BILL NUMBER: AB 790 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 17, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 23, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Hernandez and Ruskin
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Section 1232 to the Government Code, relating to
state employees the state budget ,
making an appropriation therefor for the
expenses of the government of the State of California , and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 790, as amended, Hernandez. State employees:
compensation. budget impasse: continuation of
services.
The California Constitution requires the Legislature to pass a
budget bill Budget Bill by June 15 of
each year for the fiscal year commencing on July 1. Existing law
provides that no state officer or employee shall be deemed to have a
break in service or to have terminated his or her employment, for any
purpose, or to have incurred any change in his or her authority,
status, or jurisdiction or in his or her salary or other conditions
of employment, solely because of the failure to enact a Budget Act
for a fiscal year prior to the beginning of that fiscal year. Under
the California Constitution, money may be drawn from the State
Treasury only through an appropriation made by law and upon a
Controller's duly drawn warrant.
This bill would continuously appropriate from the General Fund and
other specified funds to the Controller an amount necessary for the
payment of compensation and employee benefits to state employees, as
defined, for work performed on or after July 1 of a fiscal year for
which no budget has been enacted.
This bill would specify, if a memorandum of understanding is in
effect that has been approved by the Legislature, that the
compensation and contribution for employee benefits for represented
state employees be at a rate consistent with the memorandum of
understanding and, for state employees excluded from collective
bargaining, at the rate approved by the Department of Personnel
Administration prior to the commencement of the fiscal year for which
a Budget Act has not been enacted. The bill would require, if a
memorandum of understanding is not in effect for represented state
employees and the department has not approved a compensation package
for state employees excluded from collective bargaining, that the
compensation and contribution for employee benefits for represented
state employees and state employees excluded from collective
bargaining be at the rate in effect at the expiration of the last
fiscal year for which a budget was enacted.
The Budget Act of 2009 appropriated funds for support of state
government for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
This bill would appropriate $12,000,000,000 from the General Fund
and other funds and sources, as specified, to the Controller for
allocation by the Director of Finance pursuant to an executive order
issued by the Governor to pay the current expenses of the state
government, excluding salaries and per diem of the Members of the
Legislature and salaries of state employees paid pursuant to the
provisions described above, for the period commencing on July 1,
2010, and ending on the date that the Budget Act of 2010 is signed by
the Governor, or August 31, 2010, whichever is earlier.
This bill would state the Legislature's intent to provide
emergency funding while the Legislature enacts a budget.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1232 is added to the Government Code, to read:
1232. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13340, in any fiscal year in
which the Budget Act is not enacted by July 1 of that fiscal year,
there is hereby continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal
years to the Controller from the General Fund, unallocated special
funds, federal funds, and any other fund from which state employees
are compensated, the amount necessary for the payment of compensation
and employee benefits to state employees until the Budget Act of
that fiscal year is enacted. The Controller may expend an amount no
greater than that necessary to enable the Controller to compensate
state employees for work performed between July 1 of the applicable
fiscal year and the enactment of the Budget Act.
(b) If there is a memorandum of understanding in effect that has
been approved by the Legislature, the compensation and contribution
for employee benefits for represented state employees shall be at a
rate consistent with the memorandum of understanding and compensation
and contribution for employee benefits for state employees excluded
from collective bargaining shall be at the rate approved by the
Department of Personnel Administration prior to the commencement of
the fiscal year for which a Budget Act has not been enacted. If a
memorandum of understanding is not in effect and if the department
has not approved a compensation package for state employees excluded
from collective bargaining, compensation and contribution for
employee benefits for represented state employees and state employees
excluded from collective bargaining shall be at the rate in effect
at the expiration of the last fiscal year for which a budget was
enacted.
(c) The Department of Finance may, upon enactment of the Budget
Act and in the absence of this action being taken by the Legislature
or the Governor in that Budget Act, reduce the applicable Budget Act
allocations by the amount of any warrants drawn pursuant to
subdivision (a).
(d) For the purposes of this section, "state employee" means an
employee as defined in Section 19815.
SEC. 2. (a) The sum of twelve billion dollars
($12,000,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the Controller from the
funds and sources set forth in subdivision (b), for allocation by the
Director of Finance pursuant to an executive order issued by the
Governor, for the exclusive purpose of the payment of the current
expenses of the government of the State of California, excluding
salaries and per diem of Members of the Legislature and salaries of
state employees paid pursuant to Section 1 of this act, for the
period commencing on July 1, 2010, and ending on the date that the
Budget Act of 2010 is signed by the Governor, or August 31, 2010,
whichever is earlier. The allocation of the funds appropriated by
this subdivision by the Director of Finance shall be to maintain a
level of service by the government of the State of California that
does not exceed the level of service authorized and funded for the
2009-10 fiscal year.
(b) The Director of Finance shall allocate the funds appropriated
by subdivision (a) from the following funds and sources:
(1) $3,000,000,000 from the General Fund.
(2) $1,200,000,000 from appropriate special funds.
(3) $1,200,000,000 from appropriate bond funds.
(4) $3,000,000,000 from appropriate federal funds.
(5) $2,400,000,000 from appropriate nongovernmental cost funds.
(6) $1,2000,000,000 from appropriate reimbursements.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide continuous,
uninterrupted emergency funding to pay for the health care of
Medi-Cal patients, child care services, programs for the disabled,
and other key programs in the event of a budget impasse. Hospitals
and nursing homes across the state depend on Medi-Cal payments to
keep their doors open to care for the poor, the blind, and the
disabled. Programs for those in need should not be interrupted while
the Legislature works towards a balanced budget.
There is precedent for emergency funding such as this. In 1998,
the Legislature passed Senate Bill 267 (Chapter 213 of the Statutes
of 1998), introduced by Senator Maddy (Coauthors Senator Solis and
Assembly Members Ashburn and Honda), which provided emergency funding
for the current expenses of the state. This urgency measure provided
that in the absence of the enactment of the annual Budget Act by
July 1, 1998, $18,959,000,000 was appropriated from the General Fund
and other funds and sources to be used to pay the current expenses of
the state government, excluding salaries and per diem of the Members
of the Legislature, from July 1, 1998, to August 5, 1998, inclusive.
The Legislature also passed Assembly Bill 561 (Chapter 993 of the
Statutes of 1998), which authorized loans of up to $2,000,000,000 to
continue payments specifically to Medi-Cal providers, providers of
drug-treatment services, and providers of services to the
developmentally disabled during a budget stalemate.
It is the intent of the Legislature to again provide continuous
funding to provide care for the most needy children, elderly, poor,
and disabled.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. This act is an
urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of
the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
In order that state employees may be compensated for work
performed without delay in the event of a budget impasse, and in
order that funds may be continuously appropriated to the Controller
at the earliest possible time for the purposes of compensating state
employees In order that, in the event of a
budget impasse, appropriations may be made at the earliest possible
time to continue key state programs and to compensate state employees
for work performed , it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.