MEETING DATE
2/20/2014 |
BUREAU SUBMITTING THIS REPORT
Executive Office |
RESEARCHED BY (PRINT NAME)
Charles Evans |
REVIEWED BY (PRINT NAME)
Alan Deal |
REPORT DATE
01/29/2014 |
APPROVED BY
Robert A. Stresak |
DATE APPROVED
2/3/2014 |
PURPOSE
Decision Requested |
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No
|
| ISSUE, BACKGROUND, ANALYSIS, & RECOMMENDATION |
| ISSUE: |
| Should the Commission authorize the Executive Director to pursue legislation to amend Government Code section 19132 and Penal Code section 13503, to exempt the Commission from the provisions of Government Code section 19132, as it relates to the use of personal services contracts to provide training and other services to law enforcement? |
| BACKGROUND: |
On October 11, 2013, Assembly Bill (AB) 906 Pan (Statutes of 2013, Chapter 774) was enacted. This bill amended Government Code section 19132, relating to personal services contracts.
Government Code section 19132 prohibits a state agency from executing a personal services contract, except in specified sudden and unexpected situations, until it has certified that all employee organizations that perform the type of work being contracted have been notified.
According to the author, "Under existing law, state agencies and departments were undermining the Legislature's appropriation authority and the state civil service system, by abusing the ability to enter into personal services contracts.
The Department of General Services (DGS) is responsible for reviewing and approving state departments' requests to contract for personal services. According to the author, DGS consistently failed to thoroughly review requests or ensure that the requests made good business sense or that costs were reasonable.
According to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 4 Agenda for the February 21, 2012 hearing, "the state currently has over 14,000 personal service contracts worth $11.8 billion. These expenditures occur with no substantive legislative oversight."
The author concluded that AB 906 was a first step in ensuring that state agencies and departments are working in conjunction with the Legislature to build and maintain a strong civil service system, as envisioned in the State Constitution.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), argued that California spends millions of dollars paying for contracts and temporary employees at state institutions when it could hire state employees at a lower cost.
AFSCME states that privatization contracts are often unnecessary and violate state constitutional and statutory prohibitions against overspending on service contracts.
According to supporters, a March 2009 study conducted by the Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 found that the state could save approximately $350 million annually by using civil service employees instead of unnecessary and wasteful privatization contracts. |
| ANALYSIS: |
The State Civil Service Act authorizes state agencies to use personal services contracts if prescribed conditions are met. Personal services contracts are permissible in order to achieve cost savings when certain conditions are met; however, the act requires every state agency to notify the State Personnel Board of its intention to enter into such a contract, and requires the board to contact all organizations that represent state employees who perform the type of work to be contracted.
Government Code section 19132 establishes standards for the use of personal services contracts necessary to carry out instructional activities described in Penal Code section 13503.
The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is established in law (Penal Code section 13500 et. seq). Among other duties, it is responsible for developing and providing training for peace officers and public safety dispatchers throughout the state. Training certified by POST occurs as a result of an identified training need, creation of regulation by the Commission and/or direction from the Legislature. POST has over 4,200 certified training courses that are offered by over 800 presenters. This equates to two million hours of training every year. POST is nationally known for its high standards and rigor of its course certification practices and methods for delivery of law enforcement training.
The POST program is funded primarily by persons who violate the laws that peace officers are trained to enforce. No tax dollars are used to fund the POST program. More than 600 California law enforcement agencies voluntarily participate in the POST program.
POST is a small agency of the Department of Justice with 123 employees. This means that it must leverage its efforts in developing and delivering law enforcement training throughout the state. To do so, POST has for nearly two decades contracted with public entities to deliver its legacy courses.
Legacy courses are those where POST has developed the content and maintains oversight to ensure that the highest quality of training delivery takes place. These courses include: the Supervisory Course, the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute Course, the Command College, the Management Course, and the Executive Development Course. It includes courses involving simulator training, e.g., Law Enforcement Driving Simulator (LEDS) and the Force Option Simulator (FOS), which are presented through 24 regional skills training centers.
Other legacy courses include: the Robert Presley Institute of Criminal Investigation and the Instructor Development Institute Program.
These are high-cost courses that most law enforcement agencies cannot afford to send their officers to without POST’s subvention. That subvention occurs through coverage of tuition, travel, and per diem. It means that POST contracts for the services required to present these courses. To deliver these courses, POST uses a combination of contracts with public entities and personal services. Many of the presenters used by POST provide an array of law enforcement training courses. To do so, the public entities employ instructors with technical expertise related to the topics within these courses. In many instances these individuals are active or retired peace officers with special expertise and specific instructor qualifications. They are in essence, adjunct faculty of the contract presenters. Only a limited number of state employees meet the POST instructor qualifications to present training in the legacy courses.
POST’s ability to deliver critical training needed by the law enforcement community will be seriously affected. Government Code section 19132 will ultimately eliminate the use of personal services contracts as an effective means of providing law enforcement instruction without specific authorization from the Department of General Services Review by State Bargaining Units. It will also prevent POST from using its funds to contract for the delivery of training unless the Department of General Services authorized the use for specified purposes.
Without an exemption or waiver of the provisions of Government Code 19132, POST will face significant challenges in its efforts to provide training critically needed by the law enforcement community. |
| RECOMMENDATION: |
| Staff recommends that the Commission authorize the Executive Director to pursue legislation to amend Government Code section 19132 and Penal Code section 13503, to exempt the Commission from the provisions of Government Code section 19132, as it relates to the use of personal services contracts to provide training and other services to law enforcement. |
| ATTACHMENT(S): |
| Name: |
Type: |
| No Attachments Available |
|
|