BILL NUMBER: AB 2907 CHAPTERED 09/30/06 CHAPTER 828 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2006 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2006 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2006 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2006 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2006 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member De La Torre FEBRUARY 24, 2006 An act to amend Sections 1742, 3073.2, 3099, 3099.2, and 3099.4 of the Labor Code, relating to employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2907, De La Torre Electrician apprenticeship. Existing law authorizes the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, through the California Apprenticeship Council, to adopt training criteria for certain apprenticeship programs, until January 1, 2007. This bill would continue the council's authority to adopt training criteria through January 1, 2012. This bill would also extend the sunset provisions for review of wage and penalty assessments by the Labor Commissioner until January 1, 2009. Existing law requires that the division establish an electrical certification curriculum committee comprised of members from the State Department of Education, community colleges, and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to establish written curriculum and standards for enrollees in the training program. This bill would require the committee to review curriculums and designate approved educational providers. The bill also requires educational providers in the program to submit an annual report to the committee. This bill would authorize the committee to grant approval to educational providers that offer only a partial curriculum, subject to certain disclosures, if the provider intends in the future to offer, or cooperates with other providers to offer, a full curriculum. Existing law provides a time limit for a person to become certified as an electrician, and permits the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to establish different certifications for different types of electrical work. This bill would extend the time in which a person may become certified as an electrician and would require the division to establish different certifications for specified types of electrical work. Existing law provides for the performance of electrical work by uncertified persons as long as they are registered with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, are under the direct supervision of a certified electrician, and are currently enrolled in a curriculum of classroom instruction approved by a curriculum committee and provided by an institution under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Education or the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. This bill would extend the entities under whose jurisdiction instruction may be provided to include the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 1742 of the Labor Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 685 of the Statutes of 2004, is amended to read: 1742. (a) An affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of a civil wage and penalty assessment under this chapter by transmitting a written request to the office of the Labor Commissioner that appears on the assessment within 60 days after service of the assessment. If no hearing is requested within 60 days after service of the assessment, the assessment shall become final. (b) Upon receipt of a timely request, a hearing shall be commenced within 90 days before the director, who shall appoint an impartial hearing officer possessing the qualifications of an administrative law judge pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11502 of the Government Code. The appointed hearing officer shall be an employee of the department, but shall not be an employee of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The contractor or subcontractor shall be provided an opportunity to review evidence to be utilized by the Labor Commissioner at the hearing within 20 days of the receipt of the written request for a hearing. Any evidence obtained by the Labor Commissioner subsequent to the 20-day cutoff shall be promptly disclosed to the contractor or subcontractor. The contractor or subcontractor shall have the burden of proving that the basis for the civil wage and penalty assessment is incorrect. The assessment shall be sufficiently detailed to provide fair notice to the contractor or subcontractor of the issues at the hearing. Within 45 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the director shall issue a written decision affirming, modifying, or dismissing the assessment. The decision of the director shall consist of a notice of findings, findings, and an order. This decision shall be served on all parties and the awarding body pursuant to Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure by first-class mail at the last known address of the party on file with the Labor Commissioner. Within 15 days of the issuance of the decision, the director may reconsider or modify the decision to correct an error, except that a clerical error may be corrected at any time. The director shall adopt regulations setting forth procedures for hearings under this subdivision. (c) An affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of the decision of the director by filing a petition for a writ of mandate to the appropriate superior court pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure within 45 days after service of the decision. If no petition for writ of mandate is filed within 45 days after service of the decision, the order shall become final. If it is claimed in a petition for writ of mandate that the findings are not supported by the evidence, abuse of discretion is established if the court determines that the findings are not supported by substantial evidence in the light of the whole record. (d) A certified copy of a final order may be filed by the Labor Commissioner in the office of the clerk of the superior court in any county in which the affected