Quick News / Resources

Here is some news from ACSED on the recent activities of your President and Board. Please be sure to renew your membership and encourage others to join. Remember, we are stronger together!!

Nov. 2020

• The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) runs one of the state’s largest affordable housing development programs. TCAC grants tax credits that developers can use to fund affordable housing development. Right now, the program rules require developers to build at least 10% of units with features accessible to people with mobility disabilities and at least 4% with features accessible to people with hearing and vision disabilities. In senior housing projects, at least half of new units must be accessible. But now, TCAC is proposing to cut those requirements in half!

With very little notice, TCAC released 64 pages of proposed changes to their program. The accessibility changes can be found at Section 10325(f)(7)(K) on pages 41-43 and Section 10325(g)(2)(B) on pages 44-46 in the document here: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/programreg/2020/20201029/proposed-changes-with-reasons.pdf.

The Committee needs to hear from you and the communities you serve about how affordable housing with accessible features is important to you. There are three chances for the public to do this.

• • 1. Call in on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 10am to share your stories with TCAC staff and tell them to save accessible affordable housing. You can join by Zoom or phone. If you try Zoom but get a message that the meeting is full, please call in by phone. Staff will summarize proposed changes and then open the line for public comments.
       1. Zoom: Login to Zoom and enter Meeting ID: 826 5476 2444 and Passcode: 236894
       2. Phone: Call (888) 557-8511 and enter Participant Code: 5651115
       3. We have attached a list of talking points to guide you. The most important thing is that you share how accessible affordable housing is important to you or people you know.
       4. If you need reasonable accommodations for the meeting, please contact judith.blackwelll@treasurer.ca.gov and anthony.zeto@treasurer.ca.gov or call (916) 654-6340. See sample request attached. Please copy us on these requests.
       5. Find more information on the hearing and the regulations here: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/programreg/2020/20201010/notice-of-public-hearing.pdf
    2. Send Written Comments by Friday, November 20, 2020 by 5pm to judith.blackwelll@treasurer.ca.gov and anthony.zeto@treasurer.ca.gov.
       1. We have attached a sample letter. Feel free to fill it in or create your own letter. Please copy Dara and Natasha on your email. Dara.Schur@disabilityrightsca.org and Natasha.Reyes@disabilityrightsca.org,
       2. Disability Rights California is also drafting detailed comments. We will send out a copy before November 20 for people to review and add their name to.
    3. Call in Again at the Commission Meeting December 2020 time to be determined. The Commission will meet in December to vote on proposed changes. There is not a date or time yet, but we will send out that information as soon as we know it.

Here are some examples: Talking Points, Sample Reasonable Accommodation Request and Sample Comment Letter. We have also attached some Additional Resources shared by stakeholders on a conference call.

Thank you for your support. Please contact Dara Schur and Natasha Reyes at Disability Rights California with any questions (Dara.Schur@disabilityrightsca.org and Natasha.Reyes@disabilityrightsca.org).

Sept. 2020

1. AB 2328 (Cristina Garcia)

Summary: This bill is similar to AB 365 from last year which was vetoed by the governor. The ACSED Board approved a support position on AB 2328. It proposed to take several important steps to improve hiring of persons with disabilities, including: requiring CalHR to expand the LEAP program to all statewide classifications; , clarifying that a department may request a “LEAP-only” referral list; requiring CalHR to establish guidelines for provision of reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities and to promulgate a state-wide model reasonable accommodation policy.

Status: In Assembly Public Employment and Retirement (dead)
Position: Support

2. ACA 5, as amended, Weber. Government preferences

Summary: The California Constitution, pursuant to provisions enacted by the initiative Proposition 209 in 1996, prohibits the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. The California Constitution defines the state for these purposes to include the state, any city, county, public university system, community college district, school district, special district, or any other political subdivision or governmental instrumentality of, or within, the state.
This bill placed a measure on the November general election ballot (Proposition 16) which proposed to repeal these provisions.

Status: Chaptered and filed with Secretary of State
Position: Support

3. AB 2269, as introduced, Chau. automated decision systems

Summary: This bill proposed to enact the Automated Decision Systems Accountability Act of 2020. The bill would have required a business in California that provides a person with a program or device that uses an automated decision system (ADS) to take affirmative steps to ensure that there are processes in place to continually test for biases during the development and usage of the ADS, conduct an ADS impact assessment on its program or device to determine whether the ADS has a disproportionate adverse impact on a protected class, as specified, examine if the ADS in question serves reasonable objectives and furthers a legitimate interest, and compare the ADS to alternatives or reasonable modifications that may be taken to limit adverse consequences on protected classes. Businesses would be required to submit a report to the Department of Business Oversight summarizing the results of its ADS impact assessment for each program or device that uses an ADS. The bill would also have required the department to establish an Automated Decision Systems Advisory Task Force, composed of various representatives from the public and private sectors.

Status: In Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection (dead)
Position: None

4. AB 2654, as introduced, Cervantes. Emergency services

Summary: Existing law required, on or before July 31, 2015, the Office of Emergency Services to update the State Emergency Plan to include proposed best practices for local governments and nongovernmental entities to use to mobilize and evacuate people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs during an emergency or natural disaster. Each county is required to address the access and functional needs in its emergency plan and to include representatives from affected populations in the plan development process. This bill would have imposed these same requirements on the 10 largest cities in the state.

