(a) Any fuel reduction work, including, but not limited to, residential chipping, rural road fuel breaks, and firebreaks, done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1720 of the Labor Code, except as specified in subdivision (b), subdivision (c), Section 80202, or Section 80203, shall be subject to the following standards:

1. (1) All workers employed in the execution of the contract to perform work that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades for which an apprenticeship program has been approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards pursuant to Section 3075 of the Labor Code shall be paid at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the type of work and geographic area, as determined by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code, except that apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at least the applicable apprentice prevailing rate.
2. (2) All contractors and subcontractors shall maintain payroll records pursuant to Section 1776 of the Labor Code and make those records available for inspection and copying as provided in that section.
3. (3) A contractor shall be registered pursuant to Section 1725.6 of the Labor Code to be qualified to bid on, be awarded contracts for, or engage in the performance of, any work subject to the requirements of this section. For the purposes of this paragraph, “contractor” includes a subcontractor as defined by Section 1722.1 of the Labor Code.