Thursday, September 12, 2024

WECA Government Relation Voters Guide. The WECA Government Relations Committee released a guide for the November election as pertains to California. It is available here for WECA CA members.

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White House Calls for Stronger Labor Standards President Joe Biden signed an executive order on September 6 calling on federal agencies to adopt a series of “high-road labor standards,” according to an announcement from the White House, continuing the administration’s push toward expanding the federal workforce while pushing certain standards. The announcement calls the move the “first in history to specify a clear list of labor standards that all Federal agencies should look to prioritize.” Story

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Most Senate Republicans Dislike PLAs. Only one Republican in the State Senate joined their Democratic colleagues in passing Senate Bill 984 (Wahab) and sending it to Governor Newsom. SB 984 requires the Judicial Council and the California State University (CSU), by January 1, 2027, to identify and select at least three major construction projects and subject those projects to a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). Republican Scott Wilk joined the Democrats, except for Democrat Steve Glazer, who understands the damage PLAs inflict. If you are a constituent of Wilk, feel free to share your opinions politely. And if former Jerry Brown staffer Steve Glazer is your State Senator, I am sure he would appreciate hearing you know of his vote.

Alas, Glazer is finished in the Senate due to first winning election in a 2015 special election and thus is ineligible to run for another 4-year term in 2024. Two Democrats qualified for the November ballot, AD 15 Democratic Assemblyman Tim Grayson, and San Ramon City Councilmember Marisol Rubio, who challenged Glazer from the left in the 2020 primary.

Rubio has yet to be able to raise the funds needed to run a competitive race, and it is unclear if labor and progressive groups will come in with the lifeline in November that would be necessary to reverse her nearly 20-point deficit in the primary.

AYES:

Wilk, Scott

Lancaster

661-729-6232

NOES:

Glazer, Steve

Antioch

925-754-1461

Alvarado-Gil, Marie 

Modesto

209-576-6001

Dahle, Brian 

Bieber

530-294-5000

Grove, Shannon 

Bakersfield

661-323-0443

Jones, Brian 

Escondido

760-796-4655

Niello, Roger 

Rancho Cordova

916-464-3980

Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie 

Redlands

909-335-0271

Seyarto, Kelly

Murrieta

951-894-2220

ABSTAIN/ABSENT:

Nguyen, Janet

Huntington Beach

714-374-4000

We’ll report on Newsom’s decision in October.

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PAGA Plaintiff Has No Right to Intervene, Vacate or Object to Another PAGA Plaintiff’s Settlement, Affirms the State’s Highest Court In a welcome win for employers, the California Supreme Court recently blocked a PAGA plaintiff’s attempt to intervene and object to another PAGA plaintiff’s proposed settlement as a matter of right, in Turrieta v. Lyft, Inc., No. S271721. Resolving an appellate court split, the court held in a 5-2 decision: “We hold that an aggrieved employee’s status as the State’s proxy in a PAGA action does not give that employee the right to seek intervention in the PAGA action of another employee, to move to vacate a judgment entered in the other employee’s action, or to require a court to receive and consider objections to a proposed settlement of that action.” Story

And, the same Court Holds Public Employers Exempt from Labor Code, and PAGA In Stone v. Alameda Health System, the California Supreme Court considered whether all public entities that are not specifically governmental in nature are exempt from the obligations in the Labor Code, such as meal and rest breaks and overtime, and whether penalties available under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) apply to public entities. The Court held that public entities were exempt from obligations under the Labor Code unless specifically stated and that PAGA penalties do not apply to public employers. Story

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More Than 470 Local Tax and Bond Measures to Be Decided in November Election In the November election, California voters will decide the fate of at least 470 local tax and bond measures, with that number expected to rise as additional counties report qualified measures.

Of the 470 tax and bond measures in the 52 counties for which complete information is available, 203 are direct tax increases that cumulatively would cost taxpayers $3.1 billion, and 262 are bond measures that would authorize local governments and school districts to issue $49.1 billion in debt, to be repaid with interest through higher property taxes. Additionally, five measures would reduce or repeal existing taxes.

Broken down by type of tax, the measures propose 246 school bonds, 86 transactions and use taxes, 66 parcel taxes, 20 hotel taxes (“transient occupancy taxes”), 16 general obligation bonds, 14 business license tax changes, and 17 that ask for other types of tax increases.

