Bill Text: CA SB322 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grants Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - September 1 hearing postponed by committee. [SB322 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB322-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
June 13, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
April 18, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
March 22, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 322
| Introduced by Senator Becker |
February 06, 2023 |
An act to add Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25570) to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, relating to transportation electrification.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 322, as amended, Becker.
Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grants Program.
Existing law creates the Clean Transportation Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to provide, among other things, competitive grants and revolving loans to specified entities for those entities to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California’s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state’s climate change policies. Under existing law, a project, as defined, that develops in-state production of raw materials and the manufacturing supply chain for zero-emission vehicle components is eligible to receive funding under that program. As part of that program, the commission has awarded grant moneys through a zero-emission vehicle battery manufacturing block grant to promote in-state battery manufacturing for zero-emission vehicles and related infrastructure.
This bill
would require the commission, or an entity it contracts with, to administer its Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grant Program, and would impose eligibility, application scoring, workforce, and reporting requirements on the program. The bill would authorize the commission, or an entity it contracts with, to adopt procedures and criteria to supplement these requirements.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) The state faces grave environmental, economic, and social challenges due to climate change and its effects. The transportation sector plays an outsized role in achieving a decarbonized economy as it annually generates approximately 50 percent of the state’s emissions of greenhouse gases, when accounting for fuel production emissions, and 80 percent of air pollutants in California.
(2) California has taken the initiative in addressing these problems by, among other things, creating the Advanced Clean
Cars Program, a program adopted by the State Air Resources Board in 2012 to support California’s statutory requirement to develop and implement programs to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020, to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases an additional 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 or sooner. A key component of this plan is to end sales of new internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2035.
(3) Replacing internal combustion engine passenger vehicles will require the development of battery production capacity sufficient to provide safe, efficient, and affordable electric batteries to meet the demands of consumers. As the largest market for such vehicles and the national leader in calling for the replacement of internal combustion vehicles, California
has an interest in supporting the development of that battery production capacity in the state and in ensuring the domestic battery manufacturing industry, which has imposed environmental, economic, and social harms on surrounding communities, particularly economically depressed communities and communities of color, in the past, operates responsibly and provides meaningful economic cobenefits to the state and people of California.
(4) California has budgeted substantial funding, including $25,000,000 in grants related to zero-emission vehicle battery manufacturing. The state has the responsibility to ensure such financial support offered to businesses to produce batteries domestically provides for the creation of durable, quality jobs that do not require workers to surrender their statutory rights to fair pay and fair treatment at
work.
(5) Recognizing the extreme financial threat climate change poses to the economy of California, the state has a financial interest in rolling out zero-emission transit vehicles as quickly and expeditiously as possible.
(6) It is in the public interest to do all of the following:
(A) Promote sustainable and renewable energy sources, implement measures that increase efficient energy use, advance
transportation technologies that reduce the degradation of the environment, lessen the state’s dependence on fossil fuels, and protect the health, welfare, and safety of the people of the state.
(B) Promote the development of domestic battery production to support these larger environmental, economic, and social goals, while minimizing the harms associated with battery production.
(C) Spend resources to avoid recreating historical patterns of injustice by allocating resources in a manner that will create an economy founded on climate, racial, and economic justice, that puts an end to extreme inequality and systemic racial injustice, and ensures all Californians have a clean and safe environment in which to live, work, and play.
(D) Allocate state funds to programs, businesses, organizations, agencies, and institutions that provide the greatest opportunities for high road jobs, strong labor provisions, and climate-based solutions in a manner that is consistent with the urgency of the climate crisis, statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and achieving the greatest economic benefit to the state as a participant in the zero-emissions vehicle and battery manufacturing market.
(E) Ensure funds provided for the development of battery production capacity pursuant to the Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grants Program prioritize high road employers to enhance labor standards, workers’ rights, career pathways, and community benefits, including by requiring applicants
for subsidies to submit a workforce plan and attestation regarding any labor peace agreement they have entered into with a union.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to support the creation of equitable high-quality battery manufacturing jobs in California through the enactment and implementation of this act.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25570) is added to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to read:CHAPTER 6.7. Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grants Program
25570.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grants Program.25570.1.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) “Applicant” means a private entity that applies, bids, or seeks qualification for a covered financial subsidy pursuant to the program. “Applicant” may include more than a single entity.
