The last actions of the 2021 California legislative session took place on October 10th, 2021, which was the deadline for Governor Newsom to sign or veto legislation. It was a very busy year for construction related issues, yet also a difficult year to advocate operationally as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the way the legislature carried out its business. COVID-19 protocols required significant adaptations to procedures including virtual member and committee meetings, modified floor sessions, and remote access only for the public. Through it all, WPCCA’s statewide legislative team engaged in all impactful legislative proceedings and stayed focused on promoting and protecting our contractors and our industry.
It’s important to remember that both houses of California’s Legislature have 2/3 Democratic supermajorities, which means it is very challenging to stop progressive and environmentally slanted bills that adversely impact our industry. Despite that fact, WPCCA was again successful in defeating or amending numerous measures that would have been harmful to our contractors and the industry overall.
In addition, WPCCA had a very effective legislative session pursuing industry legislation and achieved success in many areas, including; broadening awareness and access to industry apprenticeship programs; clarification on the validity of the use of a responsible managing employee for contractor state licensing purposes; preservation of the construction trucking and hauling safe harbor provisions related to independent contracting; and extensions to the required use of a skilled and trained workforce on public works projects.
Below are WPCCA’s Legislative Scorecard and End-of-Year Report. The Legislative Scorecard provides an overview of legislation WPCCA was involved with throughout the year. Moreover, the End-of-Year report is an overview of all the pertinent legislation that was passed during the 2021 legislative session that will have an impact on contractors and the construction industry overall.
Click here to view the 2021 Legislative Scorecard.
Click here to view the Legislative End-of-Year Report.
This content was provided by WPCCA professional counsel and is for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact their own professional counsel for company specific matters in the relevant jurisdiction.