CALTRANS
AB 812 (Ma) - Authorizes the Department of Transportation, by January 1, 2014, to establish specifications for the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) of up to 40% for hot mix asphalt mixes.
AB 1671 (Huffman) - Extends the sunset date from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2020 the statute prohibiting Caltrans from withholding retention proceeds on progress payments made to a contractor for state-funded public works projects. This bill also permits a bidder on a state contract to submit the bidder's security in electronic form.
AB 2498 (Gordon) - Authorizes the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to use an alternative procurement method referred to as Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) for up to four projects.
CSLB
AB 1750 (Solorio) – Allows a C-27 landscape contractor to be prime contractor for rainwater capture systems for pools, ponds and landscape water.
AB 1794 (Lara) - Permits the Employment Development Department (EDD) to share new hire information with the Contractors' State License Board (CSLB) and the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF). Law is intended to curb abuses by unscrupulous contractors who intentionally under-report or fail to report payroll.
AB 2219 (Knight) - Eliminates the sunset date on existing law requiring roofing contractors who hold a C-39 classification to maintain workers' compensation insurance, whether or not they have employees, and makes additional changes to law regarding C-39 contractors.
AB 2237 (Monning) – CSLB sponsored legislation to clarify when a “consultant” needs to be a licensed contractor. For purposes of the definition a contractor includes a person who provides a bid, or who arranges for and sets up work schedules and maintains oversight of a construction project, with respect to a home improvement contract.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE
SB 863 (DeLeon) – “Major workers’ compensation reform.”
PLA / PREVAILING WAGE
AB 1598 (Buchanan) – Includes in prevailing wage classification the assembly and disassembly of freestanding and affixed modular office systems.
SB 829 (Rubio) - Prohibits the use of state funds for any charter city construction projects if the charter city has banned the consideration of the use of project labor agreements (PLAs).
PUBLIC WORKS
AB 1565 (Fuentes) - Requires prequalification for school public works projects costing $1 million or more and funded by specified funds. Requires the prequalification questionnaire and uniform system a school district uses to rate bidders on those public works projects to contain at a minimum, issues covered by the questionnaire and guidelines for rating bidders developed by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
AB 2181 (Galgiani) - Clarifies that the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) must promptly pay certified small businesses engaged in the development, design, and construction of California's high-speed rail system or pay a late payment penalty under the California Prompt Payment Act (Act).
SB 1068 (Rubio) - Sets procurement thresholds for specified transit districts consistent with federal procurement guidelines. Specifically, 1)Authorizes the Golden Empire Transit District (GET) and the Sacramento Regional Transit District (Sac RT) to award contracts for the purchase of supplies, equipment, and materials over $100,000 either to the lowest responsible bidder or to the bidder that, at the district's discretion, submitted a proposal representing the "best value," as defined. 2) Requires the districts, to the extent practicable, to obtain a minimum of three quotations for contracts for supplies, equipment, and materials valued at between $2,500 (for GET) or $3,000 (for Sac RT) and $100,000.
SB 1280 (Pavley) - Authorizes a California Community College (CCC) district and the University of California (UC) until January 1, 2018 to let any contract for expenditures greater than $50,000 and $100,000, respectively for the purchase of supplies and materials in accordance with "best value" policies as adopted by the local governing board and UC Regents.
SB 1370 (Berryhill) - Requires the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations to post a list on their Web site of every California code section, and the language of those sections, that relates to prevailing wage rate requirements for workers employed on a public works project.
REGULATION
AB 890 (Olsen) - Exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) repair, maintenance, and minor alterations of existing roadways, provided the project is carried out by a city or county to improve public safety, does not cross a waterway, and involves negligible or no expansion of an existing use.
AB 1612 (Lara) - Promotes government accountability and a transparent process by requiring proposed new residential building standards to include the cost of compliance, potential benefits of the proposed standard and the underlying model used to achieve those estimates.
AB 1922 (Lara) - Requires heavy-duty diesel truck fleets to comply with Air Resources Board regulations and standards on or before December 31 for each calendar year. Defines fleet as any group of two of more heavy-duty diesel-fueled vehicles that are owned and operated by the same person.
SB 965 (Wright) - Establishes allowable ex parte communications with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) members and increases the public access to the SWRCB and RWQCB public processes.
SB 1099 (Wright) - Requires new regulations to be announced quarterly. Revises the effective date of regulations once they are filed with the Secretary of State and requires the Office of Administrative Law to provide on its website a list of, and a link to, the full text of each regulation.
TAX
AB 1492 (Budget Committee) - NEW TAX ALERT: Effective January 1, 2013, an additional tax will be assessed on wood products to pay for forest practice regulations. The 1% assessment of the sales value will be paid by consumers of lumber products at the time of purchase. Revenue generated from the assessment will be used to support the state’s forest practice program and specified fire protection and resource restoration activities, among other things.
MISC.
SB 1186 (Steinberg/Dutton) - Promotes compliance with the state's disability access laws (ADA) without unwarranted litigation where unscrupulous attorneys are filing shakedown lawsuits against businesses. The legislation helps curb abuses and develops additional tools for businesses to ensure their establishments meet the requirements of the ADA. This was passed as a urgency measure and became law once signed by Governor.
SB 1327 (Cannella) - Establishes a “one-stop-shop” Internet website for individuals to use as a tool in obtaining the necessary permits and licenses to start a business, and helps them navigate California’s complex regulatory system by streamlining the application process.
from Kevin Pedrotti, Legislative Advocate for the Golden State Builders Exchanges
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