OH RIGHT. SO UH, WELCOME
EVERYONE TO THE ASSEMBLY, LABOR
AND EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE
HEARING. TEST TESTIMONIES IN
PERSON, BUT WE DO ACCEPT WRITTEN
TESTIMONY THROUGH THE POSITION
THAT REPORT ON THE COMMITTEE'S
WEBSITE. WE ALSO HAVE AN EMAIL
ADDRESS SET UP THAT YOU CAN SEND
US, UH, THAT YOU CAN USE THE
EMAILS YOUR TESTIMONY. EMAILS AL
BR DOT COMMITTEE AT ASSEMBLY
THAT CA.GOV. AND UM, AS WE BEGIN
, ACTUALLY, IF WE CAN, MADAM
SECRETARY START BY TAKING A ROLE
IN ESTABLISHING QUORUM. CHOLERA
HERE, FLORA. CHEN. HANEY. ORTEGA
REYES. HERE WARD DISTINGUISHED
AND AS WE BEFORE WE START WITH
THE PRESENTATION, I DO WANT TO
INTRODUCE TIM RAINEY. UM YOU
WANT TO JUST JUST STAND UP AND
WAIT EVERYBODY AND JUST, YOU
KNOW, TIM HAS HAS BEEN WORKING
ON OUR BEHALF AS THE DIRECTOR OF
THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD,
AND NOW WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO
WORK WITH THEM EVEN MORE CLOSELY
AS HE IS WORKING IN SPEAKER
REVIS OFFICE AND AS OUR LABOR
LIAISON, UH AND SO, WE, YOU
KNOW, WE, AS IN LABOR COMMITTEE
AND MYSELF AND PREVIOUSLY ON THE
FUTURE WORK COMMISSION. I HAVE
WORKED WITH TIM FOR A NUMBER OF
YEARS, AND I THINK HE'S AN
EXCELLENT ADDITION TO THE
ASSEMBLY AND A RESOURCE FOR ALL
OF US. AND SO I JUST WANTED TO
MAKE SURE IS HE JUST CAME ON
BOARD THAT HE HAD THE
OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE THEM
AND CERTAINLY, UM, TAKE THE
OPPORTUNITY OVER THE NEXT FEW
WEEKS TO SIT DOWN WITH THEM OR
HAVE YOUR STAFF ESPECIALLY YOUR
STAFF. ASSIGNED TO LABOR ISSUES,
SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND GET HIM
ACCLIMATED TO THE TO THE
ASSEMBLY COMMUNITY. UH AND I'M
REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE
OPPORTUNITY TO HELP GUIDE THE
SPEAKER'S OFFICE AND OUR BODY,
UM IN TERMS OF MOVING IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION, PARTICULARLY ON
THE ISSUES LIKE THE FUTURE OF
WORK AND THINGS THAT I KNOW HAVE
WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM ON
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
OBVIOUSLY. SO WELCOME, TIM, AND
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH
YOU. UH SO YES, CHERYL, ALLOW
APPLAUSE. SENATOR DAHLE THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
PROMPTLY UH, WE DO HAVE ONE ITEM
S J. R FIVE. AND SENATOR.
WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, YOU MAY
BEGIN AND YOU CAN HAVE UP TO TWO
WITNESSES UP TO TWO MINUTES.
EACH OF YOU SO DESIRE, OKAY?
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. IT
SEEMS KIND OF EERIE TO BE SO
QUIET. SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND
HERE. THANK YOU ALL, ESPECIALLY
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S HANEY BECAUSE
HAVING TO OVER HERE WITH THAT,
SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM SO GOOD AFTERNOON, MR CHAIR.
UM XJR, FIVE, URGES THE FEDERAL
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
TO LIFT THE LOCAL HIRE
PROHIBITION ON FEDERALLY FUNDED
PROJECTS AND EXPLICITLY ALLOW
STATES AND LOCALITIES TO
IMPLEMENT STRONG PROCUREMENT
STANDARDS AT ADVANCED HIGH
QUALITY JOBS AND EQUITABLE
HIRING. YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN
CALIFORNIA, WHERE IN THE MIDDLE
OF AN INDUSTRY CHANGING MOMENT.
IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND
MANUFACTURING SUSTAINABILITY AND
THE COMING YEARS WE HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO DETERMINE HOW
BILLIONS TENS OF BILLIONS NOT
MUCH MORE FEDERAL DOLLARS ARE
SPENT IN OUR STATE. UM WE KNOW,
UNFORTUNATELY THAT MOST POOR
PEOPLE WORK. OFTEN FULL TIME AND
MORE THAN ONE JOB 40 MILLION
CALIFORNIANS LIVE IN POVERTY OR
NEAR POVERTY. SO THE PROBLEM
ISN'T THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE
JOBS OR THAT ARE HISTORIC
INVESTMENTS WON'T CREATE JOBS.
IT'S THAT MORE PEOPLE NEED
ACCESS TO GOOD JOBS AND FEWER
THAN HALF OF CALIFORNIANS
CONSIDER THEMSELVES IN A GOOD
JOB. AH BECAUSE WE ARE
RESTRICTED, UH, FROM FEDERAL
REGULATIONS, KNOWN AS THE
UNIFORM GUIDANCE, STATE AND CITY
GOVERNMENTS ARE HINDERED FROM
USING PROVEN PROGRAMS LIKE LOCAL
AND TARGETED HIGHER. IN
FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS FOR
NON CONSTRUCTION JOBS IN MY CITY
OF LOS ANGELES, WE HAVE SEEN
HUGE SUCCESSES FROM PROJECTS, UH
, THAT HIGHER THEIR WORKERS FROM
LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND FROM
TARGETED GROUPS LIKE THOSE
RETURNING FROM INCARCERATION AND
OUR VETERANS, BUT MANY OF THESE
PROGRAMS WERE ONLY POSSIBLE.
BECAUSE WE HAD LOCAL AND FEDERAL
PILOT FUNDING UNCLEAR AND
PROHIBITIVE. FEDERAL GRANT RULES
HAVE HAMPERED CITIES AND STATES
FROM LEVERAGING THE OPPORTUNITY
TO USE FEDERAL DOLLARS. BUT NOW
WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO CHANGE
THESE GRANT RULES, RESTRICTIVE
GRANT RULES AND BRING SUCCESSFUL
PROGRAMS BY ACTING NOW WE CAN
ONLY BRING NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE
FUNDING. TO OUR DISTRICTS, BUT
ALSO, UM, MAKE ENORMOUS INROADS
IN. UM UH, EQUITY IN OUR
COMMUNITIES, SO WE WANT TO
MODERNIZE THE FEDERAL GRANT
RULES CREATE PROGRAMS THAT
CREATE GOOD JOBS FOR
CALIFORNIANS. AND TODAY WE HAVE
VALERIE LIZARRAGA FROM JOBS TO
MOVE AMERICA TESTIFYING AND
SUPPORT. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES,
PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR,
CHOLERA AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE. MY NAME IS VALERIE
LIZARRAGA. I'M THE CAMPAIGN AND
ORGANIZING MANAGER AT JOBS TO
MOVE AMERICA. I'M HONORED TO BE
HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF S. J
R FIVE IN FY 23 ALONE.
