Amended  IN  Assembly  July 01, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  May 20, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  April 21, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  March 15, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 702

Introduced by Senator Limón
(Coauthors: Senators Archuleta, Gonzalez, Hueso, Kamlager, Laird, and Rubio)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Gray)

February 19, 2021

An act to add Section 1305 to the Government Code, relating to state government.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 702, as amended, Limón. Gubernatorial appointments: report.
Existing law requires the Governor to appoint every office whose mode of appointment is not prescribed by law. Existing law also prescribes the manner of the Governor’s appointment of those officers.
This bill would require the office of the Governor to convene, on or before March 1, 2022, a working group to discuss and make recommendations on the most effective way to ensure the state’s leadership on boards and commissions reflects the diversity in race, gender identity, class, region, and creed, age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability status, region, veteran status, and sexual orientation, among other things, that are representative of the state. The bill would require these recommendations to be completed and delivered to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2022, June 1, 2023, and contain specified recommendations. The bill would set forth selection and qualification requirements for members of the working group. The bill would also require the working group to hold its first meeting no later than April 1, 2022, and to determine a schedule, at that first meeting, to have 5 additional meetings completed no later than November 1, 2022. May 1, 2023. The bill would terminate the working group on January 1, 2023. 2024.
This bill would require the office of the Governor, on or before August 1, 2022, and on or before every August 1 thereafter, to create and deliver to the Legislature a report containing specified information relating to the demographic information, as defined, of individuals appointed by the Governor and relating to information on every state board and commission. The bill would also require, on or before August 1, 2022, and on or before every August 1 thereafter, a portion of that report relating to the boards and commissions of the state to be published on the internet website of the office of the Governor. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 1305 is added to the Government Code, immediately following Section 1304, to read:

1305.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the state’s leadership is reflective of the communities, which are diverse in race, gender identity, class, region, creed, and religion, among other things, that make up the state.
(b) (1) On or before March 1, 2022, the office of the Governor shall convene a working group to discuss and make recommendations on the most effective way to ensure the state’s leadership on boards and commissions reflects the diversity in race, gender identity, class, region, and creed, age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability status, region, veteran status, and sexual orientation, among other things, that are representative of the state.
(2) (A) The working group shall include up to 11 members and shall include, but is shall not be limited to, representatives from all of the following:
(i) The Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
(ii) Nonprofits focused on empowering communities through training and advocacy. Only up to three representatives from nonprofits fulfilling this category shall be appointed to the working group.
(iii) Ethnic studies, women’s studies, or other similar departments of the University of California and California State University systems.
(B) The Governor shall appoint representatives pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), the President pro Tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the Assembly shall each designate one representative to serve on the working group.
(3) The working group shall hold its first meeting no later than April 1, 2022. At the first meeting, the working group shall determine a schedule to have five additional meetings completed no later than November 1, 2022. May 1, 2023.
(4) The working group shall evaluate and provide recommendations on all of the following:
(A) Improved ways to market the availability of the appointment process to state boards and commissions.
(B) Identification and discussion of potential barriers for applicants to state boards and commissions and ways to alleviate these barriers.
(C) Plans to increase the diversity of the state’s leadership on boards and commissions.
(5) The recommendations developed by the working group pursuant to this subdivision shall be completed and delivered to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795, no later than December 1, 2022. June 1, 2023.
(6) The working group shall be terminated on January 1, 2023. 2024.
(c) (1) On or before August 1, 2022, and on or before every August 1 thereafter, the office of the Governor shall create and deliver, to the Legislature in accordance with Section 9795, a report that contains all of the following information:
(A) The demographic information, to the extent available, of each appointment by the Governor from July 1 of the prior year to June 30 of the reporting year, inclusive.
(B) The aggregate demographic information for individuals who applied for an appointment with the office of the Governor in any period from July 1 of the prior year to June 30 of the reporting year, inclusive, but were not appointed.
(C) The demographic information of the gubernatorial appointees on each state board and commission as of June 30 of the reporting year.
(D) A list of every state board and commission, the stated objective of every state board and commission, meetings held by each state board and commission in the prior year, and any openings in the membership of each state board and commission.
(2) The demographic information required in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of paragraph (1) shall only be included to the extent that the individual agrees to disclose such information in the report.
(3) On or before August 1, 2022, and on or before every August 1 thereafter, the office of the Governor shall publish on its internet website the information described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1).
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “demographic information” shall mean the ethnicity, gender, disability status, veteran status, and sexual orientation age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability status, region, veteran status, and sexual orientation of the appointed individual.