professional engineers in california government

It recounts the progress, delays, setbacks, and politics during the design and construction of a new, safe bridge to re-complete the connection across the Bay between San Francisco and Oakland. 2015-12-21, 10:17 AM - Flash Flood in the Northern California, Sacramento and Placer Counties until 12:15 PM. Const., art. As we recognized back then, the party challenging the legislation bears a "heavy burden" in demonstrating that its provisions "inevitably pose a present total and fatal conflict with applicable constitutional prohibitions." Union: Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) Percentage of Workforce: 4.5%; Number of Positions: 10,107; Profile: Employees represented by Unit 9 are professional engineers who design and oversee the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, buildings, dams, and other infrastructure projects throughout the state. ), In this connection, we note that in 1966, in summarizing its recommendations with regard to the proposed revision of former article XXIV, the California Constitution Revision Commission stated: "The first question discussed in considering Article XXIV was whether the matters treated in the article, and particularly the enumeration of exemptions [from civil service] in Section 4, ought to be retained in the Constitution. Former section 14130, subdivision (a), set forth certain legislative findings, including: (1) recognition of a "compelling public interest" in capturing and using in a timely manner available federal, state, local, and private funds for the state highway program (former 14130, subd. In this regard, the prohibition against contracting out is not a direct constitutional expression: nowhere does article VII expressly say what Riley and its progeny say it means. James has 3 jobs listed on their profile. 1503] (Riley).) We negotiate the their labor contract covering pay and benefits including health insurance, retirement, paid leave and working conditions. Rptr. 107, 1, subd. In any event, Caltrans fails to indicate whether these studies were [15 Cal. 3d 390, 394-395 [86 Cal. Rptr. * concurring. Instead, Caltrans relied solely on the new legislative findings characterizing seismic retrofitting as "short-term" work subject to private contracting (see new 14130, subd. 30.). 903, 415 P.2d 791] (anti-obscenity statute); Geiger v. Board of Supervisors (1957) 48 Cal. 3d 501, 514 [217 Cal. Effective September 24, 1993, the Legislature adopted Chapter 433. 3d 1035, 1040 [209 Cal. In Statutes 1993, Chapter 433 (Chapter 433), the California Legislature made factual findings expressly concluding that under certain circumstances, "the use of private consultants to supplement [Caltrans's] workforce has permitted the department to substantially enhance its project delivery." This entertaining one-hour documentary takes the viewer around the world in search of technologies and policies that will address the serious problem of excessive carbon dioxide emissions and our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. To the extent that may be interpreted as the meaning of Riley, it must be rejected. fn. (Maj. Const. Agricultural, Chemical, Control Systems, Electrical, Fire Protection, Industrial, Mechanical, Metallurgical, Nuclear, and Petroleum Engineer Applicants App. Rptr. What standard of evidence would the reviewing court require? (Professional Engineers v. Department of Transportation (1993) 13 Cal. ), "[N]either a finding of fact made after a contested adversary hearing nor a finding of fact made after any other type of hearing can be indisputably deemed to have been a correct finding [;] '[u]nder the doctrine of judicial notice, certain matters are assumed to be indisputably true, and the introduction of evidence to prove them will not be required.' [2] Caltrans first urges us to reconsider and overrule or disapprove the "archaic" Riley decision and the subsequent decisions of this court and the Court of Appeal that have applied, extended, or confined its rule in various contexts. [Citation. Rptr. [] Subdivision (5)(a) [sic] is palpably wrong in finding that defendants' use of private consultants to perform project delivery services is a new state function, years after civil service staff began performing the function. Code, 179.4 [requiring all deficient bridges and structures to be retrofitted or replaced by December 31, 1992, December 31, 1993, or December 31, 1994, depending upon circumstances]; see Gov. And as indicated previously, it is contemplated that these statutory provisions are to remain in effect only until January 1, 1998. fn. Analyst, letter to Sen. Marian Bergeson (July 15, 1993) p. If the Lockard requirements for disregard of the legislative findings and determinations are not met, a court must then accept the facts as found by the Legislature and determine whether, based on those facts, the legislation comports with the Constitution. SB275 was held in the Senate Business Professions and Economic Development committee due to opposition by PECG (Professional Engineers in California Government) and ACEC of CA (American Council of Engineering Consultants of California, formerly known as CELSOC). (a)(4).) former 401(2), italics added; see Diebold v. U.S. (6th Cir. Executive Order S-15-10 was issued . (D'Amico v. Board of Medical Examiners (1974) 11 Cal. PECGs top-notch lawyers, contract negotiators, lobbyists, labor consultant and media specialist represent state-employed engineers, engineering geologists, land surveyors, architects, landscape architects, air pollution specialists, and related professionals individually and collectively. One of PECGs goals is to promote the highest standards of professional practice. 