BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 255|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 255
Author: Liu (D), et al.
Amended: 8/17/15
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
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 5/18/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill,
Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen,
Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Hall, Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-1, 8/31/15 - See last page for vote
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). In addition, the bill exempts Commission meetings
conducted solely for fundraising purposes from the Bagley Keene
Open Meeting Act (Act) provided that a majority of members do
not discuss among themselves any item of business of a specific
nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
Commission.
SB 255
Page 2
Assembly Amendments exempts Commission meetings conducted solely
for fundraising purposes from the Act provided that a majority
of members do not discuss among themselves any item of business
of a specific nature that is within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the Commission.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Creates within the state government the Commission on the
Status of Women and Girls 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
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
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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.
6)Requires, under the Act, with specified exceptions for
authorized closed sessions, that the meetings of state bodies
be open and public and that all persons be permitted to
attend.
This bill:
1)Specifies that the Labor Commissioner instead of the Chief of
the Division of Industrial Welfare is a member of the
Commission.
2)Exempts Commission meetings conducted solely for fundraising
purposes from the Act provided that a majority of members do
not discuss among themselves any item of business of a
specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction
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.
In addition the author argues that, "following the recession,
the Commission was charged with fundraising a portion of its
yearly budget. In attempting to do so, the Commission has faced
compliance with the Act and its impact on Commission sponsored
fundraisers. SB 255 clarifies that the Commission is allowed to
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Page 4
hold fundraising events that require payment or purchase to
attend and that meetings conducted for the sole purpose of
raising funds are not subject to the Act."
The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. The
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
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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
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.
Bagley-Keene Act. When the Legislature enacted the Bagley-Keene
Act of 1967 it essentially said that when a body sits down to
develop its consensus, there needs to be a seat at the table
reserved for the public. In doing so, the Legislature has
provided the public with the ability to monitor and be part of
the decision-making process. The Act explicitly mandates open
meetings for California State agencies, boards, and commissions.
The Act facilitates transparency of government activities and
protects the rights of citizens to participate in state
government deliberations. Therefore, absent a specific reason
to keep the public out of meetings, the public should be allowed
to monitor and participate in the decision-making process.
Similarly, the California's Brown Act of 1953 protects citizen's
rights to open meetings at the local and county government
levels.
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.:YesLocal: No
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According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, potential
minor savings to the extent that fundraising meetings and events
no longer have to be publically noticed under the Act.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/31/15)
California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/31/15)
None Received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Commission
on the Status of Women and Girls, "in legislation passed in 2012
and 2013, the Commission was charged with fundraising to offset
its dependence on state funding. The transparency statutes that
guide day to day working of California State Government and
enable active participation from the public, have unfortunately
made the effective implementation of active fundraising
challenging. SB 255 would enable the Commission to both
efficiently sponsor fundraising events and cultivate independent
financial support for our work in our 50th year and beyond."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-1, 8/31/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, 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, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
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Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Gallagher
Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530
8/31/15 17:52:07
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