AB 131: State public employment.

(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 memoranda of understanding entered into between the state employer and Professional Engineers in California Government, State Bargaining Unit 9, and the California Association of Professional Scientists, State Bargaining Unit 10, 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. The bill would prohibit provisions of the memoranda of understanding approved by the bill that require the expenditure of funds from taking effect unless funds for those provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature. The bill would require 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 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 memoranda of understanding described above if the Budget Act is not enacted on or before July 1 in the 201617 or 201718 fiscal years, as specified.

(2)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.

(3)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.

(4)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 dont 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, was from outside civil service the right to defer 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.

(5)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 state employees who are first employed and become members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2016, and are represented by State Bargaining Unit 9 or 10, as specified, 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. The bill would similarly limit employer contributions for annuitants enrolled in Medicare health benefit plans.

(6)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 state employees who are first employed and become members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2016, and are represented by State Bargaining Unit 9 or 10, as specified, 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 an employee 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.

(7)PEMHCA 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.

This bill would prohibit application of this requirement to state employees who are first employed and become members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 2016, and are represented by State Bargaining Unit 9 or 10, as specified.

(8)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 of health care coverage for annuitants, including administrative costs. PEMHCA defines prefunding for these purposes.

This bill would require the state and employees of State Bargaining Unit 9 or 10 to prefund retiree health care with the goal of reaching a 50% cost sharing of normal costs by July 1, 2019. The bill would prescribed schedules of contribution percentages in this regard for state and these employees, based upon bargaining unit, with the moneys 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.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.