BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2015-2016 Regular Session
AB 1050 (Low)
Version: April 21, 2015
Hearing Date: June 23, 2015
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
RD
SUBJECT
State employees: charitable deductions
DESCRIPTION
Existing law authorizes the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board to approve plans for payroll deduction
from the salaries or wages of state officers and employees, as
specified, for charitable contributions to the agency handling
the principal combined fund drive in any area. Existing law
requires that the principal combined fund drive agency, as well
as specified charitable organizations, certify under penalty of
perjury to the board that it is in compliance with the Fair
Employment and Housing Act as a condition of receiving these
designated deductions.
This bill would require that a charitable organization provide
the board with either: (1) the written nondiscrimination
policy of the organization; or (2) a written statement to
indicate that the organization does not have a written
nondiscrimination policy, but otherwise complies with the Unruh
Civil Rights Act.
BACKGROUND
California law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and
the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh), prohibit discrimination in
employment, housing, public accommodation, and services provided
by business establishments on the basis of specified personal
characteristics such as sex, race, color, national origin,
religion, and disability. Separately, California law allows for
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the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
("board") to approve plans for payroll deduction from state
employees' salaries or wages for charitable contributions to the
agency handling the principal combined fund drive in any area.
(Gov. Code Sec. 13293(a).) In accordance with this allowance,
state employees are permitted to authorize deductions to be made
from their salaries or wages for payment of various purposes,
including for the payment of charitable contributions under any
plan approved by the board in accordance with procedures
established by the Controller.
Existing law already requires that the principal combined fund
drive agency, any charitable organization that is an affiliated
member beneficiary of the principal combined fund drive, and any
charitable organization approved by the board to receive
designated deductions on the payroll authorization form of the
principal fund drive, certify under penalty of perjury to the
board that it is in compliance with FEHA as a condition of
receiving these designated deductions. This bill would now add
that the principal combined fund drive agency, and specified
charitable organizations, must also certify under penalty of
perjury to the board that it is in compliance with Unruh. This
bill would also require the charitable organization to provide
the board with either: (1) the written nondiscrimination policy
of the organization; or (2) a written statement to indicate that
the organization does not have a written nondiscrimination
policy, but otherwise complies with Unruh.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law , the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA),
prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the basis
of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry,
physical disability, mental disability, medical condition,
genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or
military and veteran status. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920 et seq.)
Existing law , the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all
persons in California are free and equal, and regardless of a
person's sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital
status, or sexual orientation, everyone is entitled to the full
and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or
services in all business establishments. (Civ. Code Sec. 51.)
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Existing law provides the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board may approve plans for payroll deduction
from the salaries or wages of state officers and employees for
charitable contributions to the agency handling the principal
combined drive in any area. (Gov. Code Sec. 13293(a).) Existing
law permits state employees to authorize deductions from their
wages and salaries for various purposes such as for the payment
of charitable contributions under any plan approved by the board
in accordance with procedures established by the Controller.
(Gov. Code Sec. 1151(f).)
Existing law requires that the principal combined fund drive
agency, any charitable organization that is an affiliated member
beneficiary of the principal combined fund drive, and any
charitable organization approved by the board to receive
designated deductions on the payroll authorization form of the
principal fund drive, certify under penalty of perjury to the
board that it is in compliance with FEHA as a condition of
receiving these designated deductions. (Gov. Code Sec.
13293(f).)
This bill would require that the above entities certify under
penalty of perjury that they have also complied with Unruh. This
bill would also require the charitable organization to provide
the board with either the written nondiscrimination policy of
the organization, or, a written statement to indicate that the
organization does not have a written nondiscrimination policy,
but otherwise complies with Unruh.
This bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
According to the author:
The "Our Promise: California State Employees Giving at Work"
is a program administered by the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board. Formerly the
California State Employee Charitable Campaign, the campaign
provides state employees with an annual list of organizations
to which they can make contributions to[,] through the
convenience of payroll deduction.
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While the list of organizations are vetted and approved based
on their federal tax-exempt status and compliance to
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
Regulations, there are still organizations on the list that do
not fully abide by the state's nondiscrimination policy.
An example is the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). In 2012, BSA
denied Ryan Andresen, a California Boy Scout, his Eagle Scout
award because he is openly gay. BSA's exclusion of youth like
Andresen flies in the face of state nondiscrimination law.
Although BSA has since reversed its policy so that no youth
may be denied membership on the basis of sexual orientation,
they continue to maintain its ban on gay adult leaders.
AB 1050 will require charitable organizations participating in
the campaign drive to submit to the board its
nondiscrimination policy as part of its annual application. In
no way does this prohibit employees from making a donation to
an organization like the Boy Scouts nor does it prevent those
donations from being tax-deductible.
2. State already requires participating charitable donations
certify they have complied with FEHA
As noted in the Background, existing law allows for the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
("board") to approve plans for payroll deduction from state
employees' salaries or wages for charitable contributions to the
agency handling the principal combined fund drive in any area.
(Gov. Code Sec. 13293(a).) In accordance with this provision,
state employees are permitted to authorize deductions to be made
from their salaries or wages for payment of various purposes,
including for the payment of charitable contributions under any
plan approved by the board in accordance with procedures
established by the Controller. (Gov. Code Sec. 1151(f).)
According to the "Our Promise: California State Employees Giving
at Work" website, over the previous five years, this initiative
has raised upwards of $7 million dollars. In 2014, out of a
total of 261,704 employees, 35,478 (14 percent) donated a total
of $6,460,474, and, in 2013, employees donated $6,661,903. (See
Our Promise, Results [as
of Jun. 12, 2015].)
Notably, existing law already requires that a charitable
organization participating in this initiative, as approved by
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the board, certify under penalty of perjury to the board that it
is in compliance with Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) as
a condition of receiving these designated deductions. (Gov.
Code Sec. 13293(f).) This bill would require that the
organization also certify that it is in compliance with the
Unruh Civil Rights Act. Whereas FEHA prohibits discrimination
in housing and employment on the basis of race, religious creed,
color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental
disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital
status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age,
sexual orientation, or military and veteran status, Unruh
prohibits discrimination in services provided by business
establishments on the basis of those characteristics.
Accordingly, this bill would appear to be in line with the
general state public policy that prohibits any person in the
State of California from being unlawfully denied full and equal
access to the benefits of, or be unlawfully subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity that is conducted,
operated, or administered by the state, or receives any
financial assistance from the state, on the basis of race,
national origin, ethnic group identification, religion, age,
sex, sexual orientation, color, genetic information, or
disability, be unlawfully denied full and equal access to the
benefits of, or be unlawfully subjected to discrimination under,
any program or activity that is conducted, operated, or
administered by the state or by any state agency, is funded
directly by the state, or receives any financial assistance from
the state. (See Gov. Code Sec. 11135.)
Equality California, the sponsor of this bill notes that
"[w]hile much progress has been made in the charitable sector
regarding nondiscrimination, there are still some organizations
that may openly discriminate based on sexual orientation and
gender identity, in particular. Such policies institutionalize
the rejection lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people face
simply because of who they are. It is important that we ensure
these organizations are held to the same standard of inclusivity
as we hold the state itself."
Support : American Civil Liberties Union; Anti-Defamation
League; LGBT Community Center of the Desert; Gender Health
Center; Gay-Straight Alliance Network of California
Opposition : None Known
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HISTORY
Source : Equality California
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation : None Known
Prior Vote :
Assembly Floor (Ayes 62, Noes 7)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 13, Noes 4)
Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee
(Ayes 8, Noes 1)
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