BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 54
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 54 (Hancock) - As Amended: August 21, 2013
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires an owner/operator of specified stationary
sources (entities that deal with hazardous material) that
contract for the performance of construction, alteration,
demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work, to
require subcontractors and contractors to use a skilled and
trained workforce to perform all onsite work within an
apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction
trades.
FISCAL EFFECT
Annual, special fund costs, between $900,000 and $1.6 million,
to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to adequately
enforce this measure. These costs are associated with
additional training and staff.
SUMMARY CONTINUED
1)Defines skilled and trained workforce as a workforce that
meets the following:
a) All the workers are either registered apprentices or
skilled journeypersons, as specified.
b) As of January 1, 2014, at least 30% of the skilled
journeypersons are apprenticeship program graduates for the
applicable occupation that was either approved by the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) or located
outside the state and approved for federal purposes.
c) As of January 1, 2015, at least 45% of the skilled
journeypersons are apprenticeship program graduates for the
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applicable occupation that was either approved by DAS or
located outside the state and approved for federal
purposes.
d) As of January 1, 2016, at least 60% of the skilled
journeypersons are apprenticeship program graduates for the
applicable occupation that was either approved by DAS or
located outside the state and approved for federal
purposes.
2)Authorizes the Chief of DAS, by January 1, 2016, to approve a
curriculum of in-person classroom and laboratory instruction
for approved advanced safety training for workers at high
hazard facilities. Further authorizes the training to be
provided by a DAS approved apprenticeship program or by a
program provided by the California Community Colleges, as
specified.
3)Specifies the provisions of this bill do not apply to the
following:
a) Contracts awarded before January 1, 2014, unless the
contract is extended or renewed after this date.
b) Employees of the owner/operator of the stationary
source, as specified.
4)Waives the qualification requirements for skilled
journeypersons in either of the following instances:
a) An emergency that requires immediate action to prevent
harm to public health or safety or to the environment, to
the extent compliance to this measure is impracticable, as
specified.
b) To the extent the contractor has requested qualified
workers from local hiring halls, but is unable to obtain
sufficient workers within 48 hours of the request.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . In 2012, Governor Brown established an interagency
workgroup in the aftermath of the fire at Chevron Corp. oil
refinery in Richmond, CA. The workgroup was charged with
examining "ways to improve public and worker safety through
enhanced oversight of refineries, and to strengthen emergency
preparedness in anticipation of any future incident." The
group consisted of participants from 13 agencies and
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departments, as well as the governor's office.
In July 2013, the workgroup released a draft report entitled:
Improving Public and Worker Safety at Oil Refineries. The
draft document includes findings and recommendations relating
to emergency response/preparedness, regulation/oversight,
community education/alerts, and safety/prevention of hazardous
events. The workgroup met with stakeholders, including
labor/workforce groups, to gain their input on determining
their findings and recommendations. The report states:
"Workers involved in maintenance, represented by building and
construction trades unions, reported that training of most
maintenance workers is inadequate. They also reported that
refineries use mostly contract workers, including out-of-state
workers, to conduct maintenance during planned shutdowns of a
refinery process (also referred to as turnarounds), and that
contract workers have less training and experience and,
therefore, are less safe."
According to the author, "This bill, [sponsored by the State
Building and Construction Trades Council], will reduce
unqualified workers performing skilled work inside high-hazard
industrial facilities by requiring that by 2016 60% of each
contractor's workforce be graduates of a state-approved
apprenticeship program. The contractors at these facilities
should be using the most skilled and qualified workers to
reduce public health and safety risks."
2)Opposition . The opponents of this measure, the Association of
Builders and Contractors, Western Electrical Contractors,
Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of
California, and the Air Conditioning Trade Association, argue
this bill expands prevailing wage provisions to private
construction work. Specifically, they argue this expansion
violates case law - Chamber of Commerce of U.S. vs. Bragdon,
64 F.3d 497 (1995): "In this case the Court of Appeals found
that a County ordinance requiring employers to pay prevailing
wages to their employees on certain types of private
industrial construction projects affected the collective
bargaining process in a way that was incompatible with the
general goals of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and
accordingly, was preempted by NLRA."
3)Existing law . The California Accidental Release Prevention
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(CalARP) Program was implemented on January 1, 1997 and
replaced the California Risk Management and Prevention
Program. The CalARP program is meant to prevent accidental
releases of substances that can cause serious harm to the
public and the environment, to minimize the damage if releases
do occur, and to satisfy community right-to-know laws. CalARP
requires businesses that handle more than a threshold quantity
of a regulated substance listed in the regulations to develop
a Risk Management Plan (RMP). An RMP is a detailed
engineering analysis of the potential accident factors present
at a business and the mitigation measures that can be
implemented to reduce this accident potential.
Statute also changes DAS, within DIR, with the responsibility
of administering California apprenticeship law, and enforcing
apprenticeship standards for wages, hours, working conditions
and the specific skills required for state certification as a
journeyperson in an apprenticeable occupation. Also within
DIR, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health is tasked
with protecting workers from health and safety hazards on the
job.
4)Related legislation . SB 436 (Hancock), pending in this
committee, requires a refinery employer, by September 15 each
year, to submit to the Division of Occupational Safety and
Health a full schedule of planned turnarounds for the various
plants for the following calendar year.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081