Existing law authorizes any employer or authorized bargaining representative, as specified, whose employee has suffered unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence that can reasonably be construed to be carried out or to have been carried out at the workplace, to seek a temporary restraining order and an order after hearing on behalf of the employee and other employees at the workplace, as described. This bill would, beginning on January 1, 2028, allow any party or witness to a petition for a restraining order to appear remotely at a hearing and would prohibit any fee for appearing remotely. The bill would require the court of each county to develop rules and instructions for such remote appearances and post them on its website. The bill would also, commencing on January 1, 2028, require courts to allow filings related to such protective orders to be submitted electronically, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 527.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by AB 1961 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1961 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers and authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with school districts, housing authorities, health agencies, and other appropriate local public and private nonprofit agencies for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain services for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law establishes the Napa County Farmworker Centers Account to be administered by the department, as specified, to assist in the financing, maintenance, and operation of the Napa County Housing Authority's Farmworker Centers for year-round use by migrant and nonmigrant farm labor employees. Existing law requires the department to award, annually, up to $250,000 in matching funds to the Napa County Housing Authority upon demonstration that the Napa County Housing Authority is capable of continuing to effectively serve the housing needs of migrant or other farmworkers in the County of Napa and requires the Napa County Housing Authority, to be eligible for funding, to provide equal or greater funds from local sources. Existing law requires the department to use funds allocated from the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund, as provided. This bill would instead require the department to award, annually, up to $500,000 in matching funds to the Napa County Housing Authority upon demonstration that the Napa County Housing Authority is capable of continuing to effectively serve the housing needs of migrant or other farmworkers in the County of Napa. The bill would require all funds awarded under its provisions to comply with specified prohibitions against state funding, loans, grants, or other state subsidies for an employer that employs certain workers, as provided, and would require that employer to reimburse the state or state agency that provided the funding, as provided. The bill would, instead of requiring the department to use specified funds allocated from the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund, provide that this bill is not operative until funding is appropriated by the Legislature in the Budget Act or any other measure for the purposes of the bill. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Napa.
Existing law establishes the Prerelease Construction Trades Certificate Program in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to increase employment opportunities in the construction trades for inmates upon release. Existing law requires the department to establish a joint advisory committee composed of, among others, representatives from building and construction trades employee organizations to implement the program, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Conservation Camp program to provide for the training and use of the inmates and wards assigned to conservation camps in the furtherance of public conservation, including forest fire prevention and control. This bill would additionally require the joint advisory committee, in consultation with various state entities, to facilitate the admission of graduates of the California Conservation Camp program, as defined, after release into state-approved apprenticeship programs for the construction craft laborer occupation, as specified. The bill would state that successful participation in the program, beginning July 1, 2027, constitutes qualifying experience for a state-approved apprenticeship for the construction craft laborer occupation. The bill would require the department, in partnership with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the California Conservation Camp program to ensure that eligible individuals who successfully participate in the program receive a written certificate to ensure eligibility for state-approved apprenticeship programs for the construction craft laborer occupation.
Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, under the direction of the Labor Commissioner, within the Department of Industrial Relations, for the purpose of enforcing labor laws. Existing law requires the division to maintain minimum standards for the competency and training of electricians through a system of testing and certification. Existing law requires the division to issue certification cards to electricians who have been certified and paid a fee, in accordance with certain procedures. This bill would authorize an individual who fails the certification examination to immediately submit an application to retake the examination, as specified. The bill would transfer authority over the certification of electricians from the division to the Contractors State License Board, contingent upon an appropriation for these purposes by the Legislature and pursuant to certain timelines and procedures.
Existing law defines "disadvantaged communities" and requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and for other purposes. This bill would require the agency to do specified things regarding farmworker communities for purposes of identifying disadvantaged communities including, among other things, assessing whether designating farmworker communities as disadvantaged communities would increase those communities' access to investment opportunities and identifying potential barriers faced by low-income farmworker communities in accessing investment opportunities, as specified. The bill would require the agency to make its findings publicly available on its internet website and consider those findings when identifying disadvantaged communities. The bill would require the agency and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to develop and implement a strategy for engaging with farmworker communities on environmental, health, and socioeconomic burdens, as provided.
