Bill Text: CA SB822 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 822 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Workforce development: Interagency High Road Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-25 - Veto sustained. [SB822 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB822-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 822

Introduced by Senator Durazo
(Coauthors: Senators Laird and Newman)

February 17, 2023

An act to add Article 11 (commencing with Section 10440) to Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, relating to employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 822, as introduced, Durazo. Workforce development: Interagency High Road Team.

Existing law, the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. Existing law requires the board to assist the Governor in promoting the development of a well-educated and highly skilled 21st century workforce, and the development of a high road economy that offers an educated and skilled workforce with fair compensation and treatment in the workplace. Existing law defines “high road” for these purposes to mean a set of economic and workforce development strategies to achieve economic growth, economic equity, shared prosperity, and a clean environment.

This bill would require the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Government Operations Agency, including the Department of General Services, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to establish, and be referred to as, the Interagency High Road Team. The bill would require the team to collectively be responsible for oversight and decisionmaking, including, among other duties, creating high road evaluation metrics and developing technical assistance and evaluation infrastructure. The bill would require the team, upon request by a state agency and approval by the team, to establish interagency agreements that advance the objectives of high road procurement, contracting, and incentive programs. The bill would require the team to compile specified information related to high road employment requirements reported by state agencies and to report this information to the Legislature by January 1, 2025.

This bill would also require specified state agencies, by January 1, 2025, to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the California Workforce Development Board to coordinate economic and workforce development planning, analysis, and implementation activities. The bill would require these agreements to draw upon the experience of the California Workforce Development Board to ensure the state has the workforce and industry-based training partnerships necessary to meet its clean energy and clean transportation goals, as specified. The bill would require these agreements include advice and recommendations to ensure state agency policies and regulated programs create or support high-quality jobs in the energy, resources, and transportation sectors and expand access to those jobs for priority populations through high-quality education and training.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Article 11 (commencing with Section 10440) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, to read:

Article 11. Interagency High Road Team

10440.

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Interagency High Road Team Act.

10441.

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “High road” means the same as defined in subdivision (r) of Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

(b) “Interagency High Road Team” or “team” means the team consisting of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Government Operations Agency, including the Department of General Services, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, that is established pursuant to Section 10442.

10442.

(a) The Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Government Operations Agency, including the Department of General Services, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development shall establish, and be referred to as, the Interagency High Road Team. The team shall collectively be responsible for all of the following:

(1) Creating high road evaluation metrics, including, but not limited to, a set of principles, procedures, scoring rubrics, and contract application metrics pertaining to contractor applicant employment practices, including, but not limited to, those practices related to a contractor’s employee wages, benefits, and working conditions, and the contractor’s record of compliance with labor laws.

(2) Developing technical assistance and evaluation infrastructure.

(3) Tracking and reporting progress and deliverables.

(b) Upon request by a state agency and approval by the team, the team shall establish interagency agreements that advance the objectives of high road procurement, contracting, and incentive programs.

(c) (1) A state agency shall report to the team the state agency’s high road employment requirements in the state agency’s procurement processes, contracts, and incentive programs.

(2) The team shall compile the information reported by each state agency pursuant to paragraph (1) and report this information to the Legislature by January 1, 2025.

(3) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under paragraph (2) shall be inoperative on January 1, 2029, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(4) The report required pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

10443.

(a) By January 1, 2025, the Department of Transportation, the Department of General Services, the Public Utilities Commission, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Conservation, the State Air Resources Board, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the Department of Food and Agriculture shall each enter into a memorandum of understanding with the California Workforce Development Board to coordinate economic and workforce development planning, analysis, and implementation activities.

(b) In developing the agreements pursuant to subdivision (a), the state agency shall draw upon the expertise of the California Workforce Development Board to ensure the state has the workforce and industry-based training partnerships necessary to meet its clean energy and clean transportation goals, while building pathways into the middle class and beyond for Californians who have been historically excluded from opportunity or shouldered a disproportionate share of climate and environmental costs.

(c) These agreements shall include advice and recommendations to ensure state agency policies and regulated programs create or support high-quality jobs in the energy, resources, and transportation sectors and expand access to those jobs for priority populations through high-quality education and training.