BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 1215
Lou Correa, Chair Hearing date: June 28, 2010
AB 1215 (De La Torre) as amended 9/04/09 FISCAL: YES
STATE EMPLOYEES: EXEMPTING CERTAIN STATE EMPLOYEES FROM
FURLOUGHS BASED ON FUNDING SOURCE
HISTORY :
Sponsor: Author
Prior legislation: AB 181 (Bass - Budget Act of 2009)
Senate Floor
SBX8 29 of 2010 (Steinberg) as amended
Vetoed
AB 1765 (Solorio) as amended March 11,
2010
Senate PE&R Committee
AB 2008 (Arambula) as amended May 28, 2010
Senate Appropriations Committee
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
Not relevant - new bill with Senate amendments
SUMMARY :
This bill :
a) Would exempt state civil service employees from being
furloughed if employed in positions funded at least 95%
by sources other than the General Fund;
b) Would prohibit state agencies, boards, and
commissions from implementing, or assisting with
implementation of, furloughs for such employees; and
c) Make findings and declarations regarding the furlough
of state employees.
BACKGROUND :
1) Executive Orders S-16-08 and S-13-09 imposed mandatory
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Date: 6/23/10 Page 1
furloughs on state civil service employees, regardless of
funding source and with limited exemptions .
Furloughs of 2 days per month began in February of 2009, and
were increased to 3 days per month in July of 2009.
Since the July implementation, many state departments,
boards, and commissions have been closed three days per
month. Some have been exempted from closures and those
employees are on a self-directed furlough program. The
self-directed program allows employees to accrue furlough
days and use them like vacation days, upon management
approval. Accrued furlough days have no cash value and must
be used within 24 months of the end of the furlough program.
According to the Department of Personnel Administration
(DPA), accrued furlough days must be used before an employee
may use accrued vacation, annual leave, personal holidays,
holiday credit, personal leave time credit, and compensatory
time off.
The current 3-day furlough requirement amounts to a reduction
of approximately 13.85% of employees' compensation.
2) According to DPA, some departments employing civil
service employees have been exempted from the furlough
program .
California Highway Patrol and 911 Dispatchers
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (during
fire season)
The Public Utilities Commission
The Legislative Counsel Bureau
The Bureau of State Audits
3) According to information provided by the State
Controller's Office, this bill would result in exemptions for
approximately 79,850 state civil service employees .
69,500 employees paid 100% from non-general fund
monies
3,985 Board of Equalization Employees
6,365 Franchise Tax Board Employees
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The current furlough program is scheduled to end on June 30,
2010 .
ANALYSIS
1) This bill
a) would exempt from any mandatory furlough program any
employee whose position is funded at least 95% by special
funds (i.e., non-General Fund);
b) prohibits any state agency, board, or commission from
directly or indirectly implementing, or assisting with
the implementation of, a furlough of these state
employees;
c) makes the following findings and declarations related
to the furlough program;
Furloughs result in tremendous hardships to
employees and their families;
Furloughs are applied to almost all state
employees, regardless of whether or not they are paid
from the General Fund;
Furloughing employees paid by special funds
provides no General Fund savings and tends to make
special fund departments less efficient;
Delays in services harm California's residents
and deprive the State of federal funding;
In some cases the furlough program has reduced
new revenues; and
The Sacramento region has suffered significantly
from the loss of workers' wages, forcing some
businesses to close their doors.
d) specifies that it does not create legal authorization
for the imposition of furloughs through an Executive Order.
2) Arguments in Support
According to the author,
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Date: 6/23/10 Page 3
The Franchise Tax Board estimates that the State will lose
over $500,000,000 over a three year time span due to
furlough-related declines in audits and collections. The
Franchise Tax Board had already seen a reduction of
$372,000,000 at the end of the prior fiscal year.
The California Labor Federation notes that the furloughs
have caused not only suffering to families trying to get by
on smaller paychecks, but to neighboring businesses and the
local economy. In addition, they note that the furloughs
have caused tremendous pain to those who rely on state
services, while the end result has been virtually no state
savings.
The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association notes
that the furloughs have created a backlog on investigations
of many criminal complaints that imperil the safety and
financial well-being of all Californians.
3) SUPPORT :
California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS)
California Board of Accountancy (CBA)
California Labor Federation (CLF)
California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA)
Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG)
4) OPPOSITION :
None to date
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Date: 6/23/10 Page 4