BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 1354 (Dodd) - Discrimination: equal pay: state contracting.
          
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          |Version: August 31, 2015        |Policy Vote: G.O. 9 - 3         |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 27, 2015   |Consultant: Mark McKenzie       |
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          *********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM - SUSPENSE FILE ***********
             The following information is revised to reflect amendments 
                     adopted by the committee on August 27, 2015


          Bill  
          Summary:  AB 1354 would require employers with 100 or more  
          employees to submit a nondiscrimination program, including a  
          specified workforce analysis, to the Department of Fair  
          Employment and Housing (DFEH) prior to becoming a contractor or  
          subcontractor with the state.  Contractors and subcontractors  
          would also be required to submit periodic compliance reports and  
          DFEH would be authorized to require approval and certification  
          of nondiscrimination programs.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           Minor and absorbable DFEH costs to receive nondiscrimination  
            programs and to define "employee" for purposes of the bill.   
            (General Fund)

           Major DFEH General Fund cost pressures, potentially in the  







          AB 1354 (Dodd)                                         Page 1 of  
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            millions annually.  If DFEH exercised authority to require  
            approval and certification contractors' nondiscrimination  
            programs, it would require approximately 80 PY of consultant  
            staff, plus supervisory staff and administrative support, to  
            support such a program.  In addition, to collect and sort data  
            on contractors' workers by job category, race, gender,  
            ethnicity, wages, and hours worked, DFEH would need to  
            purchase a new software system at a one-time cost of  
            approximately $1 million, with ongoing costs of approximately  
            $160,000 annually (General Fund).  These cost pressures could  
            be substantially higher if DFEH further extended the  
            requirements to subcontractors and to smaller businesses.

           Potential increase in state contracting costs (various funds),  
            to the extent contractors and subcontractors build the costs  
            to prepare a nondiscrimination program and workforce analysis  
            into bid prices.  Contracting costs could also be impacted by  
            a reduction in eligible contractors or subcontractors, to the  
            extent some businesses fail to comply with the bill's  
            requirements and are deemed ineligible to contract with the  
            state.  Reduced competition for state contracts could lead to  
            higher prices.


          Author  
          Amendments:  Amendments specify that the bill would apply to  
          specified contractors and subcontractors with a contract of 30  
          days or more, and that the bill shall not be construed to negate  
          or require a reinterpretation of the validity of an exemption to  
          the statutory requirements in existence on January 1, 2016 that  
          was created through regulations.


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