BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                                                                     SB 548


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          Date of Hearing:  July 8, 2015 


                     ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT


                               Roger Hernández, Chair


          SB  
          548 (De León) - As Amended June 1, 2015


          SENATE VOTE:  25-12


          SUBJECT:  Child care: family child care providers: bargaining  
          representative.


          SUMMARY:  Authorizes family child care providers to form, join  
          and participate in "provider organizations" for purposes of  
          negotiating with state agencies on specified matters, among  
          other provisions.    Specifically, this bill:


          1)Defines "family child care provider" 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.











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               ii)         Is exempt from licensing requirements.


          2)Gives family child care providers the right to form, 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 ten 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 California Department of Education  
            (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.













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          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.  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  
            percent 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  











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            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  
            Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), other state  
            agencies that administer state-funded child care programs, and  
            their contractors, must meet and confer in good faith  
            regarding 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.  The bill would also allow for  
            disputes to be submitted to the California State Mediation and  
            Conciliation Service for mediation.











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          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  
            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  











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               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 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  











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               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.


          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.


          27)         States it is the intent of the Legislature 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  











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            allocated in the Budget.


          EXISTING LAW:   


          1 Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop  
            standards for quality child care programs and to enter into  
            contracts with child care centers and family child care homes  
            for the provision of child care and development services.   
            Family child care is provided by someone who resides in the  
            home where care is provided.

           2) Establishes a reimbursement system for subsidized child care  
             in which:

             a)   Parents can choose a licensed center or family child  
               care home, and the state reimburses the provider the same  
               rate that the provider charges a family who is not  
               subsidized, up to a ceiling established by the state.

             b)   Parents can choose a provider who is not required to be  
               licensed (usually a relative, neighbor or friend), and the  
               state reimburses that provider a rate set within each  
               county based on the mean cost of licensed care in the  
               county.

             c)   Parents can enroll their children in a center or network  
               of family child care homes that has a direct contract with  
               the State Department of Education.  Child care in these  
               programs is reimbursed at a daily rate established in the  
               contract.  For most contractors, the daily rate is the  
               Standard Reimbursement Rate, set in statute and adjusted by  
               the Legislature to reflect changes in the cost of living.

             d)   The daily rate for direct contractors is adjusted by a  
               statutory formula for infants, school-aged children,  
               children with disabilities, children at-risk of abuse or  
               neglect, children who have limited English proficiency and  











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               children who spend less than six hours per day in care or  
               more than eight-and-one-half hours per day in care.

          FISCAL EFFECT:  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.  


          COMMENTS:  This bill proposes to enact the Raising Child Care  
          Quality and Accessibility Act.  The bill states that it is  
          intended:


            "to promote quality, access, and stability in the child care  
            system by increasing the number of child care slots available  
            to California's neediest children; by authorizing an  
            appropriate unit of family child care providers to choose a  
            provider organization to act as their exclusive representative  
            for purposes of the meet and confer process set forth in this  
            article and the administration and enforcement of any  
            resulting memorandum of understanding; by establishing a  
            training partnership between the state and that exclusive  
            representative; and by conducting a study of best practices  
            for parent engagement in home-based early care and education.  
            It is also the purpose of this article to promote full  
            communication between family child care providers and the  
            state by permitting a provider organization certified as the  
            representative of family child care providers to meet and  
            confer with the state regarding the state's child care  
            system."


          Brief Background on Child Care in California











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          The state's subsidized child care system serves around 360,000  
          subsidized children.  Care is provided to children in families  
          currently or previously receiving CalWORKs, as well as to other  
          working families subject to available resources.  The state  
          spends a total of approximately $2.2 billion on child care,  
          which is made up of a mix of state funds and federal funds from  
          the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Child  
          Care and Development block grants.  An estimated 300,000  
          eligible children are unserved because of a shortage of  
          resources.


          The state's child care system has a dual purpose: caring for  
          children while their parents work, and enhancing their  
          developmental potential as they prepare for and attend school.   
          Two state departments administer child care programs: the  
          Department of Education (responsible for more than 2/3 of the  
          funds) and the Department of Social Services (responsible for  
          administering the first stage of child care for CalWORKs  
          recipients).


          Families are eligible for subsidized care when their incomes are  
          lower than 70% of the State Median Income (SMI).   Above 50% of  
          SMI, a graduated schedule of family fees applies, up to 8% of  
          gross income.


          Slightly less than half of the total cost of subsidized child  
          care is spent for current or former recipients of CalWORKs.   
          Delivery of care for this population is provided through a  
          3-stage process.  In Stage 1, CalWORKs applicants and recipients  
          are provided care early in their welfare-to-work activities  
          before their care situation becomes stabilized.  In Stage 2,  
          current and former recipients are guaranteed care while they  
          continue to participate and for two years after they leave aid.   
          Stage 3 has been provided since CalWORKs began, covering  











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          families after Stage 2 until they no longer need care or exceed  
          the general subsidized care income eligibility limits.


