Part 8California Jobs Plan Act of 2021

Section § 38599.10

Explanation

This section outlines definitions for terms used in a part of the law dealing with access to resources and services related to employment and economic mobility, particularly for under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities.

It defines key terms like 'access', which is the ability for these communities to obtain necessary resources to secure quality jobs. It also specifies the meaning of 'administering agencies', 'community workforce agreement', 'contractor', 'employee', 'employer', 'prevailing wage', and more.

This part highlights the use of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to support employment opportunities and emphasizes creating jobs that provide retirement benefits, fair wages, and training. Additionally, it clarifies what constitutes 'tribal' communities and 'under-resourced' areas as per specific guidelines.

For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(a) “Access” means that an individual who lives in an under-resourced, tribal, or low-income community could reasonably access all services and resources needed to compete for a job, including overcoming barriers to employment or attaining a high-quality job.
(b)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(b) “Administering agencies” means state agencies administering grant programs funded by moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
(c)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(c) “Applicant” means an entity applying for resources from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
(d)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(d) “Community workforce agreement” means a project labor agreement that includes a targeted hire plan.
(e)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(e) “Contractor” means an individual identified pursuant to Section 3353 of the Labor Code.
(f)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(f) “Employee” means an individual identified pursuant to Sections 3351 to 3352.94, inclusive, of the Labor Code.
(g)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(g) “Employer” means an entity or individual that compensates an employee.
(h)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(h) “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund” means the fund created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code.
(i)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(i) “High-quality job” means a job that facilitates economic mobility by providing retirement benefits, vacation and sick leave, training opportunities, and wages at or above the average median wage of a region.
(j)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(j) “Job” means full- or part-time employment for a person who is considered an employee.
(k)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(k) “Labor agency” means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
(l)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(l) “Prevailing wage” means the basic hourly rate paid on public works projects to a majority of workers engaged in a particular craft, classification, or type of work within the locality of a project and in the nearest labor market area.
(m)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(m) “Procurement” means a process by which an entity solicits competitive bids for a project or service.
(n)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(n) “Project labor agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
(o)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(o) “Retirement benefits” means an employer-provided retirement plan that is partially or fully paid for by the employer.
(p)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(p) “Targeted hire plan” means a strategy from an applicant to demonstrate how the applicant will create jobs for under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities, and how the applicant will ensure access to those jobs.
(q)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(q) “Tribal” or “tribe” means either of the following:
(1)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(q)(1) A federally recognized tribal government located in California that is identified on the most recent list published in the Federal Register by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(2)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(q)(2) A nonfederally recognized tribal government located in California, including those listed on the California Tribal Consultation List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission.
(r)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(r) “Under-resourced, tribal, and low-income community” means either of the following:
(1)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(r)(1) A community identified pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 71130 of the Public Resources Code.
(2)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.10(r)(2) Members of a tribe.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund employment access under-resourced communities tribal jobs low-income employment economic mobility community workforce agreement project labor agreement high-quality jobs retirement benefits prevailing wage procurement targeted hire plan tribal government competitive bids
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 746, Sec. 2. (AB 680) Effective January 1, 2022.)

Section § 38599.11

Explanation

This law requires that by July 1, 2025, California's state board must update guidelines to ensure applicants to certain grant programs funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund meet specific standards. These standards include fair labor practices, inclusive procurement policies, and payment of prevailing wages for construction work.

Once updated, applicants seeking funding over $1 million for construction must show evidence of a community workforce agreement. Preference is given to applicants partnering with educational institutions or training programs and those creating high-quality jobs. Exemptions include projects involving federal funds, non-employer applicants, and 100% affordable housing developments.

The law emphasizes leveraging existing programs to help applicants meet the new standards and clarifies that meeting these guidelines doesn't exempt applicants from existing legal requirements.

(a)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(a) On or before July 1, 2025, the state board shall work with the labor agency to update Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund funding guidelines for administering agencies to ensure that all applicants to grant programs listed in Section 39719 and funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund meet all of the following standards:
(1)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(a)(1) Fair and responsible employer standards, meaning documented compliance with applicable labor laws and labor-related commitments concerning wages, workplace safety, rights to association and assembly, and nondiscrimination standards.
(2)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(a)(2) Inclusive procurement policies, meaning applicant procurement policies that prioritize bids from entities that demonstrate the creation of high-quality jobs or the creation of jobs in under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities, or both the creation of high-quality jobs and the creation of jobs in those communities.
(3)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(a)(3) Prevailing wage for any construction work funded in part or in full by the grant.
(b)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(b) On and after the adoption of the update pursuant to subdivision (a), all of the following shall apply:
(1)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(b)(1) Applicants seeking over one million dollars ($1,000,000) in funding for construction projects shall provide evidence of a community workforce agreement.
(2)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(b)(2) Administering agencies shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate a partnership with an educational institution or training program targeting residents of under-resourced, tribal, and low-income communities in the same region as the proposed project.
(3)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(b)(3) Administering agencies shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate that jobs created through the proposed project will be high-quality jobs.
(c)Copy CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)
(1)Copy CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(1) Applicants for projects that involve federal funding, technical assistance, research, or funding provided pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 39719 are exempt from this section.
(2)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(2) This section does not apply to an applicant who is not an employer.
(3)Copy CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(3)
(A)Copy CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(3)(A) This section does not apply to a housing project that will feature 100 percent affordable units, exclusive of a manager’s unit or units.
(B)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(3)(A)(B) For purposes of this subdivision, “affordable unit” means a unit that is subject to a recorded affordability restriction for 55 years and is either of the following:
(i)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(3)(A)(B)(i) A rental unit dedicated to persons and families of low income, as defined in Section 50093.
(ii)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(c)(3)(A)(B)(ii) An owner-occupied unit dedicated to persons and families of moderate income, as defined in Section 50093.
(d)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(d) For purposes of this section, an applicant shall be responsible for ensuring that any contractors employed in service to the project funded meet the standards the applicant outlines in the applicant’s project application.
(e)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(e) In implementing this section, the state board shall work with administering agencies to leverage existing programs and funding to assist applicants with meeting these standards.
(f)CA Health and Safety Code § 38599.11(f) This section, including any exemption from this section, does not excuse applicants from complying with any legal requirements that would apply in the absence of this section.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund fair employer standards inclusive procurement policies prevailing wage community workforce agreement high-quality jobs educational partnership training programs under-resourced communities tribal communities low-income communities affordable housing exemption affordability restriction 55-year restriction labor compliance
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 202, Sec. 1. (AB 1644) Effective August 29, 2022.)