Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards.

Assembly Member Garcia's proposal to regulate public pension fund investments in California development projects would establish new labor standards requirements for such investments. The measure prohibits public retirement system boards from making new investments or providing financing for development projects unless they incorporate specific labor protections.

The bill defines these required labor standards in three key areas. First, construction and maintenance work must follow prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements that currently apply to public projects. Second, contractors and subcontractors must commit to using a skilled and trained workforce for building trades work, unless covered by a qualifying project labor agreement. Third, developers must provide commitments designed to maintain labor peace during union organizing campaigns for workers employed after project completion.

The measure preserves retirement boards' fiduciary discretion by specifying that these investment restrictions apply only when boards determine in good faith that such actions align with their constitutional responsibilities. This provision maintains boards' ability to evaluate investment decisions within their existing duty framework while adding labor standards as a new qualifying criterion for development project investments.