BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2780| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 2780 Author: Holden (D) Amended: 6/9/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16 AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Fair Employment and Housing Council: membership: length of terms SOURCE: California Department of Fair Employment and Housing DIGEST: This bill provides adjustments to the term lengths of the seven Fair Employment and Housing Council Members and staggers terms of council members beginning January 1, 2017. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Declares, under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), it is against public policy to discriminate on the basis of race, AB 2780 Page 2 color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, or genetic information in housing accommodations and in employment. 2)Establishes the Fair Employment and Housing Council within the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) consisting of seven Governor Appointees that are subject to Senate confirmation and serve four-year terms. This bill: 1)Requires, beginning January 1, 2017, that the terms of four of the Council Members be four years in length and the terms of three of the Council Members be two years in length, and provides that after the terms of these initial appointments expire, Council Members would be appointed to serve four-year terms. 2)Provides that vacancies occurring prior to the expiration of the term shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. Background The DFEH is the State agency responsible for enforcing California's civil rights laws. The mission of the DFEH is to AB 2780 Page 3 protect Californians from employment, housing and public accommodation discrimination, and hate violence. The DFEH is mandated by statute to protect the people of the state of California from discrimination and hate violence pursuant to the FEHA, Unruh Civil Rights Act, Disabled Persons Act, and Ralph Civil Rights Act. The DFEH has jurisdiction over private and public entities operating within the State of California, including corporate entities, private sector contracts granted by the State of California, and all State departments and local governments. The DFEH receives and investigates discrimination complaints, prosecutes cases, and also provides technical assistance to employers, business establishments and housing providers regarding their responsibilities under the law. The Fair Employment and Housing Council was established as an independent body within the DFEH to advance civil rights in California through the promulgation of regulations, provision of technical assistance to advisory agencies, and issuance of reports to the Governor and Legislature. (SB 1038, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 46, Statutes of 2012) The Fair Employment and Housing Council consist of seven Governor Appointees that are confirmed by the Senate. The Governor designates the chairperson. All seven current appointees' terms will expire on January 1, 2017. This bill staggers the terms of the appointees in an effort to ensure that there is functionality and continuity in the event many members are replaced at the same time. AB 2780 Page 4 Comments The author writes: Currently, the seven appointed members each serve four-year terms. The terms are not staggered and all seven members' terms will expire simultaneously on January 1, 2017 without a clear plan to ensure full functionality and continuity. Given that the Fair Employment and Housing Council is a state entity responsible for promoting regulations concerning California's civil rights laws, it is essential that the Council has full functionality. AB 2780 is necessary to provide such continuity to the Fair Employment and Housing Council's work by recommending that the Governor stagger the members' terms since it would enable the members to maintain institutional knowledge and consistency across long-term projects. Related/Prior Legislation AB 2433 (Hill, Chapter 305, Statutes of 2012) staggered San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority Members' terms. AB 2780 Page 5 AB 1822 (Berryhill, Chapter 317, Statutes of 2012) staggered California Architects Board Members terms. SB 1038 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 46, Statutes of 2012) established the Fair Employment and Housing Council as an independent body within the DFEH to advance civil rights in California through the promulgation of regulations, provision of technical assistance to advisory agencies, and issuance of reports to the Governor and Legislature. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified8/3/16) California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (source) OPPOSITION: (Verified8/3/16) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas, AB 2780 Page 6 Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon NO VOTE RECORDED: Ridley-Thomas Prepared by:Margie Estrada / JUD. / (916) 651-4113 8/3/16 18:09:04 **** END ****