Assembly Bill 1729<\/a> comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s deadline approaches, requiring most state workers to spend more time in the office.<\/p>\nLee and Hoover said telework provides more flexibility, reduces traffic congestion and is more economical. A report by the state auditor\u2019s office confirmed those cost savings, noting that telework can yield significant savings for the state when employees work remotely three or more days a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, there is a lot of new economic opportunities that we don\u2019t have to rely on an outdated 1960s cubicle kind of sense.\u201d Lee said. I represent workers in Silicon Valley, who go into the office like twice a week, maybe, and they still work for some of the most record-breaking, profit-making corporations in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoover adds that permanent telework options could help the state compete with other states for top talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also about attracting the best and brightest talent to work for our state. The private sector has embraced remote work very, and we want to be able to compete for that talent pool for the best and the brightest in our state.\u201d Hoover said.<\/p>\n
The bill would also require state agencies to provide clear justification for why in-person work is needed and would create a dashboard outlining benefits such as cost savings, reduced commutes and emission reductions.<\/p>\n
Asked about the proposal during an unrelated press conference Tuesday, Newsom reiterated his support for in-person work, citing its role in supporting downtown economies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gotta get these downtowns moving again. A sense of community in place. I\u2019m supporting the local deli that\u2019s been around 20, 30 years that doesn\u2019t know if they can last another 20, 30 days,\u201d Newsom said. \u201cI\u2019m for sense of community and energy and daring. I\u2019m for serendipity, I\u2019m for relationships, I\u2019m for bonds being formed, I\u2019m for young people having a chance to be seen and heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2024, Newsom drew backlash – particularly from unions representing state workers – after mandating in-person work at least two days a week. Last year, he signed an executive order expanding that requirement to four days in the office, but delayed implementation until July following strong pushback.<\/p>\n
Lee and Hoover\u2019s bill is expected to be heard in its first committee meeting in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
WATCH MORE:\u00a0California proposal would block alcohol sales for repeat DUIs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California lawmakers are advancing a bipartisan bill that would make remote work a permanent option for state employees,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[77559,7,9,8,68774,457,41151,84372,84373],"class_list":["post-177483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-alex-lee","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-cost-savings","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-josh-hoover","tag-state-employees","tag-state-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}