June 13, 2024
It was a perfect day to attend the ARA of California’s State Legislative Day on May 1.
Legislators can’t help if they don’t know your issues. To solve that, rental operators in California converged on their state Capitol on May 1 for State Legislative Day. Major issues impacting rental operators were all laid out front and center with legislators and staff.
The event started Tuesday night with a Fireside Chat at Made in the Shade Tent Rentals in West Sacramento. Spearheading the discussion about the issues impacting rental operators in the state was Paul Smith from Ogletree Deakins, ARA’s human resources affinity partner; Scott Sadler, ARA of California lobbyist; and John McClelland, American Rental Association (ARA) vice president of government affairs and chief economist.
For Kevin Vasquez, chief operating officer at Made in the Shade Tent Rentals, hosting this event at his family’s event rental operation was important because “we want to be involved and engaged in the conversations of what is going on and happening in our state so we can work together when bills come up that affect our industry,” he says, adding, “it really helped us prepare for our meetings on Wednesday at the Capitol.”
ARA Region Nine Director Alberto Pianelli, general manager, F & B Rentals, Santa Ana, Calif., agrees. “It was excellent. We talked about current labor laws and those that are coming down the pike. Everyone had an opportunity to ask questions. Paul Smith from Ogletree Deakins also shared that, in July, rental operations need to have violence in the workplace training in place for all employees. He explained the law and shared that Ogletree Deakins has an outline that we can use to help implement this.”
After an evening of sharing, asking questions and socializing, the group gathered the next morning for breakfast at the Sutter Club and then went to the state Capitol to address the following key issues impacting rental operators in the state:
Rental operators met at the Sutter Club before going to the state Capitol with ARA’s John McClelland, right wearing blue jacket, and California lobbyist Scott Sadler, front wearing black jacket.
The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA): This allows employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees and the State of California for labor code violations.
“The concern is the labor laws in California are very complicated. There have been examples of issues regarding time and labor where an employer miscalculated the math and forgot to pay an employee 78 cents, but it turned into a $20,000 expense for the employer in legal fees,” says ARA of California President Jared Medaris, CERP, president, Expo Events, Fresno, Calif.
Right to Disconnect: “This is a proposed bill — AB 2751,” Medaris notes. “Everyone wants to make it fair for employees, but the way this bill is proposed now it would be a criminal offense if there is a pattern of unwanted contact with employees after hours. Right now they are proposing a ‘pattern’ is if an employer texts an employee three times in a month, that employer could be faced with criminal charges. That is kind of steep,” he says.
California Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-District 20, was just one of the legislators who met with rental operators who took part in State Legislative Day.
“Our concern is the proposed bill is too broad and not defined well. And the proposal turns a labor issue into a criminal issue,” Pianelli adds.
Electrification of trucks and forklifts: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has set a goal of ending the sale of all internal combustion forklifts by 2035 and has proposed strategies to achieve 100 percent zero-emissions from medium- and heavy-duty on-road commercial vehicles in the state by 2042 where feasible.
The concern is “it is not practical to switch everything to electrical on Class IV and Class V forklifts. We don’t feel the technology, infrastructure and grid are there to support this,” Pianelli says. “We will have to have all these plugs that are propriety to each truck, each machine and each forklift and have the grid set up to power these machines. That will put a lot of pressure on the grid. In the summertime, we already have brownouts and blackouts and don’t have power on job sites. Plus, right now, electrical engines are double the cost of what a diesel or propane engine is, which will increase the cost for everyone.”
In addition, “electrical trucks are much heavier than normal trucks. Because of the weight stipulations on the road, we will have to carry less equipment and not be as efficient,” Medaris adds.
“We want the consideration of more time to be able to effectively follow through,” Pianelli says.
ARA of California President Jared Medaris, CERP, had the the opportunity to meet with Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, D-District 27, who represents his district.
Theft: From catalytic converters to general equipment theft and conversion, “some of the members in our state shared how they have at least one to two pieces of equipment stolen every month, but recovery of that equipment and prosecution of those who commit those crimes are lacking,” Medaris says.
Pianelli has dealt with this issue, too. “Theft in our industry is at an alarming rate. We feel we are not getting the support of police departments, the California Highway Patrol and the district attorneys. We are asking for more resources to go after theft rings, for prevention and then prosecution once the perpetrators are caught,” he says.
By all accounts, it was a successful day of meeting with their respective members of the Assembly, Senate or their staffers. They not only discussed the issues but also introduced themselves and shared the impact of the equipment and event rental industry in the state of California.
“This was my second time and the first time for my wife, Lauren, to take part. We met with the staff members of Sen. Bill Dodd, D-District 3, and then with our Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-District 4,” Vasquez says. “Where she [Aguiar-Curry] lives and started from is one town away from us. It was nice to talk with her. We honed in on the proposed right-to-disconnect bill and then covered CARB and electrification. She gets where we are coming from.
“We also leaned on Marcy Wright, ARA chief operating officer and chief financial officer, who went with us and shared about what ARA is and the economic impact of rental in our state,” he says, adding that he appreciated how the staff members and Aguiar-Curry asked questions about “how these issues are affecting us as a small business and what they could do better to help us.”
They also joined Medaris on his visit with the staff of Sen. Anna M. Caballero, D-District 14. Medaris also met with Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, D-District 27.
“That was a great meeting. She [Soria] had remembered us from last year’s legislative day. In between then and now she also stopped in my business. She was asking how the business was doing. I was pretty excited because I am in the process of acquiring the business from our owners. With her we talked a lot about employee development. She is also the chair of the Agricultural Committee, so we talked about equipment theft and electrification of equipment. She understood our perspective, especially with electrification,” he says.
Pianelli ended up going on five meetings. “I was able to meet with the staff of Sen. Tom Umberg, D-District 34; Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, D-District 43; Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-District 20; the staff members of Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-District 30; and Assemblyman Tri Ta, R-District 70.
ARA’s Marcy Wright, left, A Tool Shed’s Rob Pedersen, second from right, and Meghann Lovlien met with Sen. John Laird.
“They were very receptive to all the things we talked about and wanted to hear our stories. The biggest issue they understood was theft. Sen. Menjivar has had her catalytic converter stolen from her car, so she was empathetic to what we are going through. Assemblyman Ta, who was the most pro-business and pro-rentals, encouraged us to continue to voice our concerns. He told us to advocate on the city and county levels, too,” Pianelli says.
All felt the day was valuable and worth their time.
“It was great,” says Meghann Lovlien, corporate officer in charge of accounts payable, marketing and human resources at A Tool Shed, Santa Cruz, who also serves on the ARA of California board. “My brother, Rob, and I attended six meetings. Being able to go with my brother to these important meetings with legislators was very meaningful. We were able to voice our concerns on how laws affect small business owners in our industry.”
“Everyone thought it was very productive and they were doing something important,” Pianelli says. “I am a firm believer that you cannot complain if you don’t vote or speak up. We went to educate those in the Legislature about our industry, let them know that we are here and this is how these laws affect us. That is important for our businesses, our employees and the growth of our industry.”
Legislators did listen to what California rental operators had to say, particularly on AB 2751 — the proposed Right to Disconnect bill. A few weeks after the ARA of California’s State Legislative Day, the bill was put on hold for this year, showing the power of advocacy.
