An application for a covered project submitted under this chapter shall include the applicant’s certification that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to perform all construction work on the project and all of the following apply:

(a) The applicant shall require in all contracts for the performance of work that every contractor and subcontractor at every tier will individually use a skilled and trained workforce to construct the project.

(b) Every contractor and subcontractor shall use a skilled and trained workforce to construct the project.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (e), contractors and subcontractors that fail to use a skilled and trained workforce shall be subject to the penalties provided in § 2603 of the Public Contract Code. Penalties for a contractor’s or subcontractor’s failure to comply with the requirement to use a skilled and trained workforce may be assessed by the Labor Commissioner within 18 months of completion of the project using the same procedures for issuance of civil wage and penalty assessments pursuant to § 2603 of the Public Contract Code. Penalties shall be paid to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund.

(d) For purposes of this subdivision, an applicant shall be considered to be an “awarding body” under Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code. Except as provided in subdivision (e), the applicant shall retain records, including copies of monthly reports, that demonstrate compliance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code while the project or contract is being performed and for three years after completion of the project or contract. The applicant shall submit these records immediately upon request of the commission. When submitted to the commission, these records shall be a public record under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) and shall be open to public inspection.

(e) Subdivisions (c) and (d) do not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the project are subject to a project labor agreement. The project labor agreement shall also include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) Provisions requiring compliance with the skilled and trained workforce requirement and for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure.

(2) Targeted hiring provisions, including a targeted hiring plan, on a craft-by-craft basis to address job access for local, disadvantaged, or underrepresented workers, as defined by a local agency.

(3) Apprenticeship utilization provisions that commit all parties to increasing the share of work performed by state-registered apprentices above the state-mandated minimum ratio required in § 1777.5 of the Labor Code.

(4) Apprenticeship utilization provisions that commit all parties to hiring and retaining a certain percentage of state-registered apprentices that have completed the Multi-Craft Core preapprenticeship training curriculum referenced in subdivision (t) of § 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 176. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.)