AB 403 — Legislature: Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act.
Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 2, Statutes of 2018.
No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed Assembly
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✓Passed Senate
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 09, 2017. Enacted.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
HighHow often bills like it became law.
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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65 sponsors
1 primary, 64 co-sponsors signed on.
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Bipartisan support
Sponsored across 2 parties (12 D · 6 R) — cross-party backing.
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 8 recorded votes so far.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
Summary
Existing law generally protects employees who disclose illegal or improper workplace activities by prohibiting interference with, and retaliation for, making such disclosures. Existing law provides procedures for a person to file a complaint alleging violations of legislative ethics. Existing law also authorizes each house of the Legislature to adopt rules for its proceedings and to select committees necessary for the conduct of its business. This bill would impose criminal and civil liability on a Member of the Legislature or legislative employee, as defined, who interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, which is defined as a good faith allegation made by a legislative employee to specified entities that a Member of the Legislature or a legislative employee has engaged in, or will engage in, activity that may constitute a violation of law, including sexual harassment, or a violation of a legislative standard of conduct. The bill would also impose civil liability on an entity that interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, as specified. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Bill Text
- Chaptered 02/05/18 - Chaptered Current pdf February 05, 2018
- Enrolled 02/05/18 - Enrolled pdf February 05, 2018
- Amended 01/29/18 - Amended Senate pdf January 29, 2018
- Amended 01/23/18 - Amended Senate pdf January 23, 2018
- Introduced 02/09/17 - Introduced pdf February 09, 2017
- AB403 View text html
Action History
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Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 2, Statutes of 2018.
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Approved by the Governor.
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Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
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Urgency clause adopted. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 3924.).
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In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after February 3 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
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Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 3237.).
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Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
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Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
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Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
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Ordered to second reading.
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Withdrawn from committee.
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From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on RLS.
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Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
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Withdrawn from committee.
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In committee: Held under submission.
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In committee: Referred to suspense file.
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From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 13). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
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Referred to Com. on JUD.
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In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
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Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1487.)
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Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
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From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (May 3).
