2012 Government Affairs and Legislative Program

Transcription

1 2012 Government Affairs and Legislative Program Associated General Contractors (AGC) The California Chapters The AGC Legislative Committee met on October 21, 2011, and is recommending the following Legislative Program for the 2012 Legislative Year, the second year of the Legislative Session. Type I Indemnity SB 474 (Evans) One of Governor Jerry Brown s final acts before the midnight October 9 deadline was his signing of SB 474 (Evans), which eliminates the use of Type I Indemnity Agreements between general contractors and their subcontractors effective January, AGC had requested that the Governor veto the bill to allow for further negotiations on the basis that the bill contained several fundamental drafting errors that should have been corrected. The Governor signed SB 474 with no mention of directing the parties to continue discussions. The Legislative Committee is recommending that AGC draft corrective legislation for 2012 to address the significant flaws in SB 474 that will, if not remedied, do the following: Unfairly shift liability to general contractors with no ability to obtain proper insurance from the subcontractor in the case of default or bankruptcy; Create unnecessary areas of litigation by citing in one section that a general contractor is not responsible for a public entity s or private owner s active negligence; yet, in another section, there is a provision which on its face, appears to contradict the intent of those provisions requiring a general contractor to cover a public agency s or owner s active negligence; Interject an untested system of handling disputes between multiple parties to a construction lawsuit that creates inherent conflicts of interest for counsel. Legislative Advocates: David Ackerman Paul Gladfelty Jamie Khan SB 474 was significantly amended on the last day for bills to be amended in the Assembly, and the amendments were not subject to any public hearing or discussion. Introduction of legislation will allow these issues to be discussed in a public forum to hopefully be resolved K Street Suite 750 Sacramento, CA (916) (916) Fax

2 Page2 Public Works Project Labor Agreement Legislation (Follow-up to the signing of AB 436 and SB 922) and Labor Compliance Programs - Implementation of SB 9 X2 (Padilla) - AGC will work with the Department of Industrial Relations and monitor the implementation of SB 922 (Steinberg), AB 436 (Solorio) and SB 9 X2 (Padilla) relating to labor compliance enforcement and project labor agreements. State Infrastructure Bonds Bond Sale Status - AGC will continue to work with the Governor s Office and Treasurer s Office to push for continued General Obligation Bond sales to fund the infrastructure projects approved by the voters. Prequalification on School Construction - AGC will support SB 600 (Rubio) to provide for prequalification of prime contractors and mechanical and electrical subcontractors on school construction projects. Infrastructure Local Agency Public Private Partnerships Authority - SB 475 (Wright) - Clarifies the procedures for local agencies to enter into public private partnership projects (P3). AGC will work with the author and other supporters of SB 475 to secure its enactment. The bill originally failed passage in Assembly Local Government Committee due to opposition from public sector unions and the State Building Trades. Reconsideration was granted, and the bill will be heard in committee again in Future Infrastructure Funding - SB 907 (Evans) - Creates the Master Plan for Infrastructure Financing and Development Commission. This bill is sponsored by the State Treasurer, and AGC has been asked to be a principal supporter of the legislation. Liberty Quarry - AB 742 (Lowenthal) - Prohibits operation of Liberty Quarry by Granite Construction near the City of Temecula. AB 742 is a two-year bill, and AGC will continue to be in strong opposition when the legislation is considered again in the Senate. CEQA: Land Use & Transportation - AB 605 (Dickinson) - Would require the drafting of guidelines to reduce vehicle miles traveled in regards to new development projects. AGC is currently opposed to AB 605, and the author has postponed discussion on the legislation until He has invited interested parties, including AGC, to discuss the issues raised by the proposed legislation. Build California Bonds - SB 867 (Padilla) - Permits the California Transportation Financing Authority to issue nonrefundable tax credit bonds to fund the construction of local transportation projects. AGC was asked by the author to support SB 867 and testified at a Los Angeles hearing in favor of the bill in 2011.

