BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1050 (Low)


          As Amended  April 21, 2015


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                |Noes                  |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
          |Accountability  |8-1   |Salas, Lackey,      |Beth Gaines           |
          |                |      |Brough, Burke,      |                      |
          |                |      |Frazier, Irwin,     |                      |
          |                |      |Medina, Rodriguez   |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
          |Appropriations  |13-4  |Gomez, Bloom,       |Bigelow, Gallagher,   |
          |                |      |Bonta, Calderon,    |Jones, Wagner         |
          |                |      |Chang, Daly,        |                      |
          |                |      |Eggman, Eduardo     |                      |
          |                |      |Garcia, Holden,     |                      |
          |                |      |Quirk, Rendon,      |                      |
          |                |      |Weber, Wood         |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Requires a charitable organization seeking to  
          participate in the state employees' charitable giving program  
          (program) to provide a statement to the program administrator  








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          certifying that it complies with existing civil rights and  
          nondiscrimination laws.  Specifically, this bill:


          1)Requires a charitable organization seeking to participate in the  
            program to certify to the program administrator, the Victims  
            Compensation and Government Claims Board (Board), under penalty  
            of perjury that it complies with the state's existing civil  
            rights and nondiscrimination statutes, as a condition of  
            approval from the Board.


          2)Requires the charitable organization to provide the Board with  
            its written nondiscrimination policy or, if it does not have  
            one, a written statement indicating that it complies with the  
            state's existing civil rights laws.  


          EXISTING LAW: 


          1)Authorizes, in the Government Code, payroll deductions from  
            state employees for an annual charitable fund drive and gives  
            the Board responsibility to develop the necessary rules and  
            regulations to carry out the program.


          2)Requires every state employee to receive an approved list of  
            charitable organizations, a payroll deduction form, and a  
            designation form.


          3)Establishes a process and standards for use by the Board in  
            approving donor organizations, including a requirement for an  
            organization to certify to the Board under penalty of perjury  
            that it complies with the California Fair Employment and Housing  
            Act (FEHA). 










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          4)Generally prohibits, under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, business  
            establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race,  
            color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or  
            medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation and  
            provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions.  


          5)Prohibits, under FEHA, workplace and housing discrimination or  
            harassment against any person on the basis of age, ancestry,  
            color, religion, familial status, disability, marital status,  
            medical condition, military and veteran status, national origin,  
            race, sex, gender, and sexual orientation.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:


          1)Minor, likely absorbable costs to the Board (special funds) to  
            modify its application forms and update regulations.
          2)Minor costs to the Board (special funds) to receive and process  
            written nondiscrimination policies or statements.  Staff notes  
            that the Board has moved to a fully automated and electronic  
            application process, and that accepting paper statements from  
            3,000 applicants burdens their existing process.


          COMMENTS:  The "Our Promise: California State Employees Giving at  
          Work" program is a fundraising drive coordinated by the Board that  
          allows state employees to direct regular contributions from their  
          paychecks to participating charities.  According to the Board,  
          approximately 35,000 to 40,000 state employees participate in the  
          program annually and provide donations averaging about $6.5  
          million per year to nearly 3,000 designated charities.


          To qualify as a designated charity in the program, an organization  
          must submit an electronic application to the Board, register as a  
          non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and certify under penalty of  








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          perjury that it complies with FEHA.  The Board can disqualify any  
          organization if it fails to comply with these requirements or  
          files an application containing false or intentionally misleading  
          information.  


          Currently, the Board verifies an organization tax-exempt status  
          and the organization self-certifies its compliance with FEHA in  
          the application process.  This bill would additionally require a  
          charity to self-certify its compliance with the state's existing  
          civil rights laws under penalty of perjury.  It would also require  
          organizations to provide a written statement to the Board  
          indicating their compliance with the state's existing civil rights  
          and nondiscrimination laws.  


          The author argues that, although the organizations in the program  
          are vetted and approved by the Board based on their tax-exempt  
          status and FEHA compliance, there are still organizations approved  
          that do not fully abide by the state's nondiscrimination statutes.  
           For example, the author cites the Boy Scouts of America which  
          had, until recently, denied membership to youth on the basis of  
          sexual orientation.  The author states that, because the charities  
          in this program are supported by state employee contributions,  
          they should be held to the same standard of inclusiveness that is  
          reflected in the state's existing civil rights and  
          nondiscrimination laws.  According to the author, this bill is  
          intended to bring more transparency to the program's donor  
          approval process. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                               
                          Cassie Royce / A. & A.R. / (916) 319-3600  FN:  
          0000388











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