California 2019-2020 Regular Session Status: Passed Assembly 3 R cosponsors

AB 160 — Employment policy: voluntary veterans' preference.

Last action — In committee: Set, first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2019-2020 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status of that person. FEHA provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans' preference employment policy, to be applied uniformly to hiring decisions, to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans' preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of FEHA. The bill would revise the existing veteran status provision in FEHA to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans' preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act. The bill would prohibit a veterans' preference employment policy from being established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of a protected classification, as specified. The bill would make the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act contingent upon the United States Department of Defense rescinding a specified policy prohibiting transgender individuals from serving in the United States Armed Forces, as provided.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. In committee: Set, first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.

  2. Referred to Coms. on JUD. and V.A.

  3. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  4. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 1786.)

  5. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  6. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (May 16).

  7. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  8. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  9. Read second time and amended.

  10. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 24).

  11. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. (Ayes 10. Noes 1.) (March 26). Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

  12. Coauthors revised.

  13. Referred to Coms. on V.A. and L. & E.

  14. From printer. May be heard in committee February 7.

  15. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Voepel · Primary
  • Jones · Cosponsor
  • Steven S. Choi · Cosponsor
  • James Gallagher · Cosponsor
  • Tom Lackey · Cosponsor
  • Mathis · Cosponsor
  • Bates · Cosponsor
  • Chang · Cosponsor
  • Portantino · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 8 co-sponsors · 113 not signed on · 3 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Voepel

Co-sponsors (8)

Not signed on (113)

113 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 113 →

"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.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

[First] hearing set for [07-03-2019]: Failed passage in Committee. Reconsideration granted

Passed 9 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 1000
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 3000
Total 9000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Monning — Yea
Borgeas — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Veterans Affairs]

Failed 4 Yea · 3 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 1000
Unaffiliated 1101
Democratic 2201
Total 4302
% of votes cast 44%33%0%22%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Borgeas — Yea
Wieckowski — Nay
Monning — Not Voting
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Not Voting
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Nay
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

AB 160 Voepel Assembly Third Reading

Passed 75 Yea · 0 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 44004
Democratic 25000
Republican 6001
Total 75005
% of votes cast 94%0%0%6%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Brough — Yea
Kiley — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Salas — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Smith — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Diep — Yea
Chau — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Gray — Yea
Holden — Yea
Daly — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Ting — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Levine — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Low — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Burke — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Wood — Yea
Medina — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Chu — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Weber — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Cooley — Not Voting
Melendez — Not Voting
Quirk — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse 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
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy 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
Patterson, Joe Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 18 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 7000
Unaffiliated 11000
Total 18000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (18)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Diep — Yea
Chau — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Labor and Employment]

Passed 10 Yea · 1 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7000
Democratic 3100
Total 10100
% of votes cast 91%9%0%0%
How each member voted (11)
Member Party Vote
Gloria — Yea
Salas — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Brough — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Daly — Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Nay
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights veterans labor
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 160 do?
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status of that person. FEHA provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans' preference employment policy, to be applied uniformly to hiring decisions, to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans' preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of FEHA. The bill would revise the existing veteran status provision in FEHA to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans' preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act. The bill would prohibit a veterans' preference employment policy from being established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of a protected classification, as specified. The bill would make the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act contingent upon the United States Department of Defense rescinding a specified policy prohibiting transgender individuals from serving in the United States Armed Forces, as provided.
Who sponsors AB 160?
AB 160 is sponsored by Voepel, Jones, Choi, Steven S. (Republican), Gallagher, James (Republican), Lackey, Tom (Republican), Mathis, Bates, Chang, and Portantino.
What is the current status of AB 160?
This bill died with 2019-2020 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track AB 160?
Track AB 160 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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