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Governor Brown completed actions on 2011 legislation on October 9, 2011. The Governor had a veto rate of 14.3%. There were 889 bills on his desk in 2011. 760 were signed, 128 vetoed, one became law without his signature. Unless otherwise noted, all new laws become effective January 1, 2012.
APPRETICESHIP/CERTIFICATION
AB 554 (Atkins)- Directs the state and local Workforce Investment Boards to ensure that programs and services funded by the Work Investment Act (WIA) are conducted in coordination with apprenticeship programs and would encourage collaboration between community colleges and apprenticeship programs. Click Here
AB 1346 (Atkins)- Requires applicants for electrician certification to submit an application for certification and examination that includes an employment history report from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Under the existing certification process, an applicant must have at least four years of experience in the class he/she is applying for to qualify to take the electrical certification examination. Employers are required to withhold a percentage of an employee's paycheck and remit that amount to the Social Security Administration. As a result, an accurate and complete job history can be confirmed by report from SSA. Click Here
CONTRACTOR STATE LICENSE BOARD (CSLB)
AB 397 (Monning) – Requires a licensed contractor with an exemption for workers compensation insurance to recertify the exemption upon license renewal or provide proof of workers' compensation insurance coverage. Click Here
AB 878 (B. Berryhill) – Requires a workers' compensation insurer to report to the Contractors' State License Board a licensed contractor whose insurance policy it cancels. Click Here
SB 543 (Steinberg) – Among numerous provisions, extends the operation of CSLB and related provisions until January 1, 2016. Click Here
Passed in 2010, but effective 2012:
SB 392 (Florez) - Allows a limited liability company (LLC) to render contractors services. The law provides that a contractor-LLC obtain and maintain a $1 million insurance policy or place on deposit or escrow $1 million plus an additional $100,000 per licensee in excess of five employed by the LLC, up to $5 million in total insurance, escrow, or deposit, and provides, if the LLC is suspended, each member of the LLC who is licensed as a contractor will be liable for up to $1 million in damages occurring as a result of the licensed activities of the LLC during the suspension. CSLB is to begin processing applications for licensure from LLCs by January 1, 2012. Click Here
EMPLOYER ISSUES
AB 22 (Mendoza) – Prohibits an employer or prospective employer from using a consumer credit report for employment purposes. Click Here
AB 240 (Bonilla)- Authorizes the Labor Commissioner (LC) to recover liquidated damages for an employee who brings a complaint alleging payment of less than the minimum wage. Click Here
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS
AB 147 (Dickinson) - Authorizes a local ordinance to require the payment of a fee subject to the Mitigation Fee Act, as a condition of approval of a final map or as a condition of issuing a building permit for purposes of defraying the actual or estimated cost of constructing other transportation facilities. Click Here
AB 204 (Fuentes)- Extends by 24 months the expiration date of any tentative map, vesting tentative map or parcel map for which a tentative map or tentative vesting map has been approved that has not expired when this bill becomes effective and that will expire before January 1, 2014. Also extends the expiration date by 24 months for any legislative, administrative or other approval by a state agency relating to a development project included in a map that is extended. Click Here
AB 720 (Hall) – Amends the Public Contract Code within the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, which currently allows any county that has appointed a registered civil engineer as “Road Commissioner,” or has abolished that position and instead has appointed a Director of Transportation to perform all work on county highways by force account or day labor, regardless of cost. In doing so, this measure will ensure that large counties that have voluntarily chosen to utilize the Act, do not abuse the use of the “Road Commissioner” authority while still allowing counties the flexibility to address maintenance and emergency issues. The bill allows counties to continue to make their own decisions in regards to how they want to perform highway and road construction projects while protecting the integrity and intent of the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act.Click Here
AB 943 (Williams)- Increases the formal bidding threshold under the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (UPCCAA) from $125,000 to $175,000. Click Here
MECHANICS LIENS
AB 456 (Wagner)- Clarifies that mechanics' lien claimants in construction disputes shall specify in the required affidavit indicating service of the notice of mechanics lien that the notice was served on the owner or reputed owner of the property, consistently with existing obligations regarding service of these claims. Click Here
SB 424 (Rubio)- Gives design professionals providing services for private works of improvement the ability to convert a design professionals lien into a mechanics lien. Click Here
PREVAILING WAGE/PLA/PUBLIC WORKS
AB 436 (Solorio) – Makes changes to existing law related to a prevailing wage enforcement mechanism in order to address potential legal questions about the funding method of that process. The bill also exempts a school district or covered public entity from having to reimburse DIR for labor compliance activities where the school district or public entity has entered into any collective bargaining agreement that binds all the contractors performing work on the project; i.e.: “PLA’s.” Click Here