(1) Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law authorizes blends of gasoline containing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume to be sold in the state for use as a transportation fuel until specified actions are taken by the California Environmental Policy Council and the state board. Existing law requires the state board to adopt performance standards for gasoline vapor control systems during gasoline marketing operations and to certify any gasoline vapor control system that meets those performance standards and other specified requirements. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and the Division of Measurement Standards to adopt rules and regulations on various aspects of gasoline vapor control systems and components and to certify compliance of those systems and components with their respective rules and regulations. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2029, vapor control systems and their components that are certified or approved by the state agencies listed above for use with gasoline and ethanol blends containing 10% ethanol to also be used with gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% and up to 15% ethanol if the manufacturer of the equipment submits a statement of compatibility, signed under penalty of perjury, to each of those state agencies. The bill would require the service station dispensing an ethanol blend containing more than 10% and up to 15% ethanol to comply with certain labeling required by the State Fire Marshal. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2026, the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations governing the labeling and safe use of gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% and up to 15% ethanol with vapor control systems and their components that have been authorized for use pursuant to the above-described provisions. (2) Existing law generally regulates the storage of hazardous substances in underground storage tanks and requires underground storage tanks that are used to store hazardous substances to meet certain requirements. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board and the State Air Resources Board to certify that the equipment that meets certain requirements for enhanced vapor recovery systems at gasoline dispensing facilities also meets the underground storage tank laws, as specified. This bill would require, until January 1, 2029, that any enhanced vapor control system at gasoline dispensing facilities suitable for gasoline and ethanol blends containing 10% ethanol be deemed certified or approved for the use of gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% ethanol and up to 15% ethanol if the manufacturer of the equipment submits the aforementioned statement of compatibility. (3) Existing law establishes in the Department of Industrial Relations the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and authorizes the board to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational safety and health standards and orders. Existing law imposes various requirements on occupational safety and health standards, including that those standards be at least as effective as federal standards, as specified. This bill would require, until January 1, 2029, that any device used for dispensing flammable liquids with an ethanol content of up to 10% be deemed approved for purposes of occupational safety and health standards and orders for the use of gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% ethanol and up to 15% ethanol if the manufacturer of the equipment submits the aforementioned statement of compatibility. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for first-time community college students and returning community college students, as defined, who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, or fewer for students certified as "full time" by a staff person in the disabled student services program, as specified, and who complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application, except as provided. This bill would instead require, for purposes of eligibility for the California College Promise, that students be enrolled in 9 or more, rather than 12 or more, semester units or the equivalent, or fewer for a student certified as eligible, based on a commitment by the student that is analogous to the 9-semester-unit or equivalent workload, by a staff person in the disabled student services program. The bill would additionally require, as a condition of receiving funding for the California College Promise, community colleges to provide a written notification to initial recipients of the California College Promise that includes specified information related to the 2 academic years of eligibility for the California College Promise.
Under existing law, it is the public policy of this state to encourage the utilization of apprenticeship as a form of on-the-job training, when such training is cost effective in developing skills needed to perform public services. Existing law requires state and local public agencies to make a diligent effort to establish apprenticeship programs for apprenticeable occupations in their respective workforces. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law requires, as a minimum requirement for a preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, the satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation, as specified. This bill would require the commission and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to partner in the dissemination, approval, and monitoring of credentialed educator apprenticeship programs in California, and to communicate apprenticeship requirements to professional preparation programs, local educational agencies, and other potential sponsors of credentialed educator apprenticeship programs. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, would authorize the commission to issue apprenticeship certificates or permits to educator candidates without a credential who are employed by local educational agencies and participating in commission-approved credentialed educator apprenticeship programs, as specified, and would require the commission to adopt regulations for that purpose. The bill would authorize the commission and the division to enter into a memorandum of understanding to establish processes and procedures for information sharing, application review, and data collection and reporting, and would authorize the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in consultation with the commission, to issue rules and regulations that govern credentialed educator apprenticeship programs, including the approval and denial of programs, registration of agreements, program administration and procedures, evaluations, working conditions, and minimum standards, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for a new credentialed educator apprenticeship program or for the expansion of an existing credentialed educator apprenticeship program into a new geographic or credential area to submit specified documentation to the chief. The bill would require the division to present the apprenticeship program application to the commission for its review, as provided, and would require the commission, if it is satisfied that specified conditions have been met, to provide written notice of that fact to the chief. The bill would require the commission to, among other things, publish on its internet website guidance for prospective and commission-approved apprenticeship sponsors, commission-accredited professional preparation programs, and employing local educational agencies on the relationship between educator apprenticeships and professional preparation programs, as specified, and to support the development and expansion of educator apprenticeships in credential shortage areas and geographic areas with persistent educator workforce needs, including, but not limited to, through commission-administered grant programs, as applicable. Existing law requires the commission, by April 15 of each year, to report to the Legislature and the Governor information on the availability of teachers in California, including, among other things, the number and percentage of individuals serving pursuant to an emergency permit or credential waiver, as specified. This bill would require that report to also include the number and percentage of individuals serving pursuant to an apprenticeship certificate or permit, as specified.
