Public Contracts: workforce development: covered public contracts.

Existing law, the State Contract Act, governs contracting between state agencies and private contractors, and sets forth requirements for the bidding, awarding, and overseeing of contracts for projects. This bill would establish the High Road Jobs in Transportation-Related Public Contracts and Grants Pilot Program to support the creation of equitable high-quality transportation and related manufacturing and infrastructure jobs. The bill would require a covered public contract, defined as a public contract awarded by the Department of General Services or the Department of Transportation for the acquisition of zero-emission transit vehicles or electric vehicle supply equipment valued at $10,000,000 or more, except as specified, to incorporate high road job standards, as specified. This bill would require high road job standards, that warrant that the contractor and any subcontractors shall satisfy specified requirements, to be material terms of the final contract between the bidder and the relevant public agency. The bill would require the Department of General Services, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the Department of Transportation, to develop and publish policies, procedures, and requirements applicable to covered public contracts in the State Contracting Manual for the purpose of implementing these provisions. This bill would require, beginning 12 months after an entity is awarded a covered public contract, that the contractor annually submit information necessary to demonstrate its compliance with the specified requirements to the relevant public agency, and before it receives any final payment on a covered public contract, that it submit a final report that demonstrates its compliance with those requirements for the duration of the covered public contract to the relevant public agency. The bill would authorize a relevant public agency to withhold payments to the contractor of up to $10,000 for each missed report if a contractor fails to comply with the reporting requirements until the contractor takes steps to cure the defect, as specified. The bill would authorize a relevant public agency to permanently deduct $10,000 from the final payment, or the full payment, if the amount due is less than $10,000, if, after a specified time period, the contractor refuses to comply with the reporting requirements. The bill would authorize the Department of General Services to prescribe additional or alternative mechanisms for enforcing the reporting requirements described above for covered public contracts awarded pursuant to a master agreement or a master contact agreement. This bill would declare that the state has an interest in rolling out zero-emission transit vehicles as quickly and expeditiously as possible and would require, to protect that interest from interruption due to a labor dispute, a contractor or subcontractor to enter into a labor peace agreement with an organization representing its employees, as specified, if the organization requests a labor peace agreement. This bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would state that its provisions are severable.