BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: SB 623
Lou Correa, Chair Hearing date: April 27, 2009
SB 623 (Ashburn) as introduced 2/27/09 FISCAL: YES
STATE EMPLOYEES: EXTENSION OF EXISTING 2-YEAR MAXIMUM OF
"LIMITED TERM" APPOINTMENTS
HISTORY :
Sponsor: State Personnel Board (SPB)
Prior legislation: none
SUMMARY :
Would allow the SPB to extend the 2-year maximum of Limited
Term (LT) appointments for up to 2 years (total 4 years)
under specified circumstances, or indefinitely under other
specified circumstances.
BACKGROUND :
1) Existing law provides a maximum of 2 years for Limited
Term appointments
Existing state law permits the SPB to authorize LT
appointments for up to 2 years.
However, the committee is advised that there are a variety of
time-limited positions which may need to be filled for
periods beyond the 2 years.
For example:
a) positions temporarily vacated by employees on leaves of
absence, e.g. for maternity, disability, military, medical,
training and development assignments, and
interjurisdictional exchanges,
b) positions created for short-term, time-limited work of
a nonrecurring nature,
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c) positions established for a specific study or project,
such as research, or
d) positions vacated by permanent employees who fill other
LT positions.
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2) Problems created by the existing 2 year maximum on LT
appointments
The committee is advised by the sponsor (SPB) that:
a) these time-limited positions are filled by persons on a
LT basis so that permanent employees are not displaced when
their leaves or special assignments end, and
b) when LT positions are established in the state budget
for more than 2 years, and there is a critical need to
retain the employee in the LT position, the options are
either terminate the LT appointment and appoint another
person on a LT basis, or appoint the employee on a
permanent basis.
ANALYSIS :
1) This bill allows SPB to extend the 2-year limit of LT
appointments, allowing the state to retain the expertise of
the employee who has been performing the project work, under
the following circumstances:
a) for up to an additional 2 years (total of 4 years) if a
permanent appointment would likely result in a layoff,
demotion or mandatory transfer requiring a change of
residence upon the conclusion of the staffing need, and
b) indefinitely if the extension is needed because the
funding for the position exceeds 2 years, or to retain the
expertise of the current incumbent to complete the project
that is still in progress or to prevent a disruption in
state service.
COMMENTS :
1) Arguments in support
According to the sponsor, there have been an increasing
number of LT positions established in the Governor's budget.
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"State departments may be mandated to study or evaluate the
impact of programs to determine if they are doing what they
were established to do. Departments may be required to
conduct studies or evaluations in a timeframe that would be
difficult to validate with staff turnover, retraining, or
loss of continuity. For example:
a) positions in the Board of Equalization have been
established on a LT basis for up to 5 years to determine
whether or not the projected revenue supports the
continuation of a proposed program,
b) the Governor's 2007/08 budget provides for 2 LT
positions for 3 years in the California Department of
Public Health to evaluate and assess the requirements of
AB 1433 and submit a report to the Legislature by January
2010, and
c) the Governor's 2007/08 budget extended 94.8 LT
positions funded by the federal government for public
health emergency preparedness that were due to expire on
June 30, 2007.
Currently, the law does not allow for the same employee to
be appointed on a LT assignment for longer than 2 years.
Departments would be forced to choose 1 of the 2 options.
Projects may suffer from the loss of expertise and the need
to train new employees."
2) Arguments in opposition
In their letter of opposition, the Professional Engineers in
California Government (PECG), states:
"Existing law limits limited term appointments to a total
of two-years. This bill would continue to allow limited
term appointments of up to two-years, but would allow the
SPB to authorize even longer limited term appointments
based on funding exceeding two-years, retain expertise on
ongoing projects or prevent disruption of state operations.
If we have members in a limited term appointment and the
alternative is find a new position or if new to state
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service, they are out, then a longer limited term
appointment sounds good. However, PECG"s longstanding
position is that employees should be hired into permanent
civil service positions, not a temporary workforce."
3) OPPOSITION :
Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG)
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