contractor or subcontractor has property or has or had a place of business. The clerk, immediately upon the filing, shall enter judgment for the state against the person assessed in the amount shown on the certified order. (e) A judgment entered pursuant to this section shall bear the same rate of interest and shall have the same effect as other judgments and shall be given the same preference allowed by law on other judgments rendered for claims for taxes. The clerk shall not charge for the service performed by him or her pursuant to this section. (f) An awarding body that has withheld funds in response to a civil wage and penalty assessment under this chapter shall, upon receipt of a certified copy of a final order that is no longer subject to judicial review, promptly transmit the withheld funds, up to the amount of the certified order, to the Labor Commissioner. (g) This section shall provide the exclusive method for review of a civil wage and penalty assessment by the Labor Commissioner under this chapter or the decision of an awarding body to withhold contract payments pursuant to Section 1771.5. (h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2009, and as of that date is repealed. SEC. 2. Section 1742 of the Labor Code, as amended by Section 3 of Chapter 685 of the Statutes of 2004, is amended to read: 1742. (a) An affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of a civil wage and penalty assessment under this chapter by transmitting a written request to the office of the Labor Commissioner that appears on the assessment within 60 days after service of the assessment. If no hearing is requested within 60 days after service of the assessment, the assessment shall become final. (b) (1) Upon receipt of a timely request, a hearing shall be commenced within 90 days before an administrative law judge appointed by the Director of Industrial Relations. The appointed hearing judge shall be an employee of the department, but shall not be an employee of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The contractor or subcontractor shall be provided an opportunity to review evidence to be utilized by the Labor Commissioner at the hearing within 20 days of the receipt of the written request for a hearing. Any evidence obtained by the Labor Commissioner subsequent to the 20-day cutoff shall be promptly disclosed to the contractor or subcontractor. (2) The contractor or subcontractor shall have the burden of proving that the basis for the civil wage and penalty assessment is incorrect. The assessment shall be sufficiently detailed to provide fair notice to the contractor or subcontractor of the issues at the hearing. (3) Within 45 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the administrative law judge shall issue a written decision affirming, modifying, or dismissing the assessment. The decision of the administrative law judge shall consist of a notice of findings, findings, and an order. This decision shall be served on all parties and the awarding body pursuant to Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure by first-class mail at the last known address of the party on file with the Labor Commissioner. Within 15 days of the issuance of the decision, the administrative law judge may reconsider or modify the decision to correct an error, except that a clerical error may be corrected at any time. (4) The Director of Industrial Relations shall adopt regulations setting forth procedures for hearings under this subdivision. (c) An affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of the decision of the administrative law judge by filing a petition for a writ of mandate to the appropriate superior court pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure within 45 days after service of the decision. If no petition for writ of mandate is filed within 45 days after service of the decision, the order shall become final. If it is claimed in a petition for writ of mandate that the findings are not supported by the evidence, abuse of discretion is established if the court determines that the findings are not supported by substantial evidence in the light of the whole record. (d) A certified copy of a final order may be filed by the Labor Commissioner in the office of the clerk of the superior court in any county in which the affected contractor or subcontractor has property or has or had a place of business. The clerk, immediately upon the filing, shall enter judgment for the state against the person assessed in the amount shown on the certified order. (e) A judgment entered pursuant to this section shall bear the same rate of interest and shall have the same effect as other judgments and shall be given the same preference allowed by law on other judgments rendered for claims for taxes. The clerk shall not charge for the service performed by him or her pursuant to this section. (f) An awarding body that has withheld funds in response to a civil wage and penalty assessment under this chapter shall, upon receipt of a certified copy of a final order that is no longer subject to judicial review, promptly transmit the withheld funds, up to the amount of the certified order, to the Labor Commissioner. (g) This section shall provide the exclusive method for review of a civil wage and penalty assessment by the Labor Commissioner under this chapter or the decision of an awarding body to withhold contract payments pursuant to Section 1771.5. (h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2009. SEC. 3. Section 3073.2 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 3073.2. (a) The California Apprenticeship Council may adopt industry-specific training criteria for use by apprenticeship programs subject to the requirements of this chapter. The adoption of those criteria, as established following notice and a workshop pursuant to Section 212.01 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, is not subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (b) Audits conducted by the division pursuant to Section 3073.1 shall ensure that any applicable training criteria