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From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (April 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
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From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on RLS. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (March 14). Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
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Referred to Coms. on JUD. and RLS.
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From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
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Read first time. To print.
Sponsors
- Dahle · Cosponsor
- Portantino · Cosponsor
- Baker · Cosponsor
- Marc Berman · Cosponsor
- Bigelow · Cosponsor
- Chiu · Cosponsor
- Gray · Cosponsor
- Acosta · Cosponsor
- Anderson · Cosponsor
- Bates · Cosponsor
- Brough · Cosponsor
- Bradford · Cosponsor
- Cannella · Cosponsor
- Sabrina Cervantes · Cosponsor
- Chau · Cosponsor
- Phillip Chen · Cosponsor
- Steven S. Choi · Cosponsor
- Chu · Cosponsor
- Chávez · Cosponsor
- Dodd · Cosponsor
- Heath Flora · Cosponsor
- Friedman · Cosponsor
- Fuller · Cosponsor
- Galgiani · Cosponsor
- James Gallagher · Cosponsor
- Harper · Cosponsor
- Hill · Cosponsor
- Jacqui Irwin · Cosponsor
- Kiley · Cosponsor
- Tom Lackey · Cosponsor
- Levine · Cosponsor
- Leyva · Cosponsor
- Monique Limón · Cosponsor
- Maienschein · Cosponsor
- Mayes · Cosponsor
- Mike McGuire · Cosponsor
- Melendez · Primary
- Mullin · Cosponsor
- Moorlach · Cosponsor
- Morrell · Cosponsor
- Al Muratsuchi · Cosponsor
- Nazarian · Cosponsor
- Nielsen · Cosponsor
- Quirk · Cosponsor
- Rodriguez · Cosponsor
- Roth · Cosponsor
- Steinorth · Cosponsor
- Ting · Cosponsor
- Stephanie Nguyen · Cosponsor
- Joaquin Arambula · Cosponsor
- Robert Garcia · Cosponsor
- Vidak · Cosponsor
- Voepel · Cosponsor
- Waldron · Cosponsor
- Scott D. Wiener · Cosponsor
- Wilk · Cosponsor
- Wood · Cosponsor
- Mia Bonta · Cosponsor
- Joe Patterson · Cosponsor
- Mike Fong · Cosponsor
- Mark Stone · Cosponsor
- Beth Gaines · Cosponsor
- Bill Berryhill · Cosponsor
- Travis Allen · Cosponsor
- Travis Allen · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 64 co-sponsors · 57 not signed on
Sponsors (1)
- Melendez
Co-sponsors (64)
- Dahle
- Portantino
- Baker
- Berman, Marc Democratic
- Bigelow
- Chiu
- Gray
- Acosta
- Anderson
- Bates
- Brough
- Bradford
- Cannella
- Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic
- Chau
- Chen, Phillip Republican
- Choi, Steven S. Republican
- Chu
- Chávez
- Dodd
- Flora, Heath Republican
- Friedman
- Fuller
- Galgiani
- Gallagher, James Republican
- Harper
- Hill
- Irwin, Jacqui Democratic
- Kiley
- Lackey, Tom Republican
- Levine
- Leyva
- Limón, Monique Democratic
- Maienschein
- Mayes
- McGuire, Mike Democratic
- Mullin
- Moorlach
- Morrell
- Muratsuchi, Al Democratic
- Nazarian
- Nielsen
- Quirk
- Rodriguez
- Roth
- Steinorth
- Ting
- Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic
- Arambula, Joaquin Democratic
- Garcia, Robert Democratic
- Vidak
- Voepel
- Waldron
- Wiener, Scott D. Democratic
- Wilk
- Wood
- Bonta, Mia Democratic
- Patterson, Joe Republican
- Fong, Mike Democratic
- Mark Stone
- Beth Gaines
- Bill Berryhill
- Travis Allen
- Travis Allen
Not signed on (57)
57 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 57 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 54 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Democratic | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 75 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 97% | 0% | 0% | 3% |
How each member voted (77)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Acosta | — | Yea |
| Baker | — | Yea |
| Bigelow | — | Yea |
| Bloom | — | Yea |
| Brough | — | Yea |
| Holden | — | Yea |
| Maienschein | — | Yea |
| Mathis | — | Yea |
| Medina | — | Yea |
| Nazarian | — | Yea |
| Rendon | — | Yea |
| Santiago | — | Not Voting |
| Thurmond | — | Yea |
| Ting | — | Yea |
| Weber | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Cunningham | — | Yea |
| Daly | — | Yea |
| Friedman | — | Yea |
| Jones-Sawyer | — | Yea |
| Chiu | — | Yea |
| Frazier | — | Yea |
| Gloria | — | Yea |
| Harper | — | Yea |
| Rubio | — | Yea |
| Kiley | — | Yea |
| Salas | — | Yea |
| Levine | — | Yea |
| Burke | — | Yea |
| Fong | — | Yea |
| Gray | — | Yea |
| Low | — | Yea |
| Mayes | — | Yea |
| McCarty | — | Yea |
| Chau | — | Yea |
| Gonzalez Fletcher | — | Yea |
| Melendez | — | Yea |
| Mullin | — | Yea |
| Chu | — | Yea |
| Chávez | — | Yea |
| Cooley | — | Yea |
| Cooper | — | Yea |
| O'Donnell | — | Yea |
| Obernolte | — | Yea |
