Our weekly California Legislature “hot list” provides you with a preview of the bills that are up (as well as other important legislative action) the following week.

Recap of Legislative Bill Activity Last Week – The following bills were acted upon this past week:

AB 46 (Cooper) – Gender Pay Inequality – Passed the Senate Public Employment Committee (5-0); now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

AB 55 (Thurmond) – Refineries­ – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 199 (Chu) – Public Works: Residential Projects – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 260 (Santiago) – Human Trafficking – Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee (6-0); now moves to the Senate Floor.

AB 263 (Rodriguez) – Emergency Medical Services Workers “Bill of Rights” – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 402 (Thurmond) – OSHA: Plume – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 450 (Chiu) – Immigration Worksite Enforcement Actions – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

AB 569 (Gonzalez Fletcher) – Discrimination: Reproductive Health – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

AB 581 (McCarty) – Apprentices – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 708 (Quirk-Silva) – OSHA: Responding Agency Notifications – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (4-0); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 978 (Limón) – OSHA IIPPs – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1008 (McCarty) – “Ban the Box” – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1425 (Kalra) – Apprentices – Passed the Senate Appropriations Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 (negligible state costs); now moves to the Senate Floor.

AB 1565 (Thurmond) – Overtime Salary Threshold – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1700 (Cooper) – Cannabis: OSHA Training – Passed the Senate Business and Professions Committee (8-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1701 (Thurmond) – Labor-Related Liabilities: Original Contractor – Passed the Senate Labor Committee (3-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 33 (Dodd) – Arbitration Agreements – Passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee (8-3); now moves to the Senate Floor.

SB 49 (De León) – California Environmental, Public Health, and Workers Defense Act of 2017 – Passed the Assembly Environmental Quality Committee (4-2); now moves to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

SB 63 (Jackson) – New Parent Leave – Passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee (9-1); now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 201 (Skinner) – Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) – Placed on the Assembly Appropriation Committee’s Suspense File.

SB 490 (Bradford) – Hair Salons: Commission Wages – Passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee (14-0); now moves to the Assembly Floor.

SB 621 (Bradford) – Overtime Compensation – Private School Teachers – Passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee (14-0); now moves to the Assembly Floor.

Senate Education Committee – July 5, 2017 (Wednesday) – 9:00 a.m. – Room 4203

AB 676 (Limón) – Child Care and Development: OSHA Training – Requires early educators (as defined) to attend a one-time, two hour training on OSHA risks specific to the child care profession.

Senate Governance and Finance Committee – July 5, 2017 (Wednesday) – 9:30 a.m. – Room 112

AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) – Contracts for Personal Services – Limits the ability of counties and cities to contract for personal services by imposing significant hurdles, including a cost/benefit analysis. 

Assembly Labor Committee – July 5, 2017 (Wednesday) – 1:30 p.m. – Room 447

SB 258 (Lara) – Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 - This bill would require manufacturers of “cleaning products” to disclose chemical ingredients and other information.  However, the bill also impacts employers by requiring them provide specified information to employees about cleaning products used in the workplace.

SB 306 (Hertzberg) – Retaliation – This bill dramatically revises retaliation claim procedures, and reflects language similar to that which has been proposed by Governor Jerry Brown in a budget trailer bill.  Among other things, this bill authorizes the Labor Commissioner to petition the court for injunctive relief (such as reinstating the employee) before completing an investigation and determining whether a violation has occurred.  The bill also requires the employer to pay attorneys’ fees and costs if the Labor Commissioner prevails in an enforcement action.

SB 418 (Hernandez) – Public Contracts: “Skilled and Trained Workforce” Requirements – This bill originally dealt with the “de minimis” exemption for the use of public funds on public works project.  However, the bill was recently amended to delete its contents and address a completely different issue.  Under existing law requires a “skilled and trained workforce” requirement on certain projects, including a requirement that a certain percentage of skilled journeypersons on a project are graduates of an apprenticeship program.  This bill would exempt nearly 20 occupations from those requirements.