April 20, 2015 ACTION ALERT: Help needed NOW to protect Pregnancy Resource Centers (plus, other religious freedom and parental rights bills) AB 775, a punitive bill that forces pro-life Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs) across the state to advertise abortion services, has a hearing next Tuesday, 04/28 in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Your letters of opposition are needed before 4 p.m. Tuesday, 04/21. Jonathan Keller, Executive Director of California Family Alliance and our sister organization, California Family Council, said the bill would essentially turn every Pregnancy Care Center in the state into state-mandated referral service for abortions. As currently amended, the bill would force over 160 PRCs in California to use their lobbies, websites, forms and literature to promote state-funded free abortions, a direct violation of the moral standards of most PRCs. Violators face heavy fines of $500- $1,000 for each infraction. Heather Hacker, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, told Keller at an earlier hearing that AB 775 violates fundamental freedoms for the centers and their employees. AB 775 unconstitutionally compels pro-life pregnancy centers and licensed medical clinics to espouse a government-sponsored message about abortion, she said. This violates the First Amendment and other similar laws have been struck down across the country. CFA has supplied a summary of the bill, talking points, a sample letter and a list of Judiciary Committee members. You will find it immediately below this week s legislative update. If your representative serves on the committee, CFA is asking that you make a brief appearance at the lawmaker s district office to register your concern in person. We are facing well-heeled opposition by pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice California. By Lori Arnold Research Analyst While much of our focus the past few weeks has centered on life-related legislation Assembly Bill (AB) 775, the so-called Reproductive FACT Act, and Senate Bill (SB) 128, which would legalize state-sanctioned assisted suicide several other significant bills impacting religious liberty and parental rights have hearings this week before various legislative committees. AB 1212, by Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) would restore equality on college campuses by prohibiting viewpoint discrimination against student clubs and organizations that impose certain requirements for its members or leadership. Grove s immensely practical Student Freedom of Association Act would put an end to reverse discrimination against faith-based student groups. Some college administrators, in a shameful display of hypocrisy, punish clubs with contrary belief systems by withholding funding and other benefits. Although a variety of clubs have been targeted, Christian clubs have proven to be most vulnerable because of their religious views on such issues as abortion and same-sex marriage. The Assembly Higher Education Committee will hear AB 1212 tomorrow.
Another positive piece of legislation is Senate Bill (SB) 283, introduced by Jim Nielsen (R-Roseville). His election-related bill would also even the playing field by shifting oversight of ballot titles and summaries from the partisan Attorney General Office to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst. This move would protect citizen-generated initiatives from unfair labeling by the AG s office. In past year s citizens groups have complained that the Attorney General s office has manipulated ballot titles and summaries to reflect their own bias. Because the bill involves a change to the Political Reform Act of 1974, it requires a two-thirds vote for passage. The Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee will hear the bill tomorrow. Moving to legislation CFA is opposing, two troublesome education bills by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) will receive hearings on Wednesday. AB 329 would prohibit all school districts in the state from using parent-friendly opt-in policies for sexual health and HIV/AIDS instruction. That means instead of requiring schools to receive written permission before a student participates in such instruction, parents would be required to file letters to opt their children out. AB 329 also requires that sex-ed instruction be inclusive of same-sex relationships; promotes all aspects of gender expression and identity; informs students about the use of contraception, including emergency contraception; and highlights all legally available pregnancy outcomes, including, but not limited to, all of the following: parenting, adoption, and abortion. The hearing for AB 329 will be held Wednesday before the Assembly Education Committee. Just two weeks ago that same committee killed AB 517, which would have protected students and parents from inappropriate sex-ed instruction by mandating that schools receive written permission (opt-in) before allowing students to participate in classroom or assemblies presented by outside consultants. The second invasive bill from Weber, AB 713, would usurp parental rights by mandating a year of kindergarten before any child could enroll in the first grade. The bill is similar in nature to one proposed last year, but vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown. In his veto message, Brown rightly acknowledged that parents, not educators, are