AB 105 — The Upward Mobility Act of 2021: boards and commissions: civil service: examinations: classifications.

Summary

Existing law provides that it is the policy of the State of California that the composition of state boards and commissions shall be broadly reflective of the general public, including ethnic minorities and women. This bill would require that, on or after January 1, 2022, all state boards and commissions consisting of one or more volunteer members have at least one board member or commissioner from an underrepresented community. The bill would define the term "board member or commissioner from an underrepresented community" as an individual who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native; who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender; who is a veteran, as defined; or who has a disability, as defined. The bill would apply these requirements only as vacancies on state boards and commissions occur. The California Constitution establishes the State Personnel Board (board) and requires the board to, among other things, enforce the civil service statutes, prescribe probationary periods and classifications, adopt rules authorized by statute, and review disciplinary actions. The Constitution also requires the executive officer of the board to administer the civil service statutes under the rules of the board. Under existing law, the board is authorized to conduct audits and investigations of the personnel practices of the Department of Human Resources and appointing authorities to ensure compliance with civil service policies, procedures, and statutes. Existing law establishes the Department of Human Resources (department) and provides that, subject to the requirements of the California Constitution, it succeeds to and is vested with the duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction exercised by the board as its designee with respect to the board's administrative and ministerial functions. This bill, among other things, would instead authorize the department, at the direction of and in conjunction with the State Personnel Board, to conduct audits and investigations of personnel practices of other departments and appointing authorities to ensure compliance with civil service policies, procedures, and statutes. The bill would require the department to oversee compliance with rules prescribed by the board consistent with a merit-based civil service system to govern appointments, classifications, examinations, probationary periods, disciplinary actions, and other matters related to the board's constitutional authority, and require the department, pursuant to a process established by the State Personnel Board, to investigate complaints filed by employees in a state department's equal employment opportunity program and personnel office, other civil service employees, applicants, and members of the public alleging violations of civil service laws and report findings to the board for adjudication. Existing law requires any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate collection categories and tabulations for major Asian and Pacific Islander groups, as specified. This bill would require any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate collection categories and tabulations for specified African American groups. The bill would distinguish between African Americans who are descendants of persons enslaved in the United States and African Americans who are not descendants of persons enslaved in the United States, as defined. Existing law requires that lists of eligible applicants for civil service positions be established as a result of free competitive examinations. Existing law, with regard to the requirements governing examinations for establishing employment lists, authorizes the department to designate an appointing power to design, announce, or administer examinations and requires the board to establish minimum qualifications for determining the fitness and qualifications of employees for each class of position. This bill would require instead that the board establish a process that includes diversity and best practices in each aspect of the design, announcement, and administration of the examinations and, in developing qualifications for determining the fitness and qualifications of employees, create standards for statements of qualifications used as examination criteria for the State of California in determining the fitness and qualifications of employees for each class of position. The bill would also require that examinations with an oral component be video and otherwise electronically recorded and all other examination materials be maintained for each examination, as specified. The bill would also require the announcement for an examination to include the core competencies, as defined, and the standard statement of qualifications, if applicable. Existing law requires all appointing authorities of state government to establish an effective program of upward mobility for employees in low-paying occupational groups. Existing law requires each upward mobility program to include annual goals for upward mobility and a timetable for when progress will occur, and requires the department to approve the goals and timetables. Existing law authorizes an appointing authority that determines that it will be unable to achieve the goals to ask the department for a reduction in the goals, as specified. This bill would repeal the authorization for an appointing authority to ask the department for a reduction in their annual upward mobility goals, and would instead require the appointing authority to submit a report explaining the failure to achieve the goals and what requirements are necessary to facilitate achieving the goals, as specified, and then submit the report to specified persons. The bill would, on or before July 1, 2022, require the department to develop model upward mobility goals that include race, gender, LGBTQ, veteran status, or physical or mental disability as factors, and to provide a report to the Legislature outlining the department workforce analysis used to develop those model goals. Existing law authorizes a state appointing power to take adverse action against state civil service employees for specified causes for discipline, and provides procedures for state civil service disciplinary proceedings. Existing law authorizes the board to hold hearings and make investigations concerning all matters relating to the enforcement and effect of the State Civil Service Act, as specified. This bill would require each appointing power to provide the Department of Human Resources with a report, no later than April 1 of each year, detailing certain information regarding adverse actions against state employees, including, but not limited to, the ethnicity, race, gender identity, or sexual orientation of each employee served with an adverse action in the preceding calendar year.

Bill Text

• Enrolled 09/13/21 - Enrolled Current pdf September 13, 2021
• Amended 08/31/21 - Amended Senate pdf August 31, 2021
• Amended 07/15/21 - Amended Senate pdf July 15, 2021
• Amended 06/23/21 - Amended Senate pdf June 23, 2021
• Amended 06/14/21 - Amended Senate pdf June 14, 2021
• Amended 04/21/21 - Amended Assembly pdf April 21, 2021
• Amended 03/01/21 - Amended Assembly pdf March 01, 2021
• Introduced 12/14/20 - Introduced pdf December 14, 2020
• AB105 View text html

Action History

1. February 03, 2022

   Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file.

2. January 03, 2022

   Consideration of Governor's veto pending.

3. October 08, 2021

   Vetoed by Governor.

4. September 17, 2021

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

5. September 09, 2021

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 58. Noes 12. Page 2990.).

6. September 08, 2021

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

7. September 08, 2021

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 8. Page 2486.).

8. August 31, 2021

   Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.

9. August 30, 2021

   From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 26).

10. August 23, 2021

    In committee: Referred to suspense file.

11. July 15, 2021

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

12. July 14, 2021

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (July 13).

13. June 28, 2021

    In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

14. June 23, 2021

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

15. June 22, 2021

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (June 21).

16. June 14, 2021

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.

17. June 09, 2021

    Action rescinded whereby the bill was referred to Com. on G.O.

18. June 09, 2021

    Referred to Coms. on L., P.E. & R., JUD. and G.O.

19. June 02, 2021

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

20. June 01, 2021

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 58. Noes 12. Page 1717.)

21. May 24, 2021

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

22. May 20, 2021

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 3.) (May 20).

23. May 12, 2021

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

24. May 03, 2021

    Received by the Desk April 30 pursuant to Joint Rule 61(a)(2).

25. May 03, 2021

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

26. April 30, 2021

    Coauthors revised.

27. April 22, 2021

    Re-referred to Com. on P.E. & R.

28. April 21, 2021

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P.E. & R. Read second time and amended.

29. March 02, 2021

    Re-referred to Com. on P.E. & R.

30. March 01, 2021

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P.E. & R. Read second time and amended.

31. January 11, 2021

    Referred to Com. on P.E. & R.

32. January 11, 2021

    Read first time.

33. December 15, 2020

    From printer. May be heard in committee January 14.

34. December 14, 2020

    Introduced. To print.

Sponsors

• Holden · Primary
• Chiu · Cosponsor
• Cooper · Cosponsor

Votes

Subjects