BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 80
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Date of Hearing: March 25, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Rudy Salas, Chair
AB 80
(Campos) - As Amended March 16, 2015
SUBJECT: Interagency Task Force on the Status of Boys and Men
of Color
SUMMARY: Establishes the 20-member Interagency Task Force on
the Status of Boys and Men of Color (task force) within state
government. Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies the 20-member advisory task force must be comprised
of ex-officio members of the Legislature and other specified
state leaders from the education, health, business,
employment, housing, labor, transportation, finance,
corrections, and judicial sectors.
2)Requires the task force to complete various short- and
long-term activities, including, among other things, the
following:
a) Evaluate existing department and agency programs to
identify state opportunities to partner and coordinate with
the work of the federal My Brother's Keeper Task Force, a
national interagency effort launched in February 2014 to
help boys and young men of color achieve success;
b) Assess the Governor's Budget to identify those areas in
which the budget priorities are in alignment with the
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objectives of the task force;
c) Review the action plan of the 2012-2018 Final Report and
Policy Platform of the Assembly Select Committee on the
Status of Boys and Men of Color in California (Select
Committee); and,
d) Prepare, and make publicly available, population and
agency-specific data on boys and men of color in the state.
3)Provides the task force with specified powers and authority to
carry out its duties in an advisory capacity.
4)Directs the task force to convene its first meeting by January
31, 2016, and to meet on a quarterly basis thereafter.
5)Requires the task force to annually report its findings to the
Legislature and to the Select Committee.
6)Establishes the Boys and Men of Color Task Force Fund in the
State Treasury to carry out the purposes of this bill, subject
to appropriation from the Legislature, and requires all moneys
collected or received by the task force from gifts, bequests
or donations to be deposited in the fund, subject to approval
from the Department of Finance.
7)Makes numerous legislative findings and declarations about the
challenges facing the state's boys and young men of color; the
importance of improving outcomes for these at-risk youth; and,
the lack of a statewide entity to coordinate action.
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EXISTING LAW creates the Commission on the Status of Women and
Girls within state government to serve as a center of
information on specified issues affecting women and girls in
California.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: According to the author, California's male population
will be nearly 80% boys and men of color by 2050 and a
disproportionate number of them are Latino, African American,
Native American, and Southeast Asian males who are trapped in a
cycle of poverty, prison, and disadvantage. The author notes
that President Obama took steps to address the issues facing
these youth when he announced the "My Brother's Keeper"
initiative in February 2014 and convened a task force aimed at
coordinating efforts of community based organizations and
government agencies to close systemic gaps and provide new
opportunities for these disadvantaged youth to succeed. The
author states that the task force proposed in this bill builds
on the federal initiative and would serve as a coordinated state
body for action between the numerous agencies and departments
that impact California's young men.
This bill requires the task force to be comprised of a host of
state leaders representing a cross-section of public sector
agencies and departments. The task force would be primarily
charged with evaluating current state programs and improving
outcomes for boys and young men of color relative to success in
school, access to health care, employment and other public
health, safety and criminal justice issues. This bill directs
the task force to report its findings to both the Legislature
and the Select Committee.
The Select Committee, currently co-chaired by Assemblymembers
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Rob Bonta and Reggie Jones-Sawyer, was formed in 2012 to respond
to the needs of young men of color across the state. After it
held a series of regional informational hearings throughout
California, the Select Committee issued its 2012-2018 Final
Report and Policy Platform for State Action. One of the
report's many policy recommendations is the creation of a state
coordinating body within the Governor's Office to target
programs and services to these at-risk individuals, particularly
those who are involved in multiple systems or who are
disconnected from family, public programs, and the workforce.
It is unclear where the task force proposed in this bill would
be housed.
This bill also sets up a separate fund in the State Treasury in
support of the task force. The Department of Finance would be
required to approve any gifts, bequests or donations collected
or received by the task force for deposit into the fund and
appropriations from the fund would be subject to legislative
approval.
PRIOR LEGISLATION: AB 914 (Bradford) of 2014 was substantively
identical to this bill and held in the Senate Rules Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Black Health Network
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California Immigrant Policy Center
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Cassie Royce / A. & A.R. / (916) 319-3600