Public works.

Formatting changed from amended assembly layout (with line numbers, amendment history dates, and page headers) to enrolled bill format (clean text, passage dates, Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the Assembly signatures, and a blank Governor's receipt line).

Added 'Passed the Senate August 26, 2026' and 'Passed the Assembly August 25, 2026' lines, along with signature blocks for the Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and Private Secretary of the Governor.

Removed amendment history dates (Amended in Assembly August 17, 2026; Amended in Assembly August 13, 2026; Amended in Senate May 14, 2026), line numbers throughout the text, and page header/footer markings.

The bill no longer amends Labor Code Section 1741, which previously would have changed the percentage of penalties deposited into the State Public Works Enforcement Fund from fifty percent. This provision is now handled solely through Section 1771.3.

Legislative finding (h) was revised to remove the phrase 'contractor registration fees to fund enforcement are tied to inflation,' leaving only the intent that existing penalties be utilized to further enforce public works labor laws.

New subdivision (e)(2) of Section 1771.3 requires that when an awarding body's labor compliance program resolves a matter with only limited Labor Commissioner involvement (determining penalty amount or underpayment, resolved without litigation), the awarding body must deposit penalties and forfeitures with itself as the enforcing body.

The digest now clarifies that ALL civil penalties collected by the Labor Commissioner are deposited into the State Public Works Enforcement Fund (previously the old version referenced 50% in Section 1741, while the new consolidated language in Section 1771.3(e)(1) says 'all').

The bill title no longer lists Sections 1741 and 1813 of the Labor Code as being amended, reflecting the removal of those provisions from the bill.

Registration fee cap: Senate version removed the $800 cap entirely; Assembly version sets a $1,000 cap. Fees up to $1,000 can be set by publishing on the department website without APA rulemaking; fees above $1,000 require full APA rulemaking.

The Senate version required the director to automatically adjust registration and renewal fees annually based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. The Assembly removed this CPI-based automatic adjustment requirement.

New Section 1771.3 (SEC. 3) rewrites the State Public Works Enforcement Fund provisions to: (1) add 'reasonable costs of ensuring sufficient staffing levels in the Labor Commissioner's Office for public works project enforcement' as an authorized use, (2) require fees be set at amounts sufficient to support appropriations plus a prudent reserve of 10-20 percent, and (3) allow short-term loans from the Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund up to 50 percent of the fund's appropriation authority.

Penalty deposit rate changed from 50 percent (Senate version) to 100 percent: all civil penalties collected by the Labor Commissioner under this chapter must now be deposited into the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, not just half.

The bill's scope expanded to also amend Section 2603 of the Public Contract Code and Section 1771.3 of the Labor Code (the fund section), which were not in the Senate version's list of amendments.

The cap on annual contractor registration and renewal fees was raised from $800 to $1,000. Fees above this new cap would still require Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking.

Maximum penalty for paying a worker less than the prevailing wage increased from $200 to $280 per calendar day per worker.

Minimum penalty for a good faith mistake that was promptly corrected increased from $40 to $56 per calendar day per worker.

Minimum penalty for contractors with prior violations within three years increased from $80 to $112 per calendar day per worker.

Minimum penalty for willful violations increased from $120 to $168 per calendar day per worker.

Gendered pronouns (his or her) were replaced with gender-neutral language (their) in several provisions, including references to the Labor Commissioner's designee and subcontractor workers.