As reported at your ACSS third quarter board meeting, the merger of the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) and the State Personnel Board (SPB) is moving ahead as anticipated.

The Sacramento Bee has posted this interactive tool to see how California's citizen-led redistricting effort affects you.

Find out more about the California Citizens Redistricting Commission: wedrawthelines.ca.gov/faq.html

Are you sick and tired of hearing lawmakers and the public blast state employee pensions, often with inaccurate or exaggerated data?

Your ACSS has drafted a series of talking points you can use to engage friends, family, and legislators, ensuring that they get the real facts behind public employee pensions.

Click here to review the talking points.

Last week four Republican legislators—Senators Tom Berryhill, Anthony Cannella, Bill Emmerson, and Tom Harman—introduced a resolution that would drastically alter pensions for California’s public employees.

The resolution contains many of the proposals included in the “list of demands” released by the senators in mid-June, including a 50/50 employer-employee contribution split to a hybrid pension plan.

Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed off on an $85.9 billion budget that dropped ACSS-supported revenue extensions in favor of extensive cuts to state services, particularly to higher education.

The budget—the earliest adopted in five years—includes a number of additional cuts that may be “triggered” by unfavorable revenue conditions.

For more information:
Brown signs budget after tumultuous month
Jerry Brown releases list of line-item vetoes

It’s no secret that due to budget constraints and misinformation public employees are under fire in California and throughout the nation.

It’s also no secret that your ACSS is dedicated to fighting those attacks and ensuring that California state supervisors, managers, and confidential employees have productive and protected careers.

Nominations have opened for the 2011 Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor Awards. The awards are presented to state employees that demonstrate heroism by acting above and beyond the call of duty or service to prevent damage to state property or save a human life.

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State Controller John Chiang announced today that he was immediately suspending pay for the state's lawmakers in accordance with Proposition 25.

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Less than 24 hours after state legislators presented him with a revised budget plan last Wednesday, Governor Jerry Brown officially vetoed the proposal.
 
Gov. Brown has said that he will “move heaven and earth” to bridge the aisle and find the four Republican votes needed to pass his budget proposal, which includes revenue extensions that your ACSS has officially supported.

Read more by clicking the title above.

With just hours left until they faced the prospect of suspended salaries, the state’s legislators approved a budget package intended to close the nearly $10 billion deficit on Wednesday evening.

A group of four Senate Republicans issued a “list of demands” yesterday outlining dozens of drastic changes they want to see implemented in order to sign off on the state's budget.

Read more by clicking the title above.

The deadline to approve California’s budget looms ever nearer, and the state’s decisionmakers have yet to approve Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to extend 2009 sales tax and vehicle license fee increases until voters can weigh in on the extensions in a September special election.

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Your ACSS has been working with SCIF to address a number of relocation issues for supervisors (see "ACSS eases relocation for supervisors" below).

This week, SCIF has released two memos detailing the agreement:

1. Training reimbursement memo

2. Geographic transition update

ACSS has not taken an official stance on the candidates in the CalPERS 2011 Special Board Election, but encourages all eligible members to review the candidate statements and cast an informed vote.

Ballots must be submitted no later than May 20, 2011.

More information is available at CalPERS.ca.gov

In December 2010 the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) released a reorganization plan outlining various closures and relocations. Many ACSS members faced the prospect of relocation, and SCIF’s plan failed to address the concerns of their excluded employees.

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