4th 566] privatization. Thus, as previously explained (ante, at pp. 4th 580] with previous legislative findings regarding the need for additional contracting flexibility to ensure timely and cost-effective project delivery, fn. In that case, the Legislature had authorized Caltrans to contract with private development firms to construct and operate tollways under state lease, in order to secure needed transportation systems unobtainable through public financing arrangements. The judiciary, in reviewing statutes enacted by the Legislature, may not undertake to evaluate the wisdom of the policies embodied in such legislation; absent a constitutional prohibition, the choice among competing policy considerations in enacting laws is a legislative function. In my opinion, the majority's independent-judgment-of-the-facts approach shows a stunning lack of respect not only for controlling case law, but especially for legislative prerogative and the separation of powers. The 2022 California Building Code will be implemented on the 2024 Civil Seismic Principles Exam. Having reviewed the general constitutional, statutory, and decisional framework, we return to the facts of this case. This was much more than a huge design and construction project. In examining Chapter 433, it must be presumed the Legislature intended its act to be valid and to fall within the scope of its constitutional powers. 844. 4th 557] highway projects" in Caltrans's workload and is similarly subject to unavoidable delays and unanticipated expansion in scope. 4th 407, 414 [9 Cal. 419.) [Citation.] fn. (Cal. The trial court concluded the 1990 injunction should remain in place because Chapter 433 was unconstitutional and therefore could not and did not impact the injunction. Both the Court of Appeal majority and dissent agree that, despite the Legislature's characterization (see 14130, subd. While it theoretically would be possible for the trial court to take judicial notice pursuant to Evidence Code section 452, subdivisions (g) and (h), I have examined the trial court's statement of decision and can find no facts of consequence that would fall within either of these provisions. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is 469773. ), New section 14130.3 finds that "recent court decisions" have resulted in the termination of certain existing private contacts awarded to minority-, women-, and disabled-veteran-owned firms, a result that is inconsistent with public contracting goals. The Court of Appeal majority, after reviewing the relevant constitutional and statutory principles, initially rejected Caltrans's contention that new section 14130, subdivision (a)(5), makes Caltrans's use of private consultants to assist in project delivery a "new state function" exempt from the civil service mandate. FN 11. The majority acknowledge judicial interpretations of Riley which find exceptions to the expressed rule of that case by permitting the state to contract privately for services that state employees have traditionally performed if those services (1) are of a nature that they could not be performed "adequately and competently," or more economically, through civil service (Riley, supra, 9 Cal.2d at p. 135; CSEA, supra, 199 Cal.App.3d at pp. fn. In our view, none of the express or implied provisions of Chapter 433 affords a legitimate basis for disregarding the constitutional restriction on private contracting. This is a fairly common procedure." (CSEA, supra, 199 Cal.App.3d at p. 851.) 4th 550] promote efficiency and economy' " in state government, and "to eliminate the 'spoils system' of political patronage." This court has followed this principle in a wide variety of situations. This court is without power to create additional exceptions by implication." ), That the Legislature intends to encourage contracting out indicates a finding by that body that contracting out is frequently less expensive than hiring new employees, especially when the costs of short-term hiring and layoffs are taken into account. 576] [rejecting equal protection challenge to Judges' Retirement Law, which used age as a proxy for judicial competence, and following federal precedent declaring that correlation between increasing age and decreasing ability to competently perform work is a logical assumption that [15 Cal. (See Sarracino v. Superior Court (1974) 13 Cal. In sum, article VII would not be undermined by the operation of Chapter 433. Loren E. McMaster for Plaintiffs and Respondents. Moreover, " California courts have held that constitutional and other enactments must receive a liberal, practical common-sense construction which will meet changed conditions and the growing needs of the people. 