NEWS OF INTEREST

 

MAY 2014 MEETING!

 

MAY 1-2, 2014

CalTrans Headquarters, Sacramento

FBA will once again attend the Work Zone Memorial on the steps of the State Capitol on May 1, 2014. Our meeting will be at Caltrans Headquarters in Sacramento.

 

Complete details will be posted soon.

 

A "MEETING CALENDAR" WITH MORE INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW SOON!

 

HAVE A QUESTION? EMAIL US AT: info@flasherbarricade.com

 

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Bills Introduced as Deadline Passes

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

• Follow up on Contractor Prevailing Wage/Public Work Annual Registration Fee
• CSLB Accomplishments
• Update on March 6th Excavation Hearing
• News From the Air Resources Board

Update on My 21st Century Reporting to You
First and foremost, I reported several weeks ago that I had hired a publicist to “drag” me into the 21st Century to provide you with new, more assessable forms of media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to better convey important information you need to know.  So too, this new approach will be able to offer personal choices in terms of the method you wish to have me use to convey information to you and your staff; AND, even more importantly, to allow you to pick and choose the specific types of information you have an interest in receiving.  

I have received the draft of the new website and have been aggressively working with my publicist to roll the new service out within the next two weeks.  Stay tuned.

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Excavation Issue Remains at Forefront

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

In a recent update I reported about a forthcoming hearing on excavation that will be held in the Capitol on March 6th.  As you may recall, we worked with the Legislature last year to pass AB 811 which requires the Dig Alerts and the utilities to keep detailed records of hits occurring on their respective lines.  The goal is to accurately ascertain how big a problem exists, how many “hits” are due to not calling Dig Alert to mark prior to excavation and who created the problem (a contractor, utility, etc.). 

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Getting Down to Business: Highlights of New California Employment Laws

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

• Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition (CIAQC) Survey of Power Take-Off (PTO) Annual Hours of Use

With the start of the New Year, it is the perfect time for employers to ensure that their policies reflect the changes in California law. Although all of these were covered in my 2013 “Year End Legislative Report” this information is too important not to reiterate. 

Military and Veteran Status
Through the passage of AB 556, the legislature added “military and veteran status” to the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s (FEHA) list of categories that are protected from employment discrimination. The new law allows employers to ask applicants or employees about their military or veteran status in order to provide a veteran’s preference where one is applicable. Employers’ policies and handbooks need to be reviewed and revised to include this new FEHA-protected category.

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Act Now!

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

• Dan Walters: Tough report on Los Angeles has lessons for state
• George Skelton: Tax system desperately needs retooling

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is currently preparing modifications to the Truck and Bus Regulation to be considered by the CARB board in April 2014. Anticipated changes to the regulation include an increase to the low-use vehicle exemption threshold from 1,000 to 5,000 miles per year (and an increase to the power take off (PTO) operational limit to less than 200 hours per year). CARB is also considering allowing additional construction trucks to take advantage of the Low-Mileage Construction Truck extension provision in the Truck and Bus Regulation if certain conditions are met. January 31, 2014 is the deadline to report your trucks to CARB in order to take advantage of these pending changes to the regulation.

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