Sen. Lena Gonzalez

The California Constitution provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California, and federal law permanently enjoins the state from enforcing this constitutional provision. This measure would repeal this unenforceable constitutional provision and would instead provide that the right to marry is a fundamental right, as specified.

Existing law creates the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, known as "GO-Biz," and requires GO-Biz to serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Under existing law, GO-Biz is under the direct control of the Director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, who is responsible to the Governor. Existing law authorizes GO-Biz to undertake various activities relating to economic development, including the provision of prescribed information. Existing law requires the Transportation Agency to prepare a state freight plan that provides a comprehensive plan to govern the immediate and long-range planning activities and capital investments of the state with respect to the movement of freight. This bill would authorize GO-Biz to serve as the coordinating entity to steer the growth, competitiveness, and sustainability for freight and the supply chain across the state and to promote and assess the continued economic vitality, economic competitiveness, and sustainability of the freight sector. The bill would also authorize GO-Biz to provide freight and supply chain economic competitiveness information. This bill would require the Governor to appoint a freight coordinator with prescribed experience to serve as the advisory and coordinating entity for GO-Biz. The bill would require the freight coordinator to advise and coordinate policies that promote the growth, competitiveness, and sustainability for freight and the supply chain across the state, and to promote and assess the continued economic vitality and sustainability of the freight sector. The bill would require the freight coordinator to advocate for the implementation of these policies in the freight sector. The bill would require the freight coordinator to advise the Governor and director on issues affecting the state's freight and supply chain and on policy and administrative regulations affecting the state's freight and supply chain. The bill would require the freight coordinator to work directly with prescribed state entities as necessary to address and discuss ongoing freight and supply chain issues. The bill would authorize the freight coordinator, in consultation with the director, to establish and convene one or more stakeholder advisory groups to help inform the work of the freight coordinator in implementing their mission and duties. The bill would require the freight coordinator to undertake additional responsibilities relating to developing relevant information, goal setting, and making recommendations, as prescribed. The bill would also require the freight coordinator to participate in future updates to the California Freight Mobility Plan of the Department of Transportation and the AB 32 climate change scoping plan pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

This measure would proclaim October 5, 2023, as Latina Equal Pay Day in California, in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.

