BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 255  


                                                                    Page  1





          Date of Hearing:  August 26, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          SB 255  
          (Liu) - As Amended August 17, 2015


           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Policy       |Accountability and             |Vote:|8 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |Administrative Review          |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill authorizes the Commission on the Status of Women and  
          Girls (Commission) to conduct fundraising activities that  
          require a payment or purchase to attend. This bill also exempts  
          Commission fundraising events and meetings conducted solely for  
          fundraising purposes from the Bagley Keene Open Meeting Act  
          (Bagley Keene Act), and makes a clarifying change to the  






                                                                     SB 255  


                                                                    Page  2





          composition of the Commission.   


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Potential minor savings to the extent that fundraising meetings  
          and events no longer have to be publically noticed under the  
          Bagley-Keene Act.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  The author contends that raising private money has  
            proven difficult for the Commission because, as a state body,  
            it is also required to comply with the Bagley-Keene Act. This  
            bill provides that meetings and activities conducted solely  
            for the purpose of fundraising do not fall under the scope of  
            Bagley-Keene provided that no other business that is within  
            the subject matter of the Commission is discussed,  
            deliberated, or acted upon. The author believes that this bill  
            will help stabilize funding for the Commission.


          2)Background.  The Commission was established in 1965 as an  
            advisory committee by then-Governor Pat Brown to protect and  
            improve opportunities for California women and girls. It  
            became a permanent Commission under Governor Reagan in 1971.  
            As an independent, nonpartisan state agency, it provides a  
            statewide perspective to the Legislature and other  
            policymakers on issues affecting women and girls, such as  
            gender in the workplace, gender equity in the media,  
            educational needs of women and girls, health and safety of  
            women and girls, and women in the military.


            SB 1038 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 46,  
            Statutes of 2012, restructured the mission of the Commission  
            and directed it to seek funding from private entities to  
            reduce its reliance on state funding.  Proceeds from non-state  






                                                                     SB 255  


                                                                    Page  3





            sources are deposited in the Women and Girls Fund in the State  
            Treasury to be used to support the work of the Commission.   
            The final 2015-16 State Budget includes a $500,000 General  
            Fund appropriation to the Commission and $374,000 in the  
            special Women and Girls Fund. 



            Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081