Bill Text: CA AB874 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Public utilities: unionization.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-03 - Died on inactive file. [AB874 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB874-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 874 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 16645 of the Government Code
add Section 468 to the Public Utilities Code ,
relating to state funds union organizing
.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 874, as amended, Williams. State funds:
Public utilities: unionization.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities
Commission (PUC), with regulatory jurisdiction over all public
utilities, as defined. Existing law authorizes the PUC to fix the
rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those
rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires that
any expense resulting from a bonus paid to an executive officer, as
defined, of a public utility that has ceased to pay its debts in the
ordinary course of business, be borne by the shareholders of the
public utility and prohibits any expense from being recovered in
rates.
This bill would require that any expense incurred by a public
utility in assisting or deterring union organizing, as defined, is
not recoverable either directly or indirectly in the utility's rates
and is required to be borne exclusively by the shareholders of the
public utility.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require
action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation
of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by
creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Existing law prohibits a grant recipient, state contractor, public
employer, or private employer who receives state funds and meets
other requirements from using state funds to assist, promote, or
deter union organizing.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 468 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
468. (a) For purposes of this section, "expense incurred by a
public utility in assisting or deterring union organizing" means
costs incurred in communicating with employees, or employees of the
utility's contractors, in an effort to persuade them to join or
support, or to not join or support, a labor organization.
(b) Any expense incurred by a public utility in assisting or
deterring union organizing shall not be recoverable either directly
or indirectly in the utility's rates and shall be borne exclusively
by the shareholders of the public utility.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 16645 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
16645. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Assist, promote, or deter union organizing" means any attempt
by an employer to influence the decision of its employees in this
state or those of its subcontractors regarding either of the
following:
(1) Whether to support or oppose a labor organization that
represents or seeks to represent those employees.
(2) Whether to become a member of any labor organization.
(b) "Employer" means any individual, corporation, unincorporated
association, partnership, government agency or body, or other legal
entity that employs more than one person in the state.
(c) "State contractor" means any employer that receives state
funds for supplying goods or services pursuant to a written contract
with the state or any of its agencies. "State contractor" includes an
employer that receives state funds pursuant to a contract specified
in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d). For purposes of this chapter,
the contract shall be deemed to be a contract with a state agency.
(d) (1) "State funds" means any money drawn from the State
Treasury or any special or trust fund of the state.
(2) "State funds" includes any money appropriated by the state and
transferred to any public agency, including a special district, that
is used by the public agency to fund, in whole or in part, a service
contract in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).
(e) "State property" means any property or facility owned or
leased by the state or any state agency.
