Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards.

Senators Arreguin and Reyes were added as coauthors of the bill, indicating additional Senate sponsorship.

The legislative summary paragraph was reordered so that the phrase about thermal coal investments now appears after the sentence about fiduciary responsibilities rather than before it. The content is unchanged, only the sentence order shifted.

Lines 6-7 of Section 7513.77(a) now read 'participants in in, and beneficiaries of of,' which appears to be a clerical duplication error introduced during amendment.

Changed from 'require the boards of PERS and STRS to contract with the University of California Labor Centers' to 'request the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center to conduct an independent study.' This shifts the provision from a mandatory directive to a non-binding legislative request, significantly reducing its legal force.

Removed the bill's stated purpose of determining 'the impacts on public employee retirement funds of prohibiting the boards of public pension and retirement systems from investing in development projects in California that do not provide labor standards protections for workers.' The study no longer frames itself as evaluating a potential investment prohibition.

Simplified legislative findings from two numbered items (public interest finding plus purpose statement) to a single finding that development projects without strong labor standards protections are not in the public interest or interests of pension participants and beneficiaries.

Removed authorization for UC to subcontract with additional entities if extra expertise is needed for individual components of the study.

The substantive investment prohibition was removed. The Assembly version would have barred boards from making new investments or providing financing for California development projects that do not include labor standards protections (prevailing wage requirements, skilled and trained workforce commitments, and labor peace commitments). This entire restriction is gone in the Senate version.

The bill now only requests a study rather than imposing an investment ban. The language changed from 'require the boards to contract with' UC Labor Centers to 'The Legislature requests that the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center conduct an independent study.' This is a non-binding legislative request rather than a mandate.

The study scope was expanded to include examining evidence on the impact of labor standards protections (or lack thereof) on California workers, the state's economy, development costs, project completion timelines, and other outcomes - going beyond just measuring the extent of protections in existing portfolios.

The study entity was narrowed from 'University of California Labor Centers' (plural, potentially multiple centers) to specifically the 'University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center.'

A new data provision requirement was added: PERS and STRS must provide the Labor Center with relevant data, including internal data and data from their consultants, agents, contractors, and subcontractors, within 60 days after receiving a written request.

The fiduciary safe harbor clause was slightly modified from 'Nothing in this section shall require a board to take action' to 'Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a board to take action,' adding a layer of interpretive protection for the boards.

The core purpose changed from a direct investment prohibition to a requirement for PERS and STRS to commission an independent study through UC Labor Centers examining the financial impacts of prohibiting investments in projects without labor standards protections. The actual prohibition language (subdivision c) remains in the text but is now framed as the subject of the study rather than an immediate operative restriction.

The entire provision amending Government Code Section 70397, which authorized the Judicial Council to sell the West Los Angeles Courthouse and the Mental Health Courthouse in Los Angeles at fair market value with proceeds going to the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, was removed from the bill.

The entities responsible for action were narrowed from all public pension and retirement system boards to specifically the Board of Administration of PERS and the Teachers' Retirement Board of STRS, which must contract with UC Labor Centers. The definition of 'Board' was updated to reference these two specific boards with cross-references to their governing statutes.

A deadline of January 1, 2028 was added for completion of the study and delivery of findings to the Legislature (in compliance with Section 9795) and the Department of Finance. UC is authorized to subcontract with additional entities if needed.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now has state fiscal implications, likely due to the cost of commissioning and conducting the independent study through UC Labor Centers.

Added an entirely new Section 7513.77 to the Government Code prohibiting boards of public pension or retirement systems from making additional or new investments of public employee pension or retirement funds in development projects in California, or providing financing for those projects, unless the projects include labor standards protections.

Defined 'labor standards protections' as requiring: (1) prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements under the Labor Code, (2) use of a skilled and trained workforce for apprenticeable occupations (with an exception where a project labor agreement already requires this), and (3) developer commitments to provide labor peace during union organizing campaigns for workers employed after project completion.

Added a fiduciary responsibility carve-out stating that no board is required to take action under the new provision unless it determines in good faith that doing so is consistent with its fiduciary responsibilities under Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now has a state fiscal impact requiring review by the Fiscal Committee.

Minor technical corrections to Section 70397: removed the word 'the' before 'property' in subsection (a), and corrected 'concerning' to 'regarding' in subsection (a)(2).