BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 870
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 870 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Amended: April 22, 2013
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Prohibits the state from accepting a bid from an entity that
asks an applicant for employment to disclose information
regarding their conviction or criminal history, including
disclosure on an employment application, until the employer
has determined the applicant meets minimum qualifications for
the position.
2)Stipulates that (1) does not apply to positions in which a
background check is required by state or federal law or to any
contract position with a criminal justice agency-defined as an
entity that performs, as its principal function, activities
that either relate to the apprehension, prosecution,
adjudication, incarceration, or correction of criminal
offenders or to the collection, storage, dissemination or
usage of criminal offender record information.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Administrative Costs . The Department of General Services (DGS)
will incur minor one-time costs to modify contract documents
and to orient state agencies to the new requirement. DGS could
also incur significant ongoing costs to investigate
allegations of noncompliance.
2)Contract Impacts . To the extent prospective bidders and
contractors choose not to change their hiring procedures, and
thus do not submit bids and proposals or submit unqualified
bids, there will be less competition on at least some state
contracts not otherwise exempt from the new requirement or the
AB 870
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state would have to reject a low bidder that is not in
compliance. This will increase contract costs. The cost impact
is unknown, but given the state's huge contracting volume
($6.2 billion in 2010-11), could be at least in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars annually. There will be additional,
delay-related costs regarding bid protests and potential
re-bidding of contracts. These impact could diminish over time
as more contractors choose to comply with required hiring
practices and thus bid on state contracts.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, "This bill is attempting to
address three issues: (1) discriminatory employment practices
for individuals with prior criminal convictions (2) extremely
high unemployment rates for individuals with criminal
backgrounds (3) high recidivism rates within California? The
State of California currently contracts with over 30,000
individuals and entities for services. Removing the conviction
history box can give thousands of individuals a fair shot at
employment while simultaneously decreasing the recidivism
rate, increasing economic activity and improving public
safety.
The author notes that six other states, 32 U.S. cities and 8
cities and counties in California "have removed the history
box from job applications in public employment and contractors
who conduct business with the public.
2)Opposition . The Southern California Contractors Association
argues that the bill is unworkable, explaining that "Many
construction companies are required to have all their
employees undergo criminal background checks prior to
initiating a construction project?Under AB 870, a construction
company could not screen applicants before hiring them to work
at a jobsite requiring a background check. The California
Bankers Association seeks an exemption for "banks that are
prohibited under federal law related to hiring persons
convicted of certain crimes." It was unclear at the time of
this analysis whether the author's most recent amendments
satisfactorily addressed these concerns.
3)Related Legislation . AB 218 (Dickinson), also on today's
committee agenda, prohibits state agencies and cities,
counties, and special districts from asking an applicant for
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employment to disclose information regarding their conviction
history, including on any initial employment application,
until the agency determines that the applicant meets minimum
qualifications for the position.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081