California Assembly Sends Governor Major Gender Pay Discrimination Legislation and a Slew of Other Bills

AB 1151 (Lieu) Requires elections officials to establish procedures to track and confirm the receipt of affidavits of voter registration and to establish a method whereby a voters may confirm the receipt of his or her properly executed affidavit of registration. By making this information available online, or by phone in the absence of a website, voters will be able to easily check on their voter registration status. This will help in the event that the mailed notification is lost or missed by the voter. It passed 61 to 16 with only a few Republicans opposed.

Some counties, including Sacramento County, allow voters to verify their registration online, whereas others require individuals to call the registrar. Others still, must physically visit the elections office to verify the voter's registration.

AB 1243(Karnette) Changes the terminology used to refer to a voter who chooses to vote by mail from an "absentee voter" to a "vote by mail voter" and requires that the voter registration card also contain a space to permit the voter to apply for vote by mail status.

Because the overwhelming majority of those voters cast their ballots by mail regardless of whether they are 'absent' from the state on Election Day, AB 1243, replaces the existing terminology in Elections Code with more accurate verbiage. It passed 62 to 16 with only some Republicans opposed.

AB 1429 (Evans) Requires every health care service plan contract and every policy of health insurance, which includes coverage for treatment or surgery of cervical cancer, to include coverage for a Human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV)in accordance with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. It passed 52 to 23 with only some Republicans opposing it.

AB 1539 (Krekorian) Compassionate release for medically incapacitated inmates with terminal illnesses. This bill provides that a court shall have the discretion to resentence or recall a prisoner's sentence when the prisoner is permanently medically incapacitated if the conditions under which the prisoner would be released do not pose a threat to public safety. It passed 43 to 33 with Democratic votes in favor and Republicans against it, with the exception of Valley Democrats Galgiani, Lieu, and Arambula voting against it.

SB 727 (Kuehl) Significant family leave improvement. Extends eligibility for Disability Insurance benefits to employees who are not able to work due to taking care of a grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law. Extends eligibility for the family temporary disability insurance (FTDI) benefits program to employees who take time off from work to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law.

Earlier this year, the Senate Office of Research published a report entitled "Balancing Work and Family" that provided information on the FTDI program The report found that 10% of all rejected claims were for family members not covered under the law.

Senator Kuehl has observed that California's diverse population includes a variety of familial arrangements with unique caregiving needs. Studies show that over half of employed Californians expect to need to take family or medical leave from work in the next five years, according to a 2006 UCLA study. Sixteen percent of all California households include at least one person providing care to someone over the age of 50, and about half of these caregivers are in the workforce. California also has the second highest percentage of multi-generational households in the country. Additionally, almost half of Californians are single, and their closest relative may be a sibling.

SB 727 passed 43 to 23 with the only negative votes coming from Republican Assemblymembers.

And finally, on a unanimous note (musical and otherwise): AB 702 (Portantino) Enacts the "Truth in Music Advertising Act," which specifically makes it illegal to advertise or conduct a live musical performance through the use of certain deceptive practices. It applies to tribute bands/singers who don’t disclose that they are simply a tribute band/singer. It passed by a 78 to 0 vote.

Portantino said: "Today's music consumers enjoy legendary hits of the 1950s being replayed in movies, television series, on radio stations, and live performances. Mostly baby boomers attend the live performances for music that deeply pleasured them in their youth, brought people of different races together during turbulent times, but most of all to honor artists whose work transcends time. What they are not guaranteed when they purchase tickets for those live performances is whether the artists are legitimate members of these beloved musical groups or imposters. Shady promoters have used the music and originality of mostly 1950s African American musical legends without proper authorization for several decades now. These musical legends, some of whom are available for performances, don't work because imposter groups undercut their salaries and assumed their fame. And consumers are being ripped off by paying for imposter group concerts when they believe they are seeing the real thing!"

Baby boomers unite for the real thing.