| Quirk | — | Yea |
| Rodriguez | — | Yea |
| Steinorth | — | Yea |
| Voepel | — | Yea |
| Waldron | — | Yea |
| Wood | — | Yea |
| Cristina Garcia | — | Yea |
| Eduardo Garcia | — | Not Voting |
| Jim Patterson | — | Yea |
| Mark Stone | — | Yea |
| Travis Allen | — | Yea |
| Wendy Carrillo | — | Yea |
| Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Arambula, Joaquin | Democratic | Yea |
| Berman, Marc | Democratic | Yea |
| Bonta, Mia | Democratic | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Calderon, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Cervantes, Sabrina | Democratic | Yea |
| Gipson, Mike A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Grayson, Timothy S. | Democratic | Yea |
| Irwin, Jacqui | Democratic | Yea |
| Kalra, Ash | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Yea |
| Muratsuchi, Al | Democratic | Yea |
| Quirk-Silva, Sharon | Democratic | Yea |
| Reyes, Eloise Gómez | Democratic | Yea |
| Chen, Phillip | Republican | Yea |
| Choi, Steven S. | Republican | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Yea |
| Flora, Heath | Republican | Yea |
| Gallagher, James | Republican | Yea |
| Lackey, Tom | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 33 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 38 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 95% | 0% | 0% | 5% |
How each member voted (40)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson | — | Yea |
| Bradford | — | Yea |
| Hertzberg | — | Yea |
| Mendoza | — | Not Voting |
| Newman | — | Yea |
| Wieckowski | — | Yea |
| Galgiani | — | Yea |
| Fuller | — | Yea |
| Allen | — | Yea |
| Cannella | — | Yea |
| De León | — | Yea |
| Portantino | — | Yea |
| Atkins | — | Yea |
| Glazer | — | Yea |
| Mitchell | — | Not Voting |
| Hernandez | — | Yea |
| Hill | — | Yea |
| Hueso | — | Yea |
| Lara | — | Yea |
| Bates | — | Yea |
| Beall | — | Yea |
| Dodd | — | Yea |
| Leyva | — | Yea |
| Monning | — | Yea |
| Moorlach | — | Yea |
| Morrell | — | Yea |
| Nielsen | — | Yea |
| Pan | — | Yea |
| Roth | — | Yea |
| Skinner | — | Yea |
| Vidak | — | Yea |
| Wilk | — | Yea |
| Beth Gaines | — | Yea |
| Bill Berryhill | — | Yea |
| Mark Stone | — | Yea |
| Jackson, Corey A. | Democratic | Yea |
| McGuire, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Nguyen, Stephanie | Democratic | Yea |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Yea |
| Wiener, Scott D. | Democratic | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (7)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Beall | — | Yea |
| Bradford | — | Yea |
| Hill | — | Yea |
| Lara | — | Yea |
| Bates | — | Yea |
| Nielsen | — | Yea |
| Wiener, Scott D. | Democratic | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (7)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Moorlach | — | Yea |
| Hertzberg | — | Yea |
| Monning | — | Yea |
| Anderson | — | Yea |
| Wieckowski | — | Yea |
| Jackson, Corey A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 56 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Democratic | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 77 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| % of votes cast | 96% | 0% | 0% | 4% |
How each member voted (80)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Acosta | — | Yea |
| Bigelow | — | Yea |
| Bloom | — | Yea |
| Brough | — | Yea |
| Harper | — | Yea |
| Low | — | Yea |
| Mathis | — | Yea |
| Mullin | — | Yea |
| O'Donnell | — | Not Voting |
| Rendon | — | Yea |
| Santiago | — | Yea |
| Waldron | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Dababneh | — | Yea |
| Daly | — | Yea |
| Frazier | — | Yea |
| Friedman | — | Yea |
| Gloria | — | Yea |
| Gonzalez Fletcher | — | Yea |
| Gomez | — | Yea |
| Rubio | — | Yea |
| Salas | — | Yea |
| Holden | — | Yea |
| Chau | — | Yea |
| Jones-Sawyer | — | Yea |
| Kiley | — | Yea |
| Levine | — | Yea |
| Bocanegra | — | Yea |
| Gray | — | Yea |
| Maienschein | — | Yea |
| Mayes | — | Yea |
| McCarty | — | Yea |
| Baker | — | Yea |
| Chu | — | Yea |
| Chávez | — | Yea |
| Cooley | — | Yea |
| Cooper | — | Yea |
| Cunningham | — | Yea |
| Medina | — | Yea |
| Melendez | — | Yea |
| Obernolte | — | Yea |
| Quirk | — | Yea |
| Ridley-Thomas | — | Yea |
| Rodriguez | — | Yea |
| Steinorth | — | Yea |
| Ting | — | Yea |
| Voepel | — | Yea |
| Weber | — | Yea |
| Wood | — | Yea |
| Burke | — | Yea |
| Chiu | — | Yea |
| Nazarian | — | Yea |
| Thurmond | — | Yea |
| Cristina Garcia | — | Yea |
| Eduardo Garcia | — | Yea |
| Mark Stone | — | Yea |
| Travis Allen | — | Yea |
| Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Arambula, Joaquin | Democratic | Yea |
| Berman, Marc | Democratic | Yea |
