AB 963 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Public works: prevailing wages: access to records.

Summary

Existing law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages be paid to workers employed on public works and imposes misdemeanor penalties for a willful violation of this requirement. Existing law defines "public works," for the purposes of regulating public works contracts, as, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to investigate allegations that a contractor or subcontractor violated the law regulating public works projects, including the payment of prevailing wages. Existing law requires each contractor and subcontractor on a public works project to keep accurate payroll records, showing the name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and week, and the actual per diem wages paid to each journeyman, apprentice, worker, or other employee employed by the contractor or subcontractor in connection with the public work. Existing law requires any copy of records made available for inspection as copies and furnished upon request to the public or any public agency to be marked or obliterated to prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social security number but specifies that any copy of records made available to a Taft-Hartley trust fund for the purposes of allocating contributions to participants be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual's full social security number, as specified. This bill would require an owner or developer, as defined, undertaking any work, subject to the prevailing wage requirements, to make specified records available upon request to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, to multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust funds, and to joint labor-management committees, as specified. The bill would set forth timelines for the owner or developer to comply with a request for records and for a fund or committee to submit a complaint to the division in case of an owner's or developer's failure to comply. Under the latter circumstance, the bill would require the division to submit to the owner or developer a new written request for records, as specified. Under the bill, if the owner or developer fails to comply with the request from the division, they would be subject to penalties, to be deposited into the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, as specified. If a request for records is made, the bill would require that the request be made within 3 years of the completion of the work. The bill would require the Director of Industrial Relations to adopt rules governing the release of these records, as specified.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Aug 2025

Assembly Passage

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

Sep 2025

Vetoed

Oct 2025

Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Vetoed Oct 13, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

09/09/25 - Amended Senate → 09/16/25 - Enrolled · 8 edits · Sep 16, 2025

MODERATE

The enrolled version of AB 963 broadens the bill's scope from 'public works projects' to any work subject to prevailing wage requirements, while simultaneously softening enforcement by extending compliance deadlines from 10 to 30 days, making complaint filing optional rather than mandatory for trust funds and committees, and narrowing the penalty trigger so it only activates after a formal complaint is received. These changes make the bill more expansive in coverage but less aggressive in enforcement.

SCOPE

The scope was broadened from 'any public works project subject to the requirements of this chapter' to 'any work, subject to the prevailing wage requirements of this chapter,' removing the explicit 'public works project' limitation.

A separate subdivision (b) that explicitly extended the record-keeping requirement to development projects that include public work (even if not entirely a public work) was removed. The broader scope is now achieved through the revised language in subdivision (a).

TIMELINE

The compliance deadline for owners or developers to produce records upon written request was extended from 10 calendar days to 30 calendar days.

The deadline for a Taft-Hartley trust fund or joint labor-management committee to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement after non-compliance was extended from 10 calendar days to 30 calendar days.

ENFORCEMENT

Complaint filing by a trust fund or joint labor-management committee changed from mandatory ('shall submit') to permissive ('may submit'), giving these entities discretion over whether to escalate non-compliance.

The penalty trigger was narrowed. Previously, penalties could be imposed if the Division determined the owner failed to provide records or failed to comply with various subdivisions. Now penalties are only triggered when the Division receives a complaint from a trust fund or committee and the owner fails to comply with the Division's subsequent written request within 10 days.

The requirement that the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement 'shall promptly investigate any complaints' was removed.

TECHNICAL

Cross-reference corrections were made: 'paragraph (2) (5)' corrected to 'paragraph (5)' and 'paragraphs (1) and (3) through (4)' corrected to 'paragraphs (1) through (4).' The Information Practices Act citation was cleaned up by removing a redundant 'Title 1.8' reference.

07/17/25 - Amended Senate → 09/09/25 - Amended Senate · 8 edits · Sep 9, 2025

MODERATE

The September amendment to AB 963 significantly expands the types of records owners and developers must make available (adding bid requests, bid lists, and contractor names/license numbers), extends compliance deadlines from 10 to 30 days, adds a new enforcement step requiring the Division to re-request records before penalties begin, and limits the bill's applicability to projects first advertised for bid or contracted on or after January 1, 2026. A three-year deadline is also added for making records requests.

SCOPE

New requirement that records requests be made within three years of completion of the work subject to prevailing wage requirements.

The definition of 'owner or developer' now includes a temporal limitation: it applies only to entities that enter into a contract with a contractor for work on a project first advertised for bid or, if no bid advertisement date exists, executed on or after January 1, 2026.

The bill's applicability language changed from 'public works project subject to the requirements of this chapter' to 'public works project work, subject to the prevailing wage requirements of this chapter,' narrowing the scope specifically to prevailing wage work.

REQUIREMENT

New records must be made available: request for bids, lists of bids received and total bid amounts, and the names and license numbers of contractors and subcontractors performing the work.

The final executed construction contracts requirement is now clarified to mean contracts between the direct contractor and the owner or developer that demonstrate compliance with prevailing wage contract requirements.

TIMELINE

Compliance deadline for owners/developers responding to records requests extended from 10 days to 30 calendar days, with a new provision allowing the requesting and responding parties to agree in writing to an extension of time.

Deadline for a Taft-Hartley trust fund or joint labor-management committee to submit a complaint after non-compliance extended from 10 days to 30 calendar days, and the obligation changed from 'shall' to 'may' submit a complaint.

ENFORCEMENT

New enforcement step: upon receiving a complaint, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement must submit a new written request for records to the owner or developer. Penalties do not begin until 10 calendar days after that new written request is received and compliance has still not been achieved.

Floor votes · Senate Sep 12, 2025 · Assembly Jun 2, 2025

How they voted

29–8

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 40

Sep 12, 2025

D Democratic30

28 Yea 2

93% Yea

R Republican10

1 Yea 8 Nay 1

80% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jan 22, 2026

Vetoed

Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file.

lower

Oct 13, 2025

Vetoed

Consideration of Governor's veto pending.

lower

Oct 13, 2025

Vetoed

Vetoed by Governor.

lower

Sep 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 66. Noes 6. Page 3473.).

lower

Sep 12, 2025

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Sep 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 8. Page 2991.).

upper

Sep 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

Aug 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (August 29).

upper

Aug 18, 2025

Committee

In committee: Referred to suspense file.

upper

Jul 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jul 16, 2025

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (July 15).

upper

Jul 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (July 9). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

upper

Jun 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

upper

Jun 16, 2025

Upper · Passed

In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

upper

Jun 11, 2025

Committee

Referred to Coms. on L., P.E. & R. and JUD.

upper

Jun 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 4. Page 1869.)

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 2.) (May 23).

lower

May 7, 2025

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

lower

Mar 10, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on L. & E.

lower

Feb 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors