CalChamber Status Update Report on Major Legislation for Business
The following list summarizes top priority bills for the California Chamber of Commerce and their status as of July 16, when the Legislature began its summer recess.
Within each subject area, the list presents bills in order of priority with the highest priorities at the top.
The CalChamber will publish a second status report in September, showing the status of priority legislation when the Legislature begins its interim recess on September 10.
October 10 is the last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature before September 10 and in the Governor’s possession on or after September 10.
The CalChamber will publish its final status report, showing the ultimate fate of bills sent to the Governor this year, in October.
Bills signed by the Governor will become law on January 1, 2022. Urgency, tax and budget-related measures go into effect immediately upon being signed. In those cases, the date the Governor signed the bill is noted.
Each fall, the CalChamber publishes a record of legislators’ votes on key bills affecting the California business climate. Generally, the bills selected for the vote record have appeared in one of the status reports. This year’s vote record is scheduled to be published on November 5.
Status of legislative action on bills as of July 16, 2021. Dates listed are the date the bill was assigned to a committee, the latest date of committee action, the next hearing date or when the bill reached the Senate or Assembly floor, unless action is stated.
Download a print-friendly pdf of the Status Report here.
Workplace Safety
Selective Exception from Thorough Financial Analysis for Cal/OSHA Regulations. SB 410 (Leyva; D-Chino) Specifically exempts Cal/OSHA regulations from the Standardized Regulatory Impact Analysis (SRIA) process, which provides thorough economic analysis and Department of Finance oversight for proposed regulations and is presently applicable to all regulations with a financial impact of more than $50 million. Oppose.
Assembly Floor 7/8/21
New Private Right of Action, PAGA Litigation, and Regulations for Warehouses. AB 701 (Lorena Gonzalez; D-San Diego) Threatens warehouse employers with duplicative costly litigation by creating a duplicative and likely inconsistent regulation from Cal/OSHA regarding appropriate performance levels in warehouses. Also creates rebuttable presumption of retaliation that can be triggered multiple times which will interfere with legitimate discipline, as well as creating a new Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim related to warehouse work speed. Job killer tag removed due to July 15, 2021 amendments narrowing the application of the bill on multiple fronts, including PAGA litigation and injunctive relief. Oppose/Former Job Killer.
Senate Appropriations 7/15/21
Expansion of Cal/OSHA Authority and Enforcement. SB 606 (Lena Gonzalez; D-Long Beach) Significantly expands Cal/OSHA authority by creating new “egregious employer” category in Labor Code, creates a new category of “enterprise-wide” citations that face higher citation amounts based on, at times, evidence at only one location. Job killer tag removed due to March 25, 2021 amendments limiting certain overbroad provisions, but CalChamber remains opposed due to structural changes to Cal/OSHA enforcement. Oppose/Former Job Killer.
Assembly Appropriations 7/6/21
Shaming List of Businesses with Prior COVID-19 Outbreaks. AB 654 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Requires the California Department of Public Health to post a list of all sites at which a COVID-19 outbreak occurs in the state, creating a scarlet letter for businesses, despite their inability to prevent employees from catching COVID-19 outside the workplace and triggering an outbreak. Oppose.
Assembly Floor 7/15/21
Fair Notice for Local Public Health Orders. SB 336 (Ochoa Bogh; R-Yucaipa) Requires publication of local public health orders and creation of an email list for stakeholders to ensure they are kept apprised of any changes. Sponsor/Co-Sponsor
Assembly Appropriations 7/8/21
Joint Liability Related to OSHA Citations for Drayage Drivers. Additional Joint and Several Liability for Port Drayage Carriers. SB 338 (Lena Gonzalez; D-Long Beach) Adds to existing published list of drayage motor carriers subject to joint and several liability due to unsatisfied judgments by adding certain other misconduct which would also place a drayage carrier on the list and therefore make them qualify for joint and several liability related to certain health- and safety-related offenses. Opposition removed due to June 14, 2021 amendments ensuring that any business placed on the list and subject to joint and several liability was able to efficiently appeal and ensuring that affected companies could be quickly removed once the issues were resolved. Neutral.
Assembly Appropriations 7/14/21