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” mean 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 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. “Individual with employment barriers” includes, but is not limited to, members of all of the following groups:
(1)Displaced homemakers.
(2)Low-income individuals.
(3)Indians, Alaska Natives,
and Native Hawaiians, as those terms are defined in Section 3221 of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(4)Individuals with disabilities, including youths with disabilities.
(5)Older individuals.
(6)Ex-offenders.
(7)Homeless individuals, as defined in Section 12473 of Title 34 of the United States Code, or homeless children and youths, as defined in Section 11434a of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(8)Youths who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system.
(9)Individuals who are English language learners, individuals who have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural barriers.
(10)Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers, as defined in Section 3322 of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(11)Individuals within two years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under Part A (commencing with Section 601) of Subchapter IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.).
(12)Single parents, including single pregnant women.
(13)Long-term unemployed individuals.
(14)Transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.
(15)Workers who have been displaced, on and after January 1, 2020, from the fossil fuel industry for nondisciplinary reasons after more than six months of service.
(16)Any other groups that the Governor determines to have barriers to employment.
(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.
25770.2.25570.2.
The commission, or an otherwise relevant public agency, shall administer its Zero-Emission Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Block Grant Program consistent with this chapter.25770.4.25570.4.
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.
25770.6.25570.6.
(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.
25770.8.25570.8.
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. Secs.
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.
25771.25571.
(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.
25771.2.25571.2.
The relevant public agency may adopt procedures and criteria to supplement the requirements of this chapter.