NABTU Sues Over PLA Exemption North America’s Building Trades Unions filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently against two federal agencies and their chiefs for ignoring a still-in-effect executive order from former President Joe Biden requiring project labor agreements on some federal jobs. They asked the court to enjoin the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration from foregoing PLA use, as the Biden-era order remains on the books. Since Trump took office, he has enacted a flurry of executive orders undoing many Biden-era policies, and in January, a judge severely weakened the case for the federal government to use PLAs, but NABTU argues that the original order is still in effect. Story
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New Building for California Lawmakers Costing as Much as an NFL Stadium Leaders overseeing California's Capitol Annex project refuse to explain the cost of what will be one of the most expensive buildings in the United States. The $1.1 billion (and counting) Capitol Annex Project had an original cost estimate of $543.2 million in 2018. Within the next few years, the building will house offices for the state’s 120 lawmakers, the governor, lieutenant governor, and staff. It will also have committee hearing rooms where lawmakers debate and vote on various issues. The price tag is also expected to pay for a parking garage, but maybe not a new visitors' center on the west side of the historic state capitol building. Story
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When Headless PAGAs Attack! A split in authority has developed in the California Courts of Appeal regarding what to do when an employer moves to compel arbitration of a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that is “headless”—that is, a claim seeking penalties on behalf of all allegedly aggrieved employees except the named plaintiff. (This is the latest trick the plaintiff’s bar has come up with to thwart enforceable arbitration agreements, because if there’s one thing plaintiffs’ lawyers hate, it’s arbitration!)
In Leeper v. Shipt, Inc., the court held that a PAGA claim cannot be headless, so in this circumstance, the “individual” PAGA claim is implied and can be compelled to arbitration. On the other hand, Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation, Inc. held that a court must take the complaint as it finds it and cannot “imply” an individual PAGA claim that was not pled.
The California Supreme Court has granted review of Leeper to answer two questions:
- Does every PAGA action necessarily include both individual and non-individual PAGA claims, regardless of whether the complaint specifically alleges individual claims?
- Can a plaintiff choose to bring only a non-individual PAGA action?
Story
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Changes to WC Mandate? To address concerns that some construction contractor applicants or licensees were providing a certification of exemption even though they had employees, SB 216 (Dodd, Chapter 978, Statues of 2022) expanded the license classifications required to have a Certificate of Workers’ Compensation Insurance on file with the CSLB to include the C-8 (Concrete), C-20 (HVAC), C-22 (Asbestos Abatement), and D-49 (Tree Service), regardless if the contractor has employees, effective January 1, 2023, and additionally required that all licensing classifications (regardless of employee status) obtain workers’ compensation beginning January 1, 2026. Before the passage of SB 216, only a C-39 (Roofing) contractor was required to have workers’ compensation insurance regardless of the number of employees.
The impetus for the CSLB’s sponsorship of SB 216 stemmed from enforcement-related work conducted by the CSLB. The CSLB reported that between January 2018 and March 2020, it issued 500 stop-work orders to licensed contractors on job sites for failure to secure workers’ compensation. It also took 342 legal actions against licensed contractors for workers’ compensation insurance violations. In addition, in 2017, CSLB conducted an audit of a sample of contractors in four classifications that perform outdoor construction likely to require multiple workers: C-8 (Concrete), C-12 (Earthwork/Paving), C-27 (Landscaping), and D-49 (Tree Trimming). The survey revealed that 59% of contractors audited had false workers’ compensation exemptions on file with the CSLB. Contractors who file a false workers’ compensation exemption are subject to disciplinary action and cancellation of the false exemption, which subjects the license to suspension.
SB 1455 and Sunset Review. The CSLB is subject to the joint sunset oversight review process. In December 2023, the CSLB submitted its required sunset review report to this committee and the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions. That report noted significant challenges stemming from the implementation of SB 216. The report highlighted concerns that the implementation of SB 216 would have had a greater impact on CSLB’s workload than anticipated and could potentially increase license processing times. At that time, in early 2024, the CSLB reported the following concerning the issue of implementing the requirement for workers’ compensation coverage:
“If the 2026 mandate in SB 216 took effect today, approximately 115,000 contractors would currently need a policy. CSLB may expect 10 percent of licensees to stop paying to maintain a license, resulting in a possible loss of $8 million to CSLB’s fund that may impact enforcement operations. Staff also anticipates a significant increase in document processing with an increase in certificates and possibly applications to inactivate or cancel licenses. Staff will need to explore an entirely online certificate process or pursue a partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau to assist with the tracking and registering of certificates…
…As to workforce issues, contractors have expressed concern about being forced to pay for a policy that does not benefit them. There has always been a concern with any requirement of this nature that a percentage of licentiate will “go underground” instead of paying for workers’ compensation insurance.”
