State contracts: certification process: forced labor and human trafficking.

Assembly Member Stefani's legislation expands California's state contracting requirements to combat human trafficking and forced labor through new certification and compliance measures that take effect January 1, 2026. The bill requires contractors to certify their compliance with specific prohibitions, including engaging in human trafficking, using forced labor, confiscating employee documents, or charging recruitment fees.

Contractors must implement detailed compliance plans tailored to their contract size and scope. These plans must include employee awareness programs, reporting mechanisms, recruitment policies that ban charging fees to workers, and procedures to monitor subcontractors. Before contract award, contractors must certify they have conducted due diligence and either confirm no prohibited activities or document appropriate remedial actions taken.

The legislation establishes a range of enforcement tools, allowing state agencies to suspend payments, terminate contracts, or remove contractors from bidding eligibility for violations. Contractors must promptly report credible information about violations to state authorities and cooperate with investigations. The bill preserves contractors' rights to administrative hearings, where judges may consider both mitigating factors, such as having compliance plans in place, and aggravating circumstances like failure to address known violations.