BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1308
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1308 (Perea)
As Introduced February 27, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Labor |5-2 |Roger Hernández, |Harper, Patterson |
| | |Chu, Low, McCarty, | |
| | |Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-4 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Jones, Wagner |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Revises a specified "needs requirement" under existing
law related to the approval of apprenticeship programs.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, in order to establish that apprenticeship training
needs justify the approval of a new program, that existing
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programs do not have the capacity, or neglect or refuse, to
dispatch sufficient apprentices to qualified employers who "have
requested apprentices", as shown by a "sustained pattern of
unfilled requests."
2)Eliminates a provision of existing law that authorizes the
California Apprenticeship Council to approve a new
apprenticeship program if special circumstances, as established
by regulation, justify the establishment of the program.
3)Provides that for purposes of this requirement, an existing
apprenticeship program serves the "same craft or trade" as a
proposed apprenticeship program when there would be a
substantial overlap in the work processes covered by the
programs or when graduates of the existing program would be
qualified to perform a substantial portion of the work that
would be performed by graduates of the new program.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would have no state fiscal impact.
COMMENTS: This bill is sponsored by the State Building and
Construction Trades Council. They argue that it provides much
needed clarification to Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS)
for the purpose of determining when an existing program is
deficient. Adding "have requested apprentices" to the law
clarifies that contractors must actually request apprentices
before existing programs may be found to lack the capacity or
willingness to dispatch them. The sponsor states that during
Governor Schwarzenegger's administration, the DAS sought to rely
on Employment Development Department projections of future
apprentice needs to justify approval of new programs even though
there was no evidence contractors had sought apprentices from
existing programs and were unable to receive them.
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In addition, current law allows the California Apprenticeship
Council (CAC) to promulgate a regulation providing for "special
circumstances" that justify approval of new apprenticeship
programs even if one is not needed. The sponsor notes that this
statutory provision was adopted in 1999, and CAC has never
promulgated such a regulation. Therefore, this bill removes this
statutory provision.
Finally, the sponsor states that this bill protects existing high
performing programs that graduate apprentices by ensuring the DAS
approves new programs only when the proposed new program does not
substantially overlap with an existing program's work processes.
Opponents argue that this bill exacerbates the damaging aspects of
the needs test by adding ambiguous language and deleting the very
modest authority of the CAC to approve a new apprenticeship
program "justified by special circumstances by regulation." While
it may be suggested that adding a requirement that there be a
"sustained pattern of unfilled requests" to justify new
apprenticeship opportunities, they argue that this vague
requirement of "sustained" will never be satisfactory to those who
prefer monopoly over fair and open competition and training
opportunities for all.
Analysis Prepared by:
Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN: 0000213
AB 1308
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