BILL NUMBER: ACR 178	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  AUGUST 26, 2010
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 17, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Niello

                        JUNE 28, 2010

   Relative to state employee merit awards.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 178, Niello. State employee merit awards.
   This measure would declare that merit award payments in specified
amounts, authorized by the Department of Personnel Administration,
are made to specified current or retired state employees whose
proposals have resulted in annual savings and net revenue gain to the
state.




   WHEREAS, Section 19823 of the Government Code authorizes the
Department of Personnel Administration to make awards to current or
retired state employees who propose procedures or ideas that are
subsequently adopted and placed in effect and result in eliminating
or reducing state expenditures or improving state operations; and
   WHEREAS, Any award granted under Section 19823 of the Government
Code in excess of $5,000 must be approved by concurrent resolution of
the Legislature; and
   WHEREAS, Lorraine Plummer of the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation designed an electronic medical billing
system to automatically calculate discounts for standardized health
services as allocated by the California Medical Fee Schedule, which
resulted in a first-year savings of $76,615; and
   WHEREAS, Randy Villarreal of the California Department of Food and
Agriculture suggested that all marketed cotton in the San Joaquin
Quality Cotton District carry the State Seed Code in lieu of bale and
module tags, saving printing costs of the tags; the need for a state
vehicle; and salaries and benefits for a Biologist, an Agricultural
Technician II, and two Agricultural Aides, which resulted in a
first-year savings of $126,547; and
   WHEREAS, Shirley Pertle of the Employment Development Department
suggested automating the mailing process at the Work Opportunity Tax
Credit processing center, resulting in reduced postage rates and
decreased overtime which resulted in a first-year savings of
$139,468; and
   WHEREAS, John Yessen and Eric Zimmerman of the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation suggested using a
folding and inserting machine to prepare outgoing correspondence mail
from the Office of Selection and Standards which processes
Correctional Officer applications and secured a state surplus
machine, at no cost to the department, as an alternative to
purchasing a new machine, resulting in reduced workload volume,
reduced staff hours, and elimination of the need to hire an outside
agency for mass mailings, which resulted in a first-year savings of
$164,433; and
   WHEREAS, The savings generated by implementation of these
suggestions will continue to be realized on an annual basis; and
   WHEREAS, As a result of actual savings generated from the
implementation of these suggestions, it is unnecessary to appropriate
additional funds for payment of awards to these employees; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby declares that merit award payments, authorized by the
five-member Merit Award Board and the Department of Personnel
Administration, are hereby made in amounts up to and including 10
percent of the first-year savings generated by each suggestion, as
follows:
   (a) To Lorraine Plummer in the amount of $2,662.
   (b) To Randy Villarreal in the amount of $7,547.
   (c) To Shirley Pertle in the amount of $8,947.
   (d) To John Yessen and Eric Zimmerman in the amount of $11,433, to
be shared equally; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Controller and the Department of Personnel
Administration.