California Lawmakers Making a Strong Push to Ban Hydraulic Fracturing
As discussed in our prior article, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed several significant labor and employment measures into law in California, including a statewide ban-the-box provision and an expansion of parental leave...more
On September 28, 2016, Governor Brown signed new legislation relating to the construction of affordable and market-rate housing. Although AB 2501 has drawn the most attention from commentators and the media, AB 2442 and AB...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Governor Brown signs into law two landmark climate bills - San Francisco Chronicle - Sep 8 - Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed SB32, the nation’s toughest climate law,...more
On Monday, March 28, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown, flanked by union and state government officials, announced an agreement with state legislators to increase the statewide minimum wage from $10.00 to $15.00 per hour....more
California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Monday that he had reached a deal with lawmakers to raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022, calling it a “matter of economic justice.” The proposal must win...more
The 2014/2015 California legislative session may go down as one of the most productive in the state’s history, in terms of legislation passed and signed into law. According to the Associated Press, Governor Brown signed 808...more
Assembly Bill 219 – Prevailing Wages for Concrete Delivery on Public Projects - AB 219 continues California’s aggressive expansion of prevailing wages. This bill expands the definition of “public works” for purposes of...more
Last month, California’s Governor Brown signed new legislation intended to address what the state characterizes as persistent pay gaps between men and women working the same or similar jobs. The law builds on existing...more
California's Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill that allows employers to "cure" certain technical defects in employee wage statements. Effective immediately, employers have 33 days to remedy those defects...more
On October 7, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed S.B. 350, The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (the Act). The law will require the percent of electricity produced from renewable sources to increase...more
October 11, 2015, marked the deadline by which Governor Brown had to act on legislation submitted to him by the legislature in September. In addition to those bills the Governor signed, we note below legislation that has been...more
Public pension funds exist to provide retirement benefits to public employees. Cal. Const. Art. XVI, § 17(a). In 1992, the voters of California tried to eliminate political interference with the state’s retirement funds by...more
Last week Governor Jerry Brown signed into law three pieces of legislation (AB 243, AB 266, and SB 643) aimed at regulating the $1.3 billion medical marijuana industry in the state. The legislation, collectively called the...more
Law Sets Standards Aimed at Addressing Climate Change - Today, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 350 into law, setting two ambitious climate change-related goals: a 50 percent increase in building energy efficiency, and a...more
Yesterday was the last day for Governor Brown to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature on or before September 11 and in the his possession after that date. Cal. Const. Art. IV, § 10(b)(1). On Saturday, he signed into...more
On October 7, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 703 (SB 703), protecting transgender employees whose employers engage in business with state agencies. Specifically, the bill expands on the state’s pre-existing...more
During a recent meeting with a school district client they casually mentioned they were using a "drone." Surprised, I asked “Why… to mercilessly bomb al-Qaida strongholds with Graham crackers?" Ignoring my attempt at humor,...more
Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 359 (Gonzalez) that will impose a worker retention requirement when there has been a change in ownership or control of grocery establishments. In general, the bill will require the...more
Readers of this blog will recall my chariness of a 2013 amendment to California’s basic securities anti-fraud statute. See California Creates Complete Chaos By Rewriting Anti-Fraud Statute, But “We Are Against Fraud Aren’t...more
SB 277 Requires All Students to be Vaccinated, Absent a Medical Exemption - California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law Senate Bill 277, eliminating the personal belief exemption for existing specified...more
After the dissolution of California redevelopment agencies (RDAs) in 2011, many local governments desired a tool to raise capital to invest in infrastructure and community revitalization. On September 29, 2014 SB 628 was...more
The state of California has made significant changes to the testing and education requirements for its mortgage loan originators licensed under the California Finance Lenders Law and the California Residential Mortgage...more
In September 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 538 (Hill) into law. This bill fundamentally rewrote a key anti-fraud provision of the Corporate Securities Law of 1968 – Corporations Code Section 25401. At the time, I...more
On September 10, 2014, Governor Brown signed into law the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, mandating paid sick leave for most employees, including part-time, as well as many temporary employees. Employers...more
On January 1, 2015, California 's Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (California paid sick leave act) went into effect. When Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. signed the Act into law on September 10, 2014,...more