Truckers and Dynamex + Sentencing bill could save big money + Upholding ozone rules

Wake up, California! We have a three-day weekend to look forward to. Until then...

The Assembly gavels in at 1 p.m., the Senate at 2 p.m.

ANOTHER AB 5 ANGLE

At this point, we’ve all caught wind of the worker reclassification debate in California.

It’d be hard to miss, given the wave of protests against and rallies in support of Assembly Bill 5 at the Capitol in recent months.

But just in case — The legislation would codify a 2018 California Supreme Court decision that ruled workers in most cases have to be treated as employees. Gig economy workers either say the bill would take away their agency or that it would bring much-needed relief to unfair employment practices.

But a Friday report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center and BlueGreen Alliance added an environmental justice angle to the mix.

In its study of misclassified truckers, a group with some skin in the AB 5 game, the authors found that independent drivers are more likely to operate trucks out of compliance with environmental regulations.

Independent drivers are making thousands less than their employed counterparts, according to the report. And because they’re not employees, they’re individually responsible for investing in and maintaining upkeep on trucks, which also have to meet state and federal emissions regulations.

“It’s one of the most exploited industries in the states, and one of the most exploited workforces in the goods system,” said the report’s co-author Sam Appel. “These are not the folks who are capable of making that transition to zero-emission trucks.”

More stats from the report:

• Forty percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from vehicles. A fifth of that comes from the trucking industry.

• More than 80 percent of large trucking firms are in compliance with clean truck regulations, while only 61 percent of contractors are following the rules.

• Trucking firms benefit from a more than 30 percent operations cost cut by contracting with truckers rather than hiring them as employees.

• As of July 2019, more than 180,00 trucks registered in California were out of compliance. The report found that contractors “drive a significant share” of these vehicles.

“The climate impacts are huge,” Appel said. “We need the environmental laws to have teeth, but we also need to have labor laws and a business model in the trucking industry that enables truckers to drive a clean truck.”

It’s important to note that truck drivers are among the most vocal opponents to AB 5, however. They’ve taken to circling around the Capitol while blaring their horns in protest, and have testified during committee hearings to ask for an industry exemption to the rule.

Thien Tran, a trucking owner-operator who is part of the I’m Independent coalition of workers opposing the legislation, said he put $200,000 of savings and credit on a commercial truck to start his own business.

“If I were an employee, I would not be able to pick the jobs I go on,” he said. “I would make less money and lose everything I put into my business.”

CHA-CHING

The Department of Finance crunched the numbers on a bill to remove mandatory sentence enhancements for non-violent felonies, and found it will save California nearly $132 million over the first three years.

Existing law tacks on an additional year for each prior prison or jail term when a person is sentenced for a new, non-violent felony. For a violent felony, that enhancement is three years.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, wrote Senate Bill 136 to remove the one-year enhancement, saying that the additional time puts “a significant financial burden on taxpayers and families statewide.”

He also said that the enhancements do little to prevent future crimes by the same people.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates nearly 11,000 offenders have these enhancements, and some have more than one.

If SB 136 were to become law, the state’s financial department determined that there’d be a General Fund cost savings of $20.5 million by 2021, which would more than double to $42.8 million by 2022 and increase to $68.5 million by 2024.

The California District Attorneys Association opposes the measure, saying that “the underlying premise” of the bill is to sentence a repeat offender as a first-time offender, “despite a lengthy criminal history and a track record of disregard for the law.”

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

California secured a legal victory to uphold elevated smog standards in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week.

Catch me up — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established heightened air quality rules in 2015 to cut the amount of air pollution that’s connected to a slew of health issues.

According to the EPA, smog and soot in the air leads to premature deaths, hospitalizations and work days lost, which it said can all be cut back by vehicle emission regulations and investment in clean engine technology.

But despite the department’s own analysis, President Donald Trump’s administration announced in 2017 that it would delay the implementation of the reduction plan.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra then sued and the administration reversed course. But the EPA had procrastinated on enforcing the entirety of the rule, so Becerra sued again.

Then the California Air Resources Board led a coalition of seven states in a lawsuit against states and industry executives challenging the tightened rules. Becerra claimed victory for California on Friday.

“Today’s decision strikes down an attempt by corporate interests to weaken ozone standards and continue to collect massive profits at the expense of our children’s health,” Becerra said. “For many, poor air quality is not just upsetting, but debilitating. It means missed days of school, work, and countless other opportunities. It’s a matter of life and death. Our children should never be left gasping for air because of government inaction or corporate greed.”

Best of The Bee:

• Narrow escape routes endanger dozens of California towns. Is yours on the list? by Michael Finch II

• Here’s what happened at Devin Nunes’ first hearing for his lawsuit against Twitter, fake cow by Kate Irby
• Mexican citizen who voted for Trump found guilty of voter fraud in 5 U.S. elections by Sam Stanton

This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 4:55 AM.