best equipped to decide when their child is best suited to begin formal education. More details on each of these four bills are listed below in the weekly legislative action summary. For your convenience we have included a direct link to the committee roster for those four bills. Key Bill AB 775 (Chiu D-San Francisco) Reproductive FACT Act.. Summary: Billed as the Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency) Act, the bill requires pregnancy care clinics to post a notice in at least 22-point type stating California has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services, prenatal care, and abortion, for eligible women. The bill would also require pregnancy care centers that provide counseling but not medical care to post a scare notice in at least 48-point type stating, among other things, that the facility is not licensed as a medical facility by the State of California. In addition, both types of Pregnancy Care Centers would be forced to make the statements available in all advertising. Failure to comply carries a $500 fine for first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense. The bill authorizes the Attorney General, city attorney, or county counsel to impose the civil fines. Finally, the bill would also require the Attorney General to post on the Department of Justice's Internet Web site a list of the covered facilities upon which a civil penalty has been imposed. Passed Assembly Health Committee, as amended, 12-5 Assembly Judiciary Committee, April 28 Talking points: AB 775 violates the free speech rights of Pregnancy Care Centers by forcing them to promote abortions services that are contrary to their deeply held religious beliefs. AB 775 exempts Medi-Cal family planning providers, including abortion clinics, from its disclosure requirements.
AB 775 promotes viewpoint discrimination by forcing one-sided disclosures by Pregnancy Care Centers but not abortion facilities. AB 775 undermines licensed PCC medical clinics by suggesting they are not legitimate organizations since they do not provide abortions. AB 775 increases taxpayer liability, since abortion facilities are largely funded with government money. PRCs, on the other hand, are funded and operated by concerned individuals, offering a wide range of pregnancy support services at no expense to taxpayers. AB 775 Sample letter NOTE: Faxing letters is much more effective than telephone calls or emails, which are not always tracked. To have your correspondence included in the official record in time for next week s hearing, letters must be faxed to the committee at (916) 266-9438) by 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 21. It is also advisable to fax copies to all committee members. Contact information for each committee member is listed after the sample letter. The Honorable Mark Stone Assembly Judiciary Committee Legislative Office Building, 1020 N Street, Room 104 Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: AB 775 (oppose) Dear Chairman Stone, On Tuesday, April 28, the Assembly Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on AB 775, the Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency) Act, which puts burdensome regulations on Pregnancy Care Centers and Clinics. These centers, which provide free care to all clients and help save taxpayer money, offer a wide range of pregnancy related counseling and services to women. While well intentioned, I believe AB 775 unfairly targets these centers because of their viewpoints, a direct violation of freedom of speech protections. Because the legal requirements of AB 775 do not apply to Medi-Cal family planning providers that offer abortion services, the law is clearly discriminatory toward PCC s. Thousands of Californians receive free care and support from PCC s every year. To protect PCC s freedom of speech, and to save California taxpayers money, I respectfully request a no vote on AB 775. Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Mark Stone (D-Santa Cruz) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2029 Fax (916) 319-2129 District Office (831) 425-1503 assemblymember.stone@assembly.ca.gov Vice Chair Donald Wagner (R-Tustin) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2068 Fax (916) 319-2168 District Office (714) 665-6868 assemblymember.wagner@assembly.ca.gov
Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2030 Fax (916) 319-2130 District Office (831) 759-8676 assemblymember.alejo@assembly.ca.gov Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2049 Fax (916) 319-2149 District Office (323) 264-4949 assemblymember.chau@assembly.ca.gov David Chiu (D-San Francisco) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2017 Fax (916) 319-2117 District Office (916) 324-4676 assemblymember.chiu@assembly.ca.gov James Gallagher (R-Chico) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2003 Fax (916) 319-2103 District Office (530) 895-4217 assemblymember.gallagher@assembly.ca.gov Cristina Garcia (D-Downey) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2058 Fax (916) 319-2158 District Office (562) 861-5803 assemblymember.garcia@assembly.ca.gov Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2041 Fax (916) 319-2141 District Office (626) 351-1917 assemblymember.holden@assembly.ca.gov Brian Maienschein (R-San Diego) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2077 Fax (916) 319-2177 District Office (858) 675-0077 assemblymember.maienschein@assembly.ca.gov Patrick O Donnell (D-Long Beach) Sacramento Office (916) 319-2070 Fax (916) 319-2170 District Office (562) 495-2915 assemblymember.muratsuchi@assembly.ca.gov Legislative actions: Week of April 13 AB 775 (Chiu D-San Francisco) Reproductive FACT Act. Passed Assembly Health Committee, as amended, 12-5 To Assembly Judiciary Committee
