Legislation Updates

Most of the bills in the legislature are now through their first set of policy committees and we are already seeing some of their journeys end, being held in suspense or dropped by the author. Most notable among the legislation is the myriad of Retail Theft bills, many of which Cal Retailers supports and has provided lead testimony on, which have passed through their first policy committees. This includes the package of bills that make up the "CA Retail Theft Reduction Act".

CRA President and CEO Rachel Michelin participated in a press conference, hosted by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and featuring Attorney General Rob Bonta, which focused on all of the Retail Theft bills in the Assembly's "Retail Theft Reduction Act" package, which were subsequently heard and passed in Assembly Public Safety Committee. At the press conference Rivas and Michelin were joined by the authors of the bills in the Assembly Retail Theft package and other stakeholders including Asssemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur (Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Public Safety), Kevin McCarty (Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee), Juan Alanis, Marc Berman, Jacqui Irwin, Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Esmeralda Soria and California Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Barrera. You can watch the press conference here.

Additionally, Michelin gave lead testimony in support of AB 1779 (Irwin) Theft: jurisdiction. Read CRA's support letter here; AB 1960 (Soria) Sentencing enhancements: property loss. Read CRA's letter here); AB 2943 (Zbur) Crimes: shoplifting. Read CRA's letter here;

AB 3209 (Berman) Crimes: Theft: Retail Theft Restraining Orders. Read CRA's letter here. Watch the testimonies in the Assembly here.

Other bills supported by CRA that passed out of Assembly Public Safety Committee included:

• AB 1794 (McCarty) Crimes: larceny. Read CRA's letter here.
• AB 1802 (Jones-Sawyer) Crimes: organized theft. Read CRA's letter here. 
• AB 1972 (Alanis) Organized Retail Theft: cargo
• AB 1990 (Carillo) Criminal procedure: arrests: shoplifting.
• AB 2814 (Low) Crimes: unlawful entry: intent to commit package theft. Read CRA's letter here.

In addition to the Assembly bills, CRA gave lead testimony and supported Retail Theft bills on the Senate side including SB 1416 (Newman) Sentencing enhancements: sale, exchange, or return of stolen property. Read CRA's support letter here and watch the testimony here.

CRA also supported SB 1242 (Min), part of the Senate Package "Safer California Plan", which adds enhancements if arson is used during a retail theft or ORC crime. CRA President Michelin testified in support. View the hearing here. Read the support letter here. The CRA team also testified on SB 982 (Wahab), which removes the sunset provision in Cal. Pen. Code § 490.4 and also passed out of the Senate Public Safety Committee. Read CRA's support letter here.

All of these Retail Theft bills' successful passage out of their first policy committees this year is indicative of the clear shift in priorities surrounding Retail Theft and a testament to the CRA team's strategic and persistent work with state leadership including the Governor's office, Speaker's office, Senate Pro Tem, various members of the legislature and other key stakeholders to ensure CRA is in the best position possible to deliver real, tangible policy solutions to the growing Retail Theft problem in CA.

Highlights of additional legislative advocacy by the CRA team is provided below and you can access our master bill list here. As always, please reach out to the CRA team with questions, comments and any additional feedback you may have on these bills. While we have had several policy calls, legislative committee meetings, issues specific working group meetings with our members since the start of this year, as legislation moves through the process, bills inevitably change/evolve, and it is crucial that we continue to hear from our members.

Labor – CRA submitted opposition letters on two bills that could significantly impact grocery and pharmacy operations in California. CRA and the California Chamber of Commerce are working collaboratively to oppose these bills as they move forward through the process. SB 1089 (Smallwood-Cuevas) Food and prescription access: grocery and pharmacy closures and SB 1446 (Smallwood-Cuevas) Grocery establishment and retail drug establishment employees: self-service checkout and technologies affecting essential job functions will both be heard in Senate Labor Committee next and CRA is testifying in opposition. Read the letters here and here.

CRA is also a part of the lobbying coalition in opposition to AB 2499 (Schiavo) and SB 1345 (Smallwood-Cuevas). SB 1345 is an effective ban on the use of background checks given the high burden of proof required by employers to justify running one. This bill is up next in Senate Judiciary, then it will be heard in Senate Labor.

Gift Cards – On April 9th, SB 1272 (Laird) passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 9-2 vote. Chair Umberg had many concerns with the bill and made specific asks regarding data, which the opposition coalition, led by CRA, is working to address. Since the bill does not need to go to the Appropriations Committee it is now on the Senate floor. 

Privacy – CRA joined coalition letters for AB 3204 (Bauer-Kahan) on data digesters, AB 2930 (Bauer-Kahan) on automated decision tools and SB 1154 (Hurtado) on Preventing Algorithmic Collusion. Each of these bills will be heard in committee over the next couple weeks and CRA will aid in lobbying efforts. 

