BILL NUMBER:  AB 2770
  VETOED	DATE: 09/30/2010




To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 2770 without my signature.

This bill would 1) create a pilot program to investigate employment
and payment practices within the swimming pool and spa construction
industry; and, 2) require the Employment Development Department, in
consultation with the Franchise Tax Board, the Department of Justice,
the Department of Insurance, the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency, and industry representatives, to develop and implement a set
of criteria that, if met by an employer, would trigger a
recommendation for an audit or investigation by the appropriate state
tax authorities.

My Administration has been committed to vigorously enforcing the laws
of this state and maximizing resources to combat the underground
economy.  As shown in creation of the Economic and Employment
Enforcement Coalition, I support implementing targeted systems of
coordination.  However, as I have repeatedly indicated, legislating
that coordination and the adoption of protocols or standards for that
is unnecessary.  If existing laws impeded this coordination, it
would be appropriate to alter those.  However, simply statutorily
instructing the respective enforcement agencies to in essence work
together does not assist them in a substantive and practical way.

Moreover, I also note that this bill fails to prescribe what it is
intended to achieve.  Rather than creating a trigger for a tax audit
when labor laws are found to have been violated as the bill intends,
this bill instructs tax authorities to recommend and conduct audits
or investigations to determine specifically whether labor laws,
rather than tax laws, have been violated.  Having tax authorities
audit and investigate for potential labor law violations is
inconsistent with their expertise, and instead is a function of the
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

For these reasons, I am returning this bill without my signature.

Sincerely,



Arnold Schwarzenegger