Bill Text: CA AB3073 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Investor-owned utilities: contracting.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-09 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB3073 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB3073-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 22, 2018 |
Assembly Bill | No. 3073 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Low |
February 16, 2018 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to establish and maintain a field enforcement unit in order to ensure that minimum labor standards are met.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this provision.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares that:SEC. 2.
Section 9100 of the Civil Code is amended to read:9100.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision(b)
SEC. 3.
Section 9301 is added to the Civil Code, to read:9301.
For purposes of this chapter, the term “public entity” when used in reference to a payment bond includes an investor-owned utility, and any construction project or work contracted by that utility that is subject to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code shall be considered a “public work.”SEC. 4.
Section 9551 is added to the Civil Code, to read:9551.
For purposes of this chapter, the term “public entity” includes an investor-owned utility, and any construction project or work contracted by that utility that is subject to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code shall be considered a “public work.”SEC. 5.
Section 1720 of the Labor Code is amended to read:1720.
(a) As used in this chapter, “public works” means:SEC. 6.
Section 1721 of the Labor Code is amended to read:1721.
“Political subdivision” includes any county, city, district, public housing authority, or public agency of the state, and assessment or improvement districts. “Political subdivision” also includes an investor-owned utility solely with respect to a project that is subject to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.SEC. 7.
Section 1722 of the Labor Code is amended to read:1722.
“Awarding body” or “body awarding the contract” means department, board, authority, officer or agent awarding a contract for publicSEC. 8.
Section 1773.2 of the Labor Code is amended to read:1773.2.
The body awarding any contract for public work, or otherwise undertaking any public work, shall specify in the call for bids for the contract, and in the bid specifications and in the contract itself, what the general rate of per diem wages is for each craft, classification, or type of worker needed to execute the contract.SEC. 9.
Section 2504 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:2504.
(a) An investor-owned utility may use, enter into, or require contractors to enter into, a project labor agreement for a construction project that is subject to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) only if the agreement includes all of the following ratepayer and public protection provisions:SEC. 10.
Section 4102 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:4102.
Any person or entity who is required to submit a notice, bid, subcontractor list, or other written document to an investor-owned utility pursuant to this chapter shall promptly transmit that document to the Public Utilities Commission. Any document submitted to the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to this chapter shall be considered a writing within the meaning of subdivision (g) of Section 6252 of the Government Code, and shall be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act, subject to all existing terms and limitations relating to documents held by the Public Utilities Commission.SEC. 11.
Section 4103 of the Public Contract Code is amended to read:4103.
Nothing in this chapter limits or diminishes any rights or remedies, either legal or equitable, which:SEC. 12.
Section 4104 of the Public Contract Code is amended to read:4104.
Any officer, department, board,SEC. 13.
Section 4104.5 of the Public Contract Code is amended to read:4104.5.
(a) The officer, department, board,SEC. 14.
Section 4113 of the Public Contract Code is repealed.As used in this chapter, the word “subcontractor” shall mean a contractor, within the meaning of the provisions of Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, who contracts directly with the prime contractor.
“Prime contractor” shall mean the contractor who contracts directly with the awarding authority.
SEC. 15.
Section 4113 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:4113.
For purposes of this chapter:SEC. 16.
Section 4115 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:4115.
(a) On any project of an investor-owned utility that is subject to this chapter, the investor-owned utility shall solicit bids in writing and shall award the work to the lowest responsible bidder or reject all bids.SEC. 17.
Section 4116 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:4116.
(a) An investor-owned utility shall require that its contractors and any subcontractors provide an enforceable commitment to the investor-owned utility that the contractor and subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work on the public works contract subject to this chapter that falls within an apprenticeship occupation in the building and construction trades. In order to satisfy this subdivision, an investor-owned utility shall enter into a project labor agreement that will bind all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the project or contract to use a skilled and trained workforce.SEC. 18.
Section 4117 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:4117.
An investor-owned utility shall not enter into any agreement in contravention of the provisions of this chapter.SEC. 19.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.(a)It is the policy of this state to vigorously enforce minimum labor standards in order to ensure employees are not required or permitted to work under substandard unlawful conditions or for employers that have not secured the payment of compensation, and to protect employers who comply with the law from those who attempt to gain a competitive advantage at the expense of their workers by failing to comply with minimum labor standards.
(b)In order to ensure that minimum labor standards are adequately enforced, the Labor Commissioner shall establish and maintain a field enforcement unit, which shall be administratively and physically separate
from offices of the division that accept and determine individual employee complaints. The unit shall have offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Sacramento, and any other locations that the Labor Commissioner deems appropriate. The unit shall have primary responsibility for administering and enforcing those statutes and regulations most effectively enforced through field investigations, including Sections 226, 1021, 1021.5, 1193.5, 1193.6, 1194.5, 1197, 1198, 1771, 1776, 1777.5, 2651, 2673, 2675, and 3700, in accordance with the plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c). Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of this unit in enforcing any statute or regulation in the course of its investigations.
(c)The Labor Commissioner shall adopt an enforcement plan for the
field enforcement unit. The plan shall identify priorities for investigations to be undertaken by the unit to ensure that the available resources will be concentrated in industries, occupations, and areas in which employees are relatively low paid and unskilled, and those in which there has been a history of violations of the statutes cited in subdivision (b), and those with high rates of noncompliance with Section 3700.
(d)The Labor Commissioner shall annually report to the Legislature, not later than March 1, concerning the effectiveness of the field enforcement unit. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)The enforcement plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c), and the rationale for the priorities identified in
the plan.
(2)The number of establishments investigated by the unit, and the number of types of violations found.
(3)The amount of wages found to be unlawfully withheld from workers, and the amount of unpaid wages recovered for workers.
(4)The amount of penalties and unpaid wages transferred to the General Fund as a result of the efforts of the unit.