An act to add and repeal Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 8265) to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to state government.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) On February 27, 2014, the President of the United States launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and to ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.
(b) The My Brother’s Keeper Task Force recognizes that challenges facing boys and young men of color affect others as well and that it is important to break down barriers wherever they exist and to identify means of creating ladders of opportunity for all.
(c) The My Brother’s Keeper Task Force was established to develop a coordinated federal effort to significantly improve the expected life outcomes for boys and young men of color, including Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans, and to improve their contributions to the nation’s prosperity, so that all youth have an equal opportunity at achieving the American dream.
(d) The My Brother’s Keeper Task Force noted that significant diversity exists within and among boys and men of color as a segment of the population. Differences of language status, income, disability, sexual orientation, and many other factors influence the identity and experience of these young people, just as with any other population.
(e) My Brother’s Keeper is focused on the following milestones: (1) getting a healthy start and entering school ready to learn; (2) reading at grade level by third grade; (3) graduating from high school ready for college and career; (4) completing postsecondary education or training; (5) successfully entering the workforce; and (6) keeping kids on track and giving them second chances.
(f) The My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report to the President (May 2014) cites numerous areas in which boys and men of color consistently experience disproportionately negative outcomes. These areas include living in poverty, living without a male parent in the household, high school dropout rates, unemployment, death by homicide, and imprisonment.
(g) The My Brother’s Keeper Task Force has identified initial recommendations and areas of opportunity at each of these key milestones or “focus areas.” The task force has also identified several cross-cutting areas of opportunity that span all focus areas.
(h) The recommendations in the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report to the President inform and influence California policy and California’s compliance with those recommendations makes the state more competitive for federal funding and strengthens its economic competitiveness.
(i) Our state’s future prosperity and health depend on all Californians having a fair chance to thrive and succeed. One of the best investments we can make is to be certain we do everything possible to help young people become healthy, productive adults. As California becomes more diverse, we must nurture and harness the talents, skills, and hopes of young people of color — boys and young men in particular.
(j) The Department of Finance projects California’s population of boys and men of color will increasingly represent a growing percentage of the state's male population, reaching close to 80 percent for boys and men of color compared to 20 percent for non-Hispanic white males by 2050.
(k) The Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California has recognized that boys and young men of color are in jeopardy, and this poses a serious threat to California’s economic strength and competitiveness.
(l) The Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color’s policy framework emphasizes the following issues: (1) health and safety; (2) education; (3) juvenile justice; (4) employment and wealth; and (5) youth development. Related issues that have been recommended for expansion of the committee’s work include higher education, immigration, and housing.
(m) Community and youth leaders from across the state have taken a significant interest in partnering with government and systems leaders through the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color in order to improve the health and success of our state’s young people of color.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 8265) is added to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER  3.4. Interagency Task Force on the Status of Boys and Men of Color
8265.
(a) (1) There is in state government the Interagency Task Force on the Status of Boys and Men of Color, which shall serve as a support mechanism for department, agency, and systems leaders by taking coordinated action in meeting the myriad of challenges facing boys and men of color, and assisting the respective departments and agencies in more successfully improving life outcomes for this population.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the task force include participation from a core set of department, agency, and systems leaders with discretion and responsibility for policy areas of primary importance to the fulfillment of the Final Report and Policy Platform for State Action (2012–18) of the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men in California.
(b) The task force shall be comprised of the following 20 members:
(1) One Member of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one Member of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, as ex officio, nonvoting members, and to the extent that participation is not incompatible with their position as Members of the Legislature.
(2) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or her designee.
(3) The President of the University of California, or his or her designee.
(4) The Chancellor of the California State University, or his or her designee.
(5) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or his or her designee.
(6) The Secretary of California Health and Human Services, or his or her designee.
(7) The State Public Health Officer, or his or her designee.
(8) The Deputy Director of the Office of Health Equity, or his or her designee.
(9) The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing, or his or her designee.
(10) The Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, or his or her designee.
(11) The Director of Employment Development, or his or her designee.
(12) The Executive Director of the California Workforce Investment Board, or his or her designee.
(13) The Chair of the California Workforce Investment Board, or his or her designee.
(14) The Secretary of Transportation, or his or her designee.
(15) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee.
(16) The Attorney General, or his or her designee.
(17) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or his or her designee.
(18) The Chair of the Board of State and Community Corrections, or his or her designee.
(19) The Chief Justice of California, or his or her designee.
(c) The task force shall elect one of its members to serve as chair of the task force. Desirable qualifications for the position of chair shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) He or she should possess a broad and deep understanding of the issues facing boys and men of color.
(2) He or she should be a political appointee with a senior leadership role either leading a department or agency or managing a significant and pertinent body of work.
(3) He or she should have a demonstrated strong and positive working relationship with the members of the Legislature and the Governor.
