(a) Notwithstanding Section 18900, 18901, 18930, 18930.5, 18931, 18933, 18938.5, 18950, 19050, 19054.1, or 19057.2, or any other law, but consistent with the merit principles of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Article VII of the California Constitution, the Department of Transportation appointing authority may conduct examinations and make appointments as specified by this section. The purpose of this section is to provide the Department of Transportation with greater flexibility to match candidates to position-specific vacancies, at the same time resulting in an expedited selection process and cost savings to the department.
(b) The Department of Transportation appointing authority may conduct competitive examinations on a position-specific basis for managerial classifications as agreed to by the board in the manner described in Article 8 (commencing with Section 549.90) of Subchapter 4 of Chapter 1 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations. The Department of Transportation appointing authority shall rank each examination candidate in the manner specified in Article 4 (commencing with Section 548.30) and Article 5 (commencing with Section 548.40) of Subchapter 2 of Chapter 1 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations.