Legislative Bills:
SB 1447 - Business Hiring Tax Credits - Support. This bill provides small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) a $1,000 tax credit if they hire or rehire an employee over the next three months. The bill sets aside $100 million and will be provided to businesses that qualify under first-come, first served basis. Signed by Governor.
SB 1159 Workers Compensation - Coronavirus - Oppose. This bill would increase workers comp costs for employers. The bill creates a "disputable" presumption, meaning that it is presumed that contraction of coronavirus is a workplace injury but may be controverted by other evidence. The bill would be retroactive and apply from the time the Governor's similar Executive Order expired (July 6). The bill is an urgency measure and would take effect immediately if signed by the Governor, which he is expected to do. Status: Signed by Governor.
AB 685 - Employee Notification- COVID-19. Oppose. This bill would require public and private employers to notify all employees and subcontractor employees, within one business day, regarding potential exposure to COVID-19. Violators will be subject to fines. Status: Signed by Governor.
AB 995 - Hazardous Waste - Oppose unless amended. This bill creates the Board of Environmental Safety within CalEPA to provide policy direction to the oversight of the Department of Toxics Control. The bill will increase certain fees and authorize the creation of a fee task force to review existing fee structures supporting hazardous waste and toxic control accounts and report to the legislature. Status: Vetoed by Governor. We expect this bill to be re-introduced next year.
SB 1383 - Expands California Rights Act. Oppose. This bill requires employers, with at least 5 employees, to grant an employee up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family care and requires employer to reinstate the employee returning from leave to the same or comparable position. Status: Signed by Governor.
AB 2454 - Trusted Dealer BAR Certification Program. Concerns. This bill, among other things, would establish the "Trusted Dealer Certification" program. The program requires BAR to develop regulations to implement. Status: Bill died. Assembly member Low plans on reintroducing this legislation next year. We will work with Assembly member Low on alternative legislation such as speeding up the disciplinary process against bad actors while preserving due process, enhancing and improving the new BAR locator program rather creating and implementing a complex and unworkable trusted dealer certification/grading/report card system.
Vehicle Safety Inspection Legislative Proposal. The California Automotive Wholesalers Association (CAWA's) task force has agreed to move forward with a legislative proposal to combine the current BAR brake and lamp program for revived total loss salvage vehicles into one program called the "vehicle safety inspection program". The proposal will provide BAR authority to issue licenses to station/techs and authority to develop inspection criteria for specific vehicle safety systems and components. The proposal is expected to be introduced next legislative session.
BAR Regulations
BAR Cite and Fine Regulations. BAR is proposing to expand the "cite and fine" disciplinary process. Concerns have been raised by the industry. Any cite and fine program must include a fair appeal process before an independent review panel and opportunity for the repair shop to attend educational training to have citation removed from permanent record, similar to traffic school. A presentation on cite and fine expansion will be made at the next BAR Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for October 22, 2020.
New DAD Smog Check Equipment Requirements. BAR will be conducting a regulatory workshop after the October 22, BAR Advisory Committee on "bio metrics" which, among other things, will require smog stations using the DAD to obtain additional equipment, namely: 1) an external web camera and 2) Palm vein reader (scanner). Draft regulatory language will be made public 7 to 10 days before the workshop.
Ballot Measures
Prop 15. The "Split Roll" initiative. Oppose. This measure will amend Prop 13 by requiring that commercial and industrial properties be assessed and taxed at current market value, rather than original price. The initiative is expected to raise up to $11.5 Billion in taxes. Whether a business owns or rents costs will increase due to higher property taxes. Increasing taxes at a time when businesses are struggling to keep their doors open, due to the pandemic, will be a devastating blow to many auto repair facilities in the state. The proposition is on the November ballot and is expected to be a close vote.