(d) All members of the task force shall hold office until the appointment of their successors.
8266.
Meetings of the task force shall be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3).
8267.
The task force shall have the powers and authority necessary to carry out the duties imposed upon it by this chapter, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) To employ any administrative, technical, or other personnel necessary for the performance of its powers and duties.
(b) To hold hearings, make and sign any agreements, and to do or perform any acts that may be necessary, desirable, or proper to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(c) To cooperate with, and secure the cooperation of, any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other agency of the state to facilitate the task force properly to carry out its powers and duties.
(d) To appoint advisers or advisory committees from time to time when the task force determines that the experience or expertise of the advisers or advisory committees is needed for projects of the task force. Section 11009 shall apply to these advisers or advisory committees.
(e) To accept any federal funds granted, by act of Congress or by executive order, for all or any of the purposes of this chapter.
(f) To accept any gifts, donations, grants, or bequests for all or any of the purposes of this chapter.
8268.
(a) Within six months after the effective date of this chapter, the task force shall complete all of the following requirements:
(1) Assess existing department and agency programs that align with the priorities outlined in the May 2014 My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report to the President. Based on this assessment, the task force shall identify state opportunities to partner and coordinate with the work of the federal My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.
(2) Assess the Governor’s Budget to identify those areas in which the budget priorities are in alignment with the objectives of the task force.
(3) Review the action plan of the Final Report and Policy Platform for State Action (2012–18) of the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California, and identify ambitious state goals for boys and men of color, as well as barriers to achieving desired results.
(b) Upon completion of the requirements in subdivision (a), the long-term, ongoing responsibilities of the task force shall include all of the following:
(1) Assessing state policies, regulations, and programs with respect to boys and men of color, and the development of proven and promising strategies to enhance positive outcomes and eliminate or mitigate negative outcomes.
(2) Preparing population and agency-specific data on boys and men of color in California. The task force shall aggregate the data and make it publicly available in a manner that does not reveal personally identifiable information or otherwise conflict with federal or state privacy laws.
(3) Serving as a liaison to departments and agencies by ensuring engagement and partnership with other public, nonprofit, and philanthropic entities among the various member agencies and with the task force as a whole, and recommend ways to strengthen partnerships with external leaders advancing strategies relevant to boys and men of color.
(c) The first meeting of the task force shall be convened on or before January 31, 2016. Subsequently, the task force shall convene on no less than a quarterly basis to assess progress on its ongoing responsibilities pursuant to subdivision (b), and to provide support and ensure coordination across agencies.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5, the task force shall prepare and submit to the Legislature an annual report on department and agency findings pursuant to this section. The task force shall also report these findings at the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California’s annual hearing on the status of advancing the committee priorities and policies.
(2) A report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.
8269.
With respect to its duties under Section 8268, the task force shall be an advisory body only, and there shall be no right or obligation on the part of the state, or the parties meeting and conferring, to implement the findings of the task force without further legislation that specifically authorizes that the evaluations, determinations, and findings of the task force be implemented.
8269.5
The Boys and Men of Color Task Force Fund is hereby created as a fund in the State Treasury to carry out this chapter in support of the task force, upon appropriation by the Legislature. Subject to the approval of the Department of Finance, all moneys collected or received by the task force from gifts, bequests, or donations shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Boys and Men of Color Task Force Fund in accordance with the terms of the gift or donation from which the moneys are derived and in accordance with Sections 8647, 11005, 11005.1, and 16302 of the Government Code.
8269.7.
This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

Summary: The California Constitution prohibits a person from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or from being denied equal protection of the laws. The United States Constitution prohibits a state from denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Existing law establishes various advisory boards and commissions in state government with specified duties and responsibilities.
The federal My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, launched by the President of the United States in February 2014, required the establishment of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, an interagency effort to improve the expected educational and life outcomes for and address the persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color in the United States.
This bill would establish until January 1, 2026, the Interagency Task Force on the Status of Boys and Men of Color, a multiagency advisory body that would serve as a support mechanism for department agency and systems leaders by taking coordinated action in meeting the myriad of challenges facing boys and men of color in California, and assisting the respective departments and agencies in more successfully improving life outcomes for this population. The membership of the task force would include members of the Legislature, as well as representatives of specified agencies, departments, and private entities. The bill would set forth the initial and ongoing responsibilities of the task force, including, among others, an assessment of state program alignment with the objectives of the My Brother’s Keeper program, review the action plan of a specified final report of the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California, and an assessment of the development of strategies to enhance positive outcomes and eliminate or mitigate negative outcomes for boys and men of color in the state. The bill would establish the Boys and Men of Color Task Force Fund, which would be subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out the bill’s requirements in support of the task force, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would authorize the task force to accept federal funds, gifts, donations, grants, or bequests for all or any of its purposes.