Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes the Strong Workforce Program to provide funding to career technical education regional consortia made up of community college districts and local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes a community college district to use the funds apportioned directly to the community college district to provide direct support to students, employers, or both, for paid work-based learning to increase employability and employment, as provided. Existing law requires the chancellor's office to revise, no later than June 30, 2026, policies, regulations, and guidance necessary to provide students, employers, or both, with paid work-based learning opportunities, as provided. This bill would extend the deadline for the chancellor's office to revise the policies, regulations, and guidance described above by one year. The bill would additionally authorize funds apportioned directly to regional consortia to be used to provide direct support to students, employers, or both, for paid work-based learning to increase employability and employment, as specified, and would make conforming changes.
Existing law, the Teachers' Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. That law requires the Teachers' Retirement Board to administer STRS and requires employers and employees to make contributions to STRS based on the member's creditable compensation. Existing law, among other things, defines "position subject to membership" to mean prescribed positions at various educational institutions, including, among other positions, a position at a county office of education or school district, not including a charter school, where the position requires the holding of a valid credential, license, or certificate authorized by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing or the State Department of Health Care Services, as prescribed. This bill would expand the above-described definition to also include permitholders. The bill would additionally include as a "position subject to membership" a comparable position at a charter school eligible to receive state apportionment that is performing, directing, coordinating, supervising, or administering one or more prescribed functions, as specified. Existing law requires the board to determine the date that specified provisions related to this definition become operative based on when STRS has the capacity to implement those provisions and to post that date on the internet website of STRS no later than July 1, 2027. This bill would delete that requirement and would, instead, make this definition of "position subject to membership" operative on July 1, 2027. Existing law creates the Teachers' Retirement Fund, which is continuously appropriated for specified purposes, into which certain moneys are deposited, including employee contributions. By expanding the category of positions subject to membership under STRS and affecting the contributions to the retirement fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law requires every state agency to develop and implement a telecommuting plan as part of its telecommuting program in work areas where telecommuting is identified as being both practical and beneficial to the organization. Existing law requires the Department of General Services to establish a unit for purposes of overseeing telecommuting programs that is required to, among other things, develop and update policy, procedures, and guidelines to assist agencies in the planning and implementation of telecommuting programs. Existing law requires the department to establish criteria for evaluating the state's telecommuting program. Existing law defines "telecommuting" for purposes of those provisions. This bill would revise and recast those provisions. The bill would replace the term "telecommuting" with "telework," as defined. The bill would also require the Department of General Services to establish a telework dashboard that displays the cost-effectiveness and efficiency benefits of state telework programs, including documenting annual savings to the state of reduced office space and operating costs. The bill would additionally require each state agency, every 10 years, to evaluate its telework program to ensure that it aligns with the state agency's unique operational needs to carry out its programmatic missions and to help recruit and retain a qualified workforce. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law sets forth the Labor Commissioner's duties, including investigating employee complaints and providing for a hearing in any action to recover wages, penalties, and other demands for compensation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner, as an alternative to a judgment lien, to create a lien on real property for amounts due under a final order in favor of the employee or employees named in the order with the county recorder of any county in which the employer's real property may be located, at the Labor Commissioner's discretion and depending upon the information the Labor Commissioner obtains concerning the employer's assets. Existing law provides that unless the lien is satisfied or released, the lien continues until 10 years from the date of its creation. This bill would authorize the lien to be renewed at any time prior to its expiration for additional periods of 10 years by recording a renewal of certificate of lien or a copy of a renewed judgment. (2) Existing law precludes an employer or other person or entity who may be liable for a violation of the Labor Code from introducing as evidence in an administrative proceeding contesting a citation or writ proceeding under specified provisions, certain books, documents, or records that are not provided pursuant to a duly served written request by the Labor Commissioner within a specified time period, except as specified. This bill would also preclude an employer or other person or entity from using or relying on the above-described books, documents, or records as evidence, would revise the types of books, documents, or records to which the provisions are applicable, and would make those provisions applicable to a specified administrative proceeding contesting citations for retaliation or discrimination complaints. (3) Existing law defines the term "public works" for purposes of requirements regarding the payment of prevailing wages, the regulation of working hours, and the securing of workers' compensation for public works projects. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to issue a civil wage and penalty assessment to a contractor or subcontractor, or both, if, after an investigation, the commissioner determines there has been a willful violation of the laws regulating public works. Existing law authorizes an affected contractor or subcontractor to obtain a review of the civil wage and penalty assessment by requesting a hearing from the office of the Labor Commissioner, after which the director shall issue a written decision, as specified. Existing law authorizes an affected contractor or subcontractor to obtain review of the decision of the director by filing a petition for a writ of mandate to the appropriate superior court, as specified. This bill would preclude a contractor or subcontractor from introducing as evidence, or in any other way using or relying on as evidence, at a hearing or writ of mandate proceeding described in the provisions above, any books, documents, or records that are not provided pursuant to a duly served written request by the Labor Commissioner within the time that the Labor Commissioner requests those books, documents, or records to be produced, except as specified. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to take into consideration a reasonable request from the contractor or subcontractor for an extension of time for production of books, documents, or records, as specified.
