BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1345|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1345
Author: Evans (D)
Amended: 5/10/12
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM. : 9-4, 4/24/12
AYES: Wright, Calderon, Corbett, De Le�n, Evans,
Hernandez, Padilla, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Commission on the Status of Women
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill (1) allows the members of the
Commission on the Status of Women (Commission) who are also
Members of the Legislature to vote by proxy, (2) changes
the topics which the Status of Women are required to study,
(3) authorizes the Legislature to recommend that the
Commission study additional topics relevant to women, and
(4) authorizes the Commission to review the implementation
of any law to ensure that the law is not discriminating
against women or creating an inequitable environment for
women.
ANALYSIS : The Commission was initially established in
1965 as an advisory committee through the enactment of SB
675 (Burns), Chapter 1378, Statutes of 1965. It was made
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permanent by statute enacted in 1971 (AB 1006 (Deddeh),
Chapter 541, Statutes of 1971). According to its mission
statement, the Commission is an "independent, non-partisan
agency working to advance the causes of women. Toward that
end, the Commission influences public policy by advising
the Governor and the Legislature on issues impacting women
and educating and informing its constituencies-thereby
providing opportunities that empower women and girls to
make a maximum contribution to society."
The Commission consists of a 17-member body including the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Labor
Commissioner, three Assemblymembers and three Senators.
Nine of the 17 members are public members: one appointed
by the Speaker of the Assembly, one by the Senate Rules
Committee, and seven are appointed by the Governor. Public
members serve four-year terms and are reimbursed for
necessary expenses.
The Assembly Speaker provided the Commission with $150,000
out of Assembly funds.
This bill:
1. Authorizes members of the Commission who are also
Members of the Legislature to vote by proxy.
2. Recasts the topics the Commission is required to study.
Topics will be as follows:
Women's economic opportunities and employment
rights.
Needs of working women, including, but not limited
to, leave, child care, and pay equity.
The effect that the state budget has on women and
children.
Violence against women, including, but not limited
to, human trafficking.
Women in the military and military families.
3. Authorizes the Legislature to recommend that the
Commission study additional topics relevant to women.
4. Authorizes the Commission to review the implementation
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of any law to ensure that the law is not discriminating
against women or creating an inequitable environment for
women.
Comments
The legislative intent language of the bill states that
there are 18,700,000 women and girls that call California
home, comprising over one-half of the state's residents,
and more than 12 percent of the women and girls in the
United States live in California.
The author's office states, that the Commission is an
important source of information and data on women and girls
for the Legislature, private organizations, individuals,
and state and local entities. The author's office adds,
that the Governor has proposed to eliminate all funding for
the Commission through his budget and in budget trailer
bill language, and that this bill will save the Commission,
in statute, even if it is only a shell.
Supporters contend that "an argument against the need for
the Commission is in part that other agencies can deal with
women's issues. That is based on the false premise that
women don't need a point of advocacy within government with
the argument that men don't have one either. This ignores
many important facts, such as the high number of single
mothers compared to single fathers?and the fact that women
on the average are paid 77% of what men earn. Women's
health issues are different from men's, and we may not be
able to rely on the Office of Women's Health due to the
proposal to eliminate that office."
Budget proposals . As noted above, the Governor's Budget
eliminates the Commission, for a savings of $270,000
General Fund in 2012-13. In addition, the Budget
consolidates the Office of Women's Health, the Office of
Multicultural Health, the Health in All Policies Task
Force, the Healthy Places Team, and the Department of
Mental Health's Office of Multicultural Services into the
new Office of Health Equity within the Department of Public
Health.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/10/12)
American Association of University Women
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California Family Health Council
California National Organization for Women
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
County of Sonoma Commission on the Status of Women
DLW:mw:n:d 5/14/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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