As a result of the concern raised concerning those potential licensees who may qualify for an exemption and to address the administrative workload impacts from the CSLB, SB 1455 (Ashby, Chapter 485, Statutes of 2024) paused the requirement for all licensees to have workers’ compensation coverage, regardless of employee status by January 1, 2026, and instead delayed implementation of the requirement until January 1, 2028, and additionally required the CSLB to establish a process, no later than January 1, 2027, to verify through and audit or other means that a contractor applicant or licensee may not have employees.
Although SB 1455 provided the CSLB with additional time to implement the requirement that all licensees obtain workers’ compensation as part of the licensure or renewal process and further required the CSLB to establish a process to verify that an applicant or licensee may legitimately not have employees, the CSLB has instead sponsored this bill as a means to achieve the legislative directive in SB 1455.
Instead of mandating workers’ compensation coverage for all licensees, as required by SB 216, SB 291 (Grayson) would instead exempt a licensee who self-certifies that they have no employees and whose work includes labor and materials, which are no more than $2,000, from the requirement to have workers’ compensation coverage. SB 291 specifies that a $2,000 contract cannot be split into more than one contract for the project to avoid the coverage requirements. This bill would remove the previous mandate for a C-8 (Concrete), D-49 (Tree Service), and C-20 (Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning) licensee to have workers’ compensation, regardless of employee status, and allow these licensees to self-certify that they do not have employees. This bill will now require only a C-39 (roofing contractor) to obtain workers’ compensation insurance regardless of employee status.
To address the Legislature’s mandate that the CSLB establish a process to verify that a licensee or applicant who states that they do not have any employees, SB 291 would require the CSLB to establish as part of the application and renewal process, an open book examination, which will require applicants and licensees to answer questions correctly regarding workers’ compensation laws.
Under current law, BPC § 7126 explicitly states that any licensee or agent who violates the workers’ compensation requirements under existing law is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill adds new civil penalties for violating the requirement to have workers’ compensation insurance for those applicants and licensees who have employees, in addition to the current misdemeanor penalties. The civil penalties range between $10,000 and $30,000, depending on the license type and the number of violations received.
Policy Issues Raised by Committee The Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee raised several points about this proposed retreat when it heard the bill on April 21.
Is an open-book examination sufficient? Will an open-book examination aid the CSLB in evaluating whether or not a licensee truly has no employees? The exam may be duplicative, as the content should be included in the Law and Business exam, which is already a requirement for licensure. The examination adds another step in the licensure and renewal process, which could increase application and renewal processing timeframes, costs for printing and mailing the exam, and may not ensure the applicant or licensee has a sufficient understanding of the law.
Rolling back previous workers’ compensation requirements for higher risk classifications. SB 216 required four different licensing classifications to obtain workers’ compensation insurance regardless of employee status. The classifications include asbestos abatement contractors, concrete contractors, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractors, and tree service contractors. As currently drafted, this bill would roll back the requirement for these licensing classifications to be mandated to have workers’ compensation insurance, regardless of employees, and allow them to file an exemption if they contract for less than $2,000. This rollback does not take into account prior research conducted by the CSLB. Could this bill place those licensees or employees at risk? The CSLB may need to complete an updated industry study on those licensing classifications that may be able to operate without employees.
Are there potential workarounds for the $2,000 contract threshold? This bill would allow a licensee to self-certify that they have no employees if they contract for a project (labor and materials) less than $2,000 and specifies that the contract cannot be broken into multiple contracts to avoid the $2,000 threshold. Unfortunately, this exemption could potentially be circumvented. The $2,000 threshold appears to be arbitrary and does not reflect any study conducted by the CSLB finding that only contracts offered at $2,000 or less ensures that a licensee would be eligible for an exemption, or that any contract higher would require employees.