Status: In Assembly Governmental Organizations (dead)
Position: Support

5. ACR 125, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Reduction of bias in hiring through new technology

Summary: This measure urged policymakers in both federal and state government to explore ways to promote the development and use of new technologies to reduce bias and discrimination in hiring and help reduce discrimination in employment in California.

Status: In Senate Judiciary (dead)
Position: Support

6. SB 862, Dodd. Planned power outage

Summary: This bill would have required an electrical corporation, as a part of its public safety mitigation protocols, to include protocols that deal specifically with individuals who have access and functional needs, including those individuals who are enrolled in the California Alternative Rates for Energy program.
Electrical corporations would have been required to coordinate with local governments to identify sites where community resource centers can be established and operated during a deenergization event and the level of services that will be available at those centers.
Existing law authorizes an electrical corporation to deploy backup electrical resources or provide financial assistance for backup electrical resources to a customer receiving a medical baseline allowance who meets specified requirements, including that the customer is not eligible for backup electrical resources provided through insurance or various government programs.
This bill would have deleted the requirement that the customer not be eligible for backup electrical resources from other providers.

Status: In Assembly Utilities and Energy (dead)
Position: Support

7. SB 1264, Senate Committee on Human Services.
8. The State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) initially sponsored this bill which was passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
   • SB 1264’s main components include:

   Clarifying the process for a person with a disability who is interested in having an authorized representative appointed. Authorized representatives assist with expressing desires of the people they represent and in making decisions and advocating for their needs, preferences, and choices.

   Extending for one more year the authorization for the special LEAP Internship Program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities which was scheduled to “sunset” at the end of 2020. This extension ensures that the option for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to complete an internship instead of taking a traditional exam does not expire while the work of the Governor’s Taskforce on Diversity goes forward this year.
   Requiring licensed residential facilities and adult day programs to adopt emergency and disaster preparedness plans.

   Clarifies the ability of regional center clients to use the option of participant-directed services, including during a declared state of emergency in California, and until six months after the state of emergency is lifted.

Sept. 2018

• ACSED in partnership with the Asian Pacific State Employee Association (APSEA) are developing the “Brown Bag Luncheon Leadership Talks”. This monthly program is focused on professional development and is free to all current members of each respective organization. It is also open to nonmembers for a small fee. The first “Brown Bag Lunch” presentation will be September 20th from 12-00 to 1:00 p.m. at the Department of Rehabilitation, 721 Capitol Mall. To learn more go to https://apsea-acsed-cdp.eventbrite.com. Please be sure to renew your membership and encourage others to join. We appreciate those who support the organization and encourage members to get involved in anyone of ACSED’s ongoing committees. This is a peer membership organization and you are an integral part of the organization. Remember, we are stronger together!! So your participation in key to the organizations success. There is a lot to do. So get involved. If you have the time to contribute please contact Dan Clark at clark3347@yahoo.com.
• Save the Date – November 8, 2018! ACSED is busy planning the 2018 Awards Reception where the ACES and DAC awards will be given to selected departments. The reception and awards ceremony will be held at Blue Prynt restaurant starting right after work. More information will be coming to ACSED members soon.
• ACSED continues to participate in the Statewide Disability Advisory Council (SDAC) meetings and presents to individual Department Disability Advisory Committees (DACs) about the mission and current goals and activities of ACSED.
• We are continuing discussion with CalHR, the State Personnel Board (SPB), and the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) on implementing high priority recommendations for policy change from the 2015 Joint Project to increase disability employment in state service. In the past two months ACSED has met with the leadership from these three departments regarding these issues and hopes to soon engage in discussion of needed changes to the LEAP program.
• ACSED has been engaged in monitoring and advocating on various legislative issues. SB 866, which dealt with a variety of civil service issues, contained one provision which ACSED supported related to merging LEAP lists with those for similar non-LEAP classifications. The bill was signed by the Governor and went into effect immediately. Two other bills supported by ACSED appear likely to pass the Legislature and go to the Governor for signature. These are AB 1870 (Reyes) which will extend the deadline for filing discrimination complaints to three years and AB 2132 (Levine) which would provide an exemption from building permit fees for persons with disabilities over 60 years of age who remodel their home to provide accessibility.
• ACSED and other groups have been working with DOR and the Department of General Services (DGS) to advocate for improvements in the procurement process used to purchase assistive technology.

March 2018
RESOURCES
STATE PERSONEL BOARD – www.spb.ca.gov
Established by the State Constitution, the State Personnel Board (SPB) is charged with overseeing the merit-based, job-related recruitment and selection process for the hiring of state employees who provide critical services to the citizens of California. SPB provides direction to departments through simplifying civil service laws, rules, and policy. In addition, SPB audits departments for merit system compliance.

SPB also investigates and adjudicates alleged violations of civil service law which are filed by employees, applicants, and members of the public.

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES – www.calhr.ca.gov
The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) is the California government agency responsible for human resource management of state employees, including issues related to salaries and benefits, job classifications, training, and recruitment. It is part of the Government Operations Agency.

DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION – www.dor.ca.gov
The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) is an employment and independent living resource for people with disabilities

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE – CIVIL RIGHTS – www.oag.ca.gov
The Civil Rights Enforcement Section is committed to the strong and vigorous enforcement of federal and state civil rights laws. The Section addresses a broad array of civil rights issues, including, but not limited to:

• Discrimination by business establishments, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, immigration status, and other protected classifications
• Disability Access Rights
• Employment and Housing Discrimination