593-594, and fn. In the many proceedings which produced the injunction and enforcement, Caltrans, the administrative agency which is the necessary source of evidence that contracting out is cost-effective, has been unable to provide any such evidence. Rptr. This court must disregard the earlier findings in determining whether Chapter 433 is unconstitutional. This case is about whether the state must hire new employees to perform such work or may contract out those services under statutory provisions. 3d 639, 652 [122 Cal. Professional Engineers in California Government: 80: 10: California Association of Professional Scientists: 80: 11: Service Employees International Union: 80: 12: International Union of Operating Engineers: 80: 13: . Second, Caltrans overstates its case substantially in claiming that Riley and its progeny's undue restrictions on private contracting or privatization threaten fiscal responsibility and public safety. (Amwest, supra, at pp. 477, 490; Matter of Application of Miller, supra, 162 Cal. (Riley, supra, 9 Cal.2d at pp. 433.) Transit Authority v. Public Util. Click here for information and documentation examples. Although Caltrans asserts that many other states allow private contracting, our review of the sister state decisions indicates that, like California, most of these states have substantial restrictions and "efficiency and economy" requirements to protect their civil service systems from deterioration through private contracting. at p. 592-593; Williams, supra, 7 Cal.App.3d at pp. (13 Cal.App.4th at pp. Judicial notice of prior factual determinations of the superior court does not satisfy plaintiffs' burden inasmuch as circumstances may have changed in the interim. Judieth Sullivan-Ojuola v. City of Sunnyvale, Imperial County Deputy District Attorneys Association v. County of Imperial, Junnie Verceles v. Oakland Unified School District, Service Employees International Union Local 721 v. County of Riverside, Teamsters Local 542 v. El Centro Regional Medical Center, Child Care Providers United California v. State of California, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Council 36 v. City of Anaheim, Service Employees International Union, Local 99 v. The Accelerated Schools, Teamsters Local 2010 v. Regents of the University of California (Davis), Antelope Valley College Federation of Teachers v. Antelope Valley Community College District, Service Employees International Union Local 1000 v. State of California (California Correctional Health Care Services), California State University Employees Union v. Trustees of the California State University (San Diego), Service Employees International Union Local 1021 v. City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency), California School Employees Association-Chapter 176 v. Barstow Community College District, Operating Engineers Local Union No. Thus, the California Constitution Revision Commission considered and rejected an approach that would have given the Legislature open-ended authority to create exemptions from civil service in any area in which the Legislature felt that public policy would be served better by an alternative to the civil service system. ), In disregarding the Legislature's determinations, the majority rely on authorities evaluating First Amendment challenges to legislation. (Alaska 1994) 875 P.2d 765, 768-773; Colorado Ass'n of Pub. Yet it is paradoxical for the majority to acknowledge that the results of the cost-comparison study mandated by Chapter 433 (which the majority concede was intended to help determine the economies of private contracting) "could well assist" Caltrans in making such a showing, while at the same time holding that Caltrans is not entitled to relief before such a study is performed. Rptr. For example, the inability to use private engineering firms would threaten the timely completion of the seismic retrofit of California bridges and overpasses. 1 (Lockard v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 33 Cal.2d at p. 461, quoting Matter of Application of Miller (1912) 162 Cal. [Citations.]' 710.) 2d 912, 916 [152 P.2d 169]; Martin v. Riley (1942) 20 Cal. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Subdivision (b) of that section expressed the legislative intent to allow Caltrans to contract privately for professional and technical services "whenever the department is inadequately staffed to satisfactorily carry out its program [of project development] in a timely and effective manner.". (Amwest, supra, 11 Cal.4th. 3d 390. omitted, italics added. (b), p. on Transportation, Rep. on Sen. Bill No. Regardless of the reasons why this condition had existed, the Legislature was not precluded from legislating based on then-existing circumstances. The retrofit program's length "is comparable to or longer than many of the [15 Cal. Professional Engineers. ), Finally, in Professional Engineers v. Department of Transportation (1993) 13 Cal. Traffic Engineer Applicants on Transportation, Rep. on Sen. Bill No. From 1991 to 1993, the court issued additional orders implementing its injunction. 4th 578] legal analysis. 3d 390, 397 [86 Cal. [15 Cal. 593-595, and fn. (Stats. In 2003, 2010, 2012, and 2020 PLP was reinitiated to assist in achieving budget savings to improve the state's ability to meet its financial obligations. 