Across the country, cities have been considering legislation that would allow all residents over age 18 to vote in local school board elections, regardless of citizenship status. Supporters of this movement argue that because noncitizens pay local taxes, volunteer at schools, and participate in school board meetings, they should be able to have a
Legislation
Pending Legislative Bills Relevant to Public Agencies – Awaiting the Governor’s Signature or Veto
January 1, 2020 may bring a number of significant changes to California law for public employers. Following the end of the Legislative Session on September 13, 2019, a number of proposed laws were passed by the Assembly and Senate and now await final approval by Governor Gavin Newson. He has until October 13, 2019 to…
California Legislation to Watch in The Final Journey to the Governor’s Desk
The California Legislature is working hard to push bills through to the general assembly and senate votes that are scheduled for September. A number of bills making their way to that final vote are noteworthy for public employers.
PERB, Firefighters and the Right-to-Sue
Right-to-sue notices may not be just for Department of Fair Housing and…
California Legislation Seeks to Limit Public Agency Activities Surrounding Immigration Enforcement and Religious Freedom
In December 2016, shortly after the November 8 presidential election, members of the California Legislature introduced for consideration a series of bills addressing immigration enforcement. Within the series, three bills would place limitations on a public agency’s ability to participate in federal immigration enforcement efforts and collect personal information regarding an individual’s religion, national origin…
New State Laws Establish Gender Identity, Gender Expression, And Genetic Information As Protected Classifications
This guest post was authored by Connie C. Almond
The Governor recently signed into law AB 887 and SB 559, which prohibit harassment and/or discrimination based on gender identity and expression, and genetic information, respectively.
Individuals who are transgender identify themselves with a gender that is different from their “assigned” sex. The term…
New California Law Allowing Union Control Of Personnel And Rating Commission Appointments
On July 5, 2011, a new law that will add a union-presence to public sector personnel and merit commissions passed in the California Senate and awaits signature by the Governor. AB 455, authored by Nora Campos (D – San Jose), allows the union representing the largest number of a public agency’s employees to appoint…
S.B. 931 Passes Assembly Committee
This guest post was authored by J. Scott Tiedemann
Today, the State Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security passed S.B. 931 (Vargas). The bill, which was passed by the State Senate on May 16, 2011, is now headed to the Assembly Floor for second and third readings and a vote.