PECG-Sponsored Bipartisan California State Telework Bill Clears First Capitol Hearing

The Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement Unanimously Passes Measure

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES, April 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A bipartisan bill to protect telework options for California state employees cleared its first legislative hurdle today, advancing out of the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement on a 6-0 vote. Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG), which sponsored the measure, called the bill’s passage out of committee a victory for taxpayers, the environment, and state government.

“This is a win-win for Californians,” PECG Executive Director Ted Toppin said in remarks to the committee before its unanimous vote.

AB 1729, authored by Assembly Member Alex Lee (D–San Jose) and co-authored by Assembly Member Josh Hoover (R–Folsom), would require state agencies to maintain flexible telework as an option for doing state business, and requires state departments provide justification when ordering employees back to the office. The bill includes an urgency clause, allowing it to take effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature.

The California State Auditor found in August 2025 that telework can save taxpayers $225 million annually through reduced office space costs — savings the auditor concluded would be eliminated under the Governor’s four-day in-office mandate. State data from 2022 and 2023 showed that teleworking state employees drove 1.08 billion fewer miles, saving 44.2 million gallons of fuel. The auditor also found that departments, managers, and staff reported that telework improves recruitment and retention without negatively affecting productivity or customer service.

“That is real money, a quarter of a billion dollars that could be directed, with our budget challenges, to deficit reduction,” Toppin said to the committee. “But perhaps more importantly, that’s money that could go to services that help people: schools, healthcare, housing, childcare.”

Under AB 1729:
• Every state agency must develop and implement a telework plan.
• Departments requiring employees to report onsite must provide written justification, consistent with the Department of General Services Statewide Telework Policy.
• The bill reestablishes the state’s telework dashboard to document and publish the measurable public benefits of telework.

WHAT’S NEXT
The bill now goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
See PECG’s Media Resources page: https://pecg.org/communications/ab-1729/media-resources/

ABOUT PECG
Founded in 1962, Professional Engineers in California Government represents more than 15,000 state-employed engineers and related professionals responsible for designing and inspecting California’s infrastructure, improving air and water quality, and developing clean energy and green technology.

Jon Ortiz
Professional Engineers in California Government
+ +1 916-761-8267
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