BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 960
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 960 (Campos) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : State government: Commission on the Status of Women
and Girls
SUMMARY : Requires one of the seven public members appointed by
the Governor to serve on the Commission on the Status of Women
and Girls (Commission) to be a woman veteran or a female member
of the military.
EXISTING LAW
1)Creates within state government the Commission on the Status
of Women and Girls. The Commission shall consist of 17 members
to be appointed as follows:
a) Three Members of the Senate and one public member
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
b) Three Members of the Assembly and one public member
appointed by the Speaker.
c) One public member appointed by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and the Chief of the Division of
Industrial Welfare in the Department of Industrial
Relations.
d) Seven public members appointed by the Governor, with the
consent of the Senate.
2)Specifies that Members of the Legislature shall serve at the
pleasure of the appointed powers.
3)Specifies that public member appointees of the Speaker and the
Senate Committee on rules, and appointees of the Governor
shall serve four-year terms.
4)Specifies that public members of the commission shall receive
one hundred dollars per diem while on official business of the
commission, not to exceed 12 days per year. Each member of
the commission shall also be entitled to receive his or her
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actual necessary traveling expenses while on official business
of the commission.
FISCAL EFFECT : unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : According to the author, AB 960 helps to
ensure the Commission fulfills its newly expanded mission by
requiring that one of the seven public members appointed by the
Governor to be a veteran or a member of the military. An
appointed Commissioner with military background would be
invaluable as the Commission strives to meet its newly stated
mission.
The Commission was originally created to study general problems,
needs and opportunities for women and to advise local women
organizations in meeting the needs of women. Last year, SB 1038
reformulated the Commission to become a center of information on
seven specific issues affecting women and girls. One policy
issue specified for study by the Commission is the examination
of laws and conditions that impose limitations to opportunities
for women in the military, women veterans, and military
families.
There are nearly 167,000 women veterans living in California,
making up 8% of California's 2.1 million veteran population.
That is the largest percentage of women veterans of any state.
Women of color make up almost 40% of California women veterans.
With the January 2013 announcement that the U.S. military will
formally end its ban on women serving in front-line combat, the
percentage of female veterans is expected to increase to 11% in
2020. AB 960 ensures that the soldier's perspective and
specific issues affecting women veterans will have a voice on
the Commission.
The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls : The
Commission was established as an Advisory Committee in 1965 by
Governor Gerald "Pat" Brown. It was made a permanent Commission
by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan
in 1971. It is the only state agency that looks specifically at
all issues impacting women and provides a gender analysis of
proposed legislation and other state action.
The Commission is an independent voice within state government
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for California women and girls. It serves as an important link
between many communities and the government, including working
families, incarcerated women, immigrant women, and those with
the least access to state government and services.
In 2012 legislation was signed into law that required the
Commission to study the following policy areas:
1) Gender equity in the media.
2) Education needs of women and girls.
3) Gender in the workplace and employment.
4) Health and safety of women and girls.
5) Women in the military, women veterans, and military
families.
6) State laws in regard to the civil and political
rights, marriage, and dissolution of marriage provisions,
and similar patterns.
7) The effect of social attitudes and pressures and
economic considerations in shaping the roles to be
assumed by women in the society.
All but $2,000 of the commission's projected 2011-2012 budget of
$267,000 came from the state's General Fund. Nearly 89% of
those funds were spent on salaries and benefits; the rest for
operating expenses and equipment.
The proposed budget for 2012-2013 was zeroed out after Governor
Jerry Brown called for the commission's elimination. The state
assembly announced in April 2012 that it was transferring
$150,000 from its operating budget to the commission to fund it
until the end of the year. The Commission is currently
fundraising for its 2013-2014 budget, which they expect will all
be from private funds.
California's women veterans' population: According to the
California Research Bureau (CRB) there were approximately
116,110 women veterans in California in 2012. Both nationally
and in California, most women veterans are between the ages of
41-65. Women veterans, like their male counterparts, tend to be
more educated than the general public.
According to CRB, women veterans face greater amount of
unemployment than either civilian women or male veterans. In a
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2011 survey, the CRB found that roughly half of all women
veterans in each age group were unemployed. Veterans in general
are more likely to suffer from a current mental health condition
than members of the general population. 37% of veterans
returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with a mental
health problem by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The
VA reports that one in five women veterans experience Military
Sexual Trauma (MST). In the 2011 CRB survey of women veterans,
CRB found that women report much higher levels of MST than what
the VA reports. Overall, 37% of the women surveyed by CRB
reported experiencing MST.
Arguments in support : Supporters of the measure simply state
that they believe it is important for the Commission to have a
member that represents the female soldier's perspective and
provide critical input and influence the work of the Commission.
Prior legislation : SB 1038 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal
Review), Chapter 46, Statutes of 2012. Among other provisions,
the measure required the Commission to become the center of
information on seven specific issues affecting women and girls.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Services Officers
California Federation of Teachers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
VFW-Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America-California State Council
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531