          Child care to low-income families, whether in CalWORKs or not,  
          is provided by a variety of entities: child care centers, which  
          contract directly with the Department of Education (SDE) and  
          must meet established educational and health and safety  
          standards enforced by SDE; licensed family day care, which must  
          meet health and safety standards enforced by the Department of  
          Social Services; specialized care such as migrant care; and  
          informal license-exempt care provided by relatives or for a  
          single child or children from a single family.  Alternative  
          payment programs administer voucher payments, and resource and  
          referral agencies provide education, training and support and  
          help families find appropriate care.


          Providers are exempt from the licensing requirement if they  
          provide care for the children of only one family in addition to  
          his or her own children, or if they participate in a cooperative  
          arrangement with other parents when no payment is involved and  
          specified conditions are met.  SDE estimates that there are  
          approximately 48,000 license-exempt child care providers in the  
          state (although this number may have decreased with recent  
          budget cuts).   


           A recent study<1> by the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center found that  
          early care and education (ECE) is an important industry in  
          California, serving more than 850,000 California children and  
          their families and bringing in gross receipts of at least $5.6  
          billion annually.  The study reported that the industry not only  
          ---------------------------


          <1>


           MacGilvray, Jennifer and Laurel Lucia.  "Economic Impacts in  
          Early Care and Education in California."  U.C. Berkeley Center  
          for Labor Research and Education (August 2011).








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          benefits the children who receive care, but also strengthens the  
          California economy as a whole by promoting and facilitating  
          parents' ability to participate in the paid workforce, something  
          that is especially important during this time in which  
          California is struggling with high unemployment and a weak  
          economic recovery.  In particular, the study noted that analyses  
          of the costs and benefits of ECE have found impressive returns  
          on investments to the public, ranging from $2.69 to $7.16 per  
          dollar invested.


          Antitrust Issues and the "State Action" Doctrine


          This bill seeks to allow family child care providers to engage  
          in specified collective activity under the "state action  
          doctrine" to federal and state antitrust laws.  Therefore, as a  
          preliminary matter it is necessary to discuss some general  
          principals of antitrust law and the state action doctrine:  


           Antitrust Issues Under Federal Law


          The primary purpose of federal and state statutory antitrust law  
          is to prevent businesses from creating unjust monopolies or  
          competing unfairly in the marketplace.


          However, at common law throughout the nineteenth century, most  
          courts regarded labor unions as unlawful conspiracies in  
          restraint of trade, punishable civilly or criminally.  In 1890,  
          Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the basic federal  
          antitrust statute, which declared illegal "every contract,  
          combination?or conspiracy in restraint of trade."  In the years  
          following passage of the Sherman Act, the courts proceeded to  
          hold unions liable for antitrust violations in more instances  
          than businesses, which were the primary objects of concern under  
          the Act.  











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          Application of the federal antitrust laws to organized labor  
          culminated in the Supreme Court decision in Loewe v. Lawlor  
          (1908) 208 U.S. 274, the famous "Danbury Hatters" case, in which  
          the Court upheld the applicability of the Sherman Act to unions  
          and union activities.


          Resentment generated by the "Danbury Hatters" case placed  
          substantial pressure on Congress for a labor exemption to the  
          Sherman Act, and in 1914 the Clayton Act was passed.  The labor  
          exemption was further articulated with the passage of the  
          Norris-LaGuardia Act in 1932.  Both of these provisions declare  
          that labor unions are not combinations or conspiracies in  
          restraint of trade, and specifically exempt certain union  
          activities such as secondary picketing and group boycotts from  
                                       the application of federal antitrust laws.


          Antitrust Issues Under State Law


          California's general antitrust law, known as the Cartwright Act,  
          generally prohibits combinations of two or more persons'  
          capital, skill, or acts to restrict trade or commerce, reduce  
          the production of merchandise, increase the price of a  
          commodity, prevent competition, or control or fix at a standard  
          or figure any commodity.  (California Business and Professions  
          Code Section 16600, et seq.)


          Like its federal counterpart, the Cartwright Act contains a  
          labor exemption.  This exemption is found in Business and  
          Professions Code Section 16703, which provides: "Within the  
          meaning of this chapter, labor, whether skilled or unskilled, is  
          not a commodity."  Like its federal Clayton Act counterpart,  
          Section 16703 was intended to insulate from antitrust liability  
          concerted activities by workers seeking to improve their working  











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          terms and conditions.


