BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 969


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          GOVERNOR'S VETO


          AB  
          969 (Williams)


          As Enrolled  August 25, 2016


          2/3 vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |      |(May 18, 2015) |SENATE: |37-0  |(August 15,      |
          |           |      |               |        |      |2016)            |
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                 (vote not relevant)





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          |ASSEMBLY:  |79-0  |(August 22,    |        |      |                 |
          |           |      |2016)          |        |      |                 |
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          Original Committee Reference:  HIGHER ED.


          SUMMARY:  Requires annual reporting for sexual assault  
          complaints received by California Community College districts  
          (CCD), California State University (CSU), the University of  








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          California (UC) and independent postsecondary educational  
          institutions.  


          The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,  
          and instead:


          1)Require, in order to receive state funds for student financial  
            assistance, the governing board of each CCD, the Trustees of  
            the CSU, the Regents of the UC, and the governing board of  
            each independent postsecondary institution to report on or  
            before October 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, all of the  
            following information for the prior calendar year:
             a)   The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating  
               violence, and stalking complaints that were received by the  
               institution; 
             b)   The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating  
               violence, and stalking complaints that were investigated by  
               the institution;


             c)   The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating  
               violence, and stalking complaints that were not  
               investigated by the institution;


             d)   The number of investigations conducted in which the  
               respondents were found responsible at the disciplinary  
               proceedings of the institution;


             e)   The number of investigations conducted in which the  
               respondents were not found responsible at the disciplinary  
               proceedings of the institution;


             f)   The number of disciplinary sanctions imposed on  
               respondents who were found responsible disaggregated by the  








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               type of discipline imposed in, at minimum, the following  
               categories:


               i)     Expulsion;
               ii)    Suspension of at least two years;


               iii)   Suspension of fewer than two years; or,


               iv)    Probation; and,


             g)   The number of cases that were closed for other reasons.
          2)Requires the report to be posted on the institution's Internet  
            Web site in a manner easily accessible to students.
          3)Defines, for purposes of this section, "sexual assault,  
            domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking" to refer to  
            all of the categories of misconduct in the institution's  
            policy adopted pursuant to Education Code (EDC) Section 67386.


          4)Requires the information reported pursuant to this section to  
            be reported in a manner that provides appropriate protections  
            for the privacy of individuals involved, including, but not  
            necessarily limited to, protection of the confidentiality of  
            the alleged victim and of the alleged perpetrator, consistent  
            with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.


          5)Sunsets the provisions of this section on January 1, 2022.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Requires, under the Kristen Smart Campus Safety Act, UC  
            Regents, CSU Trustees, CCD governing boards, and independent  








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            colleges that meet specified conditions to enter into specific  
            written agreements with local law enforcement agencies  
            regarding the coordination and responsibilities for  
            investigating Part 1 violent crimes which occur on campus.   
            (EDC Section 67381)


          2)Requires public and independent postsecondary institutions, as  
            a condition of receipt of student aid funds, to adopt a policy  
            concerning campus sexual violence, domestic violence, dating  
            violence, and stalking that includes specified components and  
            standards, including an "affirmative consent" standard for  
            determining whether consent was given by both parties to  
            sexual activity.  Establishes a preponderance of evidence as  
            the evidentiary standard for determining if sexual  
            violence/harassment occurred.  (EDC Section 67386)


          3)Requires, under the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus  
            Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act),  
            public and private postsecondary educational institutions that  
            participate in the federal financial aid program to disclose  
            information about crimes on and around campuses.  (20 United  
            States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1092(f))


          4)Requires, under federal Title IX (20 U.S.C. Sections 1681 to  
            1688), public and private postsecondary educational  
            institutions that participate in the federal financial aid  
            program to establish certain rights for victims of sexual  
            assault.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown with recent amendments.  However, the  
          provisions of this bill are similar to provisions contained in  
          AB 967 (Williams) of 2015.  According to the Senate  
          Appropriations Committee:  










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          1)The CCC Chancellor's Office anticipates a cost of $3,000 per  
            CCD ($216,000 statewide costs) to establish new policies and  
            report required data.  


          2)The CSU anticipates costs of around $100,000 attributable to  
            the reporting requirements.  


          3)The UC indicates costs to be minor and absorbable.


          COMMENTS:  Need for the bill.  According to the author, "there  
          is very little accountability for the outcome of adjudication  
          proceedings for campus sexual assault cases.  This bill provides  
          for specified reporting on the number of sexual assault,  
          domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking complaints  
          received, investigated, and not investigated by the institution,  
          and the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings and  
          investigations." 


          Prior Legislation.  As previously outlined, the reporting  
          provisions of this bill are similar to reporting provisions that  
          were contained in AB 967 (Williams) of 2015.  AB 967 also  
          contained requirements that the higher education segments adopt  
          minimum sanctions for violations of sexual harassment policies.   
          AB 967 was vetoed by the Governor; his veto message read:


            This bill would require public and independent postsecondary  
            institutions that receive student financial aid from the state  
            to adopt and implement uniform disciplinary processes for  
            sexual assault and to apply consistent standards for  
            expulsion, suspension, loss of institutional aid or  
            scholarship, loss of privileges and removal from student  
            housing.  Additionally, this bill would require annual  
            reporting of data and recommend a minimum period of  
            suspension, or expulsion, for the most egregious violations of  








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            sexual assault policies.


            College campuses must deal with sexual assault fairly and with  
            clear standards of process.  It is eminently reasonable to  
            expect that discipline shall not vary based on a student's  
            status as an athlete or a declared area of study.  This bill,  
            however, could deprive professionals from using their better  
            judgment to discipline according to relevant circumstances.   
            Moreover, it creates an expectation that the state should  
            recommend minimum penalties for violations of specific campus  
            policies. 


            Last year, I signed Senate Bill 967, making California the  
            first state in the country to define the terms of sexual  
            consent for college students, so that our higher education  
            institutions could better prevent sexual violence on campuses.  
             This year, I signed AB 913 to ensure that existing  
            jurisdictional agreements between postsecondary institutions  
            and local law enforcement include responsibility for  
            investigating sexual assaults and hate crimes.


            Given these actions, I don't think it is necessary at this  
            point for the state to directly insert itself into the  
            disciplinary and governing processes of all private nonprofit  
            and public colleges in California. 


          This bill does not include the issues of concern raised in the  
          Governor's veto message, and is limited only to the reporting  
          provisions of AB 967.


          GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:


          I am returning Assembly Bill 969 without my signature.








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          This bill would require public and independent postsecondary  
          governing boards to report campus adjudication outcomes of  
          reported sexual assault cases.


          While this is a relatively common sense measure, the state  
          shouldn't have to mandate follow-up reporting.  Governing boards  
          should seek this information on their own, and take actions to  
          mitigate problems at their institutions.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960  FN:  
          0005107