BILL NUMBER: AB 573INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino (Coauthors: Assembly Members Conway and Fletcher) FEBRUARY 25, 2009 An act to add Section 8924.5 to the Government Code, relating to the Legislature, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 573, as introduced, Portantino. California Council on Science and Technology: legislative fellows. Existing law, commonly known as the Code of Ethics, prohibits a Member of the Legislature or an employee of either house of the Legislature from receiving or agreeing to receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation, reward, or gift from any source except the State of California for any service, advice, assistance, or other matter related to the legislative process, except for specified circumstances. This bill would clarify that the services of a legislative fellow furnished by the California Council on Science and Technology and duly authorized by the Senate Committee on Rules, the Assembly Committee on Rules, or the Joint Committee on Rules is not compensation, a reward, or a gift to a Member of the Legislature for purposes of the so-called Code of Ethics. The bill would also provide that such a legislative fellow is not an employee of either house of the Legislature for purposes of the Code of Ethics and is not otherwise subject to the provisions of the Code of Ethics. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) In 1988, the Legislature adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 162 (Resolution Chapter 148 of the Statutes of 1988) in which the Legislature requested the President of the University of California, in collaboration with the presidents of the University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology, and Stanford University and the Chancellor of the California State University, to establish, within one year, the California Council on Science and Technology for the purpose of reporting to the presidents and the chancellor and responding appropriately to the Governor, the Legislature, and other relevant entities on public policy issues significantly related to science and technology. (b) In response, the council was organized as a nonprofit corporation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and has operated for 20 years providing expert, nonpartisan advice to various agencies of state government in connection with science and technology policy issues. (c) The council proposes to fund and administer, at no cost to the state, a Science and Technology Fellows Program in which, commencing in 2009, the council would place Ph.D.-level, or equivalent, scientists, engineers, and other experts in legislative offices for the purpose of furnishing Members, committees, and legislative staff with nonpartisan advice in connection with science and technology-related legislation. (d) The Science and Technology Fellows Program would be modeled after the 35-year-old Science and Technology Policy Fellowships Program administered for the benefit of the United States Congress by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world for societal benefit. (e) The council's Science and Technology Fellows Program would be the first program in the nation that places Ph.D.-level, or equivalent, science and technology experts in state legislative offices through a formal fellowship program. (f) Given that California's legislators must address multifaceted policy issues with increasingly complex and interrelated components based on science and technology, including, but not limited to, biotechnology, nanotechnology, energy, water, transportation, and health care, it is vitally important that the Members receive the benefit of nonpartisan advice from science and technology experts so that the Legislature may make informed decisions on those issues. (g) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to clarify that a Member of the Legislature, in receiving the benefit of the services of a Science and Technology Fellow furnished by the council, is not receiving compensation, a reward, or a gift for purposes of the code of ethics contained in Article 2 (commencing with Section 8920) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code; and it is the further intent of the Legislature to provide that a Science and Technology Fellow furnished by the council is not an employee of either house of the Legislature for purposes of that code of ethics and is not otherwise subject to the provisions of that code of ethics. SEC. 2. Section 8924.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 8924.5. (a) The services of a legislative fellow furnished by the California Council on Science and Technology and duly authorized by the Senate Committee on Rules, the Assembly Committee on Rules, or the Joint Committee on Rules is not compensation, a reward, or a gift to a Member of the Legislature for purposes of this article. (b) A legislative fellow furnished by the California Council on Science and Technology and duly authorized by the Senate Committee on Rules, the Assembly Committee on Rules, or the Joint Committee on Rules is not an employee of either house of the Legislature for purposes of this article and is not otherwise subject to the provisions of this article. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order for the Legislature to begin receiving the benefit of the expert advice of legislative fellows furnished by the California Council on Science and Technology as soon as possible so that the Legislature may make informed decisions on the various urgent science and technology issues confronting the state, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.