Existing law provides for the establishment of apprenticeship programs in various trades, to be approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations in any trade in the state or in a city or trade area whenever the apprentice training needs justify the establishment. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the Department of Human Resources to partner with the bargaining units representing employees of DIR to design and develop an apprenticeship pilot program that addresses DIR's staffing challenges. The bill would require the design, development, and administration of the program to meet specified requirements, including being consistent with the constitutional merit principle applicable to civil service employment. The bill would require the program to meet specified requirements, including that the apprenticeship program classification pay scales be determined by the collective bargaining process. The bill would include related legislative findings and declarations.
Existing law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, entitles an employee who works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment to paid sick days. Under existing law, an employee accrues paid sick days at a rate of not less than one hour per every 30 hours worked, subject to certain use, accrual, and yearly carryover limitations. This bill would require specified fire departments to provide a paid leave of absence of up to 26 weeks to an active firefighting member who requests leave because the firefighter is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, as provided. The bill would apply to an active firefighting member who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the fire department in the 12-month period before the date on which the paid leave begins and would require the leave to be with full pay, except as specified, at the firefighter's regular rate of pay set forth in a collective bargaining agreement and in accordance with their normal pay schedule. The bill would require all benefits to continue to accrue during the paid leave, as specified, and would require a firefighter returning from the paid leave to be restored to their prior position, as provided. The bill would request a fire department of the University of California to comply with these provisions.
Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program for which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) provides procedures and requirements for the allocation, in modified conformity with federal law, of state insurance, personal income, and corporation tax credit amounts to qualified low-income housing projects that have been allocated, or qualify for, a federal low-income housing tax credit, and farmworker housing. Existing law limits the total annual amount of the state low-income housing credit for which a federal low-income housing credit is required to the sum of $70,000,000, as increased by any percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year, any unused credit for the preceding calendar years, and the amount of housing credit ceiling returned in the calendar year. Existing law governing the taxation of insurers, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law provided an allocation of $500,000,000 for the 2020 calendar year and, for calendar years beginning in 2021, also provides for an additional amount that may be allocated, up to $500,000,000, to specified low-income housing projects that are new buildings that are federally subsidized, as specified. Existing law provides that this additional amount is only available for allocation pursuant to an authorization in the annual Budget Act. Existing law requires specified regulatory action by CTCAC aimed at increasing production and containing costs, including a scoring system that maximizes the efficient use of public subsidy and benefit created through the low-income housing tax credit program, as specified. This bill would require CTCAC to consider amending the regulatory scoring system to establish a housing type for farmworker housing projects, as specified in the existing CTCAC regulation. The bill would also require the CTCAC to consider using the same point allocations provided for rural set-aside projects in assigning points to farmworker housing based on the proximity of amenities to an eligible farmworker housing project. Existing federal immigration law authorizes employment of nonimmigrant agricultural workers, known as H-2A workers, if specified requirements are met, including that the employer furnish housing, as provided. Existing law generally prohibits providing state funding to an employer or its agent who employs an H-2A worker for the purposes of funding housing and requires an employer that receives state funding for that purpose to reimburse the state by that amount, as specified. Existing law defines "state funding" for this purpose to exclude the allocation of federal or state low-income housing tax credits. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, would include the allocation of state low-income housing tax credits within the definition of "state funding" and would prohibit providing low-income housing tax credits for projects to provide farmworker housing used to comply with the above-described H2-A housing requirement. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 12206, 17058, and 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code proposed by Senate Bill 1072 to be operative only if this bill and Senate Bill 1072 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes, until July 1, 2027, the Displaced Oil and Gas Worker Pilot Program, to be administered by the Employment Development Department (department) , for the purpose of addressing employment dislocations associated with oil, gas, and related industries. That program requires the department, using funds to be appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of the program, to award grants on a competitive basis to qualified applicants, as specified, for specified eligible activities. This bill would extend the program indefinitely by removing the July 1, 2027, repeal date. The bill would require the department to implement and administer the program only to the extent that funding is appropriated by the Legislature, as specified.
