BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2584
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Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2584 (Torlakson) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
Policy Committee: P.E.R. &
S.S.Vote: 4-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
The bill requires school and community college district
personnel commissions to determine the compensation for their
personnel directors and to supervise the personnel director.
The bill also:
1)Requires the personnel commission of those districts to
conduct an annual written performance evaluation of the
personnel director.
2)Authorizes the district administration and the exclusive
representatives of classified employees of the district to
participate in the evaluations by completing an evaluation or
comment form distributed by the commission.
3)Authorizes the personnel commission to impose discipline,
including dismissal, but prohibits disciplinary action
inconsistent with any applicable bargaining agreement in
effect as of January 1, 2011.
4)Establishes various rights for the personnel director,
including the right to an impartial hearing in response to any
disciplinary action imposed.
5)Requires that these procedures be absorbed within the existing
amounts budgeted for the districts' personnel commissions.
However, actual reimbursements may be determined through the
mandate claims process.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 2584
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The requirements that each commission determine the compensation
for its personnel director and supervise the personnel director
are reimbursable mandates, as are (potentially) the due process
provisions of the bill. Depending on how the bill's
requirements are interpreted and implemented by the districts,
the bill could result in significant state costs, potentially
exceeding $500,000 annually. These costs would be funded from
within Proposition 98.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Current law authorizes the classified employees
(administrative assistants, teacher aides, custodians) of a
school district with at least 3,000 average daily attendance
or a community college district with at least 3,000 full-time
equivalent students to call for an election to become a merit
(civil service) system district. A district that adopts a
merit system is required to establish a three-member personnel
commission, which is required to appoint a personnel director.
The personnel director is responsible for overseeing the
administration of the classified personnel under the merit
system, and for preparing an annual report to the commission.
According to the California School Personnel Commissioners
Association, there are about 100 merit based school systems in
California, which encompass about 70% of the classified school
employees in the state.
Personnel directors are labeled as "classified management,"
with the school district as the employer and the personnel
commission as the director's supervisor. No specific
evaluation provisions exist in statute for directors of
personnel commissions. Some districts apparently conduct
evaluations of their personnel directors, while others do not.
2)Purpose . This bill, which is co-sponsored by the California
Federation of Teachers and the California School Personnel
Commissioners Association, is intended to make personnel
directors subject to performance evaluations that have input
from classified employees. Supporters assert that it is
appropriate that the personnel directors be subject to the
same reviews as other classified employees.
3)Related Legislation . Previous legislation that was similar to
this bill includes: AB 379 (Torlakson), 2009, which passed out
of P.E.R. & S.S. but was not heard in this committee at the
AB 2584
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request of the author; SB 1676 (Negrete McLeod), 2008, which
was held under submission by this committee; and SB 453
(Negrete-McLeod), 2007, which was held under submission in the
Senate Appropriations Committee; and AB 2633 (Negrete-McLeod),
2006, which was vetoed. In his AB 2633 veto message, the
governor stated, in part, "I am concerned that this bill, by
establishing new requirements regarding the compensation,
evaluation, and supervision of personnel directors, would
result in significant reimbursable state mandated costs.
Further, these provisions do not need to be codified since
nothing in current law prevents a school district or community
college district personnel commission from performing the
specified activities."
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081