Personal services contracts: state employees: physician and psychologist positions.

The document changed from a formal enrolled bill format (with chapter heading, signature lines, and page numbers) to a web page layout that includes site navigation, bill status metadata, amendment history, and a digest key showing Vote: MAJORITY, Appropriation: NO, Fiscal Committee: YES, Local Program: NO.

Corrected the misspelling 'pyschologist' to 'psychologist' in Section 19134.2.

Removed duplicated words and phrases left over from prior amendment markup, including 'physician. physician', 'BU-16 BU-16', 'agreement agreements', and 'physicians. physicians or psychologists' throughout the bill summary and statutory text.

The bill's scope was expanded from covering only BU-16 psychiatrist positions to covering all BU-16 physician positions. The cost analysis, registry hiring requirement, and reporting obligations now apply to physicians broadly, not just psychiatrists.

Section (c) was amended so that if a contractor's cost exceeds that of a physician on the registry or a civil service physician, the department must hire from the registry or utilize an available civil service physician before hiring a contractor. Previously only the registry was referenced.

Section (b) now specifies 'current civil service physicians' in the registry rather than just physicians set forth in the collective bargaining agreement, clarifying that the registry must reflect current employment status.

In section (d)(2), the word 'employed' was changed to 'utilized' when describing civil service physicians and psychiatrists working extra shifts from the registry, a minor wording adjustment.

The bill now applies to BU-19 psychologist positions in addition to BU-16 physician positions, broadening which state employee roles are subject to the contractor cost-comparison and civil-service-hiring-first requirements.

The required cost analysis must now compare contractor hourly costs to civil service physicians or psychologists, not just physicians. The reference to a 'physician registry' was removed in favor of referencing 'current civil service physicians or psychologists set forth in the collective bargaining agreement.'

If a contractor costs more than a civil service physician or psychologist, the department must now utilize an available civil service physician or psychologist before hiring a contractor (previously only physicians were covered).

The annual report must now be submitted to BU-19 in addition to BU-16, and must include information about psychologists alongside physicians, including the number of civil service physicians and psychologists utilized in extra shifts and the cost thereof.