The Governor shall appoint a deputy director from a list of nominees submitted by the director. This deputy director shall be in addition to the deputy director appointed pursuant to Section 19815.3.

The Governor may also appoint civil service exempt labor relations officers. The total number of exempt positions in the department responsible for labor relations shall not exceed 12. Appointments to these exempt positions in excess of 10 shall not result in an increase in the authorized expenditures of the Department of Human Resources.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 67, Sec. 3. (SB 191) Effective June 30, 2022.)