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