BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 327|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 327
Author: Gordon (D)
Amended: 4/30/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/10/15
AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Public works: volunteers
SOURCE: California State Building & Construction Trades
California Council of Land Trusts
DIGEST: This bill extends the sunset date on the exemption that
allows volunteers to perform work on public works projects and
not be paid the prevailing wage, as would otherwise be required.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Defines public works as any construction, alteration,
demolition, installation or repair work done under contract
and paid for in whole or in part from public funds. This
includes work performed during the design and pre-construction
phase, including, but not limited to, inspection and land
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surveying. (Labor Code §1720)
2)Requires contracted public works projects to be submitted for
bids by the public entity requesting the work, and that the
contract is awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. The
awarding body is required to ensure that the winning
contractor is appropriately licensed with the Contractors'
State Licensing Board, and has not been in barred from bidding
on, accepting, or performing public contracts. (Labor Code
§§1725.5 & 1750)
3)Requires employees who work on public works projects with a
budget of $1,000 or more to be paid the general prevailing
rate of per diem wages and the general prevailing rate for
holiday and overtime work for the specific location where the
public work is to be performed. This prevailing wage is
determined by the Department of Industrial Relations. (Labor
Code §1771)
4)Exempts from public work requirements any project where the
Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) contracts with public
agencies, Indian tribes, or nonprofit organizations for fish
and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and
enhancement. (Fish and Game Code §1501.5)
5)Exempts any work performed by volunteers from the public works
requirements, but the exemption allowing volunteers on public
works projects is set to expire on January 1, 2017.
Volunteers are defined as:
Individuals who perform works for civic, charitable,
or humanitarian reasons for a public agency or tax-exempt
organization, such as a 501(c)(3), without any
compensation;
Volunteer coordinators.
Members of the California Conservation Corps (CCC) or the
Community Conservation Corps are also exempt.
1)Excludes from the definition of a volunteer:
Anyone who works on the public works project for
compensation; or
Anyone who received payment from the contractor on the
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public works project for construction, alteration,
demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work on
the same project. (Labor Code §1720.4)
This bill extends the sunset on the exemption for volunteers on
public works project out seven years, from January 1, 2017 to
January 1, 2024.
Background
In 2004, AB 2690 (Hancock, Chapter 330, Statutes of 2004),
created an exemption for volunteers from public works
requirements, but also included the sunset of January 1, 2009.
This bill came about from a 2003 Department of Industrial
Relations (DIR) decision, which found that a stream restoration
project using student volunteers should have paid prevailing
wages and assessed back wages and civil penalties.
At the time, the proponents argued that a public works exemption
for volunteers was needed due to the "importance of volunteers
in building community support for local projects", many of which
included environmental projects such as stream restoration,
beach clean-up, wetlands restoration, and trail building. This
exemption has been extended several times, most recently in by
AB 587 (Gordon, Chapter 219, Statutes of 2011).
The proponents of this bill argue that this exemption has proven
successful, and therefore it is important to extend this
exemption for an additional 7 years to allow volunteers to
continue to participate in preservation activities on public
lands, including removing invasive species, river and beach
clean-ups, and maintaining walking trails.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/10/15)
California State Building & Construction Trades (co-source)
California Council of Land Trusts (co-source)
Amigos de los Rios
Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy
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Benicia Tree Foundation
Big Sur Land Trust
Bolsa Chica Land Trust
California Association of Local Conservation Corps
California Association of School Building Officials
California Native Plant Society
California Park & Recreation Society
California Special Districts Association
California State Association of Counties
California Urban Forests Council
California Urban Streams Partnership
Cache Creek Conservancy
California League of Conservation Voters
California ReLeaf
California State Association of Counties
California State Parks Foundation
California Waterfowl
California Watershed Network
Cal-Invasive Plants Council
CalNonprofits (CA Assoc of Nonprofits)
Canopy
Catalina Island Conservancy
Cayucos Land Conservancy
City of Burbank
City of Danville
City of Indian Wells
Common Vision
Community Services Employment Training
Construction Employers' Association
Council for Watershed Health
Defenders of Wildlife
Ducks Unlimited
East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Regional Parks District
Environment California
Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control
Friends of Balboa Park
Friends of Harbors, Beaches & Parks
Friends of the Urban Forest
Habitat for Humanity
Hollywood Beautification Team
Huntington Beach Tree Society
Intl. Society of Arboriculture, Western Chapter
Just One Tree
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Keep Eureka Beautiful
Koreatown Youth & Community Center
Lake County Land Trust
Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
Land Trust for Santa Cruz County
Lassen Land & Trails Trust
League of California Cities
League to Save Lake Tahoe
Los Angeles Conservation Corps
Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Marin Agricultural Land Trust
McKinleyville Land Trust
Mendocino Land Trust
Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
Mountains Restoration Trust
Muir Heritage Land Trust
Napa County Regional Park & Open Space District
Natural Resources Defense Council
North East Trees
Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
Our City Forest
Pacific Forest Trust
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Placer Land Trust
Planning and Conservation League
Richmond Trees
Riverside Land Conservancy
Roseville Urban Forest Foundation
Rural County Representatives of California
Sacramento Tree Foundation
San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Save Mount Diablo
Save the Bay
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council
Sierra Club California
Sierra Foothill Conservancy
Solano Advocates Green Environments
Solano Land Trust
Sonoma County Water Agency
Sonoma Land Trust
Southern CA Mountains Foundation
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State Park Partners Coalition
Tahoe Resource Conservation District
The City of Thousand Oaks
Tree Foundation of Kern
Tree Fresno
Tree Lodi
Tree Musketeers
Tree Partners Foundation
Tree San Diego
TreeDavis
TreePeople
Trout Unlimited
Truckee Donner Land Trust
Trust for Public Land
Urban Conservation Corps of the Inland Empire
Urban ReLeaf
Urban Tree Foundation
Victoria Avenue Forever
Wildlife Heritage Foundation
Woodland Tree Foundation
Your Children's Trees
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/10/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author, for more than 10 years, this
exemption has proven a vital tool in keeping Californians
connected to both their local community and our state's
environment and natural resources in a meaningful, productive
way - and without any examples of abuse having arisen. This
bill would extend that exemption until 2024. The author states
that even though California is currently experiencing a period
of economic recovery, extending this important provision will
allow California to continue to tap into one of our greatest
resources for healthy communities and the environment -
volunteerism.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
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Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina
Prepared by:Gideon Baum / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
6/12/15 14:28:15
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