California Code, Education Code - EDC § 45284

When an open competitive examination and a promotional examination for a particular class are held at the same time, the commission may prior to the examination authorize certification for employment of candidates from the open competitive eligibility list before the promotional eligibility list has been exhausted if the candidate on the open list has a higher score before adjustment for preferential credits than the score of the highest available candidate on the promotional list after seniority credits have been added.