AB 551 (Campos)- Increases the maximum penalty on contractors and subcontractors who fail to pay the prevailing wage from $50 to $200 a day and would increase the minimum penalty (except in certain cases of a good faith mistake) from not less than $10 to not less than $40 a day for prevailing wage violations on a public work. Click Here
AB 514 (R. Hernandez) – Existing law provides that prevailing wages are due to construction works for the hauling of materials into a construction site as well as the hauling of refuse off of the site. If refuse is hauled from site and sold as a commodity, prevailing wage does not apply. The bill clarifies "refuse" to include soil, sand, gravel, rocks, concrete, asphalt, excavation, materials and construction debris.Click Here
AB 587 (Gordon)- Extends the sunset on the exemption for volunteers on public works project out five years, from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2017, and also makes findings and declarations on the intent of the Legislature to not undermine the wage base of a community, as well as several non-substantive amendments. Click Here
AB 766 (Monning)- Requires nonredacted copies of certified payroll records to be provided upon request to any agency included in the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground Economy (JESF), and other specified agencies. Click Here
SB 117 (Kehoe)- Prohibits a state agency from entering into a goods or services contract worth $100,000 or more, if in the provision of benefits, the contractor discriminates between employees with same or different sex spouses or partners, or discriminates between same or different sex spouses or partners of employees. Click Here
SB 136 (Yee) - Expands the definition of "public works" and applies prevailing wage requirements to include construction, alteration, demolition, installation or repair work done under private contract when the following conditions exist: The work is performed in connection with the construction or maintenance of renewable energy generation capacity or energy efficiency improvements; the work is performed on the property of the state or a political subdivision of the state; either of the following conditions exist: More than 50 percent of the energy generated is purchased or will be purchased by the state or a political subdivision of the state. The energy efficiency improvements are primarily intended to reduce energy costs that would otherwise be incurred by the state or a political subdivision of the state. Click Here
SB 293 (Padilla) – Requires progress payments be made within seven days instead of the current 10 day requirement of law. In addition, the bill also lowers retention withholdings on public works to no more than five percent as opposed to current 10% limit. Click Here
SB 835 (Wolk) – Expands the Best Value Construction Contract Pilot Program (Best Value Pilot Program) to all University of California campus construction projects statewide valued over $1 million, and extends the sunset date of the Best Value Pilot Program to January 1, 2017. Click Here
SB 922 (Steinberg) – Establishes parameters for the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) for publicly-funded construction projects. Denies state funding to any charter city that prohibits project labor agreements (PLA’s) on public works projects. The law also provides that a process for all other local government jurisdictions provide PLA’s on all public works projects. This provision is not applicable until January 1, 2015, for charter cities in which a charter provision, initiative, or ordinance in effect prior to November 1, 2011, would disqualify a project from receiving state funding or financial assistance. Click Here
MISCELLAINIOUS
AB 930 (Gordon)- Requires at least one member of the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) to be experienced and knowledgeable in sustainable building, design, construction, and operation. Click Here
AB 1330 (Beall) – Adds career technical education (CTE) as an option for pupils to fulfill the existing high school graduation requirement to complete a course in visual or performing arts (VPA) or foreign language, and requires school districts that elect this option to notify parents, teachers, pupils and the public. Click Here
SB 474 (Evans) – Eliminates type 1 indemnity provisions in construction subcontracts entered into after January 1, 2013. Under SB 474, which adds a new Section 2782.05 to the Civil Code, a general contractor cannot require a subcontractor to defend against, or provide insurance coverage to defend against, the active negligence or willful misconduct of the general contractor, for defects in design furnished the general contractor, or to the extent the claims to be defended against do not arise out of the scope of work of the subcontractor pursuant to its subcontract. The new law also provides that public agencies or private owners cannot shift to contractors’ liability for the agencies’ or owners’ active negligence (current law precluded only public agencies from shifting liability for their active or sole negligence.) The new law authorizes a general contractor to request that a subcontractor either provide a defense or pay for the general contractor’s defense, but a subcontractor who does so can request reallocation and reimbursement of defense costs under certain circumstances, such as where the statute prohibits a defense obligation. Click Here
SB 617 (R. Calderon) – Revises various provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and requires each state agency to prepare a standardized regulatory impact analysis, as specified, with respect to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a major regulation, proposed on or after November 1, 2013. Click Here
SB 909 (LaMalfa) –Modifies law relating to treated wood waste disposal. Click Here
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