Bill Text: CA AB680 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: California Jobs Plan Act of 2021.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-09 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 746, Statutes of 2021. [AB680 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB680-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Senate  September 03, 2021

Amended  IN  Senate  August 26, 2021

Amended  IN  Senate  July 13, 2021

Amended  IN  Senate  June 30, 2021

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 24, 2021

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 03, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 680

---

Introduced by Assembly Member Burke

February 12, 2021

---

An act to add Part 8 (commencing with Section 38599.10) to Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 680, as amended, Burke. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: California Jobs Plan Act of 2021.

Existing law, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, establishes the State Air Resources Board as the agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available to the state upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Existing law establishes the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (labor agency) under the supervision of the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, and provides that the labor agency consists of, among other entities, the California Workforce Development Board, the Employment Development Department, and the Department of Industrial Relations.

This bill would enact the California Jobs Plan Act of 2021, which would require the state board to work with the labor agency to update, by July 1, 2023, 2025, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund funding guidelines for administering agencies to ensure that all applicants to grant programs funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund meet specified standards, including fair and responsible employer standards and inclusive procurement policies, as provided. The bill would require the state board to work with administering agencies to leverage existing programs and funding to assist applicants in meeting these standards. The bill would require, among other things, administering agencies, on and after the adoption of the update to the funding guidelines, to give preference to applicants that demonstrate a partnership with an educational institution or training program targeting residents of under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities, as defined, in the same region as the proposed project and to applicants that demonstrate the creation of high-quality jobs, as defined, by the proposed project. The bill would exclude from these requirements applicants for projects that involve specified funding, technical assistance, or research, applicants who are not employers, as defined, and housing projects that will feature 100% affordable units, as defined.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

---

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(1) California is a world leader on climate policies, demonstrating that it is possible to reduce emissions while promoting innovation and economic growth.

(2) Despite that progress, California lacks a robust workforce development strategy for the new, low-carbon economy that ensures the state’s prosperity remains resilient and that good jobs are developed for targeted communities.

(3) California has a unique opportunity to address the causes of climate change while also addressing income inequality and supporting workers who struggle to access high-quality jobs.

(4) Public investments should help foster an inclusive economy by creating high-quality jobs that benefit our communities and environment.

(5) Chapter 135 of the Statutes of 2017 extended California’s Cap-and-Trade Program to 2030, and asked the California Workforce Development Board to conduct a study on the need for increased training and other resources that may be needed to help communities transition to meet the new economic and labor-market transformations brought about by California’s pursuit of its greenhouse gas reduction goals.

(6) Planning for jobs and workforce development will help protect California’s ambitious climate targets by ensuring communities impacted by state policies and persistent climate change have the resources they need to stay gainfully employed, and that the work conducted in pursuit of those emissions reductions is done to responsible standards.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact the California Jobs Plan Act of 2021 to establish the framework needed to ensure a just transition for communities.

SEC. 2.

 Part 8 (commencing with Section 38599.10) is added to Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

PART 8. California Jobs Plan Act of 2021

38599.10.

 For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Access” means that an individual who lives in an under-resourced, tribal, or low-income community could reasonably access all services and resources needed to compete for a job, including overcoming barriers to employment or attaining a high-quality job.

(b) “Administering agencies” means state agencies administering grant programs funded by moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

(c) “Applicant” means an entity applying for resources from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

(d) “Community workforce agreement” means a project labor agreement that includes a targeted hire plan.

(e) “Contractor” means an individual identified pursuant to Section 3353 of the Labor Code.

(f) “Employee” means an individual identified pursuant to Sections 3351 to 3352.94, inclusive, of the Labor Code.

(g) “Employer” means an entity or individual that compensates an employee.

(h) “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund” means the fund created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code.

(i) “High-quality job” means a job that facilitates economic mobility by providing retirement benefits, vacation and sick leave, training opportunities, and wages at or above the average median wage of a region.

(j) “Job” means full- or part-time employment for a person who is considered an employee.

(k) “Labor agency” means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

(l) “Prevailing wage” means the basic hourly rate paid on public works projects to a majority of workers engaged in a particular craft, classification, or type of work within the locality of a project and in the nearest labor market area.

(m) “Procurement” means a process by which an entity solicits competitive bids for a project or service.

(n) “Project labor agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.

(o) “Retirement benefits” means an employer-provided retirement plan that is partially or fully paid for by the employer.

(p) “Targeted hire plan” means a strategy from an applicant to demonstrate how the applicant will create jobs for under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities, and how the applicant will ensure access to those jobs.

(q) “Tribal” or “tribe” means either of the following:

(1) A federally recognized tribal government located in California that is identified on the most recent list published in the Federal Register by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(2) A nonfederally recognized tribal government located in California, including those listed on the California Tribal Consultation List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission.

(r) “Under-resourced, tribal, and low-income community” means either of the following:

(1) A community identified pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 71130 of the Public Resources Code.

(2) Members of a tribe.

38599.11.

 (a) By July 1, 2023, 2025, the state board shall work with the labor agency to update Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund funding guidelines for administering agencies to ensure that all applicants to grant programs listed in Section 39719 and funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund meet all of the following standards:

(1) Fair and responsible employer standards, meaning documented compliance with applicable labor laws and labor-related commitments concerning wages, workplace safety, rights to association and assembly, and nondiscrimination standards.

(2) Inclusive procurement policies, meaning applicant procurement policies that prioritize bids from entities that demonstrate the creation of high-quality jobs or the creation of jobs in under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities, or both the creation of high-quality jobs and the creation of jobs in those communities.

(3) Prevailing wage for any construction work funded in part or in full by the grant.

(b) On and after the adoption of the update pursuant to subdivision (a), all of the following shall apply:

(1) Applicants seeking over one million dollars ($1,000,000) in funding for construction projects shall provide evidence of a community workforce agreement.

(2) Administering agencies shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate a partnership with an educational institution or training program targeting residents of under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities in the same region as the proposed project.

(3) Administering agencies shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate that jobs created through the proposed project will be high-quality jobs.

(c) (1) Applicants for projects that involve federal funding, technical assistance, research, or funding provided pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 39719 are exempt from this section.

(2) This section shall not apply to an applicant who is not an employer.

(3) (A) This section shall not apply to a housing project that will feature 100 percent affordable units, exclusive of a manager’s unit or units.

(B) For purposes of this subdivision, “affordable unit” means a unit that is subject to a recorded affordability restriction for 55 years and is either of the following:

(i) A rental unit dedicated to persons and families of low income, as defined in Section 50093.

(ii) An owner-occupied unit dedicated to persons and families of moderate income, as defined in Section 50093.

(d) For purposes of this section, an applicant shall be responsible for ensuring that any contractors employed in service to the project funded meet the standards the applicant outlines in the applicant’s project application.

(e) In implementing this section, the state board shall work with administering agencies to leverage existing programs and funding to assist applicants with meeting these standards.