In the final hours of its 2011-12 session, the state Legislature approved two bills opposed by agricultural groups that would allow private enforcement or impose stricter penalties related to the state heat illness prevention standard. Both bills were sent to Gov. Brown before the Legislature concluded its session on Friday. Agricultural organizations said they would ask the governor to veto the bills. A third labor-related bill that would have affected overtime pay rules for agriculture failed on the last day of the legislative session. Assembly Bill 1313 by Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, needed 41 votes to pass the Assembly in a final vote. The bill fell six votes short, failing 35-33. One of the heat-illness bills, AB 2346, which passed the Assembly by a 42-33 vote and the Senate by a 21-12 vote, would allow workers to sue employers for violations of the heat standard and make farmers and ranchers jointly liable for violations of their farm labor contractors. (more) Sept. 4, 2012 Ag Alert
-