GSBE Weekly Update 04/20/2018
AB2560 Taxation: prison contracts: goods and services
Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges.This bill, for the privilege of contracting with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide a state prison with goods, services, or both, would impose a tax on vendors, as defined, at specified rates for the final contract price, as defined, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2019. The bill would not apply the tax to health care contracts or to contracts with private prison vendors. The bill would require all amounts paid, less refunds, to be deposited into the State Incarceration Prevention Fund, which this bill would establish in the State Treasury, and would continuously appropriate those moneys to the State Department of Education for preschool and after school programs for the purposes of providing services to prevent people from being incarcerated and providing early intervention programs, less the amount needed to reimburse the State Board of Equalization and the Attorney General for costs incurred in administering these provisions and maintaining a database of specified information relating to the contracts. The bill would prohibit this tax from being passed through to the state by way of higher prices for the goods or services in the contract, and would require a vendor to certify under penalty of perjury that this tax was not passed through to the state. The bill would require a vendor to pay a penalty if it fails to comply with these provisions. The bill would require the Attorney General to enforce this prohibition and would authorize the Attorney General to monitor and, if necessary, investigate any instance where a vendor has passed or attempted to pass the tax through to the state. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to assess and collect the tax imposed by this part pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law and would provide an appeals process for a person from whom the state incarceration prevention tax is determined to be due, as provided. By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, and by expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
AB1870 Employment discrimination: unlawful employment practices
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, makes specified employment and housing practices unlawful, including discrimination against or harassment of employees and tenants, among others. Existing law authorizes a person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful practice to file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year from the date upon which the unlawful practice occurred, unless otherwise specified.This bill would extend the period to 3 years for which complaints alleging unlawful employment or housing practices may be filed with the department, as specified.
AB2482 Employment: flexible work schedules
Existing law, with certain exceptions, establishes 8 hours as a day’s work and a 40-hour workweek, and requires payment of prescribed overtime compensation for additional hours worked. Existing law authorizes the adoption by 2/3 of employees in a work unit of alternative workweek schedules providing for workdays no longer than 10 hours within a 40-hour workweek.This bill would permit an individual nonexempt employee to request an employee-selected flexible work schedule providing for workdays up to 10 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek, and would allow an employer to implement this schedule without the obligation to pay overtime compensation for those additional hours in a workday, except as specified. The bill would require that the flexible work schedule contain specified information and the employer’s and the employee’s original signature. The bill would also require the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce this provision and adopt regulations.