(1) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to assume the responsibilities of the United States Secretary of Transportation under the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and other federal environmental laws for any railroad, public transportation, or multimodal project undertaken by state agencies, as specified. Existing law provides that the State of California consents to the jurisdiction of the federal courts with regard to the compliance, discharge, or enforcement of these responsibilities. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2025. This bill would extend the above authorization to December 31, 2033. The bill would additionally authorize the Secretary of Transportation, consistent with, and subject to the requirements of, any memorandum of understanding between the state and federal government and upon the request of a local or regional agency with the authority to implement transportation projects, to assume responsibilities under the NEPA and other federal environmental laws for any railroad, local public transportation, or multimodal project implemented by the requesting local or regional agency. The bill would impose terms and conditions similar to those with respect to the above-described authority to assume those responsibilities for projects undertaken by state agencies, including providing consent for the jurisdiction of the federal courts, as provided. The bill would require the secretary to report to the transportation policy committees of the Legislature regarding the assumption of responsibilities under the NEPA requested by a local or regional agency by December 31, 2033. The bill would repeal these provisions on December 31, 2033. (2) Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to use the progressive design-build procurement process for the construction of up to 3 capital outlay projects, as jointly determined by the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance, and prescribes that process. Existing law defines "progressive design-build" as a project delivery process in which both the design and construction of a project are procured from a single entity that is selected through a qualifications-based selection at the earliest feasible stage of the project. Existing law, pursuant to the process, after selection of a design-build entity, authorizes the Department of General Services to contract for design and preconstruction services sufficient to establish a guaranteed maximum price, as defined. Existing law authorizes the department, upon agreement on a guaranteed maximum price, to amend the contract in its sole discretion, as specified. Existing law requires specified information to be verified under penalty of perjury. This bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Transportation (departments) to use the progressive design-build procurement process for the construction of up to 8 public works projects per department for a project that is estimated to exceed $25,000,000 in total price, and would prescribe that process. The bill would require each design-build entity, as defined, to submit specified information in a statement of qualifications that is to be verified under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would prescribe the process for the departments to determine which design-build entity offers the best value to the public for the design-build project, as defined. The bill would require the selected design-build entity to provide payment and performance bonds and errors and omissions insurance coverage, as specified. The bill would, pursuant to the process, authorize the departments to contract for design and preconstruction services sufficient to establish a guaranteed maximum price, as defined. Upon agreement on a guaranteed maximum price, the bill would authorize the departments to amend a contract, as specified. The bill would also authorize the departments to solicit additional proposals if the departments and the design-build entity are unable to reach an agreement on a guaranteed maximum price. The bill would require the departments to submit, on or before January 1, 2034, to the Legislature a report containing specified information regarding the public works projects, commenced before January 1, 2033, that used the progressive design-build procurement process. This bill would specify that the above provisions do not apply to procurement by the Department of Water Resources for the design or construction of through-Delta conveyance facilities of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or seawater desalination projects. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to improve and maintain state highways. The State Contract Act generally provides for a contracting process by state agencies for public works of improvement pursuant to a competitive bidding process, under which bids are awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, with specified alternative procurement procedures authorized in certain cases. Other existing law authorizes certain state and local agencies to engage in job order contracting, as prescribed. This bill, until December 31, 2033, would authorize the Department of Transportation to use job order contracting for certain transportation and public works projects, including, among others, those related to highway maintenance, installation of stormwater pollution control devices, and for facilities, systems, and traffic control devices needed to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as provided. The bill would require the department to establish a procedure to prequalify job order contractors and to prepare a set of documents for each job order contract, as provided. The bill would require the department to prepare a request for bids for job order contracts that invites job order contractors to submit sealed bids in the manner prescribed by the department. The bill would also authorize the department, notwithstanding those other procedures, to award job order contracts for contracts within a specified cost range after obtaining written bid submittals from 2 or more certified small businesses or from 2 or more disabled veteran business enterprises, as provided. This bill would authorize job order contracts to be executed for an initial contract term of no more than 12 months, with the option of extending or renewing the job order contract for 2 additional 12-month periods, as provided. The bill would require job order contractors to possess or obtain sufficient bonding and risk and liability insurance, as provided. The bill would require the department to publish, on or before July 1 of each year, until July 1, 2033, on its internet website regarding the status of all active job order contracts and those job order contracts that expired in the previous year, and to monitor job order contracts for compliance with federal and state labor laws. This bill would repeal the above-described provisions relating to job order contracting on December 31, 2033. (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. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation in the Transportation Agency. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. Under existing law, the California Workforce Development Board assists the Governor in the administration, promotion, and expansion of high road construction careers. This bill would require the Department of Transportation to work in partnership with the California Workforce Development Board to support California's high road construction careers program. The bill would require the department to reserve a minimum aggregate total of $50,000,000 of federal funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to be allocated over 4 years to support the program. (2) Existing law authorizes a public entity to use, enter into, or require contractors to enter into, a project labor agreement, as defined, for a construction project only if the agreement includes specified taxpayer protection provisions. Existing law authorizes the members of the governing board of a local public entity to choose by majority vote whether to use, enter into, or require contractors to enter into a project labor agreement that includes taxpayer protection provisions for a specific project or projects. This bill, on or after January 1, 2026, would authorize a state agency to use, enter into, or require contractors to enter into, a project labor agreement that applies to a project or set of projects with aggregate construction costs in excess of $35,000,000 only if the agreement also includes provisions to address community benefits, as described. (3) Existing law establishes specified procedures governing contracts between public entities and their contractors and subcontractors. Existing law also establishes the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Government Operations Agency, and the Transportation Agency within state government and sets forth their regulatory duties. This bill would require the above-described state agencies to convene relevant stakeholders to provide input on recommendations to establish material terms to be included as a material part of a contract. The bill would require these agencies to meet with those stakeholders in the process of developing recommendations, and to consult with specified state entities, including the Civil Rights Department, as prescribed. The bill would require those recommendations to be provided to the Governor and the Legislature by March 30, 2024, and also presented to the California Workforce Development Board in a regularly scheduled public meeting. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would designate the month of May 2023 as National Bike Month in California and would encourage Californians to ride bicycles for commuting and recreation, and California cities and counties to make streets safer for cycling.

This measure designates the month of April 2023 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and recognizes April 26, 2023, as "Denim Day" in California.

Existing law establishes the Middle Class Scholarship Program (MCSP) under the administration of the Student Aid Commission. Existing law makes an undergraduate student eligible for a scholarship award under the MCSP if the student is enrolled at the University of California or the California State University, or enrolled in upper division coursework in a community college baccalaureate program, and meets certain eligibility requirements. This bill would extend awards under the MCSP to community college students who are current or former foster youth pursuing transfer to a 4-year postsecondary educational institution, an associate degree, an associate degree for transfer, or a community college career technical education certificate and meet other MCSP requirements, as provided. The bill would require the commission to summarize the provisions of the MCSP that apply to these current or former foster youth and title those provisions as "The Fostering Futures Program" on a page on its internet website.