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015, inclusive,
14for services that were provided or are customarily provided by its
15trial court employees and that contract has a term extending beyond
16March 31, 2016, the trial court shall provide a report by no later
17than February 1, 2016, to the Department of Finance, Chairperson
18of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Chairpersons
19of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Assembly Committee
20on Judiciary. The report shall provide all of the following:

21(a) A copy of the contract.

22(b) An analysis of whether the contract is permissible under the
23standards set forth in Section 71621 of the Government Code, as
24added by Section 1 of this act.

25(c) An analysis of whether the contract resulted in the
26displacement of trial court employees.

27(d) An analysis of whether the contract involves the use of
28contractors to perform the type of services that were customarily
29performed by trial court employees.

end delete
30

begin deleteSEC. 3.end delete
31begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

The provisions of this act are severable. If any
32provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
33shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
34effect without the invalid provision or application.



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