BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2780
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2780 (Holden) - As Introduced February 19, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Labor |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill staggers the terms of the seven Department of Fair
Employment and Housing Council (DFEH Council) members to provide
that four of the members serve four-year terms and three of the
members serve two-year terms. After the terms of these initial
appointments expire, members would be appointed to serve
four-year terms. The bill further requires the Governor to
immediately appoint a member to serve the remainder of any board
vacancy.
AB 2780
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible fiscal impact to the Department of Fair Employment
and Housing.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill, supported by DFEH, proposes to stagger the
terms of the DFEH Council members in order to provide
institutional knowledge and consistency across long-term
projects. Further, given that the DFEH Council is a state
agency responsible for enforcing California's civil rights
law, the author maintains it is essential that the council has
full functionality. Currently, member terms are not staggered
and all seven are set to expire simultaneously on January 1,
2017. Other boards and commissions, such as the California
Transportation Commission, have staggered terms.
2)Background. SB 1038 (Committee on Budget Fiscal Review),
Chapter 46, Statutes of 2012, eliminated the Fair Employment
and Housing Commission, an entity separate from the DFEH that
both promulgated regulations and adjudicated California Fair
Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) claims. The law transferred
the regulatory functions of the Commission to the DFEH by
creating a rulemaking body called the DFEH Council within the
Department.
3)Prior related legislation:
a) AB 2433 (Hill) Chapter 305, Statutes of 2012, staggered
members' terms on the San Francisco Bay Area Water
AB 2780
Page 3
Emergency Transportation Authority.
b) AB 1822 (Berryhill) Chapter 317, Statutes of 2012,
staggered members' terms on the California Architects
Board.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081