1253-1254, italics added; accord, Stockburger v. Jordan (1938) 10 Cal. (Amwest, supra, 11 Cal.4th at pp. Includes links to laws and rules regulating the two professions. (Id. (Art. You can explore additional available newsletters here. 462, 464-465 [73 P. 187], italics added.). In the majority's view, "The burden is not on Caltrans to prove the facts support the legislative determination but on plaintiffs, i.e. 4th 585, the Legislature had enacted an urgency measure authorizing Caltrans to contract with private developers to construct and operate tollways under lease agreements with the state. As the court observed, "Pursuant to the [new] provisions, [Caltrans] may calculate [its] civil service staffing needs without considering the full workload to be performed, may limit [its] procurement of civil service staff regardless of actual staffing needs or ability to productively use new staff, and [is] required to reinstate contracts for the purpose of fostering employment and business opportunities without regard to the constitutional civil service mandate. Rptr. Under the statute as revised in Chapter 433, the state remains responsible for financing and controlling all project development work covered by section 14130 et seq. It was recognized, for example, that the alternative of placing the entire exemption power with the Legislature would [subject] the legislators to unduly severe pressures to carve out various exceptions to the application of civil service laws and that much strain on the integrity and efficacy of the civil service system could result." (b); see Cal. Recent legislation authorizes a court to modify or dissolve an injunction or temporary restraining order "upon a showing that there has been a material change in the facts upon which the injunction or temporary restraining order was granted, that the law upon which the injunction or temporary restraining order was granted has changed, or that the ends of justice would be served by the modification or dissolution of the injunction or temporary restraining order." PECG members mentor students, help organize science fairs, and serve as judges with the tough job of deciding the best projects each year. The only function of the courts is to determine whether the exercise of legislative power has exceeded constitutional limitations." (Sosinsky v. Grant, supra, 6 Cal.App.4th at p. Rptr. The court's injunction also recited that Caltrans had failed to demonstrate that either (1) it could not timely perform the work by hiring additional civil service employees, or (2) private contracting was a more cost-effective way of meeting short-term peaks in its workload. 2d 832, 839 [313 P.2d 545] (whether sales tax levy was subject to referendum); Busch v. Turner (1945) 26 Cal. He has extensive experience and technical expertise in hydraulic and hydrological modeling, stormwater management, flood mapping and control, watershed modeling, design of hydraulic structures, and river engineering. on Transportation, Rep. on Sen. Bill No. Nevertheless, I agree with the majority that Riley and its progeny need not be overruled at this time. Rptr. 514. App. State budget deficits,[5][6] furloughs,[7][8] and wasteful outsourcing[9][10] are among the many challenges facing PECG and the members. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Mivy has worked for a range of clients . Thus, contrary to the majority, I conclude that the trial court's prior findings of fact should not and cannot properly be utilized to invalidate the legislation in Chapter 433 as unconstitutional. Nonetheless, such intent must be considered in assessing the constitutional validity of the enactment. According to the court, Caltrans was displacing civil service staff from project development work that staff had historically performed and was maintaining staff at an inadequate level to create an artificial need for private contracting. Most provisions of Chapter 433 appear intended to dispense with, rather than to satisfy, the constitutional civil service mandate. ], "Secondly, all intendments favor the exercise of the Legislature's plenary authority: 'If there is any doubt as to the Legislature's power to act in any given case, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the Legislature's action. As this very case illustrates, application of the majority's independent-judgment-of-the-facts approach permits legislative determinations and enactments to be "trumped" by court findings based upon scant evidence and never challenged on appeal. 550, 568), the constitutional civil service provision has been construed to allow the state to contract privately for services that state employees have [15 Cal. endstream endobj 377 0 obj <>stream In this regard, the burden here is not on Caltrans to validate Chapter 433, but on plaintiffs to invalidate that legislation. The Majority Err by Not Applying the Presumption of Constitutionality. Therefore, I attached my resume by way of application. at p. [Citations.] 4th 596] system over considerations of economic responsibility and economic sensibility. App. "At the same time, this doctrine unquestionably places limits upon the actions of each branch with respect to the other branches. As we explain, the civil service mandate forbids private contracts for work that the state itself can perform "adequately and competently." 