A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT creating the State government employment pay equity study commission and appropriating funds for that purpose.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is created the State Government Employment Pay Equity Study Commission (Commission).  The Commission shall consist of 15 members appointed as follows:
(1)	Five members appointed by the Governor to include:
a.	One person who represents an organization whose primary purpose is to represent the interests of women.
b.	One representative of an organization whose objectives include the elimination of pay disparities between men and women and who has undertaken advocacy, educational, or legislative initiatives in pursuit of that objective.
c.	One representative of a higher education or research institution who has experience and expertise in the collection and analysis of data concerning pay disparities and whose research has been used in efforts to promote the elimination of those disparities.
d.	One person who is an active State employee.
e.	One person who is a retired State employee.
(2)	Five members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to include:
a.	Three members of the House of Representatives.
b.	One person who is knowledgeable about State and federal labor laws.
c.	One person from a private business or firm employing 200 or more employees in this State.
(3)	Five members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to include:
a.	Three members of the Senate.
b.	One person who represents an organization whose primary purpose is to represent the interests of State government employees or retirees.
c.	One person from a private business or firm employing fewer than 200 employees in this State.
SECTION 1.(b)  The Commission shall study:
(1)	The extent of wage disparities in State government employment between men and women as well as race.
(2)	Those factors which cause, or which tend to cause, the disparities, including segregation between women and men as well as race across and within occupations and payment of lower wage occupations.
(3)	Whether dissimilar State government job categories requiring similar education, training, skills, and responsibilities are being compensated with equal pay.
(4)	The consequences of the disparities on the efficiency of State government, the State's economy, and the families affected.
(5)	Actions, including proposed legislation, that are likely to lead to the elimination and prevention of compensation disparities in State government employment.
The Commission may consider any other matter that the Commission finds relevant to its charge. The Commission may conduct public hearings around the State to solicit firsthand testimony regarding pay equity issues.
SECTION 2.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall each appoint a cochair for the Commission. The Commission may contract for consultant services as provided by G.S. 120‑32.02. Upon approval of the Legislative Services Commission, the Legislative Services Officer shall assign professional and clerical staff to assist in the work of the Commission. Clerical staff shall be furnished to the Commission through the offices of the House of Representatives and the Senate Directors of Legislative Assistants. The Commission may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building upon the approval of the Legislative Services Commission. Members of the Commission shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances at the rate established in G.S. 120‑3.1. The appointing authority shall fill vacancies.
The Commission, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all the powers provided under the provisions of G.S. 120‑19 through G.S. 120‑19.4, including the power to request all officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the State to provide any information, data, or documents within their possession, ascertainable from their records, or otherwise available to them and the power to subpoena witnesses.
The State Personnel Commission, in conjunction with the Director of the Office of State Personnel, shall designate appropriate staff to serve as liaison to the Commission.
The Office of State Personnel shall complete an analysis of the issues identified for study in subsection (b) Section 1 of this act and submit that analysis, including any findings and recommendations, to the Commission by May 1, 2008, for the Commission's consideration.
SECTION 3.  The Commission's interim and final reports shall include the results of the Commission's study as well as recommendations, legislative and otherwise, for the elimination and prevention of disparities in State employee compensation between men and women. The Commission shall submit an interim report to the 2008 Regular Session of the 2007 General Assembly upon its convening. The Commission shall make a final report to the 2009 General Assembly upon its convening and shall terminate upon filing its final report.
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year and the sum of twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to fund the work of the State Government Employment Pay Equity Study Commission created in Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.