Does this bill satisfy the legislative mandate for an audit or other proof to verify an applicant or licensee’s eligibility for a workers’ compensation exemption? The CSLB is required to establish a process and procedure that may include an audit, proof, or other means to verify that an applicant or licensee is eligible for an exemption from the requirement to obtain workers’ compensation insurance by January 1, 2027 (BPC § 7125.7). It’s unclear if the provisions of this bill satisfy the legislative mandate for the CSLB to establish a process to verify if a licensee may not have any employees and would be eligible for an exemption. The proposed increased civil penalty and open book examination are not comparable to an audit or providing proof that an applicant or licensee does not have employees.
To address the concerns raised above, the author agreed to amend the bill to strike the current contents of this bill, except the increased penalties for violating the current workers’ compensation coverage requirements and the inclusion of disciplinary actions related to workers’ compensation violations in the report the CSLB submits annually to the Legislature, to provide greater insight into the current number of violations for workers compensation exemptions. In addition, to reinforce that the Legislature already provided time for the CSLB to address the issue of verifying employee status, this bill should clarify that the CSLB must provide a mechanism no later than January 1, 2027, to effectively determine whether a licensee has no employees and qualifies for an exemption to the workers compensation coverage requirements and report back to the Legislature.
With those amendments, the Committee approved the bill 11-0.
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Trump Orders Federal Procurement Overhaul President Trump ordered federal agencies to overhaul their procurement systems and regulations. According to Federal News Network, this is the biggest effort to modernize how federal agencies buy products and services since Congress passed the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and the Federal Acquisition Reform Act into law in the ’90s.
Trump’s April 15 executive order said the FAR had evolved “into an excessive and overcomplicated regulatory framework.” He called for it to include only those “provisions required by statute or essential to sound procurement,” and said any provisions that do not advance these objectives should be removed.
In a second order on April 16, Trump also directed agencies to purchase only commercially available products and services, rather than unique government systems or custom solutions, unless they are given a waiver from the agency’s approval authority. Story
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Former Edison Executive Calderon, Now A Lawmaker, Seeks to Cut Rooftop Solar Credits Nearly 2 million California rooftop solar owners could lose the energy credits that help them cover what they spent to install the expensive, climate-friendly systems under a proposed bill. The bill’s author, Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier), is a former executive at Southern California Edison and its parent company, Edison International. She says the credits that rooftop solar owners receive when they send unused electricity to the grid raise the bills of customers who don’t own the panels. Assembly Bill 942 would limit the program’s benefits to 10 years, half the 20-year period the state had told the rooftop owners they would receive. The bill would also cancel the solar contracts if the home were sold. Story
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Steve Hilton, Former Fox News Host, Is Running for California Governor Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host who has also worked in conservative politics in Britain, announced on Monday that he was running to become California’s next governor. Mr. Hilton is the second prominent Republican to enter the 2026 race, but he faces difficult odds. California voters have not elected a Republican to statewide office since they re-elected Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. Story
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Here's Where Your Tax Dollars Are Going Individual income taxes are the largest source of tax revenues and half of total annual receipts. Here's what they support in the federal budget. More
From Hostile to Union Leaders to Vacationing with Them Leaders at the Chula Vista Elementary School District once had an adversarial relationship with the teachers’ union. That’s changed in the years since Francisco Tamayo, a former union leader in the Sweetwater Union High School District, joined the Chula Vista school board. With Tamayo on the Chula Vista Elementary District Board, Voice of San Diego reports, the district’s teachers’ union has gotten pay raises five of the last eight years and won concessions from district leaders – even as the district faces a $15 million budget deficit this year. Tamayo’s partnership with union president Rosi Martinez has made those gains possible. Martinez and Tamayo both say their relationship is professional. But their close ties have provoked questions about accountability. Story
Clashing Compromises Chavez’ Celebration Assemblymember Corey Jackson recently confronted Assemblymember Carl DeMaio on the body’s floor over remarks about a resolution celebrating labor leader Cesar Chavez ahead of the state-observed holiday Cesar Chavez Day. Chavez’s views on undocumented immigrants were complicated and related to their role as strikebreakers when he was organizing the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s and 1970s.
DeMaio, a San Diego Republican known for needling Democrats, drew attention to this with his floor speech. “During his life, Cesar Chavez spoke out against illegal immigration while affirming legal immigration,” DeMaio said. “He was a strong voice for the Latino community and Latino workers in our country while also holding concerns and opposing illegal immigration.”
