BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 607 Hearing Date: April 22,
2015
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|Author: |Bates |
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|Version: |April 15, 2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Gideon Baum |
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Subject: Certified electricians: skilled journeyperson.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature define a general electrician journeyman
as someone who is a certified general electrician, rather than
someone who has completed an electrician apprenticeship program?
ANALYSIS
Existing law provides a framework for promoting and developing
apprenticeship training through the California Apprenticeship
Council (CAC) and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS)
within the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). DAS
enforces apprenticeship standards for, among other things,
working conditions, classroom instruction and the specific
skills required for state certification as a journeyperson in an
apprentice occupation.
(Labor Code §§3070-3098)
Existing law requires that the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards establish and validate minimum standards for the
competency and training of electricians through a system of
testing and certification. In order to be eligible to be
certified, the applicant must have passed a written exam and
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also done either of the following:
1) Successfully completed an approved apprenticeship
program; or
2) Completed 8,000 hours of on-the-job training.
Out-of-state certified electricians may be deemed by the Chief
of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to have met the
on-the-job training requirement, though they would still be
required to take the written examination.
(Labor Code § 108 and California Code of Regulations §291.1)
Existing law requires that any individual who performs work as
an electrician, as defined, must be certified by the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards. Existing law provides for certain
limited exemptions from this requirement. (Labor Code § 108.2)
Existing law requires that, in order for a vendor to be
prequalified for a design-build project, which is a project
where both the design and construction of the project are
procured from a single entity, the vendor must use a skilled and
trained workforce for work that falls within an apprenticeable
occupation in the building and construction trades.
(Health and Safety Code §10191 and Public Contract Code §22164)
Existing law defines a "skilled and trained workforce" as
workers that are either apprentices or journeyperson, who are
workers who have completed an apprenticeship program. Existing
law also sets percentages of the number of journeyperson on a
design-build project, requiring at least 20% of all workers to
be skilled journeyperson at the beginning of 2016, growing to
60% of all workers to be skilled journeyperson by 2020.
(Health and Safety Code §10191(c) and Public Contract Code
§22164(c))
Existing law defines a "skilled journeyperson" as someone who
has completed an apprenticeship program or has at least as many
hours of on-the-job experience in the applicable occupation as
would be required to graduate from an apprenticeship program for
the applicable occupation.
(Health and Safety Code §10191(c) and Public Contract Code
§22164(c))
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This bill would require that, notwithstanding any other law, a
general electrician certified by the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards must be deemed a skilled journeyperson for purposes of
any law.
COMMENTS
1. Electrical Certification vs. Electrical Apprenticeship
Graduation:
Under current law, the DAS has the responsibility of both
certifying electricians and helping to create apprenticeship
curriculum for electricians. While both statute and
regulation allows an electrician who was completed an
apprenticeship program and passed the written electrician exam
to be certified, being a journeyperson and being a certified
electrician are not necessarily interchangeable.
Specifically, the minimum requirements for certification are
less than the requirements for becoming a journeyperson. To
be certified, the applicant must fulfill the written exam and
complete 8,000 hours of training. The 8,000 hour training
requirement can also be waived if the electrician is certified
in another state.
To be a journeyperson, however, an electrician would need to
complete 8,000 hours of training AND additional hours of
classroom training, as an apprenticeship by definition is
classroom time and on-the-job training. Completing an
electrical apprenticeship can take 5 years, which is longer
than most college programs. Additionally, an applicant to
most electrical apprenticeship programs must have a high
school diploma or a GED prior to being admitted to an
electrician apprenticeship program, as well as demonstrated
ability in high school and college-level algebra.
SB 607 would treat a certified electrician as the same as a
journeyperson electrician for the purposes of state law.
2. Proponent Arguments :
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Proponents argue that SB 607 would clarify existing law with
regard to "skilled journeyperson." Under existing law,
proponents note that an electrician may satisfy skilled
journeyperson requirements by graduating from an approved
apprentices program OR providing evidence of experience, which
proponents argue ignores the existing electrician
certification program. Proponents argue that SB 607 will
simplify the verification for all parties to construction
projects subject to the "skilled workforce" requirements
design-build projects.
3. Opponent Arguments :
Opponents argue that SB 607 is misdirected and would undercut
the Legislature's intent in passing skilled workforce
percentage requirements on design-build projects. Opponents
note that SB 607 only focuses on electricians, treating this
one trade differently than all other trades on a Design Build
public works projects. Opponents argue that many other
crafts, including crane operators, elevator mechanics, and
welders hold mandatory certifications, yet SB 607 does not
address these trades. Opponents further argue that a
certification is just one indicator of a journeyperson meeting
the highest standards, and does not ensure the same standard
of excellence achieved by completing an apprenticeship
program, weakening existing law.
4. Prior Legislation :
SB 785 (Wolk), Chapter 931, Statutes of 2014, set specific
percentages on the number of skilled journeypeople which must
be employed on design-build projects.
SUPPORT
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
Associated Builders and Contractors-San Diego Chapter
Western Electrical Contractors Association
OPPOSITION
California Chapters of the National Electrical Contractors
Association
California Coalition of Utility Employees
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California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California State Association of Electrical Workers
California State Pipe Trades Council
National Electrical Contractors Association-California Chapter
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California,
AFL-CIO
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
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