Amended
IN
Assembly
June 10, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 25, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 09, 2024 |
Introduced by Senator Newman |
February 15, 2024 |
The California Constitution establishes the State Personnel 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. Existing law establishes the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) 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 would require CalHR to make a quarterly report regarding assaults, as defined, against employees on or before January 30, 2026, and annually thereafter, to the Legislature and the chairs of the Senate Committee on Budget and
Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget with respect to assaults that occurred during the preceding calendar year. The bill would require that report to include certain information with respect to any assault that occurred during the previous reporting period, including the date of the assault and the job classification of any affected represented employee.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(a)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)“Assault” means a physically aggressive act to staff, including hitting, pushing, kicking, or other acts directed against a staff person that could cause potential or actual injury.
(2)“Employee” has the same meaning as in subdivision (d) of Section 19815.
(b)(1)The Department of Human Resources shall make a quarterly report, pursuant to subdivision (c), regarding assaults against employees on or before January 30, 2026, and
annually thereafter, to the Legislature and the chairs of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget with respect to assaults that occurred during the preceding calendar year.
(2)A report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted pursuant to Section
9795.
(c)(1)A report made pursuant to this section shall include all of the following information with respect to any assault that occurred during the previous reporting period:
(A)The date of the assault.
(B)The job classification of any affected represented employee.
(C)The employee’s state bargaining unit designation.
(D)The name of the location at which the incident occurred.
(2)Information reported pursuant to this subdivision shall be reported in a manner that appropriately protects the confidentiality of
employees.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 19816.15 to the Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to appropriately protect the privacy of persons involved in violent incidents, it is necessary to limit access to the personal information
of employees involved in these incidents.