BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1322 (Lowenthal)
          As Amended June 10, 2008
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :24-16  
           
           EDUCATION           7-3         APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
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          |Ayes:|Mullin, Brownley, Coto,   |Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis,   |
          |     |Eng, Hancock, Karnette,   |     |DeSaulnier, Furutani,     |
          |     |Mullin, Solorio           |     |Huffman, Karnette,        |
          |     |                          |     |Krekorian, Lieu, Ma,      |
          |     |                          |     |Nava, Solorio             |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Garrick, Huff, Nakanishi  |Nays:|Walters, Emmerson, La     |
          |     |                          |     |Malfa, Nakanishi, Sharon  |
          |     |                          |     |Runner                    |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :  Deletes various references to communism in the context  
          of using school property and the dismissal of school district,  
          community college, and public employees.  This measure also  
          clarifies exemptions regarding communism as part of the required  
          oath of allegiance for public officers and employees, as  
          specified.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Repeals the requirement that a group or organization provide a  
            written statement to the school district specifying that it  
            will not use school district property to overthrow the  
            government of the United States (U.S.) or of the state and  
            that it will not conduct a communist action, as specified.   
            This measure, instead, authorizes the school district to  
            require the group or organization to provide information it  
            deems reasonable to determine the group will not use school  
            property to overthrow the government.  

          2)Repeals statute authorizing the dismissal or suspension of  
            school district, community college, and public employees for  
            being members of the Communist Party, as specified.  

          3)Clarifies that public employees (excluding elected or  








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            appointed officials) or applicants seeking public employment  
            shall be permitted to decline to take and subscribe to the  
            oath required under the state constitution due to religious  
            beliefs that conflict with his or her ability to take the oath  
            without reservation, provided that he or she is willing and  
            able to uphold the U.S. and state constitutions, as specified.  
                          

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, minor absorbable costs, likely less than $100,000 in  
          General Fund Proposition 98 funds, to school districts to  
          establish a process to review information provided by a group or  
          organization seeking to use district property.  These costs may  
          be offset due to the savings of repealing current statute that  
          requires school districts to ensure that a group or organization  
          has submitted a written statement pledging not to overthrow the  
          government in applying to use district property.  

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, references to communism in  
          statute are antiquated and the threat of a communist takeover no  
          longer exists.  Moreover, the author contends that this bill is  
          about protecting constitutional freedoms:  freedom of speech;  
          freedom of political affiliation; and, the freedom not to  
          testify against oneself.

          This bill does not diminish current law with regard to the  
          dismissal of school, community college and public employees for  
          advocating, or belonging to a group that advocates the overthrow  
          of the government.  Moreover, this bill does not affect current  
          law that prohibits a teacher from advocating or teaching  
          communism with the intent to indoctrinate or to inculcate in the  
          mind of any pupil a preference for communism.  While California  
          joins other states in providing for the dismissal of teachers  
          who advocate the overthrow of the government, California is the  
          only state that provides for the dismissal of a teacher for  
          being a member of the Communist Party.

          Current law includes a cross-reference to health and welfare  
          benefits provisions as a reason for suspension and notice of  
          dismissal for permanent school employees.  Those health and  
          welfare benefits provisions do not reference any possible  
          violations.  It appears that the cross-reference is outdated and  
          irrelevant to the suspension and dismissal of school employees.   
          This bill deletes this cross-reference and those changes should  








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          be considered technical clean-up.

          This bill would delete the requirement for a person who intends  
          to use school property on behalf of an organization to deliver a  
          signed statement, signed under penalty of perjury, that the  
          organization is not a Communist action or Communist front  
          organization, or does not, to the best of the person's  
          knowledge, advocate the overthrow of the government of the  
          United States or of the State of California by force, violence,  
          or other unlawful means.  The bill would instead permit local  
          school boards to require the furnishing of information as it  
          deems necessary to determine that the use of school property for  
          which application is made would not violate the provisions set  
          forth in the Civic Center Act.

          This bill would allow public employees, except elected or  
          appointed officials, to decline to take the loyalty oath based  
          on religious beliefs that conflict with the employee's ability  
          to sign the oath "without mental reservation," provided that the  
          employee's objection to the oath is not related to his or her  
          willingness and ability to uphold the Constitution and other  
          laws of the State of California and/or willingness and ability  
          to complete the duties of employment for which he or she is  
          being considered.

          These proposed changes address two recent cases within the  
          California State University (CSU) system in which instructors  
          who were members of the Quaker religion were denied employment  
          because the oath conflicted with their religious conviction to  
          avoid violence.  In one case, Marianne Kearney-Brown was fired  
          from her position at Cal State East Bay when she inserted the  
          word "non-violently" before signing her oath so that it read  
          that she would "non-violently support and defend the  
          Constitution of the United States?."  She was told by the CSU  
          that adding the word "non-violently" was inconsistent with the  
          oath and that she would be terminated unless she signed the oath  
          unaltered.  The University of California allows employees to  
          attach personal statements to the oath to indicate religious  
          beliefs.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Irene Wan / ED. / (916) 319-2087










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