BILL ANALYSIS
AB 573
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 573 (Portantino) - As Amended: April 28, 2009
SUBJECT : California Council on Science and Technology:
legislative fellows.
SUMMARY : Clarifies that the services of legislative fellows
provided by the California Council on Science and Technology
(CCST) and duly authorized by the Senate Committee on Rules, the
Assembly Committee on Rules, or the Joint Committee on Rules are
not compensation, a reward, or a gift to a member of the
Legislature under the Code of Ethics in existing law, nor are
these fellows considered employees for purposes of this bill.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Codifies the following legislative findings and declarations:
a) CCST was uniquely established as a nonprofit at the
request of the Legislature for the specific purpose of
offering expert advice to state government on public policy
issues significantly related to science and technology.
b) The establishment of the California Science and
Technology Policy Fellowships (S&T Fellowships) as a
professional development program is consistent with the
Legislature's intent in requesting the creation of CCST and
is expressly designed to fulfill CCST's mission of
assisting state policymakers as they face increasingly
complex decisions related to science and technology
challenges confronting the state in the 21st century.
2)Clarifies that the services of legislative fellows provided by
CCST and duly authorized by the Senate Rules Committee, the
Assembly Rules Committee, or the Joint Committee on Rules are
not compensation, a reward, or a gift to a member of the
Legislature under the Code of Ethics in existing law.
3)Clarifies that a legislative fellow provided by CCST and duly
authorized by the Senate Rules Committee, the Assembly Rules
Committee, or the Joint Rules Committee is not an employee of
either house of the Legislature.
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4)Requires an S&T Fellow to meet the following requirements in
order to be duly authorized by the Senate Rules Committee, the
Assembly Rules Committee, or the Joint Rules Committee:
a) The S&T Fellow has been selected according to criteria
and pursuant to a process approved by Senate Rules
Committee, the Assembly Rules Committee, or the Joint Rules
Committee.
b) CCST has executed an agreement with the Senate Rules
Committee, the Assembly Rules Committee, or the Joint Rules
Committee whereby CCST is bound to abide by standards of
conduct, economic interest disclosure requisites, and other
such requirements as specified by the Senate Rules
Committee, the Assembly Rules Committee, or the Joint Rules
Committee.
5)Includes an urgency clause to enable the S&T Fellowships to
begin by December 2009.
EXISTING LAW , commonly known as the Code of Ethics, prohibits a
member of the Legislature or an employee from either house of
the Legislature from receiving or agreeing to receive, directly
or indirectly, any compensation, reward, or gift from any source
except the State of California for any service, advice,
assistance, or other matter related to the legislative process,
except for specified circumstances.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Background : CCST is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit
501(c) corporation that was established in 1988 at the behest of
the State Legislature to provide nonpartisan science and
technology expertise and advice to California policymakers.
CCST is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of
representatives primarily from its sponsoring academic
institutions (the University of California, the California State
University, the California Community Colleges, Stanford
University, the University of Southern California, and the
California Institute of Technology).
CCST recently received a $7 million grant from the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation, among others, to support the S&T
Fellowships that would fund the placement of 10 Ph.D (or
AB 573
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equivalent) fellows per year in the California Legislature for
five years, beginning in December 2009.
Purpose of this bill : In order to implement the S&T
Fellowships, legislation is needed to provide a narrow exception
to existing law that prohibits a member of the Legislature or an
employee from either house of the Legislature from receiving or
agreeing to receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation,
reward, or gift from any source except the State of California
for any service, advice, assistance, or other matter related to
the legislative process, except for specified circumstances.
According to the author, "Through the S&T Fellowship, California
state legislators will have access to in-house expertise with
strong science and engineering training, who can provide
valuable research and analysis to inform legislation, including
but not limited to bills with science and technology
components."
S&T Fellowships : The S&T Fellowships are modeled after the
35-year-old Congressional Fellows Program administered by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science-tailored to
adapt to the needs of the California Legislature. The five-year
pilot program is expected to begin in the fall of 2009 with a
Fellows Training Program for 10 fellows per year for one-year
appointments with individual legislators or with committees of
the Assembly and Senate (placement to be determined by the
Legislature). Fellows will be selected by CCST based on
recommendations of a selection committee created for this
purpose. Through such placements, the fellows would be afforded
a professional development opportunity to familiarize themselves
with the complexities of public policy development, while
providing their scientific expertise and assistance to
Legislators and staff.
Who's the boss ? S&T Fellows will be paid stipends by CCST but
would be directly supervised by the legislator or committee in
whose office they are placed, mirroring the Congressional
program. This bill requires the S&T Fellowships to be governed
by agreements between CCST and the houses of the Legislature.
These agreements will address issues such as selection,
placement, roles and responsibilities, and termination, so
ultimately, the Legislature will determine the rules that will
guide the S&T Fellowships. This bill requires these agreements
to be in place before the S&T Fellows can be placed in the
Legislature.
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Precedent : The S&T Fellowships will be the first in the nation
to place Ph.D-level (or equivalent) scientists and engineers in
a formal fellowship program in a state legislature. It will
also set a precedent in California by allowing non-state funded
personnel to act as staff (existing Fellow programs are state
funded). While the specifics of the program will be guided by
the agreements between the Legislature and CCST, this bill
requires S&T Fellows to abide by standards of conduct, economic
interest disclosure requisites, and other such requirements as
specified by the Senate Rules Committee, the Assembly Rules
Committee, or the Joint Rules Committee. Further, this bill
clearly states that the S&T Fellowships are an extension of
CCST's role as the state's science and technology advisor.
Double-referral : This bill is double-referred to the Assembly
Rules Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association for Local Economic Development
California Space Authority
John Brauman, Associate Dean of Research, Stanford University
Larta Institute
Southern California Biomedical Council
University of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960