BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 702 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 10, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair SB 702 (McGuire) - As Amended August 3, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Labor and Employment |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill extends the sunset date by five years on an exemption from child labor laws that allows minors to work additional hours in agricultural packing plants during peak harvest season in Lake County. Specifically, this bill: 1)Extends an exemption for specified agricultural packing plants in Lake County to employ minors that are 16 or 17 years of age to work for up to 10 hours per day, and more than 48 hours (but not more than 60 hours) per week, during harvest season when school is not in session to January 1, 2022. SB 702 Page 2 2)Requires the Labor Commissioner (LC), on or before November 1, 2020, to issue a written report to the Legislature on the general working conditions of minors employed in the agricultural packing industry from October 1, 2016 to October 1, 2020. FISCAL EFFECT: Minor/absorbable costs to the Department of Industrial Relations to implement the reporting requirements of this bill. Prior legislation to extend the sunset date on this exemption has required the Labor Commissioner to issue a similar report on the general working conditions of minors employed in the agricultural packing industry. COMMENTS: 1)Background. California's child labor laws generally prohibit any employer from employing a minor 16 or 17 years of age for more than 8 hours in one day or more than 48 hours in one week. However, for the past two decades California law has contained a special exemption for agricultural packing plants in Lake County. The exemption for minors working in agricultural packing plants in Lake County was originally enacted in 1996. 2)Purpose. Supporters of this bill state this sunset extension is necessary to allow the agricultural industry in Lake County to address labor shortage during harvest time each year in August. The pear-packing season lasts only four to six weeks and coincides with an increase in tourism, which is considered the other large industry in Lake County. With both tourism and agriculture at peak activity, supporters state the SB 702 Page 3 available labor pool is severely limited. They state that the packing work exemption for minors in Lake County has mitigated this shortage and provided significant economic benefits to teens and families. There is no registered opposition to this bill. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081