BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2330
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 2330 (Olsen) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : State government: Commission on the Status of Women.
SUMMARY : Abolishes the Commission on the Status of Women
(Commission). Specifically, this bill :
1)Abolishes the Commission and repeals its powers and duties
therein.
2)Specifies that new public member vacancies on the Judicial
Criminal Justice Planning Committee advisory committee
establishing a course of training for district attorneys in
the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes be filled
through appointments by the Senate Rules Committee.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Commission, consisting of 17 members and sets
forth the powers and duties of the Commission.
2)Authorizes the Commission to hire staff, subject to
appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
3)Requires the Commission to appoint public members to the
Judicial Criminal Justice Planning Committee advisory
committee that establishes a course of training for district
attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "Eliminating the
Commission would save nearly half a million dollars in the
State's General Fund (GF) and would help to eliminate
redundancies in government. There are other formal and informal
venues for policy development and advocacy that do not require
GF expenditures."
AB 2330
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Background . The Commission advocates on behalf of women and
girls with the Governor, the Legislature and other public
policymakers, and the public in the areas of economic equity
including educational equity, access to health care including
reproductive choice, violence against women and other key issue
areas identified by the Commission as significantly affecting
women and girls. The Commission holds public hearings every two
years. The testimony received in these hearings is reflected in
their recommendations
The Commission consists of 17 members: three Members of the
Senate and one public member appointed by the Senate Committee
on Rules, three Members of the Assembly and one public member
appointed by the Speaker, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, the Chief of the Division of Industrial Welfare in
the Department of Industrial Relations, and seven public members
appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate. The
Members of the Legislature serve at the pleasure of the
appointing powers. Public member appointees of the Speaker and
the Senate Committee on Rules, and appointees of the Governor
serve four-year terms.
Public members receive per diem while on official business, and
each member of the commission is entitled to receive his or her
actual necessary traveling expenses.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Last year, �Governor]
Brown cut state funding for the Commission, formed in 1965, from
$465,000 to $265,000, saying, 'While the statutory goals of the
Commission are worthy, I continue to believe there are other
formal and informal venues for policy development and advocacy
that do not require general fund expenditures.'" The Governor's
proposed 2012-13 budget includes eliminating the Commission in
its entirety.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
AB 2330
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American Association of University Women - California
Maternal and Child Health Access
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301