BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1712
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|Author: |Obernolte |
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|Version: |May 27, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 22, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: Child care: digital signatures
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes child care contractors to use electronic
signatures and permits the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to adopt, as specified, rules and regulations regarding
electronic signatures used by child care contractors,
alternative payment programs (APPs) and providers.
BACKGROUND
1) Existing law authorizes local government agencies or
non-profit organizations to contract with the California
Department of Education (CDE) to operate APPs and provide
alternative payments and support services to parents and
child development providers. APPs help parents arrange
child care services and make payments directly to the
provider, which may be in-home care, family child care or
center-based care, and either licensed or license-exempt.
(Education Code § 8220)
2) Existing law establishes requirements and procedures
that APPs and child development providers must follow as
contracted agencies with the CDE, including but not limited
to tracking and reporting of attendance, accounting and
auditing requirements, and reimbursement and payment
procedures.
(EC § 8221.5)
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3) Current regulations require child care and development
providers that contract with APPs to submit periodic
reports that must include:
a) Days and hours of enrollment and attendance.
b) Total days of operation.
c) Services, revenues and expenditures relating
to care provided for subsidized and unsubsidized
children.
Parents are required to physically sign-in and sign-out their
child when they drop off and pick up their child each day.
(California Code of Regulations, Title 5 § 18065)
4) Existing law requires agencies that receive state funds
to, at the request of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI), make all records pertaining to its
state-funded programs available to the California
Department Education (CDE), as specified, and requires that
all records be retained by each agency for at least five
years, as specified. (EC § 33421)
5) Existing law authorizes alternative payment programs and
providers and other contractors providing child care
development services to maintain records in electronic
format if the original documents were created in electronic
format.
(EC § 8262.1)
6) Existing law authorizes alternative payment programs and
providers to use digital signatures and specifies that the
digital signature have the same force and effect as the use
of the manual signature if specified requirements are met.
(EC § 8227.5)
7) Establishes the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
(UETA), which permits, but does not require, a record or
signature to be created, generated, sent, communicated,
received, stored, or otherwise processed or used by
electronic means or in electronic form. (CIV 1633.1, et
seq.)
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8) Establishes that a digital signature, when used in
written communication with a public entity, shall have the
same force and effect of a manual signature if it meets
certain requirements, as specified. (GOV § 16.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes child care contractors to use electronic
signatures and permits the SPI to adopt, as specified, rules
and regulations regarding electronic signatures used by child
care contractors, alternative payment programs (APPs) and
providers. Specifically it;
1) Authorizes child care contractors to use digital signatures
and requires that those signatures have the same force and
effect as manual signatures.
2) Authorizes the SPI to adopt rules and regulations related
to digital signatures and provides that these rules and
regulations supersede existing law should they differ, as
specified.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. Recent legislation, AB 271 (Obernotle,
Chapter 476, Statutes of 2015) provided APPs, contractors
and providers the option to maintain records electronically
regardless of whether the original documents were created
in electronic format. It also allowed APPs and providers to
use electronic signatures but failed to explicitly give the
option to child care center contractors. This bill seeks
give child care contractors the ability to use digital
signatures on records thereby extending an authorization
that is currently provided to APPs and child care
providers.
2) Subsidized child care programs. State subsidized child
care may be available to families that meet certain
eligibility requirements. The three main types of
subsidized child care programs include: California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) child
care, Alternative Payment Programs (APPs) and General Child
Care. General Child Care offers child care and
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education/development services through contracted child
care centers and family child care home networks that are
administered through public or private agencies, while
child care administered by CalWORKs and APPs is offered
through a voucher system. This bill provides those entities
that contract directly with the California Department of
Education for the provision of child care and development
services the ability to use electronic signatures on
documents and have them carry the same weight as a manual
signature.
3) Digital Signature. Current regulations establish criteria
for public entities using digital signature technology.
Acceptable technology must be capable of creating
signatures that are unique to the person using it, capable
of verification, under sole control of the person using it
and cannot be altered. The regulations also provide
recommendations of acceptable digital signature technology.
This bill authorizes the SPI to adopt rules and
regulations related to digital signatures including
defining or redefining what is acceptable technology for
the creation and use of a digital signature and allows
these rules to supersede current law. This authorization
may provide greater flexibility for modifying requirements
as technology evolves.
SUPPORT
KinderCare Education
San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council
OPPOSITION
None received.
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