BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 229 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 229 (Chang) - As Amended April 22, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Accountability and |Vote:|9 - 0 | |Committee: |Administrative Review | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill prevents state agencies from prohibiting state employees traveling on official state business from using transportation network companies or lodging in a short-term rental. AB 229 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown, but likely minor, state costs. State agencies are not currently prohibited from reimbursing these travel activities. COMMENTS: Purpose. According to the author, this bill seeks to ensure state employees can use "sharing economy" services like ride-sharing or home-sharing while traveling on state business. This bill would prevent agencies from prohibiting the reimbursement to traveling state employees for the use of transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft, in which participating drivers transport passengers in their own vehicles. Additionally, this bill would not allow agencies to ban the use of short-term rental arrangements like Airbnb, which allow participants to rent out their homes or rooms in their homes for a specified number of nights. Background. CalHR rules, as well as relevant memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with employee bargaining units, are silent on the use of transportation network companies or short-term rentals for employees traveling on state business. Rules and MOUs specify that to qualify for reimbursements, lodging must be in commercial lodging establishments. This bill specifies that short-term rentals are considered commercial lodging establishments for purposes of this bill. CalHR rules and MOUs do not specifically mention transportation networks companies. Instead, they set requirements for taxi and similar transportation. This bill defines a transportation network company for purposes of reimbursement under this bill. AB 229 Page 3 According to the author, "sharing economy" technology platforms are growing in popularity and can provide economical options for ground travel and lodging. This bill seeks to update the state's policies to conform to the marketplace. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081