BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 255|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 255
Author: Liu (D), et al.
Introduced:2/18/15
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 5/12/15
AYES: Hall, Berryhill, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Lara,
McGuire, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Gaines
SUBJECT: State government: Commission on the Status of Women
and Girls
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill specifies that the Labor Commissioner
instead of the Chief of the Division of Industrial Welfare is a
member of the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
(Commission).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Creates within the state government the Commission that
consists of 17 members to be appointed as follows:
a) Three Members of the Senate and one public member
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
b) Three Members of the Assembly and one public member
appointed by the Speaker.
c) One Public member appointed by the Superintendent of
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Public Instruction, and the Chief of the Division of
Industrial Welfare in the Department of Industrial
Relations.
d) Seven public members appointed by the Governor, with the
consent of the Senate. One of these seven public members
is required to be a veteran or a member of the military.
2)Specifies that Members of the Legislature shall serve at the
pleasure of the appointed powers.
3)Specifies that public member appointees of the Speaker and the
Senate Committee on Rules, and appointees of the Governor
shall serve four-year terms.
4)Specifies that public members of the Commission shall receive
one hundred dollars per diem while on official business of the
Commission, not to exceed 12 days per year. Each member of
the Commission shall also be entitled to receive his or her
actual necessary traveling expenses while on official business
of the Commission.
5)Abolished the Division of Industrial Welfare and transferred
the duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of
the Chief of the Division of Industrial Welfare to the Labor
Commissioner, who is the Chief of the Division of Labor
Standards Enforcement
This bill specifies that the Labor Commissioner instead of the
Chief of the Division of Industrial Welfare is a member of the
Commission.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, the bill updates
current law to reflect the current membership of the Commission.
Statutory correction is needed because the Labor Commissioner
now acts as the Chief of the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations in the
California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. The
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Commission was established as an Advisory Committee in 1965 by
Governor Gerald "Pat" Brown. It was made a permanent Commission
by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan
in 1971. It is the only state agency that looks specifically at
all issues impacting women and provides a gender analysis of
proposed legislation and other state action.
The Commission is an independent voice within state government
for California women and girls. It serves as an important link
between many communities and the government, including working
families, incarcerated women, immigrant women, and those with
the least access to state government and services.
In 2012 legislation was signed into law that required the
Commission to study the following policy areas:
1) Gender equity in the media.
2) Education needs of women and girls.
3) Gender in the workplace and employment.
4) Health and safety of women and girls.
5) Women in the military, women veterans, and military
families.
6) State laws in regard to the civil and political rights,
marriage, and dissolution of marriage provisions, and similar
patterns.
7) The effect of social attitudes and pressures and economic
considerations in shaping the roles to be assumed by women in
the society.
All but $2,000 of the Commission's projected 2011-2012 budget of
$267,000 came from the state's General Fund. Nearly 89% of
those funds were spent on salaries and benefits; the rest for
operating expenses and equipment.
The proposed budget for 2012-2013 was zeroed out after Governor
Jerry Brown called for the Commission's elimination. The state
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Assembly announced in April 2012 that it was transferring
$150,000 from its operating budget to the Commission to fund it
until the end of the year. Currently the Commission is funded
completely through private funds and receives no general fund
money.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 960 (Campos, Chapter 197, Statutes of 2013) required one of
the seven public members appointed by the Governor to serve on
the Commission to be a woman veteran or a female member of the
military.
SB 1038 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 46,
Statutes of 2012) required the Commission to become the center
of information on seven specific issues affecting women and
girls.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: No Local: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/12/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/12/15)
None received
Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530
5/13/15 16:07:00
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