established pursuant to this section are followed. (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2012, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 4. Section 3099 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 3099. (a) The Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall do all of the following: (1) On or before July 1, 2001, establish and validate minimum standards for the competency and training of electricians through a system of testing and certification. (2) On or before March 1, 2000, establish an advisory committee and panels as necessary to carry out the functions under this section. There shall be contractor representation from both joint apprenticeship programs and unilateral nonunion programs in the electrical contracting industry. (3) On or before July 1, 2001, establish fees necessary to implement this section. (4) On or before July 1, 2001, establish and adopt regulations to enforce this section. (5) Issue certification cards to electricians who have been certified pursuant to this section. Fees collected pursuant to paragraph (3) are continuously appropriated in an amount sufficient to pay the costs of issuing certification cards, and that amount may be expended for that purpose by the division. (6) On or before July 1, 2003, establish an electrical certification curriculum committee comprised of representatives of the State Department of Education, the California Community Colleges, and the division. The electrical certification curriculum committee shall do all of the following: (A) Establish written educational curriculum standards for enrollees in training programs established pursuant to Section 3099.4. (B) If an educational provider's curriculum meets the written educational curriculum standards established in accordance with subparagraph (A), designate that curriculum as an approved curriculum of classroom instruction. (C) At the committee's discretion, review the approved curriculum of classroom instruction of any designated educational provider. The committee may withdraw its approval of the curriculum if the educational provider does not continue to meet the established written educational curriculum standards. (D) Require each designated educational provider to submit an annual notice to the committee stating whether the educational provider is continuing to offer the approved curriculum of classroom instruction and whether any material changes have been made to the curriculum since its approval. (b) There shall be no discrimination for or against any person based on membership or nonmembership in a union. (c) As used in this section, "electricians" includes all persons who engage in the connection of electrical devices for electrical contractors licensed pursuant to Section 7058 of the Business and Professions Code, specifically, contractors classified as electrical contractors in the Contractors' State License Board Rules and Regulations. This section does not apply to electrical connections under 100 volt-amperes. This section does not apply to persons performing work to which Section 7042.5 of the Business and Professions Code is applicable, or to electrical work ordinarily and customarily performed by stationary engineers. This section does not apply to electrical work in connection with the installation, operation, or maintenance of temporary or portable electrical equipment performed by technicians in the theatrical, motion picture production, television, hotel, exhibition, or trade show industries. SEC. 5. Section 3099.2 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 3099.2. (a) (1) Persons who perform work as electricians shall become certified pursuant to Section 3099 by the deadline specified in this subdivision. After the applicable deadline, uncertified persons may not perform electrical work for which certification is required. (2) The deadline for certification as a general electrician or fire/life safety technician is January 1, 2006, except that persons who applied for certification prior to January 1, 2006, have until January 1, 2007, to pass the certification examination. The deadline for certification as a residential electrician is January 1, 2007, and the deadline for certification as a voice data video technician or a nonresidential lighting technician is January 1, 2008. The California Apprenticeship Council may extend the certification date for any of these three categories of electricians up to January 1, 2009, if the council concludes that the existing deadline will not provide persons sufficient time to obtain certification, enroll in an apprenticeship or training program, or register pursuant to Section 3099.4. (3) For purposes of any continuing education or recertification requirement, individuals who become certified prior to the deadline for certification shall be treated as having become certified on the first anniversary of their certification date that falls after the certification deadline. (b) Certification is required only for those persons who perform work as electricians for contractors licensed as class C-10 electrical contractors under the Contractors' State License Board Rules and Regulations. Certification is not required for persons performing work for contractors licensed as class C-7 low voltage systems or class C-45 electric sign contractors as long as the work performed is within the scope of the class C-7 or class-45 license, including incidental and supplemental work as defined in Section 7059 of the Business and Professions Code, and regardless of whether the same contractor is also licensed as a class C-10 contractor. (c) The division shall establish separate certifications for general electrician, fire/life safety technician, residential electrician, voice data video technician, and nonresidential lighting technician. