BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 548|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 548
Author: De León (D)
Amended: 6/1/15
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-2, 4/22/15
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan
NOES: Runner, Vidak
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 4/29/15
AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
NOES: Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Child care: family child care providers:
bargaining representatives
SOURCE: Service Employees International Union State Council
DIGEST: This bill gives family child care providers the right
to form, join, and participate in provider organizations,
requires, if a family child care provider organization is
certified, the State and the certified provider organization to
establish a training partnership committee to make and implement
recommendations regarding training resources.
ANALYSIS:
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Existing law:
1)Requires that full-day care centers and family child care
homes, with certain exceptions, be licensed and registered
with the state. The licensing fee is dependent on the number
of children that the centers or homes take care of. Family
child care homes, where the child care is provided by someone
who resides in the home where the care is provided, may only
take care of up to 14 children, while day care centers may be
licensed for additional children. (Health and Safety Code §§
1596.78, 1596.80, and 1596.803)
2)Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
develop standards for quality child care programs and to enter
into contracts with child care centers and family child care
homes. Existing law also authorizes the California Department
of Education (CDE) to create alternative payment providers in
each county to establish a reimbursement system for subsidized
child care. (Education Code § 8220-8227, 8263)
This bill:
1) Defines "family child care providers" as a child care
provider that participates in a state-funded child care
program and is either of the following:
a) A family day care home provider who is licensed.
b) An individual who meets both of the following:
i) Provides child care in his or her own home
or in the home of the child receiving care.
ii) Is exempt from licensing requirements.
Provider organizations
2) Gives family child care providers the right to form,
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join, and participate in provider organizations of their
own choosing for the purpose of being represented.
3) Extends the state action antitrust exemption to the
activities of the family child care providers and their
representatives. This bill also states, however, that the
status of family child care providers as independent
business owners does not change, nor does this bill
classify family child care providers as public employees.
4) Creates a right for family child care providers to form
provider organizations. Child care providers would retain
the right to join or not join such an organization.
5) Requires that, within 10 days of receipt of a request
from a provider organization, the State Department of
Social Services (DSS) must make available to that provider
organization information regarding licensed family child
care providers, including each provider's contact
information.
6) Requires that, within 30 days of receipt of a request
from a provider organization, the CDE, with the assistance
of the relevant organization, must collect information
regarding family child care providers, including each
provider's contact information. The provider organization
must bear the reasonable costs of collecting the
information.
7) Requires that, upon written request of a family child
care provider, the CDE and the DSS must remove the family
child care provider's home address and telephone number
from the above-described lists.
8) Provides that a unit of provider organizations may
choose to designate the provider organization that shall be
the exclusive representative for negotiations with the
state. In order for a unit of provider organizations to be
considered appropriate, the unit must be statewide and
include all family child care providers.
9) Provides that the Public Employment Relations Board
(PERB) must conduct an election to certify the provider
organization as the exclusive bargaining representative.
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PERB is also required to receive and act upon challenges,
petitions for unit certification, and other representation
issues. A provider organization petitioning for an
election to be certified is required to include in its
petition proof of a 30% showing of interest designating the
provider organization to act as the exclusive
representative. The provider organization must pay the
reasonable costs of verifying this showing of interest.
10) Empowers PERB to contract with a neutral third party to
conduct all necessary elections and other representation
requests.
11) Provides that there shall be no more than one bargaining
unit at any time. A certified provider organization may
file a request with the PERB for an election to add
providers to an existing unit.
12) Provides that the child care organization would
represent all child care providers in negotiations with the
Governor and state agencies on issues that fall within the
child care provider organization's scope of representation.
13) Provide that issues within the scope of representation
include:
a) The administration of laws and regulations
governing licensing for providers.
b) Joint labor-management committees.
c) Contract grievance arbitration.
d) Expanded access to professional development and
training opportunities for providers.
e) Benefits for providers.
f) Payment procedures for child care subsidy
programs.
g) Reimbursement rates for providers participating in
a child care subsidy program including, but not limited
to, rate add-ons for providers who complete extra
training.
h) Expanded access to and funding for food and
nutrition programs.
i) The deduction of membership dues and fair share
fees.
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j) Expanded access to state-funded child care program
to families in need of subsidies.
aa) Any changes to current practice other than those
listed in above that would improve recruitment and
retention of child care providers, quality of child care
programs, additional education of qualified child care
providers, and the promotion the health and safety of
providers and the children in their care.
14) Requires that The Governor, through the Department of
Personnel Administration, in consultation with the SPI,
other state agencies that administer state-funded child
care programs, and their contractors, must meet and confer
in good faith regarding on all matters within the scope of
representation with representatives of a certified provider
organization.
15) Provides that if an agreement is reached between the
Governor, through the Department of Personnel
Administration, and the certified provider organization,
they jointly shall prepare a written memorandum of
understanding.
16) Provides the child care provider organization with the
right to enter an agreement with the state for the
deduction of membership dues and fair share fees from child
care subsidy payments made to providers.
17) Prohibits the child care provider organization from
directing or calling a strike. These amendments would also
allow for disputes to be submitted to the California State
Mediation and Conciliation Service for mediation.
Training
18) Requires, if a family child care provider organization
is certified, the State and the certified provider
organization to establish a training partnership consisting
of a Joint Partnership on Child Care Training, Education,
and Quality Improvement. The membership of the Joint
Partnership is to include representatives of the certified
provider organization and designees of the Governor.
