2017 Legislative Report
September 2017
The Legislature adjourned the first year of the 2017–2018 Legislative Session at about 3 a.m. Saturday, September 16, 2017. Below are bills of particular interest that were dealt with during the first year of Session, which began January 4, 2017. Legislation that passed out of the Assembly and Senate were sent to the Governor and await his action. The Governor has until October 15, 2017 to sign or veto legislation presented to him.
2017 Legislation
AB 5: (Gonzalez-Fletcher): Employers: Opportunity to Work Act
Summary: Would create the Opportunity to Work Act. The Act would require an employer with 10 or more employees to offer additional hours of work to an existing nonexempt employee before hiring an additional employee or subcontractor, would require an employer to post a notice of employee rights, and would require the employer to maintain certain documentation. The bill would authorize an employee to file a complaint for violation of these provisions with the division and to, in the alternative, bring a civil action for remedies under the Act.
Outcome: Held in the Assembly.
AB 450 (Chiu): Employment regulation: immigration worksite enforcement actions.
Summary: Would impose various requirements on public and private employers with regard to federal immigration agency immigration worksite enforcement actions. Except as otherwise required by federal law, the bill would prohibit an employer or other person acting on the employer’s behalf from providing voluntary consent to an immigration enforcement agent to enter nonpublic areas of a place of labor unless the agent provides a judicial warrant, except as specified. Except as required by federal law, the bill would prohibit an employer or other person acting on the employer’s behalf from providing voluntary consent to an immigration enforcement agent to access, review, or obtain the employer’s employee records without a subpoena or court order, subject to a specified exception.
Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 53–22; Passed out of the Senate 27–10.
AB 1565 (Thurmond): Work Hours: Overtime Compensation: Executive, Administrative, or Professional Employees
Summary: Current law, with certain exceptions, establishes 8 hours as a day’s work and a 40-hour workweek, and requires payment of prescribed overtime compensation for additional hours worked. This bill would exempt from overtime compensation an executive, administrative, or professional employee, if the employee earns a monthly salary equivalent to either $3,956 or an amount no less than twice the state minimum wage for full-time employment, as defined, whichever amount is higher.
Outcome: Held in the Senate.
AB 1605 (Caballero): Maximum Contaminant Level: Nitrate: Replacement Water
Summary: The California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the state board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health and vests with the state board specified responsibilities. This bill would prohibit a person or entity providing replacement water, as defined, to address drinking water that exceeds the maximum contaminant level for nitrate in groundwater from being deemed to have caused pollution or a nuisance, or from being liable for negligence or trespass, if certain conditions are met.
Outcome: Held in the Assembly.
SB 258 (Lara): Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017.
Summary: Current law regulates the existence of, and disclosure of, specified chemicals and components in consumer products, including phthalates and bisphenol A. This bill would require a manufacturer of a designated product, as defined, that is sold in the state to disclose on the product label and on the product’s Internet Web site information related to chemicals contained in the designated product, as specified.
Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 55–15; Passed out the Senate 27–13.
SB 602 (Allen): Pesticides: Neonicotinoids: Labeling
Summary: Would, on and after July 1, 2018, require labeling of commercially available seeds and plants sold at retail establishments, excluding noxious weed seeds and plants that have been treated with a neonicotinoid pesticide. The bill would specify that a violation of this requirement is not a crime but would constitute an unfair and unlawful business act or practice.
Outcome: Held in the Senate.
SB 623 (Monning): Water Quality: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund
Summary: Would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and imposes water, fertilizer and dairy fees to fund safe drinking water programs. Imposes a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fee (water fee) on each customer of a public water system; a $0.005 per dollar of sale Fertilizer Safe Drinking Water Fee (fertilizer fee) on all fertilizer materials to be paid by licensees who sell or distribute bulk fertilizer until January 1, 2033 and $0.002 per dollar of sale after; and a $0.01355 per hundredweight of milk Dairy Safe Drinking Water Fee (dairy fee) by requiring every milk handler already subject to specified regulatory milk fees from January 1, 2020 through January 1, 2035, to deduct this amount from payments made to producers of milk. Requires the Secretary of CDFA to adopt regulations to implement and enforce dairy fee by January 1, 2020. Prohibits SWRCB or regional water quality boards from specified enforcement actions against agricultural operations for exceeding nitrate groundwater objectives or other groundwater pollution standards as specified if the operation demonstrates certain mitigation requirements are met, including the timely payment of the fertilizer or dairy fee until January 1, 2033.
Outcome: Held in the Assembly.
Cap and Trade:
SB 775 (Wieckowski): California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: market-based compliance mechanisms
Summary: Would extend the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 which designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Would eliminate the offset program under the current C&T Program and would prohibit any future offset programs thus requiring covered entities to reduce emissions.
Outcome: Held in the Senate.
