San Benito County holds first AB 2561 vacancy hearing as unions press staffing concerns

San Benito County supervisors held a public hearing May 12 under Assembly Bill 2561 to present vacancy and recruitment data and hear union input on staffing shortages.

The county’s senior human resources analyst, Elvia Barocio, told the board that AB 2561—signed Sept. 22, 2024 and effective Jan. 1, 2025—adds Government Code section 3502.3 to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act and requires at least one public hearing per fiscal year, before adoption of the final budget, to present job vacancy status and recruitment efforts. Barocio said the law also requires additional reporting and information for bargaining units with vacancy rates of 20% or more.

The new state rule “means that the county must hold at least 1 public hearing per fiscal year to present the status of job vacancies and recruitment efforts,” Barocio said. She reported that several bargaining groups have measured vacancy rates across…