19) Requires the partnership to make recommendations
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regarding, and oversee, the expenditures. Authorizes the
partnership to consult with other early education and care
advocates, the SPI or designees, representatives of
community colleges, higher education institutions, resource
and referral networks, unions that operate training
programs, apprenticeship programs, and early education and
care employers. Requires the certified provider
organization to carry out the recommendations of the
partnership.
20) Requires the partnership to meet to identify gaps in the
training available to family child care providers and
barriers that prevent family child care providers from
gaining greater skills and accessing postsecondary
education, and issue recommendations on an annual basis to
improve the quality of care offered by licensed and
license-exempt family child care providers.
21) Requires the partnership to play a coordinating role in
ensuring that the training offered to providers:
a) Meets the State's needs for the child care
workforce.
b) Satisfies the health, safety and educational
standards prescribed by the State.
c) Aligns with the State's quality rating systems.
d) Identifies and works to eliminate barriers to
providers accessing training.
22) Authorizes the partnership's recommendations to include,
but not be limited to:
a) Ways to access federal and private funding for
training to expand capacity to existing State training
resources, such as general education classes and English
language learner classes.
b) Ways to expand and improve provider training and
skills on subjects including but not limited to child
literacy, children with special needs, and children's
social and emotional development.
c) Ways to support providers who seek to obtain
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training or higher education credentials in child
development or a related field.
d) Ways to work with existing training providers and
educational institutions, including but not limited to
resource and referral networks, community colleges, and
apprenticeship programs.
e) Ways to make training and education, which may
include unit-bearing courses and training, available to
child care workers and other workers employed by child
care centers and schools.
23) States it is the intent of the Legislature to allocate
$1 million in the 2015 Budget to carry out the initial
recommendations of the partnership, and that in subsequent
years, the recommendations of the partnership be funded by
contributions agreed to for that purpose in the memorandum
of understanding between the provider organization and the
Governor.
Best practices
24) Requires the Governor or designee to conduct a study of
best practices for engaging families in their children's
early care and education in family child care settings, and
of federal and other funding that could support parental
engagement efforts without reducing the availability and
affordability of child care.
25) Requires the Governor or designee to report to the
Legislature and Department of Finance, by January 1, 2017,
with the findings and a proposed framework of priorities in
which to invest.
26) Requires the Governor or designee, in conducting the
study, to consult with stakeholders, including the DSS,
First 5 California, and organizations that represent
parents with young children, particularly lower income and
non-English speaking families, to consider how best to
engage and support those families in a culturally competent
manner.
Additional child care slots
27) States it is the intent of the Legislature to create an
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unspecified number of additional slots in alternative
payment programs for children living in extreme poverty,
defined as 50% of the federal poverty level, if funding is
allocated in the Budget.
Comments
1)Antitrust Law and the "State Action" Doctrine. As family
child care home providers are self-employed, any arrangement
where the providers would get together and fix prices and
level of services would immediately encounter antitrust
difficulties. California state antitrust laws are based on
the federal Sherman Act of 1890, which prohibits "every
contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade",
as well as the Clayton Act of 1914. However, court decisions
since the creation of these antitrust laws, particularly
Parker v. Brown (317 U.S. 341) in 1943, have acknowledged that
the federal government did not intend for antitrust laws to
apply to states and their agents when those agents are engaged
in activities that are tied to a state policy and are under
some management or supervision from the state. By explicitly
stating that the formation of provider organizations are
exempted under the "state action" doctrine in antitrust law,
this bill exempts the activities of family child care
providers and their representatives from federal and state
antitrust laws.
2)Training programs. This bill requires the training
partnership to meet to identify gaps in the training available
to family child care providers and barriers that prevent
family child care providers from gaining greater skills and
accessing postsecondary education. According to the author,
existing training opportunities are limited and unavailable or
inaccessible to early education and care providers in many
areas of the state.
3)Role for the Governor. This bill provides the Governor with a
significant role in designating representatives for
participation on the training partnership, and the development
of best practices. According to the author, the goal is to
engage the Governor and secure his full participation in these
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endeavors. The author may wish to consider expanding
participation on the training committee to include the DSS,
the Department of Education, and parents, and include
consultation with the CDE in the study of best practices.
4)Additional slots. This bill states legislative intent to
create an unspecified number of additional slots in
alternative payment programs for children living in extreme
poverty, defined as 50% of the federal poverty level, if
funding is allocated in the Budget. According to the author,
this bill addresses additional slots only for alternative
payment programs to focus on the greatest area of need, and
provide a balance with recent adjustments that were made for
other types of early education and care programs.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
would impose major costs to the state attributed to various
state agencies being involved in the collective bargaining
process, potential increases in provider wages and benefits
derived from negotiations, potential additional child care
slots, the establishment of a training partnership committee,
the intent to provide $1 million to implement initial committee
recommendations, and a best practices study for parent
engagement. See staff comments in the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis for a full discussion of cost estimates.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/29/15)
Service Employees International Union (source)
9 to 5
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Berkeley City Council
California Labor Federation
California National Organization for Women
Children Now
Congressman Ted Lieu
Consumer Attorneys of California
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
National Council of Jewish Women California
Our Family Coalition
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Special Needs Network
St. Paul Lutheran Church
UAW Local 2865
UAW Local 5810
Western Center on Law & Poverty
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/29/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Labor
Federation, this bill helps the poorest working parents lift
their families out of poverty, help close the educational
achievement gap for low-income children, help support parents'
efforts to provide learning and development opportunities at
home, and strengthen jobs in the child care and development
sector. High quality, affordable child care can help break the
cycle of poverty by better preparing children for school and
life. A quality child care system depends upon dedicated and
stable providers.
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
6/1/15 18:16:48
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