BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2537
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2008

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mark Leno, Chair

               AB 2537 (Furutani) - As Introduced:  February 21, 2008 

          Policy Committee:                              Labor and  
          Employment   Vote:                            8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  


          This bill extends, from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2012, the  
          prevailing wage exemption for work performed by a volunteer,  
          volunteer coordinator, members of the California Conservation  
          Corp, and certified Community Conservation Corps. 


           FISCAL EFFECT


           The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) indicates that  
          extending the sunset will result in the avoidance of significant  
          enforcement related cost increases that will occur if the  
          present volunteer exemption expires. 


           COMMENTS


          1)Background  . Existing law generally requires that prevailing  
            wages be paid to all workers employed on public works. An  
            exemption is provided, however, for volunteers and California  
            Conservation Corps members working on projects used primarily  
            for nonprofit, community organizations. Prior to 2004, this  
            exemption was limited to work that was performed  entirely  by  
            volunteer labor.


            Current law was created by AB 2690 (Hancock), Chapter 330,  
            Statutes of 2004, in response to outcry from the public  








                                                                  AB 2537
                                                                  Page  2

            following a DIR determination that a state-funded watershed  
            restoration project had been in violation of prevailing wage  
            law because it had used college students to complete parts of  
            the project. The students earned course credit in classes in  
            watershed restoration for performing various activities on the  
            project, including planting seeds, clearing brush, and  
            repairing colverts. 


            After lengthy negotiations between the environmental community  
            and representatives of organized labor, the Legislature  
            enacted AB 2690 (Hancock), Chapter 330, Statutes of 2004. As  
            amended by this bill, current law provides the prevailing wage  
            exemption for work performed by a volunteer, volunteer  
            coordinator, or by members of the California Conservation Corp  
            and certified Community Conservation Corps - regardless of  
            whether the work is performed exclusively by volunteers or by  
            a mix of volunteers and employees. AB 2690 was enacted with a  
            sunset date of January 1, 2009, after which California reverts  
            back to the more restrictive pre-2004 law.


           2)Rationale  . Supporters of this bill argue that the ability to  
            use volunteers is a cornerstone for many important land and  
            water conservation projects, and that retaining this ability  
            is particularly important at present given the state's large  
            budget deficits. They also point out that since the revised  
            volunteer exemption was enacted in 2004, there have been no  
            reported complaints of abuse of the exemption reported to DIR.


           3)Opponents  (AFSCME) state that, although they laud the intent  
            of the bill, the exemption countermands the state's need for  
            economic stability and an individual's need for gainful  
            employment. Opponents also raise concerns about liability,  
            health, and safety issues related to use of volunteers on  
            public works projects. 
           
          4)Related  Legislation  . SB 1345 (Ashburn) and AB 2364 (Walters)  
            would eliminate the sunset date altogether, making the current  
            volunteer exemption permanent. SB 1345 failed passage out of  
            the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations when  
            the author declined to take amendments which would have  
            extended, instead of eliminated, the sunset date. AB 2364  
            failed passage but was granted reconsideration in the Assembly  








                                                                  AB 2537
                                                                  Page  3

            Labor Committee


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081