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), certification is not required for registered apprentices performing electrical work as part of an apprenticeship program approved under this chapter, a federal Bureau of Apprenticeship Training program, or a state apprenticeship program authorized by the federal Bureau of Apprenticeship Training. An apprentice who is within one year of completion of his or her term of apprenticeship shall be permitted to take the certification examination and, upon passing the examination, shall be certified immediately upon completion of the term of apprenticeship. (e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), certification is not required for any person employed pursuant to Section 3099.4. (f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), certification is not required for a nonresidential lighting trainee (1) who is enrolled in an on-the-job instructional training program approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards pursuant to Section 3090, and (2) who is under the onsite supervision of a nonresidential lighting technician certified pursuant to Section 3099. (g) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the qualifying person for a class C-10 electrical contractor license issued by the Contractors State License Board need not also be certified pursuant to Section 3099 to perform electrical work for that licensed contractor or to supervise an uncertified person employed by that licensed contractor pursuant to Section 3099.4. (h) For the purposes of this section, "electricians" has the same meaning as the definition set forth in Section 3099. SEC. 6. Section 3099.4 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 3099.4. (a) After the deadline for certification, an uncertified person may perform electrical work for which certification is required under Section 3099 in order to acquire the necessary on-the-job experience for certification, if all of the following requirements are met: (1) The person is registered with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. A list of current registrants shall be maintained by the division and made available to the public upon request. (2) The person either has completed or is enrolled in an approved curriculum of classroom instruction. (3) The employer attests that the person shall be under the direct supervision of an electrician certified pursuant to Section 3099 who is responsible for supervising no more than one uncertified person. An employer who is found by the division to have failed to provide adequate supervision may be barred by the division from employing uncertified individuals pursuant to this section in the future. (b) For purposes of this section, an "approved curriculum of classroom instruction" means a curriculum of classroom instruction approved by the electrician certification curriculum committee established pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 3099 and provided under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Education, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, or the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. (c) The curriculum committee may grant approval to an educational provider that presently offers only a partial curriculum if the educational provider intends in the future to offer, or to cooperate with other educational providers to offer, a complete curriculum for the type of certification involved. The curriculum committee may require an educational provider receiving approval for a partial curriculum to periodically renew its approval with the curriculum committee until a complete curriculum is offered and approved. A partial curriculum means a combination of classes that do not include all classroom educational components of the complete curriculum for one of the categories of certification established in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 3099.2. (d) An educational provider that receives approval for a partial curriculum must disclose in all communications to students and to the public that the educational provider has only received approval for a partial curriculum and shall not make any representations that the provider offers a complete approved curriculum of classroom instruction as established by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 3099. (e) For purposes of this section, a person is "enrolled" in an approved curriculum of classroom instruction if the person is attending classes on a full-time or part-time basis toward the completion of an approved curriculum. (f) Registration under this section shall be renewed annually and the registrant shall provide to the division certification of the classwork completed and on-the-job experience acquired since the prior registration. (g) For purposes of verifying the information provided by a person registered with the division, an educational provider of an approved curriculum of classroom instruction shall, upon the division's request, provide the division with information regarding the enrollment status and instruction completed by a person registered. By registering with the division in accordance with this section, a person consents to the release of this information. (h) The division shall establish registration fees necessary to implement this section, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) for the initial registration. There shall be no fee for annual renewal of registration. Fees collected are continuously appropriated in an amount sufficient to administer this section and that amount may be expended by the division for this purpose. (i) The division shall issue regulations to implement this section. (j) For purposes of Section 1773, persons employed pursuant to this section do not constitute a separate craft, classification, or type of worker. (k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an uncertified person who has completed an approved curriculum of classroom instruction and is currently registered with the division may take the certification examination. The person shall be certified upon passing the examination and satisfactorily completing the requisite number of on-the-job hours required for certification. A person who passes the examination prior to completing the requisite hours of on-the-job experience shall continue to comply with subdivision (f).