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. Existing law establishes the Department of Human Resources and provides that, subject to the requirements of the 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.

Existing law requires the board to establish minimum qualifications for determining the fitness and qualification for each class of position, including education, experience, knowledge, and abilities that each applicant is required to have to be considered eligible for a classification.

This bill would eliminate as a minimum qualification a college degree for all positions that do not require an associated required accreditation unless an agency can justify a college requirement by stating specific duties that necessitate a college degree. If an agency determines that a position requires a college degree, the bill would require that agency to include the specific duties that necessitate a college degree in any advertisements recruiting for that class of position.