Jackson, a Riverside-area Democrat, took issue with this frame, calling it “very disrespectful to the heroes of our communities” and leaving his seat to chastise DeMaio at his desk. “You should be disgusted [with] yourself,” he yelled. “Grow a soul for a change. That’s a piece of crap move.”
DeMaio remained seated at his desk during the interaction while Assemblymember Tina McKinnor and Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry stood in front of Jackson, and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal tugged at his arm and guided him away.
DeMaio later claimed in an X post Jackson “physically lunged” at him. However, the video that accompanied the post also appeared to show DeMaio smiling during the face-off. The incident was reminiscent of a similar exchange that took place last year, when Jackson and Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli got into a dispute during a tense floor debate over a bill banning school districts from outing transgender students. [Politico]
And in related news, Former Assemblymember Bill Essayli is wasting no time jumping into his new job as U.S. attorney. Essayli announced a federal task force to investigate “fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption involving funds allocated toward the eradication of homelessness” in the state’s Central District. He threatened arrests if the task force finds federal violations. “California has spent more than $24 billion over the past five years to address homelessness,” Essayli said in a statement. “But officials have been unable to account for all the expenditures and outcomes, and the homeless crisis has only gotten worse. Taxpayers deserve answers for where and how their hard-earned money has been spent.”
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Copper Caper Clampdown The Fresno City Council will take a swing at fighting copper theft with an ordinance that could mean jail time for having more than 10 pounds without a legitimate purpose. The Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a similar ordinance recently. It was introduced by Supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Nathan Magsig. The county ordinance prohibits receiving, possessing and transporting more than 10 pounds of commercial grade wire stripped of its protective sheathing, except by a licensed business.
An afternoon news conference after the supervisors’ vote brought out business, farming and elected officials from the county and city of Fresno. The action represents a collaborative effort to fight copper theft, which causes tens of thousands of dollars in damages to water pumps and machinery for something worth about $3.25 a pound from a recycler.
At the Fresno City Council’s meeting on Thursday, April 10, members will consider an ordinance that goes even further with penalties in city limits. It was introduced by Council President Mike Karbassi and Councilmembers Annalisa Perea and Tyler Maxwell.
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Utah’s Mike Lee won the energy gavel. Now what? It's been more than three months since Mike Lee took control of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and colleagues and advocates are still wondering how the Utah Republican will use his perch, writes Kelsey Brugger. Lee, who has a deeply conservative voting record, has been pushing politically difficult ideas like selling public lands and retooling environmental laws. But he is not known for being a schmoozer or dealmaker. [Politico]
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DA to Diversion The California State Bar is sending San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to a diversion program after a series of ethics complaints against her. Story
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Commissioner Compromises Career With less than two years left in his final term, Insurance Commissioner (you know we have one, right?) Ricardo Lara has been using what appears to be a shell campaign committee to pay for nearly $30,000 in meals and drinks at some of the country’s fanciest restaurants and bars, according to an investigation by The Standard. Almost a third of these charges were listed as campaign meetings, and it’s unclear who Lara has been wining and dining during meals costing hundreds or, in at least one case, more than $1,000. Story
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WECA’s Government Relations Surveys Legislation At its April meeting, WECA’s Government Relations Committee adopted the following positions:
AB 76 (Alvarez - D) Existing law sets rules for how local agencies dispose of surplus land, which is land declared unnecessary for their use through formal action. "Exempt surplus land" is land meeting criteria like having at least 25% of units for lower-income households and a minimum average density of 10 units per acre. This bill proposes changing these requirements so that 25% of units, excluding those for academic institution students, faculty, or staff, must be for lower-income households. The density requirement remains 10 units per acre, calculated over the entire area, including housing for students, faculty, and staff. WECA Position: SIA (Support if Amended)
AB 231 (Ta - R) Would allow up to a $5,000 tax credit for employers with five or fewer employees equal to 40% of the qualified wages paid to an individual that, among other things, has been convicted of a felony, as provided, and has a hiring date not more than one year after the date the individual was convicted or was released from prison WECA Position: Support
