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AB
17 (Chapter
752, Statutes of 2003)
Assemblymember
Christine Kehoe (D - San Diego)
EQUAL
BENEFITS IN STATE CONTRACTS
AB
17 would prohibit state agencies from entering into a contract worth
$100,000 or more for the acquisition of goods and services with
businesses that discriminate in providing benefits to employees with
spouses and employees with domestic partners.
The requirement of AB 17 goes into full effect on January 1,
2007.
This
bill is based on a simple premise.
Public tax dollars being spent by state agencies to contract for
goods and services MUST NOT subsidize workplace discrimination.
More than 5,700 employers nationwide, including the State of
California, respect the rights of all workers and refuse to discriminate
in providing benefits to an employee with a spouse or an employee with a
domestic partner. This
policy affirms California’s commitment to equality.
To promote that principle, our state should only do business with
contractors that are willing to make the same commitment to equality.
Other
Jurisdictions with Equal Benefits Policies: California cities of Berkeley, Los Angeles,
Oakland, City and County of San Francisco, West Hollywood, and San Mateo
County. These jurisdictions reported no increase in contracting costs.
Based upon these experiences, it is expected that there would be
no increase in the contracting cost to the state.
Addressing
Religious Organizations' Concerns: To protect the rights of
religious employers, this bill includes a provision that allows
contractors to provide benefits to legally domiciled cohabitants of
employees. This respects a
religious employer who does not want to ask or acknowledge that
employees may be gay and allows for benefits to be provided without
violating any religious belief.
De
Minimis Implementation Costs: There is no cost to the State to implement the
requirements of AB 17 because contractors will self-certify their
compliance and that state agencies shall use existing enforcement powers
to implement the policy.
Nominal Costs
of Domestic Partner Benefits: Fifteen years of
actuarial data have established beyond a doubt that the costs of
domestic partner benefits are de minimis.
Clear Channel Outdoor/Northern California, in its support
of AB 17, wrote that they "have seen absolutely no increase in
costs." According
to the Society for Human Resource Management, in offering domestic
partner benefits, 85 percent of employers surveyed reported no increase
in their health care costs.
Support: Equality
California (Sponsor), Clear Channel Outdoor/Northern California,
Genentech, Sempra Energy, Greater San Diego Business Assn., West
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, CA Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante, CA
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, the CA Labor Federation AFL/CIO,
Gray Panthers, CA Council of Churches, Northern CA Nevada Conference of
the United Church of Christ, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lake Merritt
United Methodist Church, CA Commission on the Status of Women, the San
Mateo County Board of Supervisors, and a long list of businesses,
nonprofit organizations, civil rights groups, the faith community,
governmental entities, health, legal, and social services organizations,
labor, political, and senior groups.
Any
questions, please contact Eric Astacaan or Alicia Priego at
916-319-2076.
See full text of
bill in HTML PDF
Download
the entire list of legislation pertinent to LGBT Californians (PDF,
385KB)
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