BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1050 Page 1 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 AB 1050 Page 2 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). AB 1050 Page 3 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 AB 1050 Page 4 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 AB 1050 Page 5