Assemblyman Kiley Announces Vote on Suspension of AB 5 Set for February 27

SACRAMENTO – On February 27, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) will initiate a Floor Vote on Assembly Bill 1928, an urgency measure to suspend AB 5 while corrective legislation is under consideration.

“AB 5 is destroying lives every day,” Kiley said. “We cannot wait any longer to stop the bleeding.”

Kiley’s motion to bring the bill to the floor for an immediate vote will give the Assembly the opportunity to decide whether AB 5 should continue to be enforced for the rest of this year while its problems are being addressed.

Those problems are universally recognized. The author of AB 5, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, has apologized for the law’s destructive effects and proposed substantial changes. Passing AB 1928 would suspend AB 5’s enforcement and restore the prior legal standard while those changes are worked out.

“With even the author of AB 5 recognizing the law is destroying lives, its immediate suspension is a no-brainer,” Kiley said. “What’s the argument for continuing to enforce a law that everyone agrees has big problems?”

Assemblywoman Gonzalez’s corrective legislation, AB 1850, is not the only bill addressing the harm caused by AB 5. Over the next several months, the Legislature will consider at least 30 bills changing or removing aspects of the law, including a root-and-branch overhaul by Democrat Senator Cathleen Galgiani.

Urgency measures like AB 1928 take effect immediately and are customarily given expedited consideration. An expedited vote is especially appropriate here given that:

• the bill would simply restore the prior state of the law from less than two years ago;
• the issues presented have already been extensively considered in both Assembly and Senate policy committees;
• a suspension would function as a stopgap measure as legislators try to craft a more workable law through the committee process.

Kiley made this promise to legislators who backed AB 5 but now see the havoc it is wrecking: “Work with me to end this scourge on our populace, and I will work with you on bipartisan legislation to address genuine cases of worker misclassification.”

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has estimated that AB 5 affects 1 million Californians. For a sampling of these effects, see the book of AB Stories compiled by Assemblyman Kiley in January. On January 28, a Rally to Repeal AB 5 drew to the State Capitol between 300 and 350 people, as estimated by independent press reports.

Assemblyman Kevin Kiley represents the 6^th Assembly District, which includes the Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado County communities of Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Loomis, Orangevale, Penryn, Rocklin, Roseville, and Sheridan.