BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2780|
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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,
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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
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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.
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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.
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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,
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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
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