The skilled trades offer something increasingly rare in California: a clear path to a middle-class career that doesn’t require a four-year degree. You learn on the job, you earn while you train, and when you complete your apprenticeship, you have a marketable skill that will be in demand for the rest of your working life.
That’s why AGC of California is proud to sponsor SB 1065, authored by Senator Scott Wiener. The bill would restore a longstanding standard that governed how union journeypersons and apprentices work together on public works projects, a standard that worked well for decades before a 2019 regulatory change and a 2025 court ruling upended it.
The Problem
For years, the rule was simple: apprentices could perform any of the tasks of a journeyperson in their craft while working under the supervision of a journeyperson in the same craft. That meant more job placements, more learning opportunities, and a smoother path through the apprenticeship program.
The 2019 regulations changed that. They tied apprentice hiring to a narrow, itemized list of tasks rather than the broader definition of their craft. Apprentices can now only be placed on jobs that match that specific list, and once on a job, they’re limited to those tasks, not the full range of work their craft covers. A 2025 court decision locked that interpretation in further.
The results have been hard to miss. Union apprentices have fewer jobs available to them and fewer opportunities to develop their skills. Contractors have more paperwork and greater legal exposure. Disputes between trades have increased. And publicly funded projects are costing more as a result.
What SB 1065 Does
SB 1065 returns the law to the approach that worked. It clarifies in statute that journeypersons may supervise apprentices in the same craft or trade as determined by the Department of Industrial Relations, and that apprentices may perform the full scope of that craft. That means more job placements, better training, less bureaucracy for contractors, and lower costs on public projects.
Why AGC is Sponsoring the Bill
AGC members build California’s public infrastructure every day. They also train the next generation of workers who will take over that work. A well-functioning apprenticeship system is not a regulatory compliance exercise for our members; it is how the industry sustains itself.
We are sponsoring SB 1065 because it restores common sense to a system that got tangled in overreaching regulation. When apprenticeship works the way it was designed to, contractors get skilled workers, workers build lasting careers, and communities, particularly communities that have historically had limited access to the trades, gain reliable pathways to good-paying jobs. California is making historic investments in infrastructure. The workforce to build it has to keep pace. SB 1065 helps make that possible.
SB 1065 has drawn broad support from across the construction industry and labor community. The California State Council of Laborers is also a sponsor of the bill, and co-sponsors include the North Coast States Carpenters Union and the Abundance Network. The Construction Employers’ Association has also signed on in support. The bill is currently moving through the Legislature.