The California Constitution grants the retirement board of a public employee retirement system plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the retirement fund and system. These provisions qualify this grant of powers by reserving to the Legislature the authority to prohibit investments if it is in the public interest and the prohibition satisfies standards of fiduciary care and loyalty required of a retirement board. Existing law prohibits the boards of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) from making certain new investments or renewing existing investments of public employee retirement funds, including in a thermal coal company, as defined. Existing law provides that a board is not required to take any action regarding those investments unless the board determines in good faith that the action is consistent with the board's fiduciary responsibilities established in the California Constitution. This bill would request the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center to conduct an independent study to analyze the extent of labor standards protections in California real estate and infrastructure development projects funded through the real asset portfolios of PERS and STRS. The bill would request that the study and a report of its findings be completed and provided to the Legislature and the Department of Finance by January 1, 2028, as specified.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to authorize a pupil who meets specified criteria to attend community college. Existing law requires a pupil to receive credit for community college courses that the pupil completes at the level determined appropriate by the governing boards of the school district and community college district. This bill would authorize a pupil concurrently enrolled in specified community college courses to participate in work-based learning activities, as provided. (2) Existing law authorizes a group of students to organize a student body association within the public schools with the approval of and subject to the control and regulation of the governing board of the school district, as specified. This bill would authorize an above-described student body organization to operate a student-led enterprise program, as provided. (3) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district maintaining a high school to (A) establish courses of work-based learning or work experience education to provide pupils with instruction in the skills, attitudes, and understanding necessary for success in employment, (B) provide guidance and supervision procedures to ensure maximum educational benefit to pupils from placement in suitable work-based learning or work experience education courses, (C) provide for arranging, approving, coordinating, and awarding credit for work-based learning or work experience education courses, and employing personnel for purposes of providing that credit, and (D) provide or require pupils to acquire liability insurance for off-school-grounds work experience programs. This bill would extend the above-described authorizations provided by the governing boards of school districts to the governing boards or bodies of county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools. The bill would define "work-based learning" and "work experience education" for purposes of those authorizations, would make other changes to those authorizations, and would make various other changes to law relating to work-based learning, as specified. Existing law authorizes work-based learning opportunities for pupils to be delivered by partnership academies, regional occupational programs, and local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes those opportunities to include work experience education, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, and job shadowing experience, as specified. This bill would authorize work-based learning activities, instead of work-based learning opportunities, to be delivered by those entities, would authorize work-based learning activities to also be delivered by state special schools, and would authorize work-based learning activities to include on-the-job training in certain youth apprenticeship programs, internships, and mentorships. The bill would instead authorize work-based learning activities to be offered through work experience education courses, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, and early college credit courses, among other related changes, as specified. Existing law requires the governing boards of school districts to grant credit to pupils enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade for completing a work experience education program, as specified. This bill would extend the above-described requirement provided by the governing boards of school districts to the governing boards or bodies of county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools. The bill would extend to pupils enrolled in grade 10 the granting of credit for completing a work experience education program to the same extent granted to pupils in grade 11 or a higher grade. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a high school district, the governing board of a joint powers regional occupational center or program, or a county superintendent of schools that conducts a county-operated regional occupational center or program to establish and maintain cooperative career technical education programs or community classrooms as part of a career technical education course, as provided. This bill would authorize the above-described cooperative career technical education programs or community classrooms to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law creates within the State Department of Education an agricultural career technical education unit to assist school districts in establishing and maintaining career technical education programs in agriculture, as provided. Existing law requires the curriculum of school districts that choose to participate in the state program of agricultural career technical education to include organized classes in the study of agricultural science and technology, a student-supervised occupational experience program in agriculture, and a program of leadership, organization, and personal development. This bill would authorize funding provided for the above-described purposes to be used to support agricultural career technical education programs that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law establishes the Golden State Pathways Program to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including technology, health care, education, and climate-related fields that, among other things, allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and provide the workforce needed for economic growth. Existing law appropriates $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to competitively award grant funds to local educational agencies, defined as school districts, charter schools, county offices of education, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education, for purposes of the program, and makes these funds available for encumbrance until June 30, 2029. This bill would authorize Golden State Pathways Program grants to be awarded to pathways programs that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, administered by the department, with the purpose of encouraging, maintaining, and strengthening the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs. Existing law requires, for the 2021–22 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, $300,000,000 to be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the program. This bill would authorize California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program grants to be awarded to pathway programs and work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law establishes the California Partnership Academies and finds and declares that partnership academies have proven to be highly effective state-school-private sector partnerships that combine academic and vocational training for high school pupils who present a high risk of dropping out of school, and motivate them to stay in school and graduate. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue grants to school districts, as specified, to plan, establish, and maintain these academies. Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish eligibility criteria for school districts that apply for these grants. This bill would authorize funding provided for these academies to be used to support those academies that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law provides that an essential component of transition services for individuals with exceptional needs is the project workability program that provides instruction and experiences that reinforce core curriculum concepts and skills leading to gainful employment. Existing law requires the Superintendent to develop criteria for awarding grants, funding, and evaluating workability projects, and requires project workability project applications to include specified elements. This bill would authorize transition and employment preparation services under the project workability program to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways partnership with the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. This bill would authorize a College and Career Access Pathways partnership agreement to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, to the extent that funds are available, to establish internship training programs and actively support apprenticeship training programs in collaboration with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. This bill would authorize programs and partnerships established under the above-described provisions to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law provides funding for the Strong Workforce Program and a K–12 component of the Strong Workforce Program with the purpose of creating, maintaining, supporting, encouraging, strengthening, and expanding the delivery of career technical education programs in the state, as provided. This bill would authorize Strong Workforce Program funds to be used to support career technical education programs that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law requires the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to develop a process to approve preapprenticeship programs, as specified. Existing law requires a program seeking approval as a preapprenticeship program to submit to the division a request for approval that includes documentation evidencing that the program's preapprenticeship training activities are conducted in partnership with an apprenticeship program approved by the division. This bill would authorize a preapprenticeship program seeking approval to instead include documentation evidencing that the program's preapprenticeship training activities are conducted with approval by a local building and construction trades council of the use of the multicraft core curriculum for the preapprenticeship program. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