Tax Issues – CRA joined a coalition lobbying against SB 1494 (Glazer), which would prohibit cities and counties from entering into tax agreements with businesses. This bill was pulled from its initial hearing, but is set to be heard on April 17th. CRA also joined the coalition against AB 2829 (Papan), which would levy a tax on digital advertisements. This bill is not set for hearing yet, but is expected to be heard in the coming weeks. 

Environment – The CRA team submitted an oppose unless amended letter on SB 903 (Skinner), a PFAS related bill, after we had a meeting with the author's office regarding amendments we received from a number of our members. The bill narrowly passed out of its first policy committee (Senate Environmental Quality Committee) with a lot of opposition from stakeholders as well as concerns from members of the committee including the Chair. We believe this bill has an uphill battle in the legislature and will continue to keep our members updated. Read our letter here.

San Francisco Recovery – CRA is working with Senator Wiener on his bill, SB 1227, aimed at helping San Francisco revitalize their downtown by exempting the area from many CEQA requirements. This bill faces stiff opposition from committee staff, but CRA has met with them to address some concerns and is currently meeting with Environmental Quality Committee members to make the case for these exemptions. This bill is set to be heard April 17th.

Upcoming Legislative deadlines:

• Apr. 26 Last day for policy committees to hear and report to fiscal committees fiscal bills introduced in their house.
• May 3 Last day for policy committees to hear and report to the Floor nonfiscal bills introduced in their house
• May 10 Last day for policy committees to meet prior to May 28
• May 17 Last day for fiscal committees to hear and report to the Floor bills introduced in their house
• May 24 Last day for each house to pass bills introduced in that house

CRA Monthly Policy Calls

The following includes the remainder of the 2024 monthly policy call calendar covering this year's legislative session (dates are subject to change). Policy calls are held on Fridays at 10:00am PT.

• April 19
• May 17
• June 21
• No meeting in July
• August 16

PAGA Reform

The PAGA reform campaign has met with nearly every member in the state legislature to date. Additionally, CRA is engaging in legislative advocacy efforts in opposition to AB 2288 (Kalra). The bill will be up in policy committee on April 23 and the coalition is meeting with Kalra, other committee members and committee staff ahead of the hearing as well as gathering witnesses to testify. Read the opposition letter here. The campaign is also emailing legislators and the press to raise awareness of the effort to reform PAGA including providing testimonials and case studies that demonstrate how PAGA is failing workers and employers. Digital ads have been running and will continue to run through April. 

Post Primary Update

California's primary election came and went and in its wake left some interesting results including races that didn't get called for weeks following election night. Below are highlights of results from the election, which will impact legislative advocacy efforts for the remainder of the year and beyond. April 12 was the deadline for CA's Secretary of State to certify election results.

• Turnout was near a historic low reaching just 33%, well below normal presidential primaries, but not the record low that soime analysts were projecting.
• Proposition 1, Governor Newsom's mental health initiative, barely squeaked in a win (likely due to the low turnout).
• Assemblymember Vince Fong advanced in the congressional race to replace House Speaker Kevin McCarty and he also recently won a court battle that will allow him to also run for another Assembly seat.
• In the hotly contested race to replace Representative Anna Eshoo there was a very rare tie for second place and now three candidates could advance to the general, but voters will have to continue to wait for this determination as a recount has been ordered so it could be many more weeks before we know if this will be a three-way or two-way race for the general. Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo may face both Assemblymember Evan Low and Democrat Joe Simitian in November if the recount also ends in a tie. Only one vote either way would eliminate either Low or Simitian.
• Former Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers Steve Garvey will face Representative Adam Schiff in the US Senate race to replace the late Dianne Feinstein.
• The 22nd Congressional district in the Central Valley will be a rematch between Republican Representative David Valadao and Democrat Rudy Salas. Democrats had feared they would be frozen out of the November race if Republican Chris Mathys had grabbed the second slot from CA's top two primary system.
• A political power couple's strategy to land legislative seats failed. Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua did not make the top two in state Senate district 5 and his wife Edith Villapudua, who switched from that race to seek her husband's seat, finished third in Assembly District 13.
• A 2026 vacancy on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors following the primary has Senator Maria Elena Durazo exploring a run for the county seat Hilda Solis will have to vacate and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is also considering a run for that seat.

CARB Updates

Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF)

Weekly Informational Posts

CARB is sharing weekly posts about the ACF regulation covering topics like regulation overviews, reporting, funding and available resources. Access the posts here. Watch the regulation summary video here. Download the following fact sheets

• ACF Overview
• Funding - available incentive programs
• Drayage Fleets
• High Priority Fleets
• State & Local Government Fleets

Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT)

Public Hearing to Consider Proposed Amendments to the ACT Regulation and the Zero-Emission Powertrain Certification Test Procedure

CARB will hold a public hearing on May 23, 2024 at 9:00AM PST to consider proposed amendments to the ACT regulation and the Zero-Emission Powertrain Certification (ZEP Cert) test procedure. Get more info here.

