GOVERNMENT RELATIONS


New Legislative Session: Bills, Bills, and Taxes A


By Felipe Fuentes, AGC Legislative Advocate


GC’s Legislative Committee is to be commended for “rolling up their sleeves” and going


through the fine details of bills intro- duced in the 2019-2020 Legislative session. In all, the legislature introduced


over 2,700 bills – including several tax proposals. On March 20, 2019, the AGC Legislative Committee reviewed more than 160 bills identified as having an impact on the construction industry. Initial positions and policy instruction were given by the Committee on scores of bills. Spot bills – bills that identify an issue area but without any operative language – were discussed and placed on a “watch” list pending further amendments and information. As always, the bills fall into three categories: support, oppose and watch. Te list below describes some of


the priority legislation identified by the Committee.


SUPPORT AB 190 (Ting) – SB 73 (Mitchell) – Budget Act of 2019 – With a record-high state budget of $209 billion, the legislature will be delib- erating on how to spend some of that money on infrastructure. Proposed appropriations for construction and design-build projects to include Department of the California Highway Patrol, Department of Water Resources, Department of General Services, and Military Department.


AB 48 (O’Donnell) – Kindergarten- Community Colleges Public Education Facilities Bond Acts of 2020 and 2022 – Tis measure would place two separate school bonds before voters for a yet-to-be-determined dollar amount (expectation is $4-8 billion). Bond proceeds would be used to modernize and construct education


www.AGC-CA.org


facilities for the kindergarten through community college systems.


AB 203 (Salas) – Occupational Safety and Health: Valley Fever –


Tis bill would require construction employers to provide awareness training for their employees on symptoms and effects of Valley Fever annually in specified areas of the state. Tis information can be included in the injury and illness prevention program. Te AGC Safety Committee participated in developing this bill, and AGC will strongly support it.


AB 380 (Frazier) – Office of the Transportation Inspector General –


Te bill would require the governor to appoint the Transportation Inspector General for a 6-year term, subject to confirmation by the senate, and would prohibit the Transportation Inspector General from being removed from office during the term except for good cause.


AB 695 (Medina) – Community College Facilities: Design-Build Contracts – Tis bill would extend the authorization for community college districts to enter into design-build contracts to January 1, 2030.


SB 14 (Glazer) – Education Finance: Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 2020 – Upon approval by the state electorate, this bond package would make available $8 billion for the University of California and the California State University systems.


SB 197 (Beall) – Department of Transportation: Retention Proceeds – Tis bill would permanently prohibit the Department of Transportation from withholding retention proceeds when making progress payments for work performed by a contractor.


SB 405 (Archuleta) – Solid Waste: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement: Pilot Project: County of Los Angeles – Tis bill would create a pilot project to demonstrate the viability of paving


streets, roads, and highways with hot mix asphalt that is composed of between 85 percent and 100 percent reclaimed asphalt pavement.


SB 530 (Galgiani) – Construction Industry: Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy – Tis measure would require the Department of Industrial Relations to convene an advisory committee from the construction on industry to assist the Division of Labor Standard in devel- oping an industry-specific harassment and discrimination prevention policy and training standard. AGC supports this measure and will assist in devel- oping these standards.


OPPOSE AB 418 (Kalra) – Evidentiary Privi- leges: Union Agent-Represented Worker Privilege – Tis measure would establish a privilege between a union agent and a represented employee to refuse to disclose any confidential communication made while the agent was acting in the union agent’s representative capacity.


AB 882 (McCarty) – Termination of Employment: Drug Testing: Medication-Assisted Treatment – Tis measure would prohibit an employer from discharging an employee for testing positive for a drug that is being used as a medical-assisted treatment. AGC opposed a similar bill last year.


AB 1270 (Stone) – False Claims Act –


AGC is concerned with the additional invitation for litigation this bill would create by recasting existing legal principles. Tis bill would institute fuzzy thresholds like “potential effect” and “consequential damages” into false claim litigation.


AB 1332 (Bonta) – Sanctuary State Contracting and Investment Act – Tis bill would prohibit


Continued on page 6 Associated General Contractors of California 5


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