SB 848 — State employment.

Summary

(1) Existing law provides that a provision of a memorandum of understanding reached between the state employer and a recognized employee organization representing state civil service employees that requires the expenditure of funds does not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. This bill would approve provisions of a memorandum of understanding entered into between the state employer and State Bargaining Unit 12, the International Union of Operating Engineers, that require the expenditure of funds and would provide that these provisions will become effective even if these provisions are approved by the Legislature in legislation other than the annual Budget Act. This bill would provide that provisions of the memorandum of understanding approved by this bill that require the expenditure of funds will not take effect unless funds for those provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature and would authorize the state employer and the affected employee organization to meet and confer to renegotiate the affected provisions if funds for those provisions are not specifically appropriated by the Legislature. The bill would appropriate $45,419,000 in augmentation of certain items of the Budget Act of 2016, according to a specified schedule, for State Bargaining Unit 12 employee compensation for expenditure in the 2016–17 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate to the Controller from the General Fund, unallocated special funds, including federal funds and unallocated nongovernmental cost funds, and any other fund from which state employees are compensated, the amount necessary for the payment of compensation and employee benefits to state employees covered by the memorandum of understanding described above if the Budget Act is not enacted on or before July 1 in the 2016–17, 2017–18, or 2018–19 fiscal years, as specified. (2) Existing law grants to an employee with permanent civil service status, or who previously had permanent status, and who, without a break in service, accepts an appointment to an exempt position, the right to reinstatement in his or her former position at the termination of the appointment, either by the employee or the appointing power, subject to certain conditions. Existing law prescribes different periods within which an employee is permitted to make a request for reinstatement in connection with different exempt appointments. This bill would eliminate the various periods within which an employee is required to make a request for reinstatement, as described above, and eliminate language specifying that the termination be either by the employee or the appointing power. The bill would also make clarifying, conforming, and technical changes. (3) Existing law grants certain civil service testing rights to an employee with reinstatement rights, as described above, within 4 years of termination in an exempt position, either by the employee or the appointing power, who has at least one year, but less than 3 years, of exempt service. In this regard, existing law requires that these employees be given the opportunity to obtain civil service list appointment eligibility, through examination, for any position offered by the appointing power that has a current eligible list and that has a salary range up to 2 salary steps higher than his or her former position. Existing law further requires that similarly situated employees who have more than 3 years of exempt service be given the opportunity to obtain appointment list eligibility in classes at least 2 salary steps below the employees' exempt salary levels. Existing law also grants a right of reinstatement to an employee whose exempt appointment terminates, on or after January 1, 1987, and who has at least 10 years of state service, among other characteristics, to specified positions of the appointing power for which he or she has list eligibility. In the absence of list eligibility, existing law grants the employee the right to a deferred examination, as specified, or to his or her former position. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to grant employees in exempt positions with reinstatement rights, as described above, who have at least 5 years of state service, a right to obtain civil service appointment list eligibility by taking a deferred examination for any class that has a current eligible list and for which the employee meets the minimum qualifications of the class. (4) Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources to administer the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) to provide an alternative to the traditional civil service examination and appointment process to facilitate the hiring of persons with disabilities in the state civil service. Existing law authorizes the department to conduct competitive examinations to determine eligibility for appointment under LEAP, which may include on-the-job-performance evaluation. A LEAP candidate who successfully completes a job examination period is qualified in the examination and may be appointed without further examination. This bill would provide that a LEAP candidate who is appointed after successfully completing a job examination period, as described above, is not required to serve a probationary period. (5) Existing law prescribes a process for recovering payments from employees when the state determines an overpayment has been made. Existing law prohibits a state administrative action to recover an overpayment unless the action is initiated within 3 years from the date of overpayment. This bill, for purposes of an action to recover an overpayment involving leave credits, would establish the date that the overpayment occurs as the date that the employee receives compensation in exchange for the erroneously credited leave. The bill would state when leave hours are considered exchanged for compensation