California Assembly Bill AB129 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 129AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 24, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Committee on Budget (Weber (Chair), Bloom, Bonta, Campos, Chiu, Cooper, Gordon, Jones-Sawyer, McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Rodriguez, Thurmond, Ting, and Williams) JANUARY 9, 2015 An act to amend Sections 18546, 18990, 18991, 18992, 18993, 19057.1, 19057.3, 19889, 19889.2, and 19889.3 of, to add Section 19889.4 to, and to repeal Sections 19057, 19057.2, and 19057.4 of, the Government Code, relating to state civil service, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 129, as amended, Committee on Budget. State civil service. (1) The California Constitution provides that the civil service includes every officer and employee in the state except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, and existing statutory law, the State Civil Service Act, prescribes a comprehensive civil service personnel system for the state. The act grants eligibility for promotional civil service examinations and career executive assignment examinations to persons who meet certain requirements and minimum qualifications and who are employed by the Legislature, persons who are retired from the United States armed forces, honorably discharged from active military duty with a service-connected disability, or honorably discharged from active duty, or persons who were employees of the executive branch in exempt positions. This bill would revise eligibility standards applicable to people who were employed by the Legislature, people who retired or were discharged from the armed forces, and people who were formerly employed in exempt, executive branch positions, as described above, to permit them, upon request, to obtain civil service appointment list eligibility by taking promotional exams or career executive exams for which they meet minimum qualifications, as specified. The bill would eliminate the requirement that an employee or veteran, in this context, select only one promotional examination in which to compete when multiple examinations are given. Among other things, the bill would also remove a time limit on this eligibility granted to specified former employees of the Legislature and employees of the executive branch in exempt positions. (2) Existing law generally requires that appointments to vacant positions be made by lists. Existing law requires, with specified exceptions, that an appointing power receive the names and addresses of the three persons highest on a promotional employment list for the class in which a position belongs, and if there are fewer than three names, as specified, additional names are provided from the various lists next lower in order of preference. Existing law prescribes requirements for providing names to an appointing power for positions designated as management and specifies a method of ranking eligible candidates in this context. Existing law prescribes requirements for providing names to an appointing power for positions designated as supervisory and not professional, scientific, or administrative, and that are not examined for on an open basis, and specifies a method of ranking eligible candidates in this context. Existing law requires an appointing power to fill a position from the names of the persons provided. This bill would repeal these provisions and make conforming changes. (3) Existing law provides for career executive assignments to encourage the development for well-qualified executives and requires the State Personnel Board to establish, by a rule, a system of merit personnel administration specifically suited to the selection and placement of executive personnel. The State Civil Service Act defines career executive. Existing law requires the State Personnel Board, by rule, to provide that employees whose appointments to career executive assignments are terminated to be reinstated to civil service positions, as specified, at their option. This bill would revise the definition of career executive to eliminate the requirement that the person have permanent status in the civil service. This bill would provide that various provisions relating to personnel examinations don't apply to career executive assignments unless provided for by rule, as specified. The bill would grant reinstatement rights to employees who at the time of appointment to a career executive assignment were not employed by the state but who had previously worked for it and had gained permanent civil service status. The bill would grant an employee who at the time of his or her appointment to a career executive assignment  did not have   was from outside  civil service  status eligibility to compete in any promotional examination for which he or she meets the minimum qualifications as prescribed by the class specification, except as specified, and would provide these employees other rights in this context, including  the right to defer  examinations and to transfer list eligibility in the same manner as civil service employees.   examination for any open eligible list, as specified, in existence at the time of the termination of the career executive assignment for which he or she meets the minimum qualifications of the class to which appointment is sought. The bill would require, in this regard, that related experience gained in a career executive assignment be considered state civil service experience in a comparable class, as specified.  The bill would make an appropriation from the General Fund of $300,000 to the Department of Finance for the purpose of funding the posting on the department's Internet Web site of all budget requests included as part of the Governor's Budget. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 18546 of the Government Code is amended to read: 18546. "Career executive" means an employee appointed from an employment list established for the express purpose of providing a list of persons who are eligible for career executive assignments, as specified in Article 5 (commencing with Section 18990) of Chapter 4 and Article 9 (commencing with Section 19889) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 2.6, in which examination, selection, classification, salary, tenure, and other conditions of employment may be varied from those prevailing under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 18800) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 19570), inclusive, for other employees in the state civil service. SEC. 2. Section 18990 of the Government Code is amended to read: 18990. