BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 556
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 556 (Corbett)
          As Amended  August 26, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :24-13  
           
           JUDICIARY           7-3                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Alejo, Chau,  |     |                          |
          |     |Dickinson, Garcia,        |     |                          |
          |     |Muratsuchi, Stone         |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Wagner, Gorell,           |     |                          |
          |     |Maienschein               |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Prohibits nongovernmental persons or entities  
          contracting with public agencies from displaying a logo of a  
          public agency on a uniform or vehicle, as specified, unless a  
          disclosure statement is also displayed identifying the identity  
          of the uniform wearer or vehicle operator providing the labor or  
          services for the public agency.  Specifically,  this bill  :    

          1)Makes it unlawful for a person, firm, corporation, or  
            association that is a nongovernmental entity and contracts to  
            perform labor or services for a public agency to display on a  
            vehicle a logo of a public agency that reasonably could be  
            interpreted or construed as implying that the labor or  
            services are being provided by employees of the public agency,  
            unless the vehicle displays one of the following disclosures:

             a)   A conspicuously displayed statement indicating that the  
               contractor is the service provider, such as "SERVICE  
               PROVIDED BY:" or "CONTRACTED BY:" immediately followed by  
               the name of the contractor, its state or federal tax  
               designation, and its place of legal incorporation; or


             b)   A conspicuously displayed statement indicating that the  
               contractor is the service provider, such as "SERVICE  
               PROVIDED BY:" or "CONTRACTED BY:" immediately followed by  
               the logo of the contractor providing the labor for the  








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               public agency.


             c)   Disclosures on the vehicle meeting the requirements of  
               Vehicle Code Section 27900 (pertaining to commercial  
               vehicles) if the contracting party is subject to that  
               section.

          2)Makes it unlawful for a person, firm, corporation, or  
            association that is a nongovernmental entity and contracts to  
            perform labor or services for a public agency to display on a  
            uniform a logo of a public agency that reasonably could be  
            interpreted or construed as implying that the labor or  
            services are being provided by employees of the public agency,  
            unless the uniform displays one of the following disclosures:

             a)   A conspicuously displayed statement indicating that the  
               contractor is the service provider, such as "SERVICE  
               PROVIDED BY:" or "CONTRACTED BY:" immediately followed by  
               the name of the contractor, its state or federal tax  
               designation, and its place of legal incorporation; or


             b)   A conspicuously displayed statement indicating that the  
               contractor is the service provider, such as "SERVICE  
               PROVIDED BY:" or "CONTRACTED BY:" immediately followed by  
               the logo of the contractor providing the labor for the  
               public agency.


          3)Requires the disclosure to be placed near the largest logo  
            referring to the public agency if the vehicle or uniform  
            displays more than one such logo.


          4)Clarifies that the term "conspicuously displays" means to  
            display a disclosure that is at least the same size as and  
            located close to the logo referring to the public agency.

          5)Clarifies that the term "logo" means a symbol, graphic, seal,  
            emblem, insignia, trade name, brand name, picture, or text  
            identifying a person, firm, corporation, association, or  
            public agency.

          6)Clarifies that an identifying mark affixed to a uniform as  








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            required by state or federal law, and a local agency  
            regulating the activity of the person, firm, corporation, or  
            association shall not be construed as implying that the labor  
            or services are being provided by employees of the public  
            agency.

          7)Exempts from these disclosure requirements any person or  
            corporation that is contracted to provide the labor or  
            services to the public agency under Article 3.3 of the Vehicle  
            Code (regulating tow trucks).

          8)Provides that violations of this act shall be subject to the  
            remedies provided in the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)  
            (Title 1.5 (commencing with Section 1750) of Part 4), and that  
            the duties, rights, and remedies provided in this bill are in  
            addition to any other duties, rights, and remedies provided by  
            state law.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None
           
          COMMENTS  :  This bill, co-sponsored by the California Labor  
          Federation and the California Professional Firefighters, seeks  
          to prohibit private contractors who contract with public  
          agencies from displaying a logo of a public agency on a uniform  
          or vehicle, as specified, that reasonably could be interpreted  
          as implying that the contracted labor or services are being  
          provided by employees of the public agency-unless, that is, a  
          disclosure statement is also conspicuously displayed on the  
          uniform or vehicle providing specified information about the  
          private contractor.  Violations of this bill may be enforced  
          using the remedies provided by the CLRA.

