AB 2332, as amended, Wieckowski. Courts: personal services contracts.
The Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act establishes a trial court employee personnel system that provides authority to hire trial court personnel, regulates the classification and compensation of trial court employees, labor relations, and personnel files, and requires each trial court to establish a system of employment selection and advancement and an employment protection system.
Existing law authorizes state agencies to use personal services contracts to achieve cost savings if specified standards are satisfied, including, among other things, the contract does not cause the displacement of civil service employees and the contract is awarded through a publicized, competitive bidding process. The State Personnel Board is required to review a proposed contract upon the request of an employee organization for compliance with those standards.
This bill would establish specified standards if a trial court intends to enter into a new contract, or renew or extend an existing contract, for any services that are currently or customarily performed by that trial court’sbegin delete employees or for court reporter servicesend deletebegin insert employeesend insert. Among other things, the bill would require the trial court to clearly demonstrate that the contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court for the duration of the entire contract as compared with the trial court’s actual costs of providing the same services. The bill would require a contract for services in excess of $100,000 annually to include specific, measurable performance
standards and provisions for audits on performance and cost savings, as specified.
This bill would provide that these standards apply to any contract entered into, renewed, or extended on or after January 1, 2015. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply to a contract under specified circumstances, including when services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or lease of real or personal property.
This bill would require each trial court to provide a report by February 1, 2015, to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee if the trial court entered into a contract between July 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, inclusive, for services that were provided or are customarily provided by its trial court employees if the contract has a term extending beyond March 31, 2015. This report would be required to include specified information relating to these contracts, including an analysis of whether the contract resulted in the displacement of trial court employees.
The bill would provide that its provisions are severable.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 71621 is added to the Government Code,
2to read:
(a) If a trial court intends to enter into a new contract,
4or renew or extend an existing contract, for any services that are
5currently or customarily performed by that trial court’s employees,
6begin delete or for court reporter services,end delete all of the following requirements
7shall apply:
P3 1(1) The trial court shall clearly demonstrate that the contract
2will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court for the
3duration of the entire contract as compared with the trial court’s
4actual costs of providing the same services. In comparing costs,
5all of the following shall occur:
6(A) The trial court’s additional cost of providing the same
7services as proposed by the contract shall be included. These
8additional costs shall include the salaries and benefits of additional
9staff that would be needed and the cost of additional space,
10equipment, and materials needed to perform the services.
11(B) The trial court’s indirect overhead costs shall not be included
12unless those costs can be attributed solely to the function in
13question and would not exist if that function was not performed
14by the trial court. For the purposes of this subparagraph, “indirect
15overhead costs” means the pro rata share of existing administrative
16salaries and benefits, rent, equipment costs, utilities, and materials.
17(C) The cost of a
contractor providing a service for any
18continuing trial court costs that would be directly associated with
19the contracted function shall be included. Continuing trial court
20costs shall include, but not be limited to, costs for inspection,
21supervision, and monitoring.
22(2) The contract shall not be approved solely on the basis that
23savings will result from lower contractor pay rates or benefits.
24Contracts shall be eligible for approval if the contractor’s wages
25are at the industry’s level and do not undercut trial court pay rates.
26(3) The contract shall not cause an existing trial court employee
27to incur a loss of his or her employment or employment seniority,
28a reduction in wages, benefits, or hours, or an involuntary transfer
29to a new location requiring a change in residence.
30(4) The contract shall not be approved if, in light of the services
31provided by trial courts and the special nature of the judicial
32function, it would be inconsistent with the public interest to have
33the services covered by the contract performed by a private entity.
34(5) The contract shall be awarded through a publicized,
35competitive bidding process.
36(6) The contract shall include specific provisions pertaining to
37the qualifications of the staff that will perform the work under the
38contract, as well as assurances that the contractor’s hiring practices
39meet applicable nondiscrimination standards.
P4 1(7) The contract shall provide that it may be terminated at any
2time
by the trial court without penalty if there is a material breach
3of the contract and notice is provided within 30 days of termination.
4(8) If the contract is for services in excess of one hundred
5thousand dollars ($100,000) annually, all of the following shall
6occur:
7(A) The trial court shall require the contractor to disclose all of
8the following information as part of its bid, application, or answer
9to a request for proposal:
10(i) A description of all charges, claims, or complaints filed
11against the contractor with a federal, state, or local administrative
12agency during the prior 10 years.
13(ii) A description of all civil complaints filed against the
14contractor in a
state or federal court during the prior 10 years.
15(iii) A description of all state or federal criminal complaints or
16indictments filed against the contractor, or any of its officers,
17directors, or managers, at any time.
18(iv) A description of any debarments of the contractor by a
19public agency or licensing body at any time.
20(B) The trial court shall include in the contract specific,
21measurable performance standards and provisions for a
22performance audit by the trial court, or an independent auditor
23approved by the trial court, to determine whether the performance
24standards are being met and whether the contractor is in compliance
25with applicable laws and regulations. The audit shall be made
26available to the public upon
request within 10 calendar days from
27receipt of the request. A charge per page, per copy, may be charged
28representing the direct costs of equipment, supplies, and staff
29required to duplicate or produce the requested audit. The trial court
30shall not renew or extend the contract prior to receiving and
31considering the audit report.
