2019 Legislative Session Recap

The 2019 legislative session ended on Friday, September 13 with one of the most action packed days in a long time. Friday began with nearly 3,000 people protesting a bill that imposes new oversight of childhood vaccine exemptions. During the protest, one individual threw what appeared to be blood on the Senate floor, which led to the Senate shutting down for 4 hours. As the Senate Chambers became a crime scene, the Senate reconvened in a committee room to finish its work.

Over the last year, the Legislature acted on over 3,000 bills and sent 1,337 to the Governor to be signed.  The Governor has until October 13th to sign all remaining bills.

Below is a list of the key pieces of legislation that CTA was following at the end of session. While many of these won’t be finalized until October, staff wanted to provide you the most recent information of what to follow over the next 4 weeks.

AB 5 (Gonzalez) - Dynamex codification
CTA Position: OPPOSED
Codifies the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex Decision. The passage of AB 5 upends 30 years of established law and creates uncertainty for 70,000 owner operators. Since the bill’s introduction, CTA has proactively advocated for changes to AB 5, including requirements for operating authority, ownership of vehicles, exclusivity and transparency about pay. These changes would have set a clear criterion and established independence in a way that protected employees from misclassification without hurting clearly legitimate owner-operators. Unfortunately, due to opposition from the Teamsters and the State Building and Construction Trades, an exemption for trucking was not included. While the passage of AB 5 is a major setback, CTA’s lawsuit claiming federal preemption continues to be the trucking industry’s best hope in preserving the Owner Operator model.
AB 5 Legal Roundtable Webinar: CTA will be providing an extensive review on AB 5 and its impact on the trucking industry on Wednesday, October 2 at 10:00 am. Register For Webinar Here
Status: Signed by the Governor

AB 321 (Patterson) – Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Power Units
CTA Position: SUPPORT
Exempts trucks from sales and use tax as long as 50% of truck use is outside of California, similar to the out-of-state exemption currently available for trailers. CTA was supportive of the measure.
Status: Signed and Chaptered by the Governor. Takes effect January 1, 2020.

AB 1066 (Gonzalez) – Unemployment Insurance for Striking Workers
CTA Position: OPPOSE
This bill allows striking employees to receive unemployment benefits if the strike lasts more than three weeks. The bill also weakens the solvency of California Unemployment Insurance (UI) and adds considerable and unpredictable costs to California’s private and public employers. CTA, along with a coalition of business groups throughout California, opposed AB 1066.
Status: Died on the Senate Floor

AB 1810 (Transportation Committee) – Transportation Omnibus Bill
CTA Position: SUPPORT
Among other things, AB 1810 will give motor carriers who have paid their fees and submitted their Motor Carrier Permit (MCP) renewal to the DMV (but not yet received the MCP) the ability to continue operating until the permit has been received. Earlier this year, hundreds of motor carriers experienced delays receiving their MCP after the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suffered a computer program failure. This outage impacted many CTA members between mid-February and mid-March who paid their renewal fees months in advance. Upon hearing of its members’ delays, CTA worked with the DMV and the CHP on finding a solution to help expedite the MCP process.
Status: On the Governor’s Desk

SB 210 (Leyva) – Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program
CTA Position: NEUTRAL
Directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and implement the first smog check program for commercial motor vehicles. CTA worked extensively with the author to ensure that the bill holds CARB accountable and gives the Legislature oversight over the program. In addition, CTA secured amendments stating that at least one compliance option, including vendor fees, be capped at $30. Staff worked with the Environmental Committee to draft these amendments. After these amendments were taken CTA became neutral on SB 210, after opposing previous versions.
Status: On the Governor’s Desk

Once the Governor’s signing period is completed, staff will be sending out a complete legislative recap from this year. If you have any questions, please email CTA’s Director of Legislative Affairs Matt Roman at mroman@caltrux.org.