CA AB979

Requires publicly held corporations with principal executive offices in California to have at least one director from an underrepresented community by the close of 2021, defined as individuals identifying as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native, or LGBTQ+.

Mandates by the close of 2022 that corporations with 5-8 directors have a minimum of 2 directors from underrepresented communities, and corporations with 9+ directors have a minimum of 3 directors from underrepresented communities.

Authorizes the Secretary of State to impose fines of $100,000 for first violations and $300,000 for subsequent violations, with collected fines available upon appropriation to offset administrative costs.

Requires the Secretary of State to publish annual reports on compliance, including the number of corporations meeting requirements and those that relocated or ceased being publicly traded.

Applies the underrepresented community director requirements to foreign corporations whose shares are listed on major U.S. stock exchanges, superseding their state of incorporation's laws.