AB 296 (Davies - R) This bill would require school districts and schools to host at least one apprenticeship fair event during each school year. WECA Position: Support
AB 303 (Addis - D) Restricts new installations of utility size BESS WECA Position: Oppose
AB 305 (Arambula - D) This bill would exempt small modular reactors from existing law prohibiting new nuclear power plant construction until it’s too late. WECA Position: Support
AB 306 (Schultz - D) It proposes a moratorium on adopting or modifying new state and local building standards affecting residential units from June 1, 2025, to June 1, 2031, with limited exceptions. WECA Position: Support
AB 345 (Jackson - D) Implements a deadline by which the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) must render a decision on an application for a new apprenticeship program outside of the building and construction trades and firefighting programs and provides for conditional approval if certain conditions are met. WECA Position: Watch
AB 485 (Ortega - D) Supported by unions, AB 485 requires state license agencies like CSLB to deny an application or renewal to an employer with any unsatisfied final judgment for nonpayment of wages. Only opponent is the hospital association. WECA Position: Support
AB 521 (Carrillo - D) Provides that the Contractors State License Board is not liable for legal fees or costs related to actions against a contractor when the contractor has a deposit filed with the Board in lieu of a bond. Specifically, this bill provides that the Contractors State License Board is not liable for any legal fees or costs in any action, as specified, against any deposit filed with the Board, regardless of when it was filed with the registrar. WECA Position: Support
AB 538 (Berman - D) Section 1776 already requires the production of CPRs within 10 days of receipt of a request, and AB 538 doesn't change that. Instead, the bill's intent appears to address situations where a request for CPRs is made through the awarding body, but the awarding body doesn't have the records in its possession. These amendments require the awarding body to obtain the documents from the "relevant contractor." If the contractor doesn't comply, the awarding body must notify DLSE, who can seek penalties. WECA Position: Watch
AB 559 (Berman - D) This bill expands "home improvement" to include construction related to ADUs on residential properties. It imposes penalties for licensees or unlicensed individuals who take excessive down payments or progress payments that cause financial loss to consumers, with license revocation and a minimum $10,000 civil penalty for violators. WECA Position: Watch
AB 667 (Solache - D) Requires CSLB to provide examination interpreters WECA Position: Watch
AB 742 (Elhawary - D) Requires CSLB to prioritize license applications from contractors who are descendants of American slaves WECA Position: Watch
AB 765 (Flora - R) Sponsored by Coalition for ETP and Jobs, this bill would prohibit money in the Employment Training Fund from being diverted, transferred, or otherwise used to pay the interest charged on federal loans to the Unemployment Fund or related liabilities without the approval of the Legislature by statute and a public report justifying the necessity for the diversion, transfer, or use. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. WECA Position: Support
AB 862 (Castillo - R) It requires the collection and reporting through the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) and Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) of the percentage of students who intend to enroll in college or specified careers. WECA Position: Support
AB 963 (Petrie-Norris - D) Requires owners and developers undertaking any public works project to make specified records available to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), multi-employer Taft-Hartley trust funds, and to joint labor-management committees (JLMCs). Supported by unions, opposed by developers and contractors. Opposed by California Housing Consortium, California Housing Partnership Corporation, Housing California WECA Position: Watch
AB 1002 (Gabriel - D) AB 1002 will allow the DOJ to bring a civil action that would revoke or suspend an existing contractor license, or bar the licensure or deny the re-licensure of a contractor previously found to be illegally withholding wages. CEA thinks they'll be okay so long as jurisdictional issues can’t be included in the process. The bill was triggered by West Coast Drywall, which was a pretty bad actor. WECA Position: Watch
AB 1104 (Pellerin - D) The bill proposes that nonresidential photovoltaic facilities producing less than one megawatt can qualify for NEM tariffs, even if contractor compliance issues exist. Such contractors are granted 90 days to rectify unintentional violations, avoiding penalties if promptly addressed and proven corrected. WECA Position: Support
AB 1198 (Haney - D) Requires contractors to pay the new prevailing wage whenever DIR changes them. WECA Position: Oppose
AB 1221 (Bryan - D) This bill requires employers to notify workers 30 days before introducing any workplace surveillance tools. The notification must detail the data collected, its purpose, and the necessity of the surveillance. It prohibits the use of surveillance technologies that incorporate facial, gait, or emotion recognition. The Labor Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the bill, employees can take civil action for violations, and public prosecutors can also enforce the provisions. Employers violating the bill face a $500 civil penalty for each infraction. WECA Position: Oppose
