STATE LEGISLATION

CWA is tracking many bills.  Following are some of the bills in which CWA has actively represented its membership.

Sponsored Legislation:

AB 2058 - Jennifer and colleagues from the California Labor Federation and the League of the California Community Colleges, has been meeting with Republican legislators in an effort to garner bipartisan support. They have recently met with Assembly Members Hagman (R-Diamond Bar), Berryhill (R-Modesto), Nestande (R-Palm Desert), Cook (R-Yucaipa), Niello (R-Sacramento), Anderson (R-La Mesa). Additional meetings are being scheduled.

The bill passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee today and will be scheduled for a first reading on the Assembly Floor next week. If you are in a Republican Assembly District, please call your member and urge their support of AB 2058. We also need business representatives to send letters of support to Randall at rechevarria@calworkforce.org ASAP. You may also contact Randall to receive a template support letter for your business representatives to use.

AB 2349 -  scheduled to be heard in the Senate Labor Committee on June 23rd. So far we have had bipartisan support for the bill.

High Priority Tracked Legislation:

SB 968 - This the Senate version of CWA sponsored legislation, AB 2058. The bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday and will be scheduled for a first reading on the Senate floor.

SB 974 - Waiting for third reading on the Senate floor

SB 985 - This bill will fail to meet the legislative deadline and be considered "dead on arrival"

AB 1827 - Passed Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be scheduled for a first reading on the Assembly floor vote

AB 2030 - Held from Assembly Appropriations. This bill can be considered dead.

AB 2211 - Passed Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be scheduled for a floor vote

AB 2628 - Dead

AB 2696 - Passed and moving to the Senate

AB 2726 - Passed Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be scheduled for a floor vote. We are working with the bill author's office and the bill sponsors on requested amendments by our membership.

FEDERAL LEGISLATION

Jennifer Mitchell will be in Washington, D.C. May 31st - June 4th attending a meeting of the Coalition of State Associations, and meeting with other national partner organizations and Congressional staffers. We will report on her trip in the next Legislative Update.

National Workforce Association Summer Symposium

NWA is hosting their First Annual Summer Symposium in Washington, D.C. July 20-21, 2010. The Summer Symposium will provide: an opportunity to work with legislators and their staff to help them better understand the workforce system, an insider's perspective on the Congressional agenda for the remainder of this year and next, an opportunity to learn about the electorate, the 2010 election cycle and what that means for the Nation, the workforce system, our economy and more, and an opportunity to interact with Members of Congress, staff and other key players in the legislative and administrative branches, as well as organizations that have a stake in workforce and economic issues. For additional information visit the National Workforce Association.

H.R. 4213 - The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010

Previously the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act, H.R. 4213 is a package of tax incentives to spur job creation, tax cuts for working families, disaster relief for states, combined with an extension of COBRA and UI benefits. The House of Representatives passed a scaled-down version of the bill, which included the extension of unemployment insurance and $1 billion for summer youth employment, but the Senate went on recess before they had time to act and will not return until June 7th. Although this is great news, the current extension of unemployment insurance expires on June 2nd and people are going to lose their benefits until the Senate acts on this bill.

H.R. 4849 - The Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act

Extends the Build America Bonds to help finance the rebuilding of schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and rail lines; targets tax incentives to spur investment in small businesses and for entrepreneurs looking to start a new business; and extends aid to States to provide subsidies to employers, including small businesses, who hire unemployed workers that is on-track to put over 160,000 Americans back to work. The bill was passed by the House on March 24th, and was read twice in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Finance.

H.R. 5019 - The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010

Designed to spur home energy retrofits by providing short-term incentives to homeowners who install energy-saving products, such as insulation, windows, doors, and heating systems. Home Star also creates an innovative financing program to be sure that energy efficiency investments continue after the program's conclusion. The bill was passed by the House on May 7th, and is currently in the Senate Committee on Finance.

LEGISLATIVE TRACKING SYSTEM

Here is the complete matrix of the current Assembly and Senate bills we are tracking.

PRESIDENT'S BUDGET 2009

Here is a great chart of the declining funding in the US developed by The Workforce Alliance: TWA CHART

The Workforce Alliance's California Fact sheet on the need to invest in Middle Skill jobs: Click here

Michael Gaulden, a San Diego Youth@Work program participant, testified in an Assembly Labor Committee hearing on April 7th, in support of AB 2349, which would codify the program in California.  On April 26th the bill was unanimously approved by the California State Assembly, and forwarded to the Senate for deliberation.

Michael with Assembly Member Marty Block (D-San Diego), and his mother, Monique King, on the floor of the California State Assembly.

Michael with Assembly Member Marty Block (D-San Diego), at Mr. Block's desk on the floor of the California State Assembly.

Michael with Assembly Member Paul Fong (D-Mountain View), author of AB 2349.