(May 17, 2019) Strong opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce and its pro-jobs allies prevented four job killer bills from advancing beyond legislative fiscal committees yesterday.

The CalChamber is pleased that lawmakers recognized the detrimental impact of these proposals.

Held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee were:

• AB 345 (Muratsuchi; D-Torrance) Oil and Gas Development Ban — Would eliminate thousands of high-paying California jobs and require California to import even more foreign oil by banning new oil and gas development, re-drilling operations, and rework operations by imposing a state minimum 2,500-foot setback requirement from certain structures, and further authorizing local governments to enact even greater setback requirements, without limitation.
• AB 790 (Levine; D-San Rafael) Increased Cost on Employers for Use of Personal Services Contracts — Discourages and reduces the use of “personal services contracts” as defined, by requiring the hiring entity to pay a minimum contractual compensation rate at 85% of the area median income, which will presumably include wages from different industries and occupations that are not comparable to personal services, and reduce jobs for individuals who perform the work under personal services contracts.
• AB 1332 (Bonta; D-Oakland) Contract Prohibition for Businesses that Provide Services to Federal Government— Prohibits California public entities from contracting with, or investing in, any business that provides data-related services to an undefined group of federal agencies. Will create litigation and uncertainty for businesses that continue to work with California public entities, as the bill provides no clear guidance on how to comply with terms, and also in limited circumstances, compels public entities to breach signed contracts.

Held in the Senate Appropriations Committee was:

• SB 561 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara) Significant Expansion of Liability and Litigation Under California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018 — Creates an onerous and costly private right of action that will primarily benefit trial lawyers, allowing them to sue for any violations of the CCPA, and removes businesses’ 30-day right to cure an alleged violation of the CCPA as well as businesses’ ability to seek guidance from the Attorney General on how to comply with this confusing and complex law.

For more information on the remaining job killer bills, visit www.CAJobKillers.com.