          Interplay Between Federal and State Regulation: The "State  
          Action" Doctrine


          The "state action" doctrine recognizes that the federal  
          government did not intend to supersede the authority of the  
          states through antitrust regulation.  This doctrine was first  
          articulated by the Supreme Court in 1943 in the case of Parker  
          v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341, in which the Court declared that the  
          Sherman Act was not intended to apply to the activities of the  
          States.  Under this doctrine, a state acting within its own  
          domain may structure its economic market as it sees fit.  The  
          state may allow completely unfettered competition, or substitute  
          a competitive market structure with regulation.


          The state action doctrine provides that a private party is  
          immune from federal antitrust law if it can show that the state  
          has displaced competition via regulation.  As articulated in  
          Parker v. Brown, a two-part test is utilized to show requisite  
          state action.  First, the conduct is exempt if it is undertaken  
          pursuant to a "clearly articulated" state law that displaces  
          competition with a regulatory scheme.  Second, the conduct is  
          exempt if it is "actively supervised" by the state.  This latter  
          requirement is generally seen as ensuring that the private  
          parties are acting to fulfill the state's objectives, rather  
          than for purely self-motivated purposes.


          Similar Efforts in Other States


          Establishing collective bargaining rights for the child care  
          workforce is not entirely without precedent.  Nationally, a  
          small percentage of child care centers and Head Start programs  
          have been unionized for decades.  What is relatively new is the  











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          effort to begin organizing home-based child care providers.


          A recent report by the National Women's Law Center<2> discussed  
          recent developments in other states to authorize home-based  
          child care providers to join unions and negotiate with the state  
          for better compensation and working conditions.  The report  
          noted that home-based child care providers are not in a  
          traditional employer- employee relationship that permits them to  
          unionize.  Most are independent contractors and need special  
          legal authority to organize into unions that can bargain with  
          the state over rates, benefits, and similar matters.


          According to the report, 14 states have authorized child care  
          providers to organize and negotiate with the state.  These  
          states include Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, New Jersey,  
          Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Maryland,  
          Ohio, Maine and New Mexico.


          The legal authority needed for child care providers to unionize  
          and negotiate with the state generally has been derived from an  
          executive order from the governor, state legislation, or both.   
          The executive order or legislation granting legal authority  
          generally defines the bargaining unit (which type of providers  
          may be organized and how they are grouped together for  
          representation and bargaining); specifies the process for  
          electing a representative, if not covered by existing state law;  
          identifies the issues the union may bargain over; and defines  
          the strength of the bargaining mandate and the enforceability of  
          any negotiated agreement.  Agreements often create institutional  
          arrangements to ensure that providers have some voice in policy  
          and regulatory changes that affect their interests.



          ---------------------------
          <2> Blank, Helen, Nancy Duff Campbell and Joan Entmacher.   
          "Getting Organized: Unionizing Home-Based Child Care Providers  
          (2010 Update)."  National Women's Law Center (June 2010).










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          OTHER KEY PROVISIONS OF THE BILL


          In addition to the provisions discussed above related to  
          provider organizations and collective bargaining, this bill also  
          contains provisions related to training, best practices, and  
          additional child care slots.


          Joint Partnership on Child Care Training, Education and Quality  
          Improvement


          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.


          Therefore, this bill requires a certified child care provider  
          organization and the state 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.  Among  
          other things, the bill 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  











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          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.


          Best Practices for Parent Engagement


          This bill 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.  The bill 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.  In addition, the bill 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.


          According to the sponsors, parent engagement is a crucial part  
          of children's success in early care, in school and later in  
          life. Family child care providers' role in the state's child  
          care program gives them unique insight into how quality, access,  
          and stability could be improved for children and families. Many  
          parents choose home-based providers due to shared values,  
          language, and cultural background, close personal relationships,  
          and provider flexibility with erratic work schedules.  Under  
          this bill, the state will sponsor a study of best practices for  
          culturally competent parent engagement in home-based early care  
          and education to determine how to most effectively ensure that  
          parents are involved with their children's development and are  
          better able to provide learning and other developmental  











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          opportunities for their children at home.


          Additional Child Care 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.


          The recently-enacted budget contained a substantial increase in  
          funding and slots for child care.  As described by the  
          Legislative Analyst Office (LAO):


            "[T]he budget funds almost 23,000 (7 percent) more preschool  
            and child care slots in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15. This  
            includes about 17,400 (9 percent) additional slots in  
            non-CalWORKs programs and 5,600 (4 percent) additional slots  
            in the CalWORKs programs. Of the increase in slots for  
            non-CalWORKs programs, about 7,500 are full-day preschool  
            slots and 2,900 are part-day preschool slots. (These reflect  
            annualized slots, as the budget funds additional slots for the  
            full- and part-day programs starting at different times.) The  
            budget also funds 6,800 additional Alternative Payment Program  
            slots. For the CalWORKs programs, the 4 percent increase in  
            caseload primarily is due to more families projected to  
            participate in welfare-to-work activities and, as a result,  
            use Stage 1 child care.


