BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 80 Page 1 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 AB 80 Page 2 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. AB 80 Page 3 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 AB 80 Page 4 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 AB 80 Page 5 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