LGBTQ+ Commission.

Existing law establishes within the state government various commissions, including, but not limited to, the Commission on the State of Hate, the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the California Commission on Disability Access. This bill would establish the LGBTQ+ Commission within the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. The bill would provide for the appointment of 9 members, appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Rules. The bill would require members of the commission to serve at the pleasure of the appointing power, to be appointed for terms of four years, except as specified, and to elect one of their number to serve as chairperson of the commission. The bill would authorize the commission to appoint officers from its membership and form advisory committees, as specified, in order to carry out and fulfill its duties, and require the commission to determine the powers and duties of appointed officers and advisory committee chairpersons. The bill would establish the goals of the commission, which would include, among other things, acting in an advisory capacity to the Legislature and the Governor on policy matters affecting the state's LGBTQ+ community and its members. The bill would require the commission to have the powers and authority necessary to carry out its duties, including conducting fundraising activities that may require a payment or purchase to attend. The bill would, commencing April 1, 2026, require the commission to convene quarterly meetings to identify the statewide needs of the LGBTQ+ community and to assist in implementing supportive policies and initiatives to address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. The bill would require the commission to submit a report summarizing certain information and making specified policy recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor by January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter. The bill would establish the LGBTQ+ Commission Fund as a fund in the State Treasury to carry out the bill's provisions in support of the commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. The bill would require all moneys collected or received by the commission from gifts, bequests, or donation to, subject to the approval of the Department of Finance, be deposited in the treasury to the credit of the fund, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to accept gifts and grants from any source, as specified, to help perform its functions, and to seek out funding and in-kind contributions from specified sources, including foundations, in order to carry out the work of the commission. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, generally requires, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions, that the meetings of state bodies be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend. This bill would specify that the act does not apply to, among other things, any fundraising event held or organized by the commission, provided that a majority of members of the commission do not hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2035.