Bill Text: CA AB2774 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Childcare for Working Families Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-08-05 - In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file. [AB2774 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2774-Amended.html
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Amended
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Senate
June 24, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 05, 2024 |
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Amended
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Assembly
April 17, 2024 |
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Amended
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Assembly
April 11, 2024 |
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Amended
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Assembly
March 21, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2774
| Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson |
February 15, 2024 |
An act to add and repeal Article 17 (commencing with Section 12100.180) of Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to childcare.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2774, as amended, Grayson.
Childcare for Working Families Act.
Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age.
Existing law establishes the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law authorizes the office to recommend to the Governor and the Legislature, among other things, new state policies, programs, and actions, and amendments to existing programs.
This bill, the Childcare for Working Families Act, would establish the Childcare for Working Families Task Force for the purpose of
submitting a report to the Legislature and the executive branch administration of the state, as specified, that recommends future comprehensive strategies aimed at addressing challenges faced by working families in accessing flexible, affordable, and quality childcare options. The bill would require the report to be completed by January 1, 2026. The bill would require the office to invite and convene the task force, as specified. The bill would require the office to assist the task force in carrying out its duties to the extent that funding is available. The bill would create the Childcare for Working Families Fund to receive moneys from nongovernment sources to support the implementation of the task force.
This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2026, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2027.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Addressing childcare affordability helps build a competitive economy; care investments and new ways of approaching the care crisis are beneficial for California families, vital for California businesses, and critical to the recovery of California’s economy.
(b) Childcare is a policy issue that often cuts across many areas of public interest, including workforce participation, economic mobility, public health, and even
energy and infrastructure.
(c) There is a need to change the narrative that childcare is only a social or women’s issue because it is an economic imperative for the growth of the state.
(d) There is a need to conduct the needs assessment or find creative and innovative approaches as the state experiences a multiyear budget deficit.
SECTION 1.SEC. 2.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to address the challenges faced by working families in accessing flexible, affordable, and quality childcare options.(b) In seeking to address these challenges and support working families with childcare, it is the intent of the Legislature to build on the substantial foundation and progress that has been made in helping California families, especially low-income families, in addressing child poverty in the state,
such as increases to the minimum wage, the elimination of the maximum family grant rule in the CalWORKs program, housing and utility support programs, school nutrition programs, the local control funding formula for K–12 education, state programs under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, expansion of health care, investments in child development, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, and outreach and assistance with the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the Childcare for Working Families Task Force produce a report that recommends future comprehensive strategies to support working families in accessing flexible, affordable, and quality childcare options.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to build upon concurrent work being done by the United States Department of Commerce, United States Chamber of Commerce, and United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
SEC. 2.SEC. 3.
Article 17 (commencing with Section 12100.180) is added to Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, to read:Article 17. Access to Childcare
12100.180.
This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Childcare for Working Families Act.12100.181.
(a) (1) The Childcare for Working Families Task Force is hereby established for the purpose of recommending future comprehensive strategies aimed at addressing challenges faced by working families in accessing flexible, affordable, and quality childcare options.(2) To accomplish the purpose specified in paragraph (1), the task force may consider topics including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Economic impact and needs
assessment of childcare for working families.
(B) Tax programs for working families, such as tax credits.
(C) Public–private partnerships.
(D) Employer-sponsored childcare programs.
(b) The task force shall be invited and convened by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). The office shall ensure that the task force consists of stakeholders that focus on family and child well-being, in furtherance of the goals of supporting working families with childcare options, including all of the following:
(1) Representatives from among the state agencies responsible for health and
human services, economic and workforce development, and education.
(2) State and local community organizations that work with and advocate for children and families.
(3) Representatives from labor and business.
(4) Researchers with subject matter and economic development expertise.
(5) A representative from Thriving Families California.
(5)
(6) Family childcare home providers.
(6)
(7) Nonprofit and private center-based childcare providers.
(7)
(8) A representative from the California State Association of Counties.
12100.182.
(a) The office shall assist the task force in carrying out its duties to the extent that funding is available. The office may use its existing resources to absorb its costs for implementing this article.(b) (1) The Childcare for Working Families Fund is hereby created to receive moneys from nongovernment sources to support the implementation of this article. All moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation, to the office for purposes of this article.
(2) The Department of Finance shall develop a standardized agreement to allow for the voluntary donation to the fund by any
person, educational institution, corporation or other business entity, or organization.
12100.183.
(a) The task force shall submit a report to the executive branch administration and the Legislature. The report shall be completed by no later than January 1, 2026, and shall include all of the following:(1) The success achieved over the eight-year period prior to completion of the report for each program and service determined by the task force to be of the highest importance in supporting working families with childcare options and recommendations that may build on that success.
(2) An analysis of existing care gaps and unmet needs among working families for accessing flexible, affordable, and
quality childcare options.
(3) A specific set of near-term, intermediate-term, and long-term benchmarks that can be used to measure the state’s progress toward the goal of supporting working families with childcare options.
(4) Considering the needs and priorities for services, recommendations intended to address challenges faced by working families in accessing flexible, affordable, and quality childcare options.
(b) A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.