(b) “Awardee” means a private entity that has been awarded a covered financial subsidy pursuant to the program.
(c) “Covered financial subsidy” means a grant awarded by the relevant public agency for the development of battery production capacity, improvement of battery production methods, or remediation of
environmental effects of battery production pursuant to the program.
(d) “Individual with employment barriers” means an individual with any characteristic that substantially limits the individual’s ability to obtain employment, including, but not limited to, indicators of poor work history, lack of work experience, employment in nontraditional occupations, long-term unemployment, lack of educational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation from high-wage and high-benefit employment, including those displaced or dislocated from jobs in the fossil fuel economy, low levels of literacy or English proficiency, disability status, or welfare dependency.
(e) “Labor peace agreement” means an agreement between an applicant and any union that, at minimum, includes all of the following:
(1) A prohibition on the union and its members from engaging in picketing, work stoppages, boycotts, and any other economic interference with the applicant’s business.
(2) A prohibition on the applicant from engaging in a lockout of its employees.
(3) An agreement by the applicant not to disrupt efforts by the union to communicate with, and attempt to organize and represent, the applicant’s employees.
(4) Union access at reasonable times to areas in which the applicant’s employees work for the purpose of meeting with employees to discuss their rights to representation, employment rights under state law, and terms and conditions of employment.
(5) A methodology for determining whether the union has been chosen as the representative of particular job classifications of the applicant.
(f) “Living wage” means at least 167 percent of the minimum wage set by state statute or local ordinance, if higher.
(g) “Program” means the Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grants Program administered by the relevant public agency.
(h) “Relevant public agency” means the commission and any entities with which it may contract to award or administer covered financial subsidies, evaluate applicants, or monitor compliance with conditions of covered financial subsidies pursuant to the program.
(i) “Subcontractor” means a private entity performing a portion of the work of the awardee through a subcontract or subgrant.
(j) “Union” means a bona fide labor organization that is the recognized or certified exclusive bargaining representative of the employees of an employer. A labor organization is bona fide if all the following requirements are satisfied:
(1) The labor organization represents employees in California as to wages, hours, and working conditions.
(2) The labor organization’s officers have been elected by secret ballot or otherwise in a manner consistent with federal law.
(3) The labor
organization is free of domination or interference by any employer or association of employers and has not received improper assistance or support from an employer or association of employers.
25570.2.
The commission, or an otherwise relevant public agency, shall administer its Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grant Program consistent with this chapter.25570.4.
In order to be eligible to receive a covered financial subsidy, an applicant shall do all of the following:(a) Include in its application an environmental safety plan that includes, at minimum, all of the following:
(1) Procedures for the safe handling and storage of all materials used in the process of battery production, storage, and distribution.
(2) Procedures for the regular testing of all employees engaged in the process of battery production, storage, and distribution for workplace chemical exposure.
(3) Procedures for the regular testing of the air, water, and soil of the facility and the immediately surrounding area.
(b) Include in its application a workforce plan that includes, at minimum, all of the following:
(1) A commitment that 30 percent of its employees will be individuals with employment barriers, which may be satisfied by the employer showing that it has either hired, or made a good faith effort to hire, individuals with employment barriers.
(2) A commitment to offer employment to those engaged in apprenticeships through programs approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards or contractually mandated training, or to offer compensation for continuing education in a relevant field.
(3) Payment of a living wage to its employees.
(c) (1) Attest whether the applicant has entered into a labor peace agreement covering a classification of its employees, and, if it has, the applicant shall provide attestation for each labor peace agreement, verified by the union that is a signatory to the labor peace agreement, to the relevant public agency. For applicants that have not entered into a labor peace agreement, the applicant shall indicate whether it will enter into and abide by a labor peace agreement with any union that communicates its interest in representing any classification of the applicant’s employees.
(2) This subdivision shall only apply to an applicant with five or more
employees.
(d) Include in its application any current collective bargaining agreement that the applicant has with a labor organization that represents employees engaged in the production of batteries in the United States, if applicable.
25570.6.
(a) Upon the relevant public agency receiving a complete application from an eligible applicant, the application shall be scored, out of 100 points, based on the following:(1) The application shall receive 20 points if the applicant will pay its employees at or above a living wage and at or above local or regional prevailing wage standards, where those standards exist for the applicable occupations.
