BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1401
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1401 (Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet
Media Committee)
As Introduced March 2, 2011
Majority vote
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS 7-1 LABOR &
EMPLOYMENT 5-1
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|Ayes:|Campos, Achadjian, |Ayes:|Swanson, Alejo, Allen, |
| |Butler, Carter, Gatto, | |Furutani, Yamada |
| |Mendoza, Monning | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Silva |Nays:|Morrell |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | |
| |Bradford, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | |
| |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Solorio | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | |
| |Nielsen, Smyth, Wagner | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes a program to be administered by the Labor
Commissioner (LC) that would enable a minor's parent or guardian
to obtain a temporary permit for the employment of a minor,
under specified conditions. This bill would also authorize the
LC to collect and deposit money into the Entertainment Work
Permit (EWP) Fund, which the bill creates, and upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to expend the proceeds from
this fund to pay the costs of administrating the temporary
minor's EWP program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that prior to the employment of a minor under the age
of 16 years, as specified, the LC may issue a temporary permit
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authorizing employment of the minor.
2)Declares the purposes of the temporary permit is to:
a) Enable a parent or guardian of the minor to meet the
requirement for a permit,
b) Establish a trust account for the minor; and,
c) Produce the documentation required by the LC for the
issuance of a permit.
3)Establishes the following conditions for the temporary work
permit:
a) A temporary permit shall be valid for a period not to
exceed 10 days from the date of issuance; and,
b) A temporary permit shall not be issued for the
employment of a minor if the minor's parent or guardian has
previously applied for or been issued a permit by the LC
pursuant to Labor Code Section 1308.5, or a temporary
permit pursuant to this section for employment of the
minor.
4)Requires the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) to
prepare and make available on its Internet Web site the
application form for a temporary permit.
5)Requires an applicant for a temporary permit to submit a
completed application and application fee online to DLSE.
6)Requires upon receipt of the completed application and fee,
DLSE to immediately issue a temporary permit.
7)Creates the EWP Fund in the State Treasury.
8)Directs the LC to deposit all fees for temporary permits
received into the fund.
9)Provides that the funds deposited in the EWP Fund shall be
available to the LC, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to
pay for the costs of administration of the online temporary
minor's EWP program.
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10)Allows the LC to set forth the fee in an amount sufficient to
pay for these costs, not to exceed $50.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, "The DLSE would incur one-time start-up costs of
$50,000 to $100,000 for a contract to establish the online
application and payment system for temporary permits and to
implement new procedures to integrate the temporary permit
process with the existing EWP system. These start-up costs
would likely be covered by a loan from the Labor Enforcement and
Compliance Fund, which would be repaid by revenues from the
temporary permit fee. The bill requires that the temporary
permit fee revenues be sufficient to cover program costs. These
revenues, which would depend on the number of applicants and the
fee level established by the LC, are unknown. At the maximum
fee of $50 per applicant, around 3,000 annual applications could
support the costs for two administrative staff.
"The current EWP program includes processing about 60,000
permits at an annual cost of about $800,000 for 11 positions.
As part of the 2011-12 Budget Act, General Fund support for the
DLSE was removed and replaced with funding from the
newly-created Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund, which is
financed by a surcharge on employers."
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Child performers must have
an EWP issued by the LC in order to be employed in California.
However, under the current system, there is no way to obtain a
same day work permit. Instead, a paper application must be
presented to the LC's office, and a work permit is mailed back
to the applicant. This process takes up to two weeks to
complete. The delay in obtaining a permit can deny some child
performers the ability to work.
"In order to avoid this situation, parents of child performers
often will obtain an EWP prior to even auditioning their child
for a job. This results in an inefficient and expensive work
volume for the LC's office - which is vastly larger than the
pool of actual children working in the industry in need of a
permit." The LC reports issuing from 60,000-70,000 EWPs
annually.
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This bill explained as an Expedited Alternate Method to Obtain
an EWP: Prior to the employment of a minor under the age of 16
years, the LC may issue a temporary permit authorizing
employment of the minor, if consistent with Labor Code Section
1308.5. This permit will only be available online, and will be
subject to a fee in an amount sufficient to pay for the costs of
the temporary permit program, but not be more than $50.
The purpose of the temporary permit is to allow the parent or
guardian of a first-time permit applicant opportunity to
establish a trust account for the minor and to produce the
education and medical documentation required by the LC for the
issuance of a minor's EWP. The temporary permit will only be
valid for 10 days from the date of issuance.
Currently, a permit will not be issued for the employment of a
minor if the minor's parent or guardian has previously applied
for, or been issued a permit by the LC pursuant to Labor Code
Section 1308.5. A temporary permit will not be issued from the
DLSE Internet Web site if a previous temporary permit has been
requested or obtained.
The DLSE will prepare the application form and make it available
on its Internet Web site. Once an applicant submits a completed
application and application fee online to the DLSE, a temporary
permit will be immediately issued.
The online temporary permit program will exist in addition to
the current permit program. The free, mail-in permit application
system will be available for those applicants who wish to use
it.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. /
(916) 319-3450
FN: 0000787
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