3d 131, 136 [260 Cal. The Court of Appeal majority recognized that the foregoing conclusion is "illogic[al]," in that it states the tautology that private contracting is necessary to avoid private contracting. He preceded his analysis with this succinct, and we believe accurate, description of the private contracting restriction in article VII: "History has shown that patronage hiring of public employees corrupts the political process, leads to waste, and depletes the quality of the public workforce. Thus, " '[L]egislative findings, while not binding on the courts, are given great weight and will be upheld unless they are found to be unreasonable and arbitrary. It is for the Legislature to find the facts and it falls to us to respect those findings unless they are clearly wrong-wrong without reasoned dispute or the influence of opposing perspectives. (Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th at p. 568.) 9 (Gov. 615. [selection of engineers must be based on demonstrated competence, professional qualifications, and price]; Cal. App. (Amador Valley Joint Union High Sch. [1], In 1978, PECG fought for and won the exclusive right to represent engineers and related classes (architects, landscape architects, land surveyors, environmental specialists, engineering geologists, etc. The applicant is responsible for complying with the current requirements of theProfessional Engineers Actand theBoard Rules and Regulations. (California Teachers Assn. Although not explicitly stated in the act, it is apparent that implicit in Chapter 433 is a provision that contracting out must make economic sense-it must be cheaper than using civil service-and that the discretion of the Director of Transportation (Director) to contract out must be exercised toward that end. Such a rule contradicts the commonly accepted view, expressed in a wide variety of contexts, that "a legislative choice is not subject to courtroom factfinding and may be based on rational speculation unsupported by evidence or empirical data." 4 [15 Cal. (Gov. ), Because of the largely implicit nature of the private contracting restriction, we must discern its scope from judicial decisions applying it in [15 Cal. A partial application will not be evaluated. 574.) Dist. (In re M.S., supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. [Citations.]" However, "a reviewing court may, in appropriate circumstances, and consistently with the separation of powers doctrine, [15 Cal. III. The single critical commentary Caltrans cited was directed toward a State of Washington decision, Wash. of Transp. However, I have been unable to find any authority which applies this principle outside the area of legislation being subjected to scrutiny under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. ), (2) Caltrans's use of private consultants to assist in project delivery "is a new state function and does not duplicate the existing functions of the department." Instead, Riley is a judicial interpretation which itself has been judicially interpreted by later cases. In Caltrans's view, the rules these cases announced are unsupported by the bare language of the civil service mandate and constitute further judicial legislation. (California State Employees' Assn. Applicants must login to theirNCEES account(or create one) and then follow the directions to request that the verification be sent to California. 568.). The trial court also found that Caltrans undertook private contracting as a direct result of "gubernatorial/executive branch policy against the expansion of state government," which required Caltrans to "balance[] and temper[]" its requests for funding for additional staff by contracting with private entities, without regard to whether qualified persons were actually available for civil service employment or whether Caltrans could assimilate and train them in a timely manner. Code, 4525 et seq. [Citations.] (See, e.g., Producers Dairy Delivery Co. v. Sentry Ins. 1 In other words, the Legislature concluded it is more efficient and less expensive not to expand state government when certain types of road and bridge engineering services can be performed by private consultants. An applicant for licensure as a Professional Engineer must meet the qualifying experience requirements outlined inBusiness and Professions Code sections 6751(c) and 6753andTitle 16, California Code of Regulations section 424. In Salazar, the trial court's injunction was based on "assumptions about the law" that changed when this court filed a new decision. We do, however, apply the general rule that 'a strong presumption of constitutionality supports the Legislature's acts. Co. (1986) 41 Cal. See, e.g., In re M.S., supra, 10 Cal.4th at page 710 (overbreadth and vagueness attacks on hate crimes statute); Calfarm Ins. CSEA opined that the voters who enacted the constitutional civil service provision did not intend to impose a system devoid of all considerations of fiscal responsibility and economy in favor of "an infinitely expanding public payroll," and agreed that "[t]he goal of maintaining the civil service must be balanced with the goal of a fiscally responsible state government."

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