AB 865 (Alejo D-Salinas) State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission: grants and loans: diversity. Passed Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, as amended, 10-3 To Assembly Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee SB 110 (Fuller R-Bakersfield) Threats: Schools Passed Senate Public Safety Committee, as amended, 6-0 To Senate Appropriations Committee SB 305 (Bates D-Carlsbad) Enhancements: concentrated cannabis. Passed Senate Public Safety Committee, as amended, 6-0 To Senate Appropriations Committee SB 703 (Leno D-San Francisco) Public contracts: prohibitions: discrimination. Passed Senate Governmental Organization Committee, 7-3 To Senate Judiciary Committee SB 731 (Leno D-San Francisco) Foster children: housing: gender identity. Senate Human Services Committee, not heard Scheduled hearings: week of April 20 Tuesday, April 21 AB 526 (Holden D-Pasadena) Abduction. CFA s Assessment: Support Summary: Existing law provides that any person who takes away another person under 18 years of age from the father, mother, guardian, or other person having legal charge of the other person, without their consent, for the purpose of prostitution, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison and a fine not exceeding $2,000. This bill would increase the punishment to include a fine not exceeding $5,000. Assembly Public Safety Committee AB 1001 (Maienschein R-San Diego) Child abuse: reporting. CFA s Assessment: Support Summary: The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to make a report to a specified agency whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Under existing law, the failure to make this report is a crime. This bill would prohibit a person from impeding or interfering with the making of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect by a mandated reporter. The bill would provide that an intentional violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor and may subject the offender to liability for actual damages sustained by a victim of child abuse or neglect for any abuse or neglect that occurs after the person impeded or interfered with the report being made. Assembly Public Safety Committee AB 1212 (Grove R-Bakersfield) Postsecondary education: Student Freedom of Association Act. CFA s Assessment: Support Summary: This bill would require, as a condition of receiving state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of each community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Board of Regents of the University of
California to adopt a policy prohibiting their respective campuses from discriminating against a student organization, as specified, for imposing certain requirements on its leaders or voting members. The bill would authorize a student or a student organization aggrieved by a violation of these provisions to commence a civil action to obtain appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief as determined by a court. The bill would also authorize a court to award attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action pursuant to these provisions. Assembly Higher Education Committee SB 283 (Nielsen R-Roseville) Elections: ballot titles and summaries. CFA s Assessment: Support. We like this measure because it removes the political element in ballot measures by switching oversight to the non-partisan Legislative Analysts office. Under current law, ballot proponents claim the Attorney General s office has used politics to manipulate wording for possible ballot measures. In addition, numerous lawsuits have been filed challenging the Attorney General s actions on certain proposed ballot measures. This bill would make the process more fair. Summary: This bill would switch responsibility for preparing the ballot label and the ballot title and summary for all measures submitted to the voters of the state from the Attorney General to the Legislative Analyst. Because the bill impacts the Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, it requires a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee SB 703 (Leno D-San Francisco) Public contracts: prohibitions: discrimination. Summary: Existing law authorizes state agencies to enter into contracts for the acquisition of goods or services upon approval by the Department of General Services. This bill would prohibit a state agency from entering into contracts for the acquisition of goods or services of $100,000 or more with a contractor that discriminates between employees on the basis of gender identity in the provision of benefits, as specified. The bill would require the department to maintain an easily accessible list on its Internet Web site of contracts for the acquisition of goods or services of $100,000 or more entered into on or after January 1, 2016. Passed Senate Governmental Organization Committee, 7-3 Senate Judiciary Committee SB 731 (Leno D-San Francisco) Foster children: housing: gender identity. Summary: This bill would eliminate existing law that prohibits children of the opposite sex from sharing a bedroom in out-of-home facilities unless each child is under five years of age. Instead, foster children and nonminor dependents in out-of-home-care would be required to be placed according to their gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court or child welfare records. In addition to existing anti-discrimination protections, this bill would also specify that all minors and nonminors in foster care have the right to be placed in out-of home care according to their gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court or child welfare records. Senate Human Services Committee
