Governor's time to sign or veto bills ends; Big special session vote coming up
Welcome to the September 30-October 4 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your small-business advocacy team in Sacramento.
Judgment Day is Here …
- Today (Monday, September 30) is the deadline for Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign or veto bills, bringing a final close to the 2023-2024 session of the California State Legislature.
… But First, A Big Thank You …
- NFIB California interrupts this Main Street Minute to once again thank member Beth Booth from Oceanside for making the long trek to Washington D.C. last week to help remind Congress of the importance of making the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent and not letting it expire at the end of next year.
- More about Beth, the issue, and some resource links can be found in this news release, NFIB sent Friday (September 27)
… Now, Back to the Governor and Legislature
- As of this morning (September 30), only a few bills on NFIB’s watch list await the governor