BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1436|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  SB 1436
          Author:   Bates (R) 
          Amended:  4/6/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE:  6-0, 4/13/16
           AYES:  Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach, Pavley
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Nguyen

          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  Senate Rule 28.8

           SUBJECT:   Local agency meetings:  local agency executive  
                     compensation:  oral report of final action  
                     recommendation


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill requires the legislative body of a local  
          agency to orally report a recommendation for final action on the  
          compensation of a local agency executive during an open meeting.


          ANALYSIS:  


          Existing law:


          1)Governs local governments' relations with their employees, and  
            school districts and community college districts' employee  
            relations, including collective bargaining and representation  
            procedures.  








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          2)Exempts, generally, executive employees-county administrators,  
            city managers, special district managers, school  
            superintendents, community college presidents-who are employed  
            by, and report directly to, local elected governing boards  
            from collective bargaining and representation procedures.


          3)Requires public records to be open to inspection during office  
            hours and gives every person a right to inspect public  
            records, with specific exceptions.  


          4)Guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in  
            local legislative bodies' meetings and establishes procedures  
            to ensure public access to information maintained by local  
            agencies and that the decisions made by public agencies are  
            done in an open and transparent fashion to retain public  
            control over those agencies.


          5)Allows the legislative body of a local agency to meet, debate,  
            and sometimes act in a closed session in several specified  
            cases-including for the agency's designated representative to  
            discuss the compensation-including salaries, salary schedules,  
            or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits-of its  
            represented and unrepresented employees.  


          6)Requires local officials to:


             a)   Place a closed meeting item on an agenda and cite their  
               statutory authority to meet behind closed doors.  


             b)   Report on any action taken in closed session and provide  
               the vote of every elected member present.  


             c)   Take final action on the compensation of unrepresented  
               employees in an open session.  








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          This bill:


          1)Requires the legislative body of a local agency, prior to  
            taking final action on the compensation of a local agency  
            executive, to orally report a summary of the recommendation  
            for final action during the open meeting in which the final  
            action is to be taken.  


          2)States that the bill's provisions shall not affect the  
            public's right under the Public Records Act to inspect or copy  
            records created or received in the process of developing the  
            recommendation.


          Background

          In 2011, the Legislature amended the Brown Act to address  
          mismanagement on the part of officials in the City of Bell.  AB  
          1344 (Feuer, Chapter 692, Statutes of 2011) prohibited local  
          agencies from calling a special meeting (outside of regularly  
          scheduled meetings of the agency's legislative body) regarding  
          the compensation of a local agency executive.  AB 1344 defined  
          local agency executive to include any employee not governed by  
          the collective bargaining and representation procedures  
          established in the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act and the Education  
          Code, and that meet any of the following criteria:

           The person is the chief executive officer, a deputy chief  
            executive officer, or an assistant chief executive officer of  
            the local agency.

           The person is the head of a department of a local agency.

           The local agency employs the person on a contract.

          Some legislators want to further increase the transparency of  
          decisions that local agencies make about the compensation of  
          their executives.


          Comments







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          Purpose of the bill.  Transparency in local government  
          decisionmaking, particularly when it comes to executive  
          compensation, is a valuable safeguard against improper behavior  
          and helps ensure that taxpayer and ratepayer dollars are  
          effectively spent.  Local agency executives, such as agency CEOs  
          and city managers, are offered fringe benefits including health  
          care coverage and pensions in amounts that can have a  
          significant long-term impact on the budget and that deserve  
          particular scrutiny by the public.  SB 1436 encourages the  
          active discussion of the compensation of local agency executives  
          in an open session, rather than simply placing an item on a  
          consent calendar where it will receive little attention.  SB  
          1436 is a simple change that furthers the intent of the Brown  
          Act, makes it easier for the public to identify improper levels  
          of compensation, and builds trust in government.  



           FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes


          SUPPORT:   (Verified4/25/16)


          California Newspaper Publishers Association
          Californians Aware


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified4/25/16)


          None received




          Prepared by:Anton Favorini-Csorba / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
          4/27/16 15:57:32


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