32(C) The contract shall include provisions for an audit by the
33trial court, or an independent auditor approved by the trial court,
34to determine whether and to what extent the anticipated cost
35savings have actually been realized. The audit shall be made
36available to the public upon request within 10 calendar days from
37receipt of the request. A charge per page, per copy, may be charged
38representing the direct costs of equipment, supplies, and staff
39required to duplicate or produce the requested audit. The trial court
P5 1shall
not renew or extend the contract before receiving and
2considering the audit report.
3(9) The term of the contract shall not be more than five years
4from the date on which the trial court approves the contract.
5(b) This section does not preclude a trial court or the Judicial
6Council from adopting more restrictive rules regarding the
7contracting of court services.
8(c) This section does not apply to a contract in any of the
9following circumstances:
10(1) The contract is between a trial court and another trial court
11or a local government entity for services to be performed by
12employees of the other trial court or employees of the local
13government entity.
14(2) The contract is for a new trial court function and the
15Legislature has specifically mandated or authorized the
16performance of the services by independent contractors.
17(3) The services contracted for are of such a highly specialized
18or technical nature that the necessary expert knowledge, experience,
19and ability cannot be obtained from the court’s trial court
20employees.
21(4) The services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or
22lease of real or personal property. Contracts described in this
23paragraph, known as “service agreements,” shall include, but not
24be limited to, agreements to service or maintain office equipment
25or computers that are leased or rented. Contracts described in this
26paragraph shall not
include agreements to operate equipment or
27computers, except as necessary to service or maintain that
28equipment.
29(5) The legislative, administrative, or legal goals and purposes
30cannot be accomplished through the utilization of trial court
31employees because of the need to protect against a conflict of
32interest or to ensure independent and unbiased findings in situations
33where there is a clear need for an independent, outside perspective.
34(6) Due to an emergency, a contract is necessary for the
35immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, or safety.
36(7) The contractor will conduct training courses for which
37appropriately qualified trial court employee instructors are not
38available from the court, provided that
permanent instructor
39positions shall be filled through the process for hiring trial court
40employees.
P6 1(8) The services are of such an urgent, temporary, or occasional
2nature that the delay incumbent in their implementation through
3the process for hiring trial court employees would frustrate their
4very purpose. This paragraph shall not apply to the services of
5official court reporters, except individual official reporters pro
6tempore may be used by a trial court when the criteria of this
7paragraph are met.
8(9) The contract is a personal services contract developed
9pursuant to rehabilitation programs in accordance with Sections
1019403 and 19404 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, pursuant
11to habilitation programs in accordance with Chapter 13
12(commencing with Section 4850)
of Division 4.5 of the Welfare
13and Institutions Code, or pursuant to a program vendored or
14contracted through a regional center or the State Department of
15Developmental Services in accordance with the Lanterman
16Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5
17(commencing with Section 4500) of the Welfare and Institutions
18Code), and the contract will not cause an existing trial court
19employee to incur a loss of his or her employment or employment
20seniority; a reduction in wages, benefits, or hours; or an involuntary
21transfer to a new location requiring a change in residence.
22(10) The contract is for the services of any court interpreter.
23Contracts for the services of any court interpreter, and restrictions
24on contracting out interpreter services, shall be governed by the
25Trial Court Interpreter Employment and Labor Relations Act
26(Chapter
7.5 (commencing with Section 71800)) and any
27memorandum of understanding or agreement entered into pursuant
28to that act, or by the other provisions of this chapter, the Trial Court
29Employment Protection and Governance Act, and any
30memorandum of understanding or agreement entered into pursuant
31to that act, as applicable.
Section 71621 of the Government Code, as added by
33Section 1 of this act, shall apply to any contract entered into,
34renewed, or extended on or after January 1, 2015.
(a) Each trial court shall provide a report by no later
36than February 1, 2015, to the chairperson of the Joint Legislative
37Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary
38Committee and Assembly Judiciary Committee if the trial court
39entered into a contract between July 1, 2014, and December 31,
402014, inclusive, for services that were provided or are customarily
P7 1provided by its trial court employees and that contract has a term
2extending beyond March 31, 2015. The report shall provide all of
3the following information for each of these contracts:
4(1) A copy of the contract.
5(2) An analysis of whether the contract would have been
6permissible under the standards set forth in Section 71621 of the
7Government Code, as added by Section 1 of this act.
8(3) An analysis of whether the contract resulted in the
9displacement of trial court employees.
10(4) An analysis of whether the contract involves the use of
11contractors to perform the type of services that were customarily
12performed by trial court employees.
13(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to consider the reduction
14of future budget appropriations to each trial court by the amount
15of any contract analyzed pursuant to subdivision (a) if the
16Legislature concludes that the contract would not have been
17permissible under the standards provided
in Section 71621 of the
18Government Code, as added by Section 1 of this act.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any
20provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
21shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
22effect without the invalid provision or application.
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