BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1442
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Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1442
(Liu) - As Amended June 29, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill reorganizes, replaces, and relocates various
anti-discrimination statutes involving the provision of state
services and programs, and moves the authority to promulgate
regulations that implement those statutes from various state
SB 1442
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agencies to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing
(DFEH). Specifically, this bill:
1)Repeals and reorganizes various anti-discrimination statutes
and transfers the authority to promulgate the rules and
regulations that implement those statutes from the California
Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA) and other state
agencies to the DFEH.
2)Specifies that, as of January 1, 2017, certain portions of the
California Code of Regulations under the authority of the
CHHSA, must be transferred to the portions of the California
Code of Regulations under the jurisdiction of DFEH, and
specifies that, upon transfer, those regulations shall be
deemed adopted by the Fair Employment and Housing Council
(Council) of the DFEH.
3)Requires the Council, within existing resources, to adopt
additional regulations, as necessary, and to amend or repeal,
as necessary, the regulations transferred to the DFEH from
CHHSA, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Any additional costs to DFEH, for modifying regulations and
administering what would likely be a small number of additional
claims, would be minor and absorbable, and would be offset to
some extent by the efficiencies gained in consolidating the
specified responsibilities within DFEH.
COMMENTS:
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1)Background. Although the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair
Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) are the state's primary
statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race,
gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other protected
characteristics, many other statutes prohibit other forms of
discrimination in programs administered by other state
agencies. Most notably, for purposes of this bill, Government
Code Section 11135 provides that no person shall be denied
equal access to the benefits of, or subjected to
discrimination by, any program administered or funded by the
state, on the basis of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation
or any other protected characteristic.
While the Unruh Act prohibits discrimination in business
establishments and FEHA prohibits discrimination in employment
and housing, Section 11135 prohibits discrimination related to
government programs and benefits. A subsequent provision of
the Government Code requires each state agency that
administers a state-funded program to develop rules and
regulations consistent with the purpose of Section 11335.
Another provision requires the CHSSA, in concurrence with the
DFEH, to develop standards for determining which persons are
protected by Section 11135 and which practices constitute
discrimination.
2)Purpose. According to the sponsor (DFEH), the existing
framework has created a patchwork of overlapping and redundant
administrative rules and regulations spread across different
codes. This bill seeks to maintain the substance of these
rules and regulations while reorganizing various
anti-discrimination provisions and consolidating rule-making,
investigation, and enforcement within DFEH. Because DFEH is
"the state entity with the most expertise in enforcing
anti-discrimination laws," the author believes that it is also
"the most logical choice to administer Section 11135."
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Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081