Existing law provides that in order for the state to recruit skilled firefighters for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, it is the policy of the state to consider prevailing salaries and benefits prior to making salary recommendations. Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources, in order to provide comparability in pay, to take into consideration the salary and benefits of other jurisdictions employing 75 or more full-time firefighters who work in California. This bill would require the state to bargain in good faith with firefighters who are rank-and-file members of State Bargaining Unit 8, employed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to reach a competitive range within 15% of the average salary for corresponding ranks in 20 California fire departments agreed to by the exclusive bargaining representative for Bargaining Unit 8 and the Department of Human Resources. The bill would require the state and the exclusive representative for State Bargaining Unit 8 to jointly survey the estimated average salaries for those 20 fire departments and report the findings, as provided. The bill would provide that nothing in the bill creates an entitlement to an automatic salary increase. The bill would require any salary increase for firefighters under these provisions to be implemented through a memorandum of understanding, in accordance with specified procedures governing collective bargaining agreements. The bill would include legislative findings and declarations related to its provisions.
(1) Under existing law, a person is prohibited from using or operating, on or near specified lands during a time of the year when burning permits are required, a motor engine, boiler, stationary equipment, welding equipment, cutting torches, tarpots, or grinding devices from which a spark, fire, or flame may originate without complying with specified requirements, including the requirement to maintain one serviceable round point shovel and one backpack pump water-type fire extinguisher fully equipped and ready for use at the immediate area during the operation. Existing law prohibits a person, except a member of an emergency crew or except the driver or owner of a service vehicle owned or operated by or for, or operated under contract with, a publicly or privately owned utility, as provided, from using or operating any vehicle, machine, tool, or equipment powered by an internal combustion engine operated on hydrocarbon fuels in an industrial operation located on specified land between April 1 and December 1 of any year, or at any other time when ground litter and vegetation will sustain combustion permitting the spread of fire, without providing and maintaining, for firefighting purposes only, suitable and serviceable tools in a fire toolbox in specified amounts, manners, and locations. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would revise and recast those provisions by, among other things, instead requiring a person to maintain at least one backpack pump-type fire extinguisher fully equipped and ready for use, and a sufficient number of serviceable round point shovels so that each person at the operation can be equipped to fight fire, within the operating area, at a point accessible in the event of fire. The bill would require these fire tools to be no farther than 25 feet from the motor, engine, boiler, stationary equipment, welding equipment, cutting torches, tarpots, or grinding devices, with unrestricted access for the operator. The bill would provide that these requirements do not apply to a person operating a motorized vehicle to work on, clear, or grade any land in or near specified lands during any time of the year when burning permits are required, and would instead require the person to have in or affixed to the motor vehicle and ready for immediate use one serviceable round point shovel and one fully equipped fire extinguisher. The bill would eliminate the above-described exception from these provisions for a member of an emergency crew and the driver and owner a service vehicle owned or operated by or for, or operated under contract with, a publicly or privately owned utility. For these purposes the bill would define a person to mean a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, for purposes of the above-described requirement to maintain at least one backpack pump-type fire extinguisher and a sufficient number of serviceable round point shovels, require the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (board) to define the terms "operating area" and "point accessible in the event of a fire," and to develop requirements for the provision of suitable firefighting tools, as applied to rangeland operations on rangeland conducted by a rangeland operator, as provided. This bill would, as applied to timber operations on timberland conducted by a timber operator, require the board to adopt emergency regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act that (A) define the terms "operating area" and "point accessible in the event of a fire," (B) define the necessary number and types of tools needed in the fire toolbox, and (C) develop requirements for clearing areas around the operation and for the provision of suitable firefighting tools, as provided. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating on specified lands an internal combustion engine and a handheld portable, multiposition, internal combustion engine, as provided. Existing law prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, leasing, or renting to a person an internal combustion engine unless the person provides a written notice to the purchaser or bailee, at the time of sale or at the time of entering into the lease or rental contract, stating that it is violation of law to use or operate the engine on specified types of land unless the engine is equipped with a spark arrester or the engine is constructed, equipped, and maintained for the prevention of fire, as provided. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law also prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, leasing, or renting any equipment powered by an internal combustion engine unless it has a permanent warning label attached that is in plain view to the operator that includes a specified warning. A violation of this provision is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more $100. This bill would, for purposes of the above-described provisions, define "person" to mean a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated program. (3) Existing law prohibits a person, during any time of the year when burning permits are required, as provided, from using, operating, or causing to be operated in the area a portable saw, augur, drill, tamper, or other portable tool powered by a gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine on or near specified land within 25 feet of any flammable material, without providing and maintaining at the immediate locations of use or operation of the saw or tool, for firefighting purposes, one serviceable round point shovel or one serviceable fire extinguisher, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would define a person for these purposes to mean a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law prohibits, during any time of the year when burning permits are required in specified areas, as provided, a person, copartnership, firm, corporation, or company from using or operating in the area a steam-operated engine, machine equipment, mill, or industrial plant, located on specified lands, without providing one adequate force pump or water under pressure equivalent to a pump, and not less than 200 feet of hose, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of this provision is a crime. This bill would instead apply the above-described prohibitions to a natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4442 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1167 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1167 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