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or rule, persons employed by the Legislature for two or more consecutive years shall be given an opportunity, upon request, to obtain civil service appointment list eligibility by taking any promotional civil service examination or career executive assignment examinations for which they meet the minimum qualifications of the class for which they seek appointment. Persons receiving passing scores shall gain list eligibility or appointment. In evaluating minimum qualifications, a person's legislative experience shall be considered state civil service experience in a comparable class that has the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities as the person's legislative position. (b) Persons who meet the requirements of this section, but who resigned or were released from service with the Legislature, shall be eligible to take promotional civil service examinations and career executive assignment examinations in accordance with subdivision (a). SEC. 3. Section 18991 of the Government Code is amended to read: 18991. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, persons retired from the United States military, honorably discharged from active military duty with a service-connected disability, or honorably discharged from active duty, shall be eligible to apply for promotional civil service examinations and career executive assignment examinations for which they meet the minimum qualifications of the class to which they seek appointment. Persons receiving passing scores shall gain list eligibility for appointment. In evaluating minimum qualifications, the person's military experience shall be considered state civil service experience in a comparable class that has the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities as the person's position in the military. SEC. 4. Section 18992 of the Government Code is amended to read: 18992. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or rule, persons holding, for two or more consecutive years, nonelected exempt positions in the executive branch of government as defined in subdivisions (c), (e), (f), (g), (i), and (m) of Section 4 of Article VII of the Constitution and excluding those positions for which the salaries are set by statute, shall be given the opportunity, upon request, to obtain civil service appointment list eligibility by taking any promotional civil service examination or career executive assignment examination for which they meet the minimum qualifications of the class to which they seek appointment. Persons receiving passing scores shall gain list eligibility for appointment. In evaluating minimum qualifications, the person's experience in the exempt position shall be considered state civil service experience in a comparable class that has the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities as the person's exempt position. (b) Persons who meet the requirements of this section, but who resigned or were released from exempt employment of the executive branch of government, shall be eligible to take promotional civil service examinations and career executive assignment examinations in accordance with subdivision (a). SEC. 5. Section 18993 of the Government Code is amended to read: 18993. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative or nonelected exempt executive branch employee who is appointed to a career executive assignment pursuant to Section 18990 or 18992, shall be eligible to compete in his or her appointing power' s promotional examinations for which he or she meets the minimum qualifications of the class to which he or she seeks appointment. When such an employee's career executive assignment is terminated by the appointing power, he or she shall have the right to request a deferred examination for any promotional eligible list that his or her appointing power has in existence at the time of the termination of the career executive assignment and for which he or she meets the minimum qualifications of the class to which he or she seeks appointment. (b) A request for a deferred examination pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be made no later than 10 days after the effective date of the termination of the career executive assignment. The department shall administer the deferred examination within 30 days of the date of the request. SEC. 6. Section 19057 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 7. Section 19057.1 of the Government Code is amended to read: 19057.1. Except for reemployment lists, State Restriction of Appointment lists, and Limited Examination and Appointment Program referral lists, there shall be certified to the appointing power the names and addresses of all those eligibles whose scores, at the time of certification, represent the three highest ranks on the employment list for the class, and who have indicated their willingness to accept appointment under the conditions of employment specified. For purposes of ranking, scores of eligibles on employment lists covered by this section shall be rounded to the nearest whole percent. A rank shall consist of one or more eligibles with the same whole percentage score. If the names on the list from which certification is being made represent fewer than three ranks, then, consistent with board rules, additional eligibles may be certified from the various lists next lower in order of preference until names from three ranks appear. If there are fewer than three names available for certification, and the appointing authority does not choose to appoint from among these, the appointing authority may demand certification of three names. In that case, examinations shall be conducted until at least three names may be certified by the procedure described in this section, and the appointing authority shall fill the position by appointment of one of the persons certified. Fractional examination scores shall be provided to, and used by, the Department of the California Highway Patrol for its peace officer classes. The department may, consistent with board rules, provide for certifying less than three ranks where the size of the certified group is disproportionate to the number of vacancies. SEC. 8. Section 19057.2 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 9. Section 19057.3 of the Government Code is amended to read: 19057.3. (a) For a position in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there shall be certified to the appointing power the names and addresses of all those eligibles for peace officer and closely allied classes whose scores, at the time of certification, represent the three highest ranks on the employment list for the class in which the position belongs and who have indicated their willingness to accept appointment under the conditions of employment specified. (b) For purposes of ranking, scores of eligibles on employment lists for the classes shall be rounded to the nearest whole percent. A rank consists of one or more eligibles with the same whole percentage score. (c) If fewer than three ranks of persons willing to accept appointment are on the list from which certification is to be made, then additional eligibles shall be certified from the various lists next lower in order of preference until names from three ranks are certified. If there are fewer than three names on those lists, and the appointing power does not choose to appoint from among these, the appointing power may demand certification