CalChamber Stops 4 Job Killers, Gets Changes to Remove Tag from Another

Four California Chamber of Commerce-opposed job killer bills are likely dead for the session, having failed to advance to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for a vote. In addition, a fifth bill was amended recently to remove the job killer tag.

April 27 was the deadline for all policy committees to hear and report any relevant legislation to the Assembly and Senate Appropriations committees.

Missed Deadline

• AB 1745 (Ting; D-San Francisco) Vehicle Ban: Would have banned the sale of combustion engine vehicles in the state by prohibiting the registration of a new vehicle in the state after 2040 unless it was a zero-emission vehicle. Failed deadline. Assembly Transportation Committee, 04/27/18.

• AB 2527 (Muratsuchi; D-Torrance) Costly Litigation Against Small Employers: Would have exposed small businesses who were seeking financial investors in their company to devastating class action litigation by banning the use of arbitration agreements, which is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act, prohibiting class action waivers, allowing for the award of treble damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees, and interfered with contractual negotiations between sophisticated parties by dictating the choice of forum and choice of law for such litigation. Failed deadline. Assembly Business and Finance Committee, 04/27/18.

• AB 2571 (Gonzalez Fletcher; D-San Diego) Public Employee Retirement Systems Investment Policy: Sought to publicly shame investment managers and the hospitality companies in which they invest, by forcing them to submit an annual report subject to a public review, that disclosed employee wage information according to gender, ethnicity, and race, exposing such companies to costly litigation. Failed deadline. Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee, 04/27/18.

• AB 2765 (Low; D-Campbell) Portable Benefits for The Gig Economy: Would have imposed onerous and costly mandates on companies in the gig economy labeled as the “digital marketplace” by adding them under the provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), expanding the protected classifications under FEHA for contractors of the digital marketplace to include “familial status,” and created further confusion and uncertainty regarding the use and classification of independent contractors. These new mandates would have dramatically increased the amount of frivolous litigation under FEHA and the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for the digital marketplace. Failed deadline. Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, 04/27/18.

Job Killer Tag Removed

As a result of April 26 amendments, CalChamber has removed AB 2447 (Reyes; D-Grand Terrace) from the job killer list, but remains opposed.

Before the amendments, the bill would have invited more litigation and increased the complexity and cost of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by forcing lead agencies to make a no discrimination finding before certifying an environmental impact report or adopting a negative declaration for a project.

CalChamber remains opposed to AB 2447 because the bill fundamentally changes how CEQA has operated for more than four decades with substantial fiscal and practical impacts.

Next Deadline

The next significant deadline for job killing legislation is May 11, which is the last day for policy committees to hear and report nonfiscal legislation to the floor for consideration by the entire Assembly or Senate.