BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 623
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 8, 2009

            ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL  
                                      SECURITY
                                 Ed Hernandez, Chair
                     SB 623 (Ashburn) - As Amended:  May 5, 2009

           SENATE VOTE  :   22-5
           
          SUBJECT  :   Civil service appointments: limited term  
          appointments.

           SUMMARY  :   Allows the State Personnel Board (SPB) to extend the  
          two-year maximum of Limited Term (LT) appointments for up to  
          two-years (total 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, or to prevent a disruption in state  
          service.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Defines "limited term employee" as an employee whose  
            appointment as a result of reinstatement or certification from  
            an employment list shall not exceed two years, except as  
            specified.  LT appointments are intended to meet nonrecurring  
            staffing needs.

          2)Prohibits LT appointments from exceeding one year, except that  
            the SPB may authorize LT appointments of up to two years  
            without making an additional appointment if a permanent  
            appointment would likely cause a layoff, demotion, or  
            mandatory transfer upon conclusion of the temporary staffing  
            need.    

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown.

           COMMENTS  :   According to the SPB, there are a variety of  
          time-limited positions which may need to be filled for periods  
          beyond the currently allowed 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.








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          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.

          Currently, 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.  When LT positions are  
          established in the budget for more than 2 years, and there is a  
          critical need to retain the employee in the LT position, the  
          options are (1) either terminate the LT appointment and appoint  
          another person on a LT basis, or (2) appoint the employee on a  
          permanent basis.

          According to the sponsor, SPB, "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.  
           

          "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 and the need to  
          train new employees."

          SPB concludes, "This bill would reestablish the authority of SPB  
          to extend LT appointments to meet the state's temporary needs  
          that are clearly limited in duration, meet operational needs,  
          and minimize disruption to programs and services."

          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,  








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          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."

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          State Personnel Board (Sponsor)
           
            Opposition 
           
          California Association of Professional Scientists
          Professional Engineers in California Government

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)  
          319-3957