of three names and examinations shall be conducted until at least three names may be certified. The appointing power shall fill the position by the appointment of one of the persons certified. (d) The department may, consistent with board rules, provide for certifying less than three ranks where the size of the certified group is disproportionate to the number of vacancies. (e) The department may, consistent with board rules, allow for the names of eligibles to be transferred from lists for the same class or comparable classes where names from one list were certified under the rule of three ranks, and names from the other list were certified under the rule of three names. SEC. 10. Section 19057.4 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 11. Section 19889 of the Government Code is amended to read: 19889. It is the purpose of this article to encourage the development and effective use of well-qualified and carefully selected executives. In order to carry out this purpose, the State Personnel Board shall establish by rule a merit system specifically suited to the selection and placement of executive personnel. The department shall be responsible for salary administration, position classification, and for the motivation and training of executive personnel. For the purpose of administering this system there is established herewith a category of civil service appointment called "career executive assignments." The department shall designate positions of a high administrative and policy influencing character for inclusion in or removal from this category subject to review by the State Personnel Board, except that the department shall not so designate a position in which there is an incumbent already appointed under the provisions of this part governing employees other than career executives. SEC. 12. Section 19889.2 of the Government Code is amended to read: 19889.2. The provisions of this part governing the examination, selection, classification, and tenure of employees in the regular civil service shall not apply to "career executive assignments" unless provided for by State Personnel Board rule. The provisions of this part relating to punitive actions shall apply to all employees serving in career executive assignments, except that termination of a career executive assignment as provided for in Section 19889.3 is not a punitive action. State Personnel Board rules shall, at a minimum, afford all employees whose career executive assignments are terminated by the appointing power a right of appeal to the State Personnel Board for restoration of his or her assignment when he or she alleges that the termination was for reasons prohibited in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 19680) of Part 2. SEC. 13. Section 19889.3 of the Government Code is amended to read: 19889.3. (a) Eligibility for appointment to positions in the career executive assignment category shall be established as a result of competitive examinations. All candidates shall meet such minimum qualifications as the State Personnel Board may determine are requisite to the performance of high administrative and policy influencing functions. (b) No person employed in a career executive assignment shall be deemed to acquire as a result of such service any rights to or status in positions governed by the provisions of this part relating to the civil service other than the category of career executive assignment, except as provided by State Personnel Board rule. SEC. 14. Section 19889.4 is added to the Government Code, to read: 19889.4. In accordance with State Personnel Board rules, the following shall apply when an appointing power terminates a career executive assignment: (a) An employee who at the time of his or her appointment to a career executive assignment was employed by the state and had permanent civil service status shall, if he or she so desires, be reinstated to a civil service position that is (1) not a career executive assignment and (2) that is at least at the same salary level as the last position that he or she held as a permanent or probationary employee. If the employee had completed a minimum of five years of state service, he or she may return to a position that is (1) at substantially the same salary level as the last position in which he or she had permanent or probationary status or (2) at a salary level that is at least two steps lower than that of the career executive position from which the employee is being terminated. (b) Article 5 (commencing with Section 19140) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 shall apply to an employee who at the time of his or her appointment to a career executive assignment was not employed by the state but who had previously worked for the state and gained permanent civil service status. (c) (1)  Unless otherwise provided in Article 5 (commencing with Section 18990) of Chapter 4 of Part 2, an   An    employee who at the time of his or her appointment to a career executive assignment was from outside civil service shall  be eligible to compete in any promotional examination for which he or she meets the minimum qualifications as prescribed by the class specification. An employee receiving a passing score shall have his or her name placed on the promotional list resulting from the examination or otherwise gain eligibility for appointment. He or she shall  have the right to request a deferred examination for any  promotional   open  eligible list that  is   his or her appointing power or the department ha   s  in existence at the time  of the termination of  the career executive assignment  is terminated  and for which he or she meets the minimum qualifications  as prescribed by the class specification. For   of the class to which he or she seeks appointment. Whether the employee takes a deferred examination or other open civil service examination, for  purposes of evaluating  whether he or she meets the  minimum  qualifications,   qualifications of the class to which he or she seeks appointment,  related experience gained in a career executive assignment shall be considered as state civil service experience in a comparable class.  Employees may transfer list eligibility between appointing powers in the same manner as provided for civil service employees.  (2) A request for a deferred examination pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be made later than 10 days after the effective date of the termination of the career executive assignment. The department or its designee shall administer the deferred examination within 30 days of the date of the request. SEC. 15. The sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Finance for the purpose of funding the posting on the department's Internet Web site of all budget requests included as part of the Governor's Budget. SEC. 16. This act is a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section 12 of Article IV of the California Constitution, has been identified as related to the budget in the Budget Bill, and shall take effect immediately.