3 Page3 Future Infrastructure Funding - AGC will continue its effort to encourage the Governor and Legislature to focus on rebuilding California's aging public infrastructure by seeking long-term financial commitments, as well as working with Transportation California on seeking long-term solutions concerning the financing of California s transportation infrastructure. Employer-Employee/Labor Issues AGC will coordinate and work with other employer organizations, including the California Chamber of Commerce, to oppose and/or amend the following legislation that will be under consideration in 2012: CalOSHA Appeals Board - SB 829 (DeSaulnier) - Revises various provisions regarding citations issued by CalOSHA. Family and Medical Leave - AB 59 (Swanson) - Increases the circumstances under which an employee is entitled to protected leave. Employment: Paid Sick Days - AB 400 (Ma) - Provides that an employee who works in California for 7 or more days in a calendar year is entitled to paid sick days, which shall be accrued at a rate of no less than 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Employment Safety: Hazardous Materials - AB 553 (Monning) - Declares the findings of the Legislature regarding the rights of workers to be protected from exposure to hazardous substances and toxic materials in the workplace. Employment Records: Right to Inspect - AB 1399 (Committee on Labor and Employment) - Requires an employer to maintain personnel records for a specified period of time, and to provide a current or former employee an opportunity to inspect and make copies of those records within a specified period of time. Payroll Cards - SB 931 (Evans) - This bill was vetoed, but there will be a follow-up bill on the issue of employee fees on the use of payroll cards. Medical Marijuana - SB 129 (Leno) - Prohibits the discrimination of employee use of medical marijuana. Recovery of Wages: Liquidated Damages - AB 197 (Monning) - Increases the amount that may be awarded to twice the unpaid wages and interest.

4 Page4 Taxation Sales Tax: Fixed Price Contracts - AB 780 (Calderon) (sponsored by AGC) is currently a two-year bill and would protect contractors holding fixed price contracts from having to absorb an increase in the sales tax. AGC will monitor any discussions concerning possible increases in the state sales tax and seek to insert provisions into any tax proposal similar to the exemptions that were part of the sales tax that was enacted in 1989 and Authorization for Local Taxation - SBX1 23 (Steinberg) - AGC will participate in a coalition of business associations to oppose SB 653, which would authorize the governing board of any county or city, any school district, any community college district and any county office of education subject to constitutional and voter approval requirements, to levy, increase or extend a local personal income tax, transactions and use tax, vehicle license fee and excise tax, including, but not limited to, an alcoholic beverages tax, a cigarette and tobacco products tax, a sweetened beverage tax, and an oil severance tax. Property Taxation: Change in Ownership/Split Roll - AB 448 (Ammiano) - AGC will continue to oppose legislation that will allow for a split property tax roll to allow commercial property to be reassessed for tax purposes. Environmental Storm Water Runoff - AGC will continue working with the Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality, the California Building Industry Association and their coalition partners to review and comment on regulations at the State Water Resources Control Board on the permits for storm water runoff. Air Quality Issues: Diesel Retrofit - AGC will continue to coordinate with the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition on legislation that impacts the California Air Resources Board. Future Legislative Proposals Contractor Continuing Education Requirements - AGC will research and prepare a legislative proposal to provide for continuing education requirements in order to maintain a contractor s license.

5 Page5 Prompt Pay Revisions - Continuing research will be done to draft legislation for the Legislative Session relating to prompt payment on public works projects. The Public Contract Code would be amended to 1) reduce the amount of time public agencies have to make progress payments to contractors after receipt of a properly submitted and undisputed payment request from 30 days to 15 days, 2) increase the penalty charged to a public agency to 2% per month, 3) reduce the amount of time to release retention from 60 to 35 days and 4) allow contractors to be entitled to attorney s fees to enforce these provisions. Design-Build Modify and Conform statutes - AGC will support legislation that will be researched and drafted by the Design-Build Institute of America to standardize the 28 different design-build statutes enacted in California over the last 20 years. Political Activity Political Grass Roots - AGC will continue to expand the AGC Legislative and Political Grassroots Program. In 2012, legislators will be running in new reapportioned legislative districts and the impact of the Open - Top Two primary will have full impact on all legislative elections. These issues, as well as the result from term limits requires continued active involvement from AGC s members and staff to establish "key contacts" between legislators and contractor members. AGC will also continue taking steps to increase visibility with the Governor and the state administration to establish AGC as the leader and organization within the construction industry to be consulted with concerning legislation and regulatory issues.