BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2125|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2125
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: 4/10/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/13/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price,
Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Blakeslee, Vargas, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/17/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : School district employees: merit system:
appointments
SOURCE : Los Angeles Unified School District
DIGEST : This bill, until December 31, 2015, provides
exemptions from the requirement that merit system school
districts fill classified employee vacancies with
applicants from the first three ranks on an eligibility
list. This bill applies only to school districts with a
pupil population over 400,000.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes a system of
classified personnel management, known as the merit system,
which has been adopted by nearly 100 school districts in
California, including the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD), the bill's sponsor, which adopted the
CONTINUED
AB 2125
Page
2
merit system in 1936. In a merit system district, a
personnel commission establishes guidelines that the
district governing board must follow in the hiring,
retention, and promotion of classified employees. The
commission is comprised of one commissioner selected by the
exclusive representative of the classified employees, one
commissioner selected by the school district, and a third
commissioner selected by the other two.
Vacancies in the classified service are filled from
applicants on eligibility lists, except for vacancies
filled by transfer, demotion, reinstatement, and
reemployment in accordance with rules of the commission.
An applicant's place on an eligibility list is determined
by his or her performance on a competitive examination.
All eligible applicants with the same score are considered
as having the same rank, and positions generally are filled
by applicants from the first three ranks on an eligibility
list. Appointments may be made from other than the first
three ranks when the ability to speak, read, or write a
language in addition to English or possession of a valid
driver's license is a requirement of the position.
This bill applies only to the LAUSD. Specifically, this
bill:
1. Authorizes the LAUSD, until December 31, 2015, to fill a
vacancy with an applicant who is not among the first
three ranks of an eligibility list if the position
requires a person of a specific gender or requires
specialized licenses, certifications, knowledge, or
ability that cannot reasonably be acquired during the
probationary period. Specifies this authority extends
only to the following nine classifications:
Principal financial analyst.
Principal administrative analyst.
Senior administrative analyst.
Senior administrative assistant.
Senior financial analyst.
Information technology electronic communications
technician.
Information technology solution technician.
Senior human resource specialist.
AB 2125
Page
3
Any classifications that have been designated as
management or confidential.
2. Requires the recruitment bulletin announcing the
examination to indicate the special requirements that
may be necessary for filling one or more of the
positions in the classification.
3. Requires, if this authority is used, the appointment to
be made from among the highest three ranks of eligible
candidates on the appropriate eligibility list who meet
the special requirements of the position and who are
ready and willing to accept the position.
4. Authorizes provisional appointments, as specified, when
there are insufficient applicants who meet the special
requirements.
5. Requires the LAUSD to study the effectiveness of the
selection method, the vacancy rates for each class, and
the length of time to hire for each class, and submit a
report on its findings to any affected labor union.
6. Provides that this authority shall remain in effect
until December 31, 2015, and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later statute that is enacted before
December 31, 2015, deletes or extends that date.
Comments
History of LAUSD exemption . Prior law, until January 1,
2012, authorized the LAUSD to fill vacancies in specified
job classifications from ranks other than the top three
ranks of an employment list if specialized licenses,
certifications, knowledge, ability or a specific gender is
required. The unique selection process established for
LAUSD was originally authorized by AB 424 (Richman, Chapter
881, Statutes of 2003). The original exemption expired on
January 1, 2006, and was extended to January 1, 2007, by AB
1772 (Assembly Public Employees Retirement and Social
Security Committee, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2005). AB 580
(Smyth, Chapter 528, Statutes of 2007) extended the
expiration date again to January 1, 2012, and limited its
application to 16 specified positions. AB 415 (Karnette,
AB 2125
Page
4
Chapter 186, Statutes of 2008) added "any classifications
that have been designated as management" to the listed
classifications. AB 1293 (Hall, Chapter 145, Statutes of
2009) added nine additional positions to which the
exemption applied.
Merit systems . There are about 100 merit system school
districts in California, including the LAUSD, which adopted
the merit system in 1936. About 60% of classified
employees statewide are employed in districts that operate
under a merit system. Personnel decisions in merit system
districts are governed by a local personnel commission that
is responsible for maintaining the system and establishing
guidelines that the district governing board must follow in
the hiring, retention, and promotion of classified
employees. A local personnel commission is comprised of
one member selected by the governing board of the school
district, one member nominated by the classified employees
of the district (and appointed by the district governing
board), and a third member who is appointed by the other
two.
In a merit system, vacancies in the classified service are
filled from applicants on eligibility lists, except for
those filled by employees who are transferred, demoted,
reinstated, or reemployed in accordance with rules the
local personnel commission has established. Applicants are
placed on an eligibility list in the order of their
"relative merit" based on their performance on a
competitive examination; applicants with the same score
have the same "rank" on the list. Generally speaking,
appointments must be made from individuals in the first
three ranks on the list, however the law provides
exemptions when the ability to speak, read, or write a
language other than English or possession of a valid
driver's license is a requirement of the position. This
bill temporarily provides the LAUSD with additional
exemptions for specific classifications by authorizing
appointments to be made from other than the first three
ranks on the eligibility list if the position requires
specialized licenses, certification, knowledge or ability
that cannot reasonably be acquired during the probationary
period or if a specific gender is required for successful
job performance of a position.
AB 2125
Page
5
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/12/12)
Los Angeles Unified School District (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill creates flexibility in the hiring process that
allows the LAUSD to dramatically reduce the average time it
takes to fill a vacancy. The LAUSD Personnel Commission
oversees a classification system of approximately 1,150
separate classifications. Selective certification allows
the district's personnel commission to have an efficient
hiring process without affecting the merit system.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/17/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Bonnie Lowenthal, Perea,
Skinner, Yamada
PQ:m 6/14/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
AB 2125
Page
6