Los Angeles County voters will contend with the highest number of tax measures, with a cumulative 66 tax and bond measures proposed in the many jurisdictions within the populous county.

Notable measures include:

·        Los Angeles County Sales Tax Increase. Measure A would repeal an existing 0.25 percent countywide transactions and use tax and replace it with a 0.5 percent transactions and use tax. The county estimates the tax increase would cost taxpayers more than $1 billion annually. If approved, Measure A will bring the top combined sales tax rate to 10.75 percent in parts of the county.

·        Revenue from the tax increase would fund programs to support homeless residents. Although Measure A is a special tax, local officials have opined that because it was placed on the ballot via a local initiative, it requires a simple majority vote rather than a two-thirds vote for passage. The officials cited the California Supreme Court’s ruling in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland.

·        Los Angeles County Square Footage Tax. Measure E would impose a $0.06-per-square-foot tax on building improvements for property located in the county, with the tax rate adjusted annually for inflation. According to county estimates, the tax hike would cost taxpayers $152 million annually, with revenue earmarked to support the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The chief of the Fire Department would be responsible for administering the tax appeal process, and appeals would be limited to mathematical errors in the tax calculation or discrepancies between the assessed and actual square footage of improvements. Measure E was placed on the ballot via an initiative, so elections officials ruled that it requires a simple majority vote despite being a special tax.

·        Santa Cruz Soda Tax. Santa Cruz’s Measure Z would impose a tax of 2 cents per fluid ounce on any sweetened beverage containing one or more caloric sweeteners and 40 or more calories per 12 fluid ounces. According to the city's estimate, the tax would cost taxpayers $1.3 million annually.

·        Local governments had been prohibited from enacting new taxes on grocery items, including beverages, following the enactment of AB 1838 (Assembly Budget Committee) of 2018. However, a nonprofit organization and Santa Cruz City Council Member Martine Watkins sued the state to overturn the prohibition on beverage taxes. In 2023, the Court of Appeals ruled in Cultiva La Salud v. State of California that the state law violated municipalities' constitutional authority to enact local taxes. The state law “improperly uses the threat of crippling penalties to chill charter cities from exercising their constitutional rights,” the court wrote.

·        Berkeley Natural Gas Tax. Measure GG in Berkeley would impose a new tax on natural gas consumption. Measure GG proposes a tax of $2.9647 per therm of natural gas consumed in buildings larger than 15,000 square feet. The city estimates that this would cost taxpayers $26.7 million annually, with revenue earmarked for decarbonization programs. Although Measure GG is a special tax, election officials state that it would require a simple majority vote for passage, citing the Upland decision.

The number of tax and bond measures on the ballot is substantially higher than in the last presidential election when voters faced 261 measures. The total number of tax and bond measures is expected to increase when Colusa, Mariposa, Modoc, Orange, Riverside, and Tehama counties publish complete lists of measures qualified for the ballot.

[Courtesy of CalTax]

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You’re Special, and You’re Special The Assembly is getting its calendar for the special session on gas prices that has divided legislative leaders, with plans to convene in late September and get a floor vote by early October. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas notified members today that the body would return for informational hearings on Sept. 18 and 19 ahead of a bill hearing on Thursday, Sept. 26. Rivas scheduled a floor session for Oct. 1, teeing up a floor vote that would allow the Assembly to conclude its business well before the November election. Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire has said he'll call his members back once Rivas proves he has the votes to pass legislation.

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Drug Test Cheating Up 6X, Says Quest Diagnostics

• Drug test cheating among U.S. workers in 2023 was six times higher than in the previous record 12 months, lab chain Quest Diagnostics found in its analysis of nearly 10 million drug tests.
• Tampering surged to the highest level in more than 30 years of annual reporting, Quest said
• Substituted urine specimens increased by 633%, and invalid urine specimens jumped more than 45%.
• Quest also reported historically high rates of general U.S. workforce drug positivity as well as post-accident marijuana positivity.
• READ MORE

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When will Phoenix drop below 100 degrees? Phoenix is amid a scorching stretch, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees for 106 straight days as of Tuesday. When will it end?