BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 623|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 623
Author: Ashburn (R)
Amended: 05/05/09
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMP. & RET. COMMITTEE : 4-1, 4/27/09
AYES: Correa, Ashburn, Benoit, Ducheny
NOES: Wiggins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : State employees: limited term appointments
SOURCE : State Personnel Board
DIGEST : This bill allows the State Personnel Board to
extend the two-year maximum of Limited Term appointments
for up to two-years (total four years) under specified
circumstances.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law provides a maximum of two years for Limited
Term appointments.
Existing law permits the State Personnel Board (SPB) to
authorize Limited Term (LT) appointments for up to two
years.
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However, the Senate Public Employment and Retirement
Committee was advised that there are a variety of
time-limited positions which may need to be filled for
periods beyond the two years.
For example:
1. Positions temporarily vacated by employees on leaves of
absence, e.g. for maternity, disability, military,
medical, training and development assignments, and
interjurisdictional exchanges.
2. Positions created for short-term, time-limited work of a
nonrecurring nature.
3. Positions established for a specific study or project,
such as research.
4. Positions vacated by permanent employees who fill other
LT positions.
Problems created by the existing two year maximum on LT
appointments. The committee is advised by SPB that:
1. 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.
2. When LT positions are established in the state budget
for more than two 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.
This bill allows SPB to extend the two-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:
1. For up to an additional two-year (total of four years)
if a permanent appointment will likely result in a
layoff, demotion or mandatory transfer requiring a
change of residence upon the conclusion of the staffing
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need.
2. Up to four years, if the extension is needed because the
funding for the position exceeds two years, or to retain
the expertise of the current incumbent to complete the
project that is still in progress to prevent a
disruption in state service.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/18/09)
State Personnel Board (source)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/18/09)
Professional Engineers in California Government
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the sponsor, there
have been an increasing number of LT positions established
in the Governor's budget. 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
five 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 two LT
positions for two 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 two years.
Departments would be forced to choose one of the two
options. Projects may suffer from the loss of expertise
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and the need to train new employees."
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 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."
DLW:do 5/20/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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