CALIFORNIA IS SET TO RECEIVE 117
BILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS. THESE
FUNDS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR MUCH
NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE
IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL MAKE OUR
STRAIGHT STRONGER AND MORE
RESILIENT. HOWEVER A SET OF
OUTDATED FEDERAL RULES CALLED
THE UNIFORM GUIDANCE HINDER
CITIES AND STATES FROM
MAXIMIZING THE BENEFITS OF THESE
FUNDS. THIS IS A HUGE MISSED
OPPORTUNITY AND ONE THAT HAS
ALREADY HELD OUR STATE AND
COMMUNITIES BACK. LUCKILY THE
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE CAN TAKE
A STAND AND SUPPORT COMMON SENSE
, UPDATES MANY INCLUSIVE
PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES SUCH AS
LOCAL AND TARGETED HIGHER HAVE
BEEN USED FOR YEARS IN LOCAL AND
STATE FUNDED PROJECTS TO CREATE
HIGH QUALITY JOBS AND REVITALIZE
LOCAL ECONOMIES. BUT THE UNIFORM
GUIDANCE MAKES IT DIFFICULT OR
IMPOSSIBLE TO EXECUTE THESE
POLICIES WITHIN FEDERALLY FUNDED
PROJECTS. S J. R FIVE AND THE
LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES COALITION
SEEK TO MODERNIZE THESE GRANT
RULES TO EMPOWER LOCAL AND STATE
GOVERNMENTS TO USE THE POLICY
TOOLS THAT WORK FOR THEIR
COMMUNITIES. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE
STUDY FOUND THAT LOCAL HIGHER
POLICIES CAN CREATE SIGNIFICANT
NEW JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOW
INCOME LOCAL RESIDENTS. HOWEVER
LOCAL HIRE PROGRAMS ARE
CURRENTLY PROHIBITED ON MOST
FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS,
ADDITIONALLY, UPDATING THE
UNIFORM GUIDANCE TO CLARIFY THAT
RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FUNDING
CAN ADOPT TARGETED HIRING
POLICIES CAN HELP ADDRESS
HISTORIC INEQUITIES BY CREATING
ON RAMPS TO QUALITY CAREERS.
TARGETED HIGHER PROGRAMS CAN
HAVE MAJOR POSITIVE IMPACTS FOR
COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY
THOSE FACING BARRIERS TO
EMPLOYMENT. WITH THE RULE CHANGE
PROCESS MOVING FORWARD. IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT THE VOICE OF
CALIFORNIA'S ELECTED LEADERS IS
HEARD. STR FIVE SENDS A CLEAR
MESSAGE TO THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION THAT THE
CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE IS
EAGER TO IMPLEMENT EQUITABLE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES. THANK YOU
. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IS THERE
ANYONE ELSE HERE IN SUPPORT OF
SGR FIVE? IS THERE. ANYONE IN
OPPOSITION SCR FIVE. ANYONE FROM
THE COMMITTEE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
OR EMOTIONS? WE HAVE A MOTION
AND A SECOND. THANK YOU SO MUCH
SENATOR FOR BRINGING THIS
FORWARD. I AGREE THAT THESE ARE
SOME OUTDATED RULES THAT REALLY
HINDER OUR ABILITY, ESPECIALLY
WHEN BRINGING BILLIONS INTO OUR
STATE. IT'S FANTASTIC TO BE ABLE
TO BE ABLE TO USE IT FOR
INFRASTRUCTURE. WE WANT ALSO
THOSE THAT ARE BUILDING IT. I
THINK WE'VE ALL SEEN IN OUR
COMMUNITIES. CONTRACTORS WHAT
HAVE YOU THAT BRING WORKERS FROM
OUT OF STATE TO BUILD IN OUR OWN
BACKYARD AND I THINK THAT WE
HAVE SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
WITH THESE FEDERAL FUNDS TO MAKE
SURE THAT WE'RE CREATING JOBS IN
OUR OWN COMMUNITY FOR CALIFORNIA
AND FAMILIES, SO THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR RAISING ATTENTION TO
THIS ALSO, THANK YOU TO JOBS TO
MOVE AMERICA FOR YOUR
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SENATOR. I
WOULD LOVE TO BE ADDED ON AS A
CO AUTHOR, AND THE MOTION ON THE
TABLE IS TO HAVE THIS BE ADOPTED
STRAIGHT TO THE FLOOR. SENATOR.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CLOSE? THANK
YOU ALL VERY MUCH AND URGENT. I
VOTE THANK YOU SO MUCH. MADAM
SECRETARY IF WE CAN TAKE THE
ROLE ON SVR FIVE, PLEASE. MOTION
IS BE ADOPTED TO THE ASSEMBLY
FLOOR. CHOLERA FLORA CHEN. KENNY
KENNY. I ORTEGA ORTEGA. I RAISE
I AWARD AWARD. I WRITE THAT BILL
IS ON THE WAY TO THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR A JOURNEY.
EVERYONE. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR.
AND I THINK MY MAN.