          According to the author, this bill is needed to ensure that  
          members of the public can visually distinguish between  
          government employees and non-government employees who  
          increasingly are subcontracted to perform public services  
          traditionally in the domain of public employees.  Proponents  
          assert that the public has the right to know if a particular  
          worker providing a service that appears public in nature is in  
          fact a public employee, or is instead an independent contractor,  
          subcontracted worker, or other non-governmental employee not  
          working for a public agency.  This matters, they contend,  
          because in certain situations, the public employee is required  
          to have greater training and is held to a higher degree of  
          accountability to the public by virtue of being an employee of a  








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          public agency, rather than that of a private employer or as an  
          independent contractor.  Accordingly, the bill seeks to prevent  
          confusion or misperceptions that result, proponents contend,  
          when private contractors hired by public agencies perform  
          community work or services and use uniforms or vehicles  
          appearing very similar to those used only by employees of the  
          public agency.  In those circumstances, this bill seeks to  
          promote transparency by requiring the uniform or vehicle  
          conspicuously display a disclosure identifying the contractor's  
          name, state or federal tax designation, and place of  
          organization or legal incorporation.

          Under this bill, a person or company that is a nongovernmental  
          entity and contracts to perform labor or services for a public  
          agency must abide by specific disclosure requirements with  
          respect to that entity's vehicles and uniforms.  Unless the  
          vehicle or uniform at issue displays the identifying information  
          about the private contractor specified in the bill, the  
          contracting nongovernmental entity may not display on the  
          vehicle or uniform a logo of the public agency that "reasonably  
          could be interpreted or construed as implying that" the service  
          is being provided by a public employee.  As recently amended,  
          "logo" is defined as a symbol, graphic, seal, emblem, or other  
          content identifying the company or agency.

          Violations of the requirements proposed by this bill may be  
          enforced using the remedies provided by the CLRA (Civil Code  
          Section 1750 et seq.)  The CLRA establishes a nonexclusive  
          statutory remedy for unfair methods of competition and unfair  
          acts or practices in various consumer transactions, as  
          specified.  According to the author, the CLRA offers an  
          appropriate set of remedies for violations of the bill-remedies  
          which prioritize disclosure and display requirements over the  
          recovery of money damages.  Specifically, the CLRA allows an  
          action for injunctive relief to enjoin acts that do not comply  
          with the bill, in this case non-compliance with the uniform and  
          vehicle-related display and disclosure requirements of the bill.  
           In addition, the CLRA requires notice and opportunity to  
          correct for a period of thirty days before any action for  
          damages is allowed, including cases where the plaintiff seeks to  
          amend a complaint for injunctive relief to include a request for  
          damages.  

          It is not known whether the most recent amendments have removed  
          the opposition of a number of groups representing local  








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          government entities, including, among others, the California  
          State Association of Counties and the League of California  
          Cities.  These opponents contend that they are unaware of any  
          problem associated with a private contractor wearing a similar  
          uniform or having a similar vehicle that causes confusion for  
          the public, and that the bill is a solution in search of a  
          problem.  Furthermore, opponents contend that allowing similar  
          uniforms and vehicles to be used by contractors should be a  
          matter of local control.  According to the joint letter  
          submitted by these opponents addressing the previous version of  
          the bill, "Many public agencies that contract for services  
          specify uniform requirements and/or affixing logos to a vehicle  
          in their written contracts with a service provider.  These  
          uniform requirements are oftentimes done for the purpose of  
          ensuring that the public knows who the contractor is serving and  
          for identifying regional operations during a major disaster or  
          mutual aid request from a public agency.  This bill would  
          eliminate public agencies' ability to determine what works best  
          locally."  
           
           It is also not known whether the bill continues to be opposed by  
          American Medical Response (AMR), California's largest provider  
          of 9-1-1 emergency ambulance services and private employer of  
          paramedics and emergency medical technicians.  With respect to  
          the previous version of the bill, AMR states:  "The sponsors of  
          the bill fail to provide any evidence that the current  
          appearance of our workforce uniforms or ambulances poses any  
          threat to patient or public safety.  When an AMR crew arrives at  
          the scene of a medical emergency, it is clear who they work for.  
           Our logo and name are prominently displayed in multiple  
          locations on our ambulances.  AMR patches are clearly visible on  
          our crew's uniforms, and the patient ultimately receives a bill  
          issued by AMR with our phone number and address.  We also  
          receive thousands of letters every year from patients thanking  
          us for our services which clearly indicates the patient was  
          aware that the crew treating them was working for AMR.  In fact,  
          the utilization of county patches and identifying marks, which  
          are used in tandem with AMR patches and logos, provide assurance  
          to the patient and family that we are responding under the  
          authority of the county, and are licensed to practice medicine  
          in their jurisdiction."


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 









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