AB 1234 (Ortega - D) AB 1234 (Ortega) penalizes defendants for exercising their right to a hearing on the merits. It creates a new, automatic thirty percent penalty that would apply regardless of whether the defendant acted in good faith. WECA Position: Oppose
AB 1235 (Rogers - D) Prohibits a contractor from being prequalified for, shortlisted for, or awarded a design-build contract with the Trustees of the California State University unless the contractor provides an enforceable commitment to the trustees that the contractor and its subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work on the project or contract WECA Position: Watch
AB 1327 (Aguiar-Curry - D) This author sponsored bill would enable consumers to cancel home solicitation contracts, home improvement contracts, and seminar sales contracts via email WECA Position: Watch
AB 1331 (Elhawary - D) AB 1331 functionally prohibits the use of surveillance in every California workplace because of its overbroad language and, in doing so, undermines workplace safety. WECA Position: Oppose
AB 1371 (Sharp-Collins - D) This bill would revise and recast existing law to, among other things, allow an employee to refuse to perform a task assigned by an employer if the employee has an apprehension that the performance of the assigned task would result in injury or illness to the employee or other employees. WECA Position: Oppose
SB 61 (Cortese - D) Limits the retention payment amount for a private work of improvement from exceeding five percent, subject to certain exceptions. WECA Position: Support
SB 75 (Smallwood-Cuevas - D) Creates a Reentry Pilot Project in the counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, and San Diego to provide workforce training and transitional support to formerly incarcerated individuals committed to careers in the skilled trades. WECA Position: Support
SB 84 (Niello - R) SB 84 would prohibit construction-related accessibility claims under the ADA and the Unruh Civil Rights Act from being initiated until a small business defendant has been served with a demand letter specifying each alleged violation and given 120 days to correct them. WECA Position: Support
SB 261 (Wahab - D) This bill attempts to recover unpaid wages owed to workers by: 1) requiring the Labor Commissioner (LC) to post a copy of an order, decision, or award (ODA) on a claim for unpaid wages on the division’s internet website; 2) prescribing when a posting can be removed; 3) requiring notification by certified mail to employers before the posting of an ODA; 4) subjecting, for final judgments unsatisfied after 180 days, the employer to a civil penalty not to exceed three times the outstanding judgment amount; and 5) authorizing the LC to adopt regulations and rules of practice and procedures to enforce these provisions. Posting every single ODA online effectively creates a shopping list for trial attorneys WECA Position: Oppose
SB 272 (Becker - D) SB 272 authorizes the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) to enter into job order contracts (JOCs). Requires JOCs to be subject to the project labor agreement (PLA) between SamTrans and the San Mateo Building Trades Council or an amendment or extension of that agreement. WECA Position: SIA (Support if Amended)
SB 291 (Grayson - D) Repeals the requirement that all contractors must have a workers' compensation policy, except for roofers. WECA Position: Oppose
SB 310 (Wiener - D) Violates last year’s amendments to PAGA by permitting W&H penalties to be recovered through an independent civil action under PAGA. WECA Position: Oppose
SB 464 (Smallwood-Cuevas - D) SB 464 would encourage new, costly litigation against employers based on the publication of broad, unreliable data collected by the state. WECA Position: Oppose
SB 573 (Smallwood-Cuevas - D) SB 573 would replace the state’s existing corporate tax rate with a tiered tax rate based on the difference between the median employee pay and the pay of the highest-paid executive. The rates would become active on January 1, 2026, ranging from 7 percent to 13 percent, depending on the pay ratio. The rate would increase by 50 percent if a company reduces employees in the United States by 10 percent or more and increases foreign contracted employees. WECA Position: Oppose
SB 682 (Allen - D) This bill prohibits a person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale covered products that contain intentionally added PFAS beginning January 1, 2027. Prohibits certain specified products that contain intentionally added PFAS unless the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) made a determination that the use of PFAS in the product is a currently unavoidable use. By banning essential materials—from heat pumps to electrical cabling—SB 682 would drive up housing costs, jeopardize safety, and further exacerbate the state’s housing crisis. WECA Position: Oppose
SCR 55 (Niello - R) Would declare the week of April 27, 2025, to May 3, 2025, inclusive, as “Apprenticeship Week” in the State of California and would request that the Governor issue a proclamation calling on the people of the great State of California to observe the week with appropriate programs and educational activities. WECA Position: Support