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UAPD Sponsors Two New Bills to Reduce State Reliance on Temporary Contractors

During this legislative session, UAPD is co-sponsoring two bills that will help ensure that a stable group of public sector doctors are the ones providing care for Californians in State facilities. 

The two bills are:

AB 657 (Bonta) Contracting out – This measure was introduced by Assemblymember Rob  Bonta, who was subsequently appointed as California’s Attorney General. Assemblymember Jim Cooper has agreed to step in as the author of the bill. This bill will limit the amount of time a contractor may work for the State in certain professions, including the licensed physicians and dentists represented by UAPD. A state agency will be prohibited from entering into a contract with a professional for a period of more than 365 consecutive days or for a period of 365 nonconsecutive days over two years.

In addition, the bill will require the state to report to UAPD certain information about contractors doing bargaining unit work, including the names and contact information of contracted physicians, the details of their contract period, their hourly rate, beginning and end date and the number of days worked for their current contract. The report will also contain the number of open physician employee positions and number of contract physicians working in “open” positions (“open” defined as a position authorized in the budget).

The bill will also require the state to report to the Bargaining Unit their activities in support of recruiting and retaining professionals to fill vacancies in the state.SB 422 (Pan) – State Professional Registry – Modeled after a successful Los Angeles County partnership with UAPD, this bill will require the State to establish an employment registry for state physicians and other professionals who wish to remain at their place of employment, but seek additional work through flexible scheduling. The professions included in the Registry will be those represented by UAPD and AFSCME Local 2620.