| Bonta, Mia | Democratic | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Calderon, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Cervantes, Sabrina | Democratic | Yea |
| Fong, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Gipson, Mike A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Grayson, Timothy S. | Democratic | Yea |
| Irwin, Jacqui | Democratic | Yea |
| Kalra, Ash | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Yea |
| Muratsuchi, Al | Democratic | Yea |
| Quirk-Silva, Sharon | Democratic | Yea |
| Reyes, Eloise Gómez | Democratic | Yea |
| Chen, Phillip | Republican | Yea |
| Choi, Steven S. | Republican | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Not Voting |
| Flora, Heath | Republican | Yea |
| Gallagher, James | Republican | Yea |
| Lackey, Tom | Republican | Yea |
| Patterson, Joe | Republican | Not Voting |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 94% | 0% | 0% | 6% |
How each member voted (17)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Brough | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Bigelow | — | Yea |
| Gonzalez Fletcher | — | Yea |
| Bocanegra | — | Yea |
| Friedman | — | Yea |
| Gray | — | Not Voting |
| Chau | — | Yea |
| Bloom | — | Yea |
| Obernolte | — | Yea |
| Eduardo Garcia | — | Yea |
| Bonta, Mia | Democratic | Yea |
| Calderon, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Fong, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Muratsuchi, Al | Democratic | Yea |
| Reyes, Eloise Gómez | Democratic | Yea |
| Gallagher, James | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (11)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Brough | — | Yea |
| Levine | — | Yea |
| Nazarian | — | Yea |
| Cooley | — | Yea |
| Cunningham | — | Yea |
| Friedman | — | Yea |
| Salas | — | Yea |
| Waldron | — | Yea |
| Cervantes, Sabrina | Democratic | Yea |
| Grayson, Timothy S. | Democratic | Yea |
| Chen, Phillip | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (11)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Kiley | — | Yea |
| Maienschein | — | Yea |
| Cunningham | — | Yea |
| Chau | — | Yea |
| Holden | — | Yea |
| Chiu | — | Yea |
| Ting | — | Yea |
| Cristina Garcia | — | Yea |
| Mark Stone | — | Yea |
| Kalra, Ash | Democratic | Yea |
| Reyes, Eloise Gómez | Democratic | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does AB 403 do?
- Existing law generally protects employees who disclose illegal or improper workplace activities by prohibiting interference with, and retaliation for, making such disclosures. Existing law provides procedures for a person to file a complaint alleging violations of legislative ethics. Existing law also authorizes each house of the Legislature to adopt rules for its proceedings and to select committees necessary for the conduct of its business. This bill would impose criminal and civil liability on a Member of the Legislature or legislative employee, as defined, who interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, which is defined as a good faith allegation made by a legislative employee to specified entities that a Member of the Legislature or a legislative employee has engaged in, or will engage in, activity that may constitute a violation of law, including sexual harassment, or a violation of a legislative standard of conduct. The bill would also impose civil liability on an entity that interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, as specified. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
- Who sponsors AB 403?
- AB 403 is sponsored by Dahle, Portantino, Baker, Berman, Marc (Democratic), Bigelow, Chiu, Gray, Acosta, Anderson, Bates, Brough, Bradford, Cannella, Cervantes, Sabrina (Democratic), Chau, Chen, Phillip (Republican), Choi, Steven S. (Republican), Chu, Chávez, Dodd, Flora, Heath (Republican), Friedman, Fuller, Galgiani, Gallagher, James (Republican), Harper, Hill, Irwin, Jacqui (Democratic), Kiley, Lackey, Tom (Republican), Levine, Leyva, Limón, Monique (Democratic), Maienschein, Mayes, McGuire, Mike (Democratic), Melendez, Mullin, Moorlach, Morrell, Muratsuchi, Al (Democratic), Nazarian, Nielsen, Quirk, Rodriguez, Roth, Steinorth, Ting, Nguyen, Stephanie (Democratic), Arambula, Joaquin (Democratic), Garcia, Robert (Democratic), Vidak, Voepel, Waldron, Wiener, Scott D. (Democratic), Wilk, Wood, Bonta, Mia (Democratic), Patterson, Joe (Republican), Fong, Mike (Democratic), Mark Stone, Beth Gaines, Bill Berryhill, and Travis Allen.
- What is the current status of AB 403?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 09, 2017. Enacted.
- Where can I track AB 403?
- Track AB 403 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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