Cal/OSHA Updates

Lead

The CalOSHA Board passed a proposed update to CA’s lead regulation (applying to both construction and general industry) by a vote of 5-2, despite significant opposition comments. Criticisms from stakeholders included:

• New draft will not significantly improve safety but will raise cost.
• The relevant cost estimates are grossly inaccurate.
• No clear evidence that current standard isn’t protecting workers sufficiently.

Opponents pushed Cal/OSHA to delay and improve this draft, but were unsuccessful in convincing the Board. Proponents pointed out that the present lead standard is outdated and needs to be significantly lowered. Numerous CA Dept. of Public Health officials called in and commented, which is relatively uncommon. Full information is available here.

Board Members spoke strongly on both sides - with Management Representatives Kathleen Crawford and Chris Laczsz-Davis voicing strong concerns about the requirements of the standard being unclear and badly written, despite widespread agreement on the science. Chair Thomas, Labor Rep. Laura Stock and others pushed strongly for adoption. Ultimately, all except the two management representatives voted in favor.

Indoor Heat

Coming out of the March Cal/OSHA meeting, it wasn’t clear if the Indoor Heat regulation would go into effect or not. Though the Standards Board voted to pass it, Board Chair Dave Thomas also reported that they had been told not to vote, and the Department of Finance had problems with the regulation and would not approve the required fiscal document – Form 399. This strange combination left many wondering – was that vote effective? Should employers prepare to comply with the Indoor Heat regulation? And, if so, when? 

Cal/OSHA also discussed an emergency meeting in the last week of March to try to address any issues with their vote. Get the latest information including what happens next, when we will know more and what employers should do in the near term here.

Additionally, it is rumored that the Dept. of Finance is going to rewrite the rule quickly and exempt state prisons. Everyone else will have to comply. This likely will be announced this Thursday, April 18. CalOSHA is not expected to vote then, but we should know CalOSHA’s intention with this reg and where they will go with it at that meeting. Anyone with indoor offices should be concerned about this standard.

Workplace Violence

CRA partnered with the National Retail Federation on a letter to Governor Newsom asking for his assistance in clarification regarding the implementation of SB 553 (Cortese-workplace violence 2023) and regulations through CalOSHA. The request from CRA received an immediate response and the CRA/NRF team will be meeting with the Newsom Administration to discuss next steps. Read the letter that was shared with the Governor, the California Labor Secretary and the Acting CalOSHA Secretary here.

SB 553 will essentially put a “regulation-like” set of requirements into effect on July 1, 2024, even though the new law has not begun formal rulemaking. CalOSHA plans to conduct an Advisory Committee meeting to move the recent legislative text (with small potential tweaks) into Title 8, but that advisory committee meeting will likely not take place until mid to late 2024, after it is in effect. Notably, the communications team at CalOSHA has emphasized that they intend to release helpful informational materials (such as template workplace violence prevention plans and FAQs for employers/employees) well before the July 1 effective date, but we don’t have an exact date yet.

Silica

CalOSHA plans to form an advisory committee to work on the permanent Silica regulation in the next few months and we expect to set a date soon. As a reminder, the Board recently passed an emergency silica regulation, but must work on a permanent draft quickly so that it is ready when the emergency regulation expires.

Tax Issues

CA Franchise Tax Board

The CRA team sent a letter to the California Franchise Tax Board outlining concerns regarding recent developments at the Multi-State Tax Commission's (MTC) Model Receipts Sourcing Regulation Review Work Group and California's push to revise the MTC's model sourcing rules as they relate to the sourcing of ground transportation services. Read the letter here.

CA Dept. of Tax and Fee Admin

The Business Taxes Committee is commencing the informal rulemaking process on whether to adopt proposed amendments to Hazardous Substances Tax Regulations 3000, Generator of Hazardous Waste, and 3021, Relief from Liability, and new Hazardous Substances Tax Regulation 3001, Generation and Handling of Hazardous Waste Fee Operative on and after January 1, 2022, through the regular rulemaking process. The Discussion Paper explains that the amendments and new regulation implement, interpret and make specific the amendments made to the Hazardous Substances Tax Law (Rev. & Tax. Code section 43001 et seq.) and chapter 6.5, Hazardous Waste Control, of division 20 of the Health and Safety Code by Senate Bill No. 158 (Stats. 2021, ch. 73).

A virtual meeting to discuss this topic will be held April 18, 2024 at 10:00AM PST. Join via Microsoft Teams or by calling 1‑916‑535‑0987 and then entering the conference identification number 829 812 915#. A meeting agenda will be posted on the BTC webpage the day before the meeting. 

Privacy Updates

CA Privacy Rules Expected by July

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) plans on starting the formal process for finalizing its last set of regulations under CA's Consumer Privacy Law. Read more.