20250SB__118597AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-18 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-20 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-05-14 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Cortese (Coauthors: Senators Arreguín, Becker, and Grayson) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Bryan) LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Cortese COAUTHOR SENATE Arreguín COAUTHOR SENATE Becker COAUTHOR SENATE Grayson COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Bryan

An act to add

Chapter 6.98 (commencing with

Section 25600) to Division of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous materials. hazardous materials Pharmaceutical facilities: skilled and trained workforce. Existing law requires a skilled and trained workforce to be used in the construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work of certain public works and privately-owned facilities engaged in certain petroleum-related activities, manufacturing hydrogen, biofuels, or certain specified chemicals, or capturing, sequestering, or using carbon dioxide, as specified.

Existing law defines “skilled and trained workforce” to include, among other criteria, skilled journeypersons who are paid at least a rate equivalent to the applicable prevailing hourly wage rate.

This bill would require an owner, operator, or developer of a facility that will be used for the research, development, or production of pharmaceutical products to, when contracting for the performance of construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work on the facility, require that its contractors and subcontractors use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all onsite work within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades, and would require all contractors and subcontractors performing the work to use a skilled and trained workforce.

The bill would require the owner, operator, or developer of the facility to provide to the Labor Commissioner a monthly report demonstrating compliance with the bill’s provisions that includes, among other things, the full name and other identifying information relating to each worker relied on to satisfy the apprenticeship graduation percentage requirements.

If the Labor Commissioner determines that a contractor or subcontractor failed to use a skilled and trained workforce, the bill would require the contractor or subcontractor to forfeit, as a civil penalty to the state, up to $5,000 per month of work performed for a first violation, and, for a second or subsequent violation, up to $10,000 per month of work performed. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to reduce or waive the penalty under specified circumstances. MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (

a) The use of unskilled and untrained construction workers to perform work on pharmaceutical facilities is a risk to public health and safety because these facilities must often meet heightened standards for cleanliness, security, pathogen control, and operational continuity and may need to be repurposed to respond to a public health crisis. (

b) These risks could be ameliorated by requiring contractors and subcontractors that build and maintain pharmaceutical facilities to use a skilled and trained workforce.

SEC. 2.

Chapter 6.98 (commencing with

Section 25600) is added to Division of the Health and Safety Code , to read: 6.98. Pharmaceutical Research, Development, and Production Facilities 25600. (

a) An owner, operator, or developer of a facility that will be used for the research, development, or production of pharmaceutical products shall, when contracting for the performance of initial and subsequent construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work on the facility, require that its contractors and any subcontractors use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all onsite work within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades. All contractors and subcontractors performing work covered by this subdivision shall use a skilled and trained workforce to perform this work. (

b) For purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (

b) of

Section of the Labor Code, a facility covered by this

section shall be considered in determining whether existing apprenticeship programs do not have the capacity, or have neglected or refused, to dispatch sufficient apprentices to qualified employers who are willing to abide by the applicable apprenticeship standards. (

c) This

section does not apply to the employees of the owner or operator of the facility or prevent the owner or operator from using its own employees to perform any work that has not been assigned to contractors while the employees of the contractor are present and working. (

d) An apprenticeship program approved by the chief may enroll, with advanced standing, applicants with relevant prior work experience at a facility that is subject to this section, in accordance with the approved apprenticeship standards of the program. (

e) The criteria of subparagraph (

A) of paragraph (10) of subdivision (

h) and of paragraph (11) of subdivision (

h) shall not apply to either of the following:

(1) To the extent that the contractor has requested qualified workers from the local hiring halls that dispatch workers in the apprenticeable occupation and, due to workforce shortages, the contractor is unable to obtain sufficient qualified workers within hours of the request, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted. This

section does not prevent contractors from obtaining workers from any source.

(2) To the extent that compliance is impracticable because an emergency requires immediate action to prevent harm to public health or safety or to the environment, but the criteria applies as soon as the emergency is over or it becomes practicable for contractors to obtain a qualified workforce. (

f) The requirement specified in subdivision (

a) for a skilled and trained workforce applies to each individual contractor’s and subcontractor’s onsite workforce. (

g) This

section does not make the construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work at a facility that is subject to this

section a public work, within the meaning of

Chapter 1 (commencing with

Section 1720) of Part of Division of the Labor Code. This

section does not preclude the use of an alternative workweek

schedule adopted pursuant to

Section or of the Labor Code. (

h) As used in this section, the following terms apply: (1) “Apprenticeable occupation” means an occupation for which the chief has approved an apprenticeship program pursuant to

Section of the Labor Code. (2) “Building and construction trades” has the same meaning as in

