(May 17, 2024) Three California Chamber of Commerce job killer bills failed to pass out of their fiscal committees yesterday and are dead for the year. Also stopped was a CalChamber-opposed bill that would have created a central repository of businesses that train artificial intelligence (AI).

AB 2374 Removed From Job Killer List

AB 2374 (Haney; D-San Francisco), was amended yesterday and the CalChamber is removing it from the Job Killer list. Before amendments, the bill imposed new statutory joint liability on business of any size that contracts for janitorial services if a contractor violates the Displaced Janitor Opportunity Act and placed new mandates on those businesses that should be assigned to the contractor.

Yesterday’s amendments removed the joint liability portion of the bill and made other changes. The CalChamber remains opposed unless amended to the bill due to the requirement that an awarding authority must provide certain notifications to a union representing another entity’s employees.

Job Killers Stopped

The following three bills are dead for the year:

• AB 2200 (Kalra; D-San Jose): Forced all Californians into a new untested state government health plan, with no ability to opt out, while eliminating Medicare for California seniors and increased taxes at least $250 billion a year on workers, income, jobs, goods and services.
• AB 2751 (Haney; D-San Francisco): Prohibited any employee working for an employer of any size from contacting another employee outside of their normal work hours except in very narrow circumstances and would have subjected employers to costly litigation for any dispute as to whether the communication was permissible.
• SB 903 (Skinner; D-Berkeley):Prohibited the use of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in all commercial and consumer products by 2032 unless the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) was petitioned and made an affirmative determination that the PFAS in a particular product was an unavoidable use. Because of the breadth and scope of PFAS use, including in aerospace, lithium ion batteries, medical devices, automotive and semiconductors, to name a few, the regulatory program established was unworkable and ultimately would lead to a ban on critically important products or otherwise made certain products less safe.