for these purposes. (6) Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources to devise plans for, and cooperate with appointing powers and other supervising officials in the conduct of, employee training programs so that the quality of service rendered by persons in the state civil service may be continually improved. Existing law also requires the department to devise plans for, and cooperate with appointing powers in the conduct of, supervisorial employee training programs and prescribes training requirements in this regard. This bill would require the department to analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate an integrated development strategy to continually advance employee skills and improve performance productivity and service. The bill would instead require the department to devise plans for, and cooperate with appointing powers in the conduct of, supervisor, manager, and career executive assignment employee training programs so that the quality of leadership services rendered by persons in those positions may be continually improved and succession planning supported. The bill would prescribe requirements for supervisor, manager, and career executive assignment employees in connection with this training. (7) The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System for the purpose of providing pension and other benefits to public employees, which are funded by employee and employer contributions and investment returns. PERL prescribes different normal rates for employee contributions depending on bargaining unit, employer, and inclusion of service in the federal Social Security system, among other factors. This bill, on and after July 1, 2017, would raise the normal rates of contribution for specified judicial branch employees to 9% of compensation over $317 per month for state miscellaneous members whose service is not included in the federal system, 8% of compensation over $513 per month for state miscellaneous members whose service has been included in the federal system, and 11% of compensation over $238 for peace officer/firefighter members. (8) The Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) , which is administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, prescribes methods for calculating the state employer contribution for postemployment health care benefits for eligible retired public employees and their families and for the vesting of these benefits. PEMHCA requires the employer contribution for an employee or annuitant who is in employment or retired from state service to be adjusted by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, as specified. PEMHCA prescribes different ways of calculating the employer contributions for employees and annuitants depending on date of hire, years of service, and bargaining unit. This bill, for judicial branch employees and state employees represented by State Bargaining Unit 12 who are first employed and become state members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2017, would limit the employer contribution for annuitants to 80% of the weighted average of the health benefit plan premiums for an active employee enrolled for self-alone, during the benefit year to which the formula is applied, for the 4 health benefit plans with the largest state civil service enrollment, as specified. The bill would similarly limit the employer contribution for an enrolled family member of an annuitant to 80% of the weighted average of the additional premiums required for enrollment of those family members during the benefit year to which the formula is applied and would provide the same limit on employer contributions for annuitants enrolled in Medicare health benefit plans. (9) PEMHCA requires state employees to have a specified number of years of state service, depending on hiring date and other factors, before they may receive any portion of the employer contribution payable for annuitants for postretirement health benefits and increases the percentage they may receive based upon additional years of service. This bill would prohibit judicial branch employees who are first employed and become state members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2017, from receiving any portion of the employer contribution payable for annuitants unless the person is credited with at least 15 years of state service at the time of retirement. The bill would prescribe the percentage of the employer contribution payable for postretirement health benefits for these employees based on the number of completed years of credited state service at retirement, with 50% after 15 credited years of service and 100% after 25 or more years of service. The bill would except specified employees from this prohibition. (10) PEMHCA generally requires that an employee or annuitant who is enrolled in, or whose family member is enrolled in, a Medicare health benefit plan be paid the amount of the Medicare Part B premiums, as specified, and prohibits this payment from exceeding the difference between the maximum employer contribution and the amount contributed by the employer toward the cost of premiums for the health benefit plan in which the employee or annuitant and his or her family members are enrolled. Existing law excepts specified state employees from this requirement. This bill would also except from the requirement described above judicial branch employees and state employees represented by State Bargaining Unit 12 who are first employed and become state members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2017. (11) PEMHCA establishes the Public Employees' Contingency Reserve Fund for the purpose of funding health benefits and funding administrative expenses. PEMHCA establishes the Annuitants' Health Care Coverage Fund, which is continuously appropriated, for the purpose of prefunding health care coverage for annuitants, including