Section 3075.5 of the Labor Code. (3) “Chief” means the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards of the Department of Industrial Relations. (4) “Construction,” “alteration,” “demolition,” “installation,” “repair,” and “maintenance” have the same meanings as in Sections and of the Labor Code. (5) “Facility that will be used for the research, development, or production of pharmaceutical products” includes a facility that will conduct activities described in Code or of the North American Classification System (NAICS), as that code read on January 1, 2025, and that involve the production of a pharmaceutical product, including starting materials, intermediaries, and active pharmaceutical intermediates. (6) “Graduate of an apprenticeship program” means either of the following: (

A) An individual that has been issued a certificate of completion under the authority of the California Apprenticeship Council or the chief for completing an apprenticeship program approved by the chief pursuant to

Section of the Labor Code. (

B) An individual that has completed an apprenticeship program located outside California and approved for federal purposes pursuant to the apprenticeship regulations adopted by the United States Secretary of Labor. (7) “Onsite work” shall not include catalyst handling and loading, chemical cleaning, or inspection and testing that was not within the scope of a prevailing wage determination issued by the Director of Industrial Relations as of January 1, 2025. (8) “Prevailing hourly wage rate” means the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, as determined by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to Sections and 1773.9 of the Labor Code, but does not include shift differentials, travel and subsistence, or holiday pay.

Notwithstanding subdivision (

c) of

Section 1773.1 of the Labor Code, the requirement that employer payments not reduce the obligation to pay the hourly straight time or overtime wages found to be prevailing does not apply if otherwise provided in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement covering the worker. (9) “Registered apprentice” means an apprentice registered in an apprenticeship program approved by the chief pursuant to

Section of the Labor Code who is performing work covered by the standards of that apprenticeship program and receiving the supervision required by the standards of that apprenticeship program. (10) “Skilled journeyperson” means a worker who meets both of the following criteria: (

A) The worker either graduated from an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation that was approved by the chief, or has at least as many hours of on-the-job experience in the applicable occupation that would be required to graduate from an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation that is approved by the chief. (

B) The worker is being paid at least a rate equivalent to the prevailing hourly wage rate for a journeyperson in the applicable occupation and geographic area. (11) “Skilled and trained workforce” means a workforce that meets both of the following criteria: (

A) All of the workers are either registered apprentices or skilled journeypersons. (

B) At least percent of the skilled journeypersons are graduates of an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation. (i)

(1) The owner, operator, or developer of the facility shall provide to the Labor Commissioner on a monthly basis a report demonstrating compliance with this chapter. The required monthly report demonstrating compliance with this

chapter shall include the full name of, and identify the apprenticeship program name, location, and graduation date of, each worker relied upon to satisfy the apprenticeship graduation percentage requirements of this section. A monthly report provided to the Labor Commissioner pursuant to this

section shall be a public record under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with

Section 7920.000) of Title of the Government Code) and shall be open to public inspection. (2) (

A) If the Labor Commissioner or the Labor Commissioner’s designee determines after an investigation that a contractor or subcontractor failed to use a skilled and trained workforce in accordance with this section, the contractor or subcontractor responsible for the violation shall forfeit, as a civil penalty to the state, not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per month of work performed in violation of this chapter. A contractor or subcontractor that commits a second or subsequent violation within a three-year period shall forfeit as a civil penalty to the state the sum of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month of work performed in violation of this section. (

B) The amount of any monetary penalty may be reduced or waived by the Labor Commissioner if the amount of the penalty would be disproportionate to the severity of the violation. The Labor Commissioner shall consider, in setting the amount of a monetary penalty, all of the following circumstances: (

i) Whether the violation was intentional. (ii) Whether the contractor or subcontractor has committed other violations of this

section or of the Labor Code. (iii) Whether, upon notice of the violation, the contractor or subcontractor took steps to voluntarily remedy the violation. (iv) The extent or severity of the violation. (

v) The Labor Commissioner or Labor Commissioner’s designee shall issue a civil wage and penalty assessment, in accordance with

Section of the Labor Code, upon determination of penalties assessed under subparagraph (A). Review of a civil wage and penalty assessment issued under this subdivision may be requested in accordance with the provisions of

Section of the Labor Code. The regulations of the Director of Industrial Relations, which govern proceedings for review of civil wage and penalty assessments and the withholding of contract payments under

Article 1 (commencing with

Section 1720) and

Article 2 (commencing with

Section 1770) of

Chapter of Part of Division of the Labor Code, shall apply. (

C) The determination of the Labor Commissioner as to the amount of the penalty imposed under this subdivision shall be reviewable by the Director of Industrial Relations only for an abuse of discretion.

(3) This subdivision shall not apply if all work on the project is covered by a project labor agreement that requires the use of a skilled and trained workforce, provides for the enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure, and includes provisions to address community benefits. For purposes of this subdivision, a “project labor agreement” means a prehire collective bargaining agreement that establishes terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project or projects and is an agreement described in

Section 158(

f) of Title of the United States Code.