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Legislative Update

It’s officially spring break for California’s legislature, although the past few weeks have seen a surge of technology-related bills. Here are a few of the bills Techwire is following.

AB 1575 by Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) would allow the state to fire contractors who fail to comply with set performance criteria, exceed annual cost outlined in contracts or do not comply with local, state and federal laws, regulations and statutes. The AFSCME stated that the bill "would hold outsourced public service providers accountable for their actions" and protect state agencies, according to an analysis by the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review. IT industry organization TechAmerica opposes the legislation. The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved the bill on a 14-1 vote.

AB 1574 by Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) would ban a state agency from entering into any contract that guarantees payments for services not provided. The Assembly passed the bill in March, and it is currently in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee.

AB 1578 by Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) would create an online database of the total costs of state government personal service contracts. The bill is awaiting an April 30 hearing in the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.

AB 2272 by Adam Gray (D- Merced) would apply California’s prevailing wage laws to broadband projects that contain funds from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), of the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC).  AB2272 passed out of the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment with a 5-1 vote of approval.  Should the bill pass, it may increase the cost of broadband projects that accept CASF funds.

AB 1442 by Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) would require school districts inform parents when they gather information about students from public social media accounts. Any information a school district collects from a student’s social media would be destroyed within a year of the student leaving a district or turning 18. Gatto introduced the bill after Glendale Unified School District officials hired the Hermosa Beach-based company Geo Listening to monitor students’ public Twitter and Facebook posts. The Assembly Education Committee has scheduled an April 23 hearing date for the bill.

AB 1327 by Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before using unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, to conduct surveillance activities. The bill allows exceptions for cases where there is immediate danger to the safety of officers or when authorities are searching undeveloped areas for illegal marijuana growing. The bill is currently in the Senate Public Safety Committee.

SB 962 by Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) would require smartphones and other mobile devices in California would be equipped with a "kill switch" to render them inoperable if lost or stolen. Leno said kill switches, which can be uninstalled by the consumer if they choose, would reduce the demand for stolen devices. However, Sprint spokeswoman Crystal Davis said kill switches could lead to unintended consequences for consumers because many lost devices are later found by the user or are traded in through legitimate recycling programs. The Senate Energy, Utilites and Communications Committee earlier this month approved the bill on a vote 6-2. It is awaiting a vote by the full Senate.

AB 2200 by Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles) would establish a commission of government and private sector experts to advise the state about how to protect itself against foreign and domestic cyber security attacks. The California Cyber Security Commission would file quarterly reports with the governor, set minimum security standards for state agencies and establish a command hierarchy in the event of an attack. The bill is scheduled for an April 30 hearing in the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.

SB 994 by Bill Monning (D-Carmel) would give vehicle owners access to the data collected by the their car’s on board computer system from within the vehicle. In a statement introducing the legislation, Monning said the bill would give consumers more control over who had access to the information collected by the car’s computer system. Automakers have criticized the bill for being unworkable and giving AAA too much control over the data. The bill is scheduled for a hearing under the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on April 22.

SB 1200 by Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) would allow high school students to take a computer science course to satisfy one of their mathematics requirements for admission to California State University or the University of California. The few high schools in California that offer computer science courses generally categorize them as electives. The California Chamber of Commerce supports the bill. The Senate Education Committee approved the bill on a 7-0 vote Wednesday.

AB 1530 by Ed Chau (D-Alhambra) recommends the state Superintendent of Public Instruction set up a computer science curriculum for students in grades 1-6. The curriculum should include computation thinking, algorithms, hardware and software design and the impact of computers on society, according to the bill. The California Chamber of Commerce supports the measure. The Assembly Education Committee is scheduled to hold an Aprl 23 hearing.

AB 1539 by Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills) recommends the State Board of Education to adopt computer science content standards for students in grades 7-12. The superintendent would set up a group of experts of middle and high school teachers, principals, school district administrators, university professors and private sector representatives to help develop the standards. The California Chamber of Commerce, the California School Boards Association, Children Now and Microsoft support the bill. The Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday approved the bill by a 7-0 vote.

AB 1540 by Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills) would allow the governing board of a school district to authorize a high school student to take community college classes with the consent of the dean and the student’s parents. If a student is taking one or more computer science classes, he or she would not be counted as part of the 5 percent cap of students allowed to take community college classes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 2.4 million scientists and engineers will be needed to fill new science and engineering jobs and replace those retiring, which will require high levels of computer science education, according to the bill analysis. The California Chamber of Commerce, the California Communities United Institute, the California School Boards Association and Microsoft support the bill. The Assembly Education Committee approved the bill Wednesday on a 7-0 vote.

AB 1764 by Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto) and Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) would allow students to take a computer science course to complete a mathematics high school graduation requirement if the school district requires more than two mathematics courses to graduate high school. Additionally, the governing board would submit a report to the Legislature on pupil enrollment and graduation from career technical education courses by July 1, 2017. Multiple organizations have pledged their support for the bill, including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Teachers Association, Microsoft and several non-profit computer science education groups. The California School Boards Association opposes the bill. The Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday approved the bill on a 7-0 vote.

AB 2110 by Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) would require the State Board of Education to incorporate computer science curriculum content into the mathematics, science, history, social science and language arts curriculum frameworks, where appropriate, when the frameworks are revised. The bill is supported by the California Federation of Teachers, the California State Parent Teacher Association, Children Now and the Computer Science Teachers Association. Additionally, the Association of California School Administrators pledged to support the bill after it is amended. The Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday approved the bill on a 7-0 vote.

ACR 108 by Don Wagner (R-Irvine) would declare the week of Dec. 8, 2014, as Computer Science Education Week. The resolution states computer science has played a critical role in transforming society, but the education system has a long way to go in teaching computer and critical thinking skills to the young, particularly females and underrepresented minorities. The resolution also honors Grace Murray Hopper, one of the first women in the computer science field, who engineered new programming languages and pioneered computer system standards. The Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday approved the bill on a 7-0 vote.