CHAPTER
3.7. The California Master Plan on Tech Equity
8299.
This chapter shall be known as the Tech Equity Act.8299.1.
(a) There is established in state government the Commission on Tech Equity. The commission shall be comprised of six members appointed in accordance with subdivision (c) and shall conduct its business in accordance with this chapter.(b) Members of the commission shall be individuals with knowledge of, and expertise in, work, workforce development, labor, civil rights, technology, and privacy, whether by experience or training.
(c) Commission membership shall consist of the following:
(1) Four members appointed by the Governor, including at least one
representative from organized labor, one from a civil rights
organization, one from academia, and one from the private sector.
(2) One member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(3) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(4) The Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and the Controller shall serve as ex officio members of the commission.
8299.2.
The Commission on Tech Equity shall do all of the following:(a) (1) Convene a public process to gather input and to understand the economic, social, workplace, and technological landscape of innovation and technology in California.
(2) Focus on key areas related to workers, the workplace and state workforce, the state budget, economy, safety net, and other areas related to the public good, which shall include:
(A) Privacy.
(B) Workforce.
(C) Media.
(D) Democracy.
(E) Competition.
(F) Inequality.
(b) Commission research to understand the impact of innovation and technology in key areas identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(c) Advise the Governor, the Legislature, and state agencies, departments, and commissions on the impact of technology and innovation on workers, the workplace and state workforce, the state budget, economy, safety net, and other areas related to the public good identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(d) Develop
recommendations on a policy framework to manage the development, deployment, regulation, taxation, and fair distribution of the benefits of innovation and technology that advance the interests of workers and the public in key areas, as defined.
(e) Submit its recommendations to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795, and to the Governor no later than November 1, 2022.
8299.3.
The commission shall be advisory 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 commission without further legislation that specifically authorizes that the evaluations, determinations, and findings of the commission be implemented.8299.4.(a)The Joint Legislative Committee on the California Master Plan on Tech Equity is hereby created.
(b)The committee shall be composed of a total of 18 members, as follows:
(1)Nine Members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(2)Nine Members of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(c)The committee and its members shall have and exercise all of the rights, duties, and powers conferred upon investigating committees and their members by the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly as they are adopted and
amended from time to time.
(d)The committee is authorized to act only until November 30, 2024, and on that date the committee’s existence shall terminate.
8299.5.(a)The Senate Committee on Rules may make money available from the Senate Operating Fund, as it deems necessary, for the expenses of the committee and its members. Any expenditure of money shall be made in compliance with policies set forth by the Senate Committee on Rules and shall be subject to the approval of the Senate Committee on Rules.
(b)The committee, within 15 days of authorization and consistent with the normal annual appropriation process for funding legislative committees, shall present its initial budget to the Senate Committee on Rules for its review, comment, and approval.
8299.6.(a)(1)The committee shall, in consultation and collaboration with the Commission on Tech Equity, develop the California Master Plan for Tech Equity, which shall be a framework to maximize the benefits of innovation and technology on the workplace and state workforce, the state budget, economy, safety net, and other areas related to the public good while ensuring equity for workers.
(2)The committee shall consider the recommendations of the Commission on Tech Equity as it makes determinations and develops proposals for the Legislature regarding public policy within the scope of the committee’s jurisdiction.
(b)In consultation with the Commission on
Tech Equity, academics, technologists, civil rights organizations, the public sector, and applicable state agencies and commissions, the committee shall develop a plan to implement the California Master Plan for Tech Equity by January 1, 2024.
(c)At the close of each legislative session, the committee shall submit a report to the Legislature of the committee’s activities.
8299.7.
This chapter shall become inoperative on November 30, 2024, and, as of January 1, 2025, is repealed.