BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1678
          Author:   Gordon (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/20/14 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNIC. COMMITTEE  : 9-1, 6/17/14
          AYES:  Padilla, Block, Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier,  
            Hill, Pavley, Wolk
          NOES:  Fuller
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Knight

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  54-20, 5/15/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business  
          enterprise 
                      procurement

           SOURCE  :     National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends provisions of the Supplier  
          Diversity Program at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to  
          include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) business  
          enterprises.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/20/14 clarify a reference to the  
          standards for certifying LGBT eligibility and add  
          double-jointing language with AB 2760 (Assembly Utilities and  
          Commerce Committee). 
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           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Directs the PUC to require each electrical, gas, water, and  
             telephone corporation, and each wireless telecommunications  
             service provider, with gross annual revenues exceeding $25  
             million, to submit annually a plan for increasing procurement  
             with women, minority, and disabled veteran business  
             enterprises, generally known as the Supplier Diversity  
             program. 

          2. Requires each utility to submit an annual report to the PUC  
             regarding implementation of its Supplier Diversity program  
             and requires the PUC to annually report to the Legislature on  
             the progress of utilities in implementing these programs.

          3. Requires the PUC to adopt criteria for verifying eligibility  
             of women and minority enterprises and the Department of  
             General Services to verify disabled veteran enterprises.

          4. Makes a person or corporation subject to a fine of up to  
             $5,000 and jail for up to one year for falsely representing a  
             business as eligible for the Supplier Diversity program.

          This bill:

          1. Extends provisions of the Supplier Diversity Program at the  
             PUC to include LGBT business enterprises.

          2. Defines "LGBT business enterprise" as a business enterprise  
             that is at least 51 percent owned by a LGBT person or  
             persons; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at  
             least 51% of the stock of which is owned by one or more LGBT  
             persons; and whose management and daily business operations  
             are controlled by one or more of those individuals.

          3. Beginning September 1, 2016, requires the PUC's annual report  
             to the Legislature to include information about LGBT business  
             enterprises.

          4. Requires the PUC to adopt criteria for verifying eligibility  
             of LGBT enterprises by adopting LGBT status qualifiers  

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             created by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce,  
             as specified.

          5. Includes an LGBT corporation to the list of persons or  
             corporations subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and jail for  
             up to one year for falsely representing a business as  
             eligible for the Supplier Diversity program.

          6. Contains double-jointing language with AB 2760 (Assembly  
             Utilities and Commerce Committee).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/21/14)

          National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (source)
          A Womyn's Touch, LLC
          Ace Mailing Corporation
          AFSCME
          AT&T
          Aviva Spectrum
          California Communities United Institute
          California Small Business Association
          Desert Business Association
          DesignWorkPlace Inc.
          eBlue Wave Solutions, Inc.
          Envirolution
          Equality California
          Golden Gate Business Association
          Green Viking Consulting, LLC
          InSight Consulting Partners, Inc.
          Landis Communications Inc.
          Latino Journal
          London Guest Suites
          Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
          Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
          OutSmart Office Solutions
          OutThink Partners
          Pendergast Consulting Group
          Premium Resource
          Riviera Advisors
          Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce
          San Francisco Small Business Network

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          Silicon Valley Rainbow Chamber of Commerce
          Small Business California
          Southern California Edison
          The Honorable Betty Yee, Board of Equalization
          Vaughan Benz
          WBB+McCormack
          WriteAway Communications Corporation


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, the  
          PUC's Supplier Diversity program has been effective in  
          encouraging utilities to contract with diverse suppliers that  
          may not have the knowledge or expertise to initiate such a  
          partnership.  The estimated 1.4 million LGBT-owned businesses in  
          the United States have a low rate of contracting with state or  
          local governments currently, although 80% of LGBT businesses  
          responded to a survey that they would like that opportunity.  It  
          is important to recognize the contributions LGBT businesses,  
          large and small, have had and continue to have on California's  
          economy and ensures that these businesses also have the  
          opportunity to participate in the state's success.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  54-20, 5/15/14
          AYES:  Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,  
            Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,  
            Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,  
            Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall,  
            Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,  
            Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, John A.  
            Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber,  
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NOES:  Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Fox,  
            Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder,  
            Logue, Melendez, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Achadjian, Maienschein, Mansoor, Nestande,  
            Waldron, Vacancy


          JG:d  8/21/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE


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