          In light of this budget action, the author has agreed to  
          eliminate this language from the bill in the Assembly  
          Appropriations Committee. 


          ARUMENTS IN SUPPORT











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          According to the author, "The current subsidized child care  
          system encompasses more than 120 different agencies contracting  
          with the state as middlemen, who in turn administer access to  
          the system for subsidized families and reimburse providers who  
          care for children whose families receive subsidies.  Low income  
          children have uneven access to quality child care.  Given low  
          reimbursement rates and a fragmented system, there is also  
          extremely high turnover among providers.  One of the primary  
          work-related costs that providers struggle to afford is higher  
          education and training to increase their knowledge of child  
          development and stay current on the latest theory and practice  
          of early education and care."


          The sponsors state that our current system of child care is  
          fragmented, standards vary greatly, and it is plagued by high  
          turnover among providers, as approximately 40% of providers are  
          leaving the profession each year.  In addition, the sponsors  
          note that income inequality is at the forefront of the nation  
          and our state.  They state that, according to data from the U.S.  
          Census Bureau, 47% of California's poor children live in  
          single-mother families and that the majority of California's  
          single-mother households earned less than 200% of the poverty  
          threshold.  Noting these two factors, the sponsors argue that  
          California must implement policies that support families in  
          achieving economic stability and ensure they can access a  
          stable, affordable, quality child care system so that they can  
          find work and stay employed.  The sponsors believe that this  
          bill will help achieve this by creating more child care slots  
          and allowing childcare providers to organize, creating a more  
          stable workforce and allowing family child care providers to  
          join together on matters that affect their profession. 


          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION













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          The National Right to Work Committee opposes this bill, arguing  
          that it would force childcare providers to join a union,  
          depriving childcare providers of the right to negotiate  
          workplace conditions for themselves.  The National Right to Work  
          Committee argues that allowing childcare workers to organize  
          will increase state costs and hurt taxpayers, childcare  
          providers, and the State of California.





          PRIOR AND RELATED LEGISLATION


          AB 641 (Rendon) of 2013, among other things, authorized family  
          child care providers to form, join, participate in, and to seek  
          the certification of, a provider organization to act as their  
          exclusive representative on matters related to child care  
          subsidy programs.  AB 641 was held on the Senate Floor.


          This bill is similar, but not identical to AB 2573 (Furutani) of  
          2012.  AB 2573 was referred to, but never heard, in the Assembly  
          Committee on Labor and Employment.

          This bill is also similar to AB 101 (John A. Pérez) of 2011.  AB  
          101 was vetoed by Governor Brown, who stated the following in  
          his veto message:

               "Maintaining the quality and affordability of childcare is  
               a very important goal.  So too is making sure that working  
               conditions are decent and fair for those who take care of  
               our children.  Balancing these objectives, however, as this  
               bill attempts to do, is not easy or free from dispute.


               Today California, like the nation itself, is facing huge  
               budget challenges.  Given that reality, I am reluctant to  











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               embark on a program of this magnitude and potential cost."


          This bill is also similar, but not identical to SB 867 (Cedillo)  
          of 2008.  SB 867 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who, in  
          his veto message stated, "Given California's significant budget  
          challenge, I cannot consider bills that would add significant  
          fiscal pressures to the state's structural budget deficit."



          Other similar prior legislation includes AB 1164 (De León) of  
          2007 (which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger), SB 697  
          (Kuehl) of 2006 (which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger),  
          SB 1600 (Kuehl) of 2006 (which was held under submission by the  
          Senate Committee on Appropriations), and SB 1897 (Burton) of  
          2004 (which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger).


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          9to5-CA Chapter


          American Association of University Women


          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  
          (co-sponsor)


          BANANAS












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          Berkeley City Council


          Black Women for Wellness


          California Alliance for Retired Americans


          California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO


          California National Organization for Women


          California Women Lawyers


          Child Care Law Center


          Children Now


          Children's Defense Fund - CA


          Community Coalition


          Community Education Partnerships


          Congressman Ted Lieu


          Consumer Attorneys of California












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          Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, City of San Jose


          Courage Campaign, CA


          Educators Excellence


          Equal Rights Advocates


          InnerCity Struggle


          Monterey County Board of Supervisors


          National Council of Jewish Women California


          Numerous Individuals


          Our Family Coalition


          Parent Institute for Quality Education


          Service Employees International Union - CA (sponsor)


          Special Needs Network


          St. Paul Lutheran Church












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          UAW Local 2865


          UAW Local 5810


          UDW/AFSCME Local 3930


          Western Center on Law & Poverty


          Western Regional Advocacy Project


          Young Invincibles




          Opposition


          National Right to Work




          Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916)  
          319-2091



















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