Wednesday, April 22 AB 329 (Weber D-San Diego) Pupil instruction: sexual health education. Summary: Existing law, the California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act, authorizes school districts to provide comprehensive sexual health education, consisting of age-appropriate instruction, in any of kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and requires school districts to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive HIV/AIDS prevention education, as specified. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would review and update the current sexual health education curriculum that is provided to pupils in schools to reflect the advances in age-appropriate sexual health instruction, including, but not limited to, healthy relationships and dating violence. Assembly Education Committee AB 431 (Gray D-Merced) Gambling: Internet poker. Summary: This bill would authorize the operation of an Internet poker website within the borders of the state and would require the California Gambling Control Commission, in consultation with the Department of Justice, to develop a licensing process for operators as well as rules for the operation of an Internet poker website. Assembly Governmental Organization Committee AB 713 (Weber D-San Diego) Elementary education: kindergarten. Summary: This bill, beginning with the 2017-18 school year, would require a child to have completed one year of kindergarten before he or she may be admitted to the first grade, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. Background: Under existing law, a person between the ages of 6 and 18 years who is not exempted by law is subject to compulsory full-time education. Existing law excludes a child under 6 years of age from the public schools, subject to specified exceptions. Existing law requires a school district maintaining a kindergarten to admit a child who will have his or her 5th birthday on or before certain specified dates during that school year. Existing law also requires that a child who will have his or her 6th birthday on or before specified dates be admitted to the first grade of an elementary school. This bill, beginning with the 2017-18 school year, would require a child to have completed one year of kindergarten before he or she may be admitted to the first grade, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. Passed Assembly Education Committee, with author s amendments, 6-1 Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 827 (O Donnell D-Long Beach) Teachers: in-service training: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning pupil resources. Summary: Existing law establishes the system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and provides for the establishment of local educational agencies to operate these schools and provide instruction to pupils. Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. This bill would require each school operated by a school district or county office of education and each charter school to provide inservice training every school year to teachers of pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, on schoolsite and community resources for the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning pupils, as specified. Assembly Education Committee AB 987 (Levine D-San Rafael) Employment discrimination, unlawful employment practices. CFA s Assessment: Support. Levine s bill would add another layer of needed protection for workers who may be retaliated against because of their religious practices. The law also extends to the disabled, another vulnerable workplace population. Summary: Existing law, requires an employer or other entity covered by the act to provide reasonable accommodation of, among other things, a person's disability and religious beliefs and prohibits discrimination against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under the act or because the person has filed a complaint. This bill would add to existing law protections prohibit an employer or other covered entity from retaliating or otherwise discriminating against a person for requesting accommodation of his or her disability or religious beliefs, regardless of whether the accommodation request was granted. Passed Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, 6-0 Assembly Appropriations Committee Scheduled hearings: week of April 27 Monday, April 27 SB 151 (Hernandez D-West Covina) Tobacco products: minimum legal age. CFA s Assessment: Support Summary: The bill would raise the legal age to purchase tobacco in California from 18 to 21. According to information from the office of Senator Ed Hernandez, more than 90 percent of adult smokers begin the habit while still in their teens and an estimated 21,300 California kids start smoking each year. Passed Senate Health Committee, 9-0 Senate Appropriations Committee