administrative costs. PEMHCA defines prefunding for these purposes. Existing law requires the state and employees of State Bargaining Unit 6, 9, or 10 to prefund retiree health care with the goal of reaching a 50% cost sharing of normal costs, and prescribes schedules of contribution percentages in this regard. This bill would require the state and state employees in the judicial branch to make contributions to prefund retiree health care pursuant to a prescribed schedule of contribution percentages and would also require the state and employees in State Bargaining Unit 12 to prefund retiree health care pursuant to a separate prescribed schedule of contribution percentages, with the contributions to be deposited in the Annuitants' Health Care Coverage Fund. By depositing new revenue in a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (12) Existing law, the State Employees' Dental Care Act, authorizes the state to enter into contracts, upon negotiations with employee organizations, with carriers for dental care plans for employees, annuitants, and eligible family members. Existing law permits these plans to include premiums to be paid by employees and annuitants and also authorizes the plans to be self-funded if an employer determines it to be cost effective. Existing law prohibits specified employees from receiving an employer contribution for these benefits for annuitants unless the person is credited with 10 or more years of state service, and inhibits other specified employees from receiving that contribution unless the person is credited with 15 or more years of state service, and prohibits other specified employees from receiving that contribution unless the person is credited with 15 or more years of state service. This bill would prohibit judicial branch employees and state employees in State Bargaining Unit 12 who are first employed and become state members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2017, from receiving an employer contribution for dental benefits, as described above, for annuitants unless the person is credited with 15 or more years of state service. The bill would prescribe the percentage of the employer contribution payable for these dental benefits for these employees based on the number of completed years of credited state service at retirement, with 50% after 15 credited years of service and 100% after 25 or more years of service. The bill would except specified employees from these provisions. (13) Existing law authorizes the Legislature to prescribe compensation for judges of courts of record. Existing law specifies the salaries of justices and judges of the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, and trial courts and provides for the annual increase of those salaries by the amount that is produced by multiplying the judge's or justice's current salary by the average percentage salary increase for the current fiscal year for California state employees, as provided. This bill would state that, for purpose of calculating a judge's or justice's salary, the average percentage salary increases for California state employees shall be reduced by the average percentage salary decrease resulting from the furlough or enrollment in a personal leave program of California state employees in that current fiscal year and would exempt employees of the California State University system, judicial branch, and Legislature from the definition of California state employee for this purpose. The bill would prohibit a salary increase for justices and judges if the resulting percentage, including the reduction, is equal to or less than zero. The bill would also limit the award of interest on an order to pay unpaid salary or judicial retiree benefits based on these provisions to the rate of interest on the Pooled Money Investment Account. (14) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 06/27/16 - Chaptered Current pdf June 27, 2016
• Enrolled 06/15/16 - Enrolled pdf June 15, 2016
• Amended 06/12/16 - Amended Assembly pdf June 12, 2016
• Amended 05/25/16 - Amended Assembly pdf May 25, 2016
• Introduced 01/07/16 - Introduced pdf January 07, 2016
• SB848 View text html

Action History

1. June 27, 2016

   Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 35, Statutes of 2016.

2. June 27, 2016

   Approved by the Governor.

3. June 16, 2016

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 5:30 p.m.

4. June 15, 2016

   Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 31. Noes 4. Page 4340.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

5. June 15, 2016

   In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

6. June 15, 2016

   Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 64. Noes 15. Page 5363.) Ordered to the Senate.

7. June 15, 2016

   Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 50. Noes 25. Page 5358.)

8. June 15, 2016

   Ordered to third reading.

9. June 15, 2016

   Withdrawn from committee.

10. June 15, 2016

    Assembly Rule 96 suspended. (Ayes 50. Noes 25. Page 5358.)

11. June 12, 2016

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.

12. May 25, 2016

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.

13. May 02, 2016

    Referred to Com. on BUDGET.

14. April 14, 2016

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

15. April 14, 2016

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 25. Noes 11. Page 3543.) Ordered to the Assembly.

16. April 12, 2016

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

17. April 11, 2016

    Ordered to second reading.

18. April 11, 2016

    Withdrawn from committee.

19. January 11, 2016

    Referred to Com. on B. & F.R.

20. January 08, 2016

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 7.

21. January 07, 2016

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

• Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review · Primary

Votes

Subjects