(2) The application shall receive 20 points if it includes a targeted plan for investments in employee training, growth, and development, including the hiring of employees displaced or dislocated from jobs
in the fossil fuel economy.
(3) The application shall receive 20 points if the applicant’s workplace provides safe and healthy working conditions, based on the incidence of serious workplace injuries or illnesses reported to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health during the two years preceding the application’s filing date, and the applicant has adopted an injury and illness prevention program consistent with Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
(4) The application shall receive 20 points if the applicant has demonstrated consistent compliance with workplace laws and regulations, including proactive efforts to remedy past problems, as measured by proof of internal procedures for investigating and responding to complaints of inappropriate workplace
conditions and a narrative description of any charges or lawsuits filed by employees against the applicant during the two years preceding the application’s filing date.
(5) The application shall receive 20 points if the applicant has adopted mechanisms, such as labor peace agreements or collective bargaining agreements, to include worker voice and agency in the workplace.
(b) An application that receives a score of at least 80 points is eligible to receive a covered financial subsidy pursuant to the program. Receiving a score of at least 80 points does not entitle the application to a covered financial subsidy of any amount, and the relevant public agency may use metrics other than score to determine which eligible applications are awarded covered financial subsidies.
25570.8.
In order to maximize economic cobenefits, an awardee, and its subcontractors, as specified below, shall do all of the following:(a) The awardee shall meet high road job standards designed to achieve all of the following goals:
(1) Support the creation and retention of quality, permanent, and full-time jobs that provide high wages, including benefits and access to training.
(2) Support the hiring of individuals with employment barriers.
(3) Protect public health by supporting the adoption of specific protections
for worker health and safety and community public health and safety.
(b) The awardee shall establish and maintain an employer-employee relationship with individuals performing production, operations, maintenance, research, design, and supporting administrative work in connection with a project for which it has received a covered financial subsidy. If the awardee subcontracts any of those functions to another entity, that subcontractor shall establish and maintain an employer-employee relationship with individuals performing production, operations, maintenance, research, design, and supporting administrative work in connection with its work on the project. The requirements of this subdivision do not apply to the performance of building and construction work in connection with the program.
(c) An applicant that the commission has determined to have violated any applicable federal, state, or local laws pertaining to leave, both paid and unpaid, including any antiretaliation laws, public health and safety, or employee protections, including pursuant to Sections 6310 and 6311 of the Labor Code, Title VII (commencing with Section 701) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352), the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 621 et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336), the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-325), or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), and all related regulations, shall not be eligible for a covered financial subsidy pursuant to the
program.
25571.
(a) Within 12 months of receiving a covered financial subsidy, and annually thereafter until the final report is submitted pursuant to subdivision (b), an awardee shall submit to the relevant public agency information that is necessary to demonstrate its compliance with the requirements of this chapter.(b) Before receiving the final payment of a covered financial subsidy, the awardee shall submit to the relevant public agency a final report that demonstrates its compliance with the requirements of this chapter for the entire time during which it received the covered financial subsidy.
(c) (1) If an awardee fails to comply with a reporting requirement specified in subdivision (a) or (b), the relevant public agency shall recover the full amount of the covered financial subsidy from the awardee until the awardee addresses that noncompliance pursuant to subdivision (d).
(2) If the relevant public agency does not recover a covered financial subsidy pursuant to paragraph (1), an individual who paid personal income taxes to the state in the calendar year before the year in dispute, or any organization representing such a taxpayer, may bring a civil action in state court to compel recovery under this subdivision. The court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to such a prevailing taxpayer or organization.
(d) (1) An awardee that fails to comply with a reporting requirement specified in subdivision (a) or (b), after receiving notice from the relevant public agency that it failed to comply with the requirement, may address that noncompliance by submitting a revised or new report by the deadline established pursuant to paragraph (2).
(2) The relevant public agency shall establish a deadline for an awardee to submit a revised or new report within at least 15 calendar days, but not more than 30 calendar days, from the date the awardee received notice pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) If an awardee fails to address its noncompliance with a reporting requirement by the deadline established pursuant to paragraph (2), the relevant public agency shall permanently deduct ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) from the awardee’s covered financial subsidy, or the full covered financial subsidy if its amount is less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), for each noncompliant report.
(e) This section does not limit the availability of standard breach of contract remedies if an awardee fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
