Five Job Creator Bills Advance in Legislature

As of the June 1 deadline for bills to pass the house in which they were introduced, five California Chamber of Commerce-supported job creator bills remain alive for further consideration. Four job creators won approval last week by the Assembly or Senate.

• AB 1734 (Calderon; D-Whittier) Extension of Film Tax Credits — Extends California’s current tax credit for motion picture and television productions, which has a sunset date of July 1, 2020, for an additional five years, continuing the success of this tax credit, which has brought more film and television production jobs to this state and has increased business to California. Passed Assembly on May 30, 74-2.

• AB 1743 (O’Donnell; D-Long Beach) Career Technical Education — Reauthorizes and provides appropriations for the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant program, which provides students with necessary training and education to prepare them for a variety of career options. Passed Assembly on May 30, 78-0.

• SB 951 (Mitchell; D-Los Angeles) Extension of Film Tax Credits — Extends California’s current tax credit for motion picture and television productions, which has a sunset date of July 1, 2020, for an additional five years, continuing the success of this tax credit, which has brought more film and television production jobs to this state and has increased business to California companies that supply productions with goods and services. Passed Senate on May 31, 37-0.

• SB 1243 (Portantino; D-La Cañada Flintridge) Career Training Education — Establishes the California State Pathways in Technology (CA P-TECH) program, to encourage and assist selected schools, in a public-private partnership, to prepare students for high-skilled, high-demand jobs in technology, manufacturing, health care and finance. Passed Senate on May 30, 36-0. See Guest Commentary.

 

A fifth job creator bill passed the Assembly earlier in May and awaits its first hearing in the Senate—CalChamber-sponsored AB 2770 (Irwin; D-Thousand Oaks).

The bill will enable businesses to avoid hiring repeat sexual harassment offenders, ending the cycle of harassment in industries across California.

AB 2770 protects an employer’s ability to warn potential employers about an individual’s harassing conduct without the threat of a defamation lawsuit when responding to a reference check.

The bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 12.