AB 151 (Burke): California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: market-based compliance mechanisms: scoping plan: report
Summary: Would require CARB to report to the Legislature to receive input, guidance, and assistance before adopting guidelines and regulations implementing SB 32. Would establish the Compliance Offsets Protocol Task Force, consisting of stakeholders, to investigate, analyze, and provide guidance to ARB in approving new offset protocols, with a priority on the development of new urban offset protocols
Outcome: Held in the Assembly.
AB 378 (Garcia, Christina): Greenhouse gases, criteria air pollutants, and toxic air contaminants
Summary: Would give CARB authority to regulate criteria pollutants through the Cap and Trade Program. Would eliminate free allowances for facilities that do not meet air pollution emission standards and require CARB, when it adopts regulations to achieve GHG emission reductions beyond the 2020 statewide limit, to consider social costs and prioritize direct emission reductions at facilities. This is also known as command and control.
Outcome: Held in the Assembly.
AB 398 (Garcia, Eduardo): California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: market-based compliance mechanisms: fire prevention fees: sales and use tax manufacturing
Summary: Maintains current industry assistance levels at 100% for the life of the Program to help food processors affordably comply with California’s GHG reduction mandate and establishes a price ceiling to contain the cost of the sale of allowances purchased by food processors to meet their compliance obligations and limit the increased cost of the Cap and Trade Program to the agricultural industry and consumers. Develops a Compliance Offset Protocol Task Force to create new offset opportunities in California, including in the agricultural industry. Prioritizes spending of money collected through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund by creating a specific order of projects to prioritize, starting with reducing air pollutants from stationary and mobile sources, sustainable agriculture and short lived climate pollutants. Many projects in the agricultural industry such as tractor trade up programs, dairy digesters and food processing upgrades could qualify for these funds. Suspends the state fire fee, also known as the SRA fee, through 2030 and then repeals it as of January 1, 2031. Extends and expands the Manufacturing Sales and Use Tax Exemption for an additional eight years and expands its coverage to include equipment used in for renewable energy production, storage and distribution. In addition, if any of these manufacturing, R&D, or renewable energy activities occurs in an agricultural setting, the equipment would now qualify for an exemption.
Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 55–22; Passed out of the Senate 28–12; Chaptered July 25, 2017.
AB 617 (Garcia, Christina): Nonvehicular air pollution: criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants
Summary: Would require the State Air Resources Board to develop a uniform statewide system of annual reporting of emissions of criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants for use by certain categories of stationary sources. The bill would require those stationary sources to report their annual emissions of criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants.
Outcome: Passed the Assembly 50–24; Passed the Senate 27–13; Chaptered July 26, 2017.
AB 109 (Ting): Budget Act of 2017
Summary: Allocated funding for emission reductions including:
- $250 million for Carl Moyer program funding for the South Coast, San Joaquin Valley, and Bay Area Air Quality management districts;
Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 75–4; Passed out of the Senate 31–9; Chaptered September 16, 2017.
AB 134 (Committee on Budget): Budget Act of 2017
Summary: Allocated funding for emission reductions including:
- $99 million for methane reduction programs, including dairy digesters research and development and alternative manure management programs;
- $60 million for energy efficiency funding for agricultural entities, including food processors;
- $6 million for renewable energy projects related to agriculture;
- $50 million for agricultural diesel replacement and upgrades, of which $35 million is from the Alternative and Renewable Fuels and Vehicle Technology Fund and $15 million is from Air Quality Improvement Fund;
Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 58–19; Passed out of the Senate 28–9; Chaptered September 16, 2017.
Transportation Tax:
SB 1 (Beall): Transportation funding.
Summary: Would create the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. The bill would require the California Transportation Commission to adopt performance criteria, consistent with a specified asset management plan, to ensure efficient use of certain funds available for the program.
- Increases the excise tax on gasoline by $0.12 per gallon, starting November 1, 2017.
- Increases the excise tax on diesel fuel by $0.20 per gallon, starting November 1, 2017.
- Increases the sales tax on diesel fuels by an additional 4% increment, starting November 1, 2017.
- Creates a new annual Transportation Improvement Fee (TIF), starting January 1, 2018, based on the market value of the vehicle with the fee range described below:
- $25 per year for vehicles with a market value of $0 – $4,999;
- $50 per year for vehicles with a market value of $5,000 – $24,999;
- $100 per year for vehicles with a market value of $25,000 – $34,999;
- $150 per year for vehicles with a market value of $35,000 – $59,999; and,
- $175 per year for vehicles with a market value of $60,000 and higher
- Creates the Road Improvement Fee of $100 per vehicles for Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV)s, as defined, starting in 2020 for model year 2020 and later.
Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 54–26; Passed out of the Senate 27–11; Chaptered April 30, 2017.
If you have any questions about the legislation summarized above, please do not hesitate to contact us.