BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 556
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 556 (Corbett)
As Amended September 4, 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 | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits nongovernmental persons or entities
contracting to perform services relating to public health or
safety for 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 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 relating to public health or safety
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
conspicuously displays one of the following disclosures:
a) A 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 statement indicating that the contractor is the
service provider, such as "SERVICE PROVIDED BY:" or
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"CONTRACTED BY:" immediately followed by the logo of the
contractor providing the labor for the public agency.
2)Makes it unlawful for a person, firm, corporation, or
association that is a nongovernmental entity and contracts to
perform labor or services relating to public health or safety
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
conspicuously displays one of the following disclosures:
a) A 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 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)Defines the term "logo" to mean 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
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
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agency.
7)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 to perform labor or
services relating to public health or safety 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 services relating to
public health or safety that traditionally have been the domain
of government 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 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 services relating to public health or
safety 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
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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.
As recently amended, this bill provides that a person or company
that is a nongovernmental entity and contracts to perform labor
or services relating to public health or safety 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. "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
opposition from, among others, the California State Association
of Counties (CSAC), the League of California Cities, or American
Medical Response (AMR), California's largest provider of 9-1-1
emergency ambulance services. Opponents generally 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
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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. In addressing
the previous version of the bill, the opponents state: "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."
Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0002343