BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1442|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1442
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 4/26/16
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 12-0, 4/12/16
AYES: Hall, Berryhill, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Lara, McGuire, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/19/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Discrimination: regulations and enforcement
SOURCE: California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
DIGEST: This bill reorganizes and consolidates various statutes
regarding discrimination. In addition, this bill removes the
authority of various state agencies to promulgate regulations to
prohibit discrimination and requires investigation and
enforcement of antidiscrimination provisions to be performed by
the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and
eligibility for government programs and benefits based upon
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specified personal characteristics.
2)Specifies that the DFEH within the Business, Consumer
Services, and Housing Agency, is charged with enforcement of
civil rights violations, including discrimination.
3)Authorizes the DFEH, and other state agencies that administer
programs or activities funded by the state or that receive
financial assistance from the state and that enter into
contracts for services to be provided to the public, as
specified, to promulgate regulations to prohibit
discrimination.
4)Specifies that it is the policy of the state to facilitate and
support the development and operation of housing for homeless
youth.
This bill:
1)Reorganizes and consolidates various statutes regarding
discrimination.
2)Removes the authority of various state agencies to promulgate
regulations to prohibit discrimination and requires the
investigation and enforcement of antidiscrimination provisions
to be performed by the DFEH.
3)Reorganizes the regulation of housing for homeless youth under
the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "various
Government Code sections prohibit discrimination in state-funded
programs, however many of the forms of discrimination prohibited
by those code sections are also prohibited in various other
existing statutes. One of these sections, Government Code
Section 11135, requires the Secretary of the Health and Human
Services Agency to administer parts of the anti-discrimination
provisions and requires nearly every state department to adopt
its own regulations."
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The author argues that, "the state entity with expertise in
enforcing anti-discrimination laws is the DFEH, which makes it
the most logical choice to administer Section 11135."
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The DFEH
is the largest state civil rights agency in the country. Its
mission is to protect Californians from employment, housing and
public accommodation discrimination, and hate violence.
The DFEH's statutory mandate is to protect the people of
California from employment, housing and public accommodation
discrimination and hate violence pursuant to the California Fair
Employment and Housing Act, Unruh Civil Rights Act, Disabled
Persons Act, and Ralph Civil Rights Act. The DFEH has
jurisdiction over both private and public entities operating
within the State of California, including corporate entities,
private sector contracts granted by the State of California, and
all state departments and local governments.
The DFEH receives and investigates discrimination complaints in
its five district offices throughout California. The district
offices handle employment, housing, public accommodations, and
hate violence cases, along with a special investigations unit
which focuses on systemic discrimination cases statewide.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 703 (Leno, Chapter 578, Statutes of 2015) added a new section
of law to the Public Contract Code that prohibits a state agency
from entering into contracts for the acquisition of goods or
services of $100,000 or more with a contractor that
discriminates between employees on the basis of gender identity
in the provision of benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/17/16)
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California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (source)
California Health and Human Services Agency
Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/17/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the DFEH, "the DFEH is
the state agency responsible for enforcing California's civil
rights laws. However, Government Code Section 11135 requires
the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency to
administer certain anti-discrimination provisions and requires
nearly each state department to adopt its own regulations
implementing Section 11135. This structure is inefficient
because the Health and Human Services Agency is not otherwise
charged with civil rights enforcement and because departments
are required to create duplicative regulatory schemes to
interpret their Section 11135 obligations. Senate Bill 1442
creates a logical and efficient mechanism for implementing the
laws prohibiting discrimination in state-funded programs by
giving the DFEH authority to investigate, mediate and prosecute
Section 11135 complaints in the same manner it handles other
discrimination claims."
Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530
5/18/16 16:28:10
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