California Assembly Bill AB229 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 229AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chang (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brough, Kim, Low, and Olsen) FEBRUARY 4, 2015 An act to add and repeal Section 19822.4 of the Government Code, relating to public employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 229, as amended, Chang. State employees: travel reimbursement. Under existing law and bargaining agreements, the state reimburses employees for all necessary and actual expenses they incur when they travel on official state business. This bill would, until January 1, 2019, prohibit a state agency from prohibiting state employees traveling on official state business from using transportation provided by a transportation network company or lodging in a short-term rental, as defined. The bill would require a state agency to reimburse the actual and necessary expenses of a state employee using a transportation network company or a short-term rental consistent with the agency's standard reimbursement policies. The bill would request and encourage the University of California to adopt travel reimbursement policies in accordance with that prohibition. The bill would define terms for those purposes. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 19822.4 is added to the Government Code, to read: 19822.4. (a) As used in this section: (1) "Short-term rental" means a residential property  that   that: (A)  is rented to a visitor for fewer than 30 days through a centralized online platform whereby the rental is advertised and payments for the rental are securely  processed.   processed and (B) maintains commercial liability insurance providing coverage for claims of bodily   injury or property damage arising from the short-term rental stay in an amount not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per occurrence.  For purposes of travel reimbursement, a short-term rental shall be considered a commercial lodging establishment. (2) "Transportation network company" has the same meaning as defined in Section 5431 of the Public Utilities Code. (b) (1) A state agency shall not prohibit state employees traveling on official state business from using transportation provided by a transportation network company or lodging in a short-term rental. (2) Reimbursement shall be provided for necessary and actual expenses, consistent with the agency's policies for reimbursement of other lodging establishments or other vehicles for hire. (c) The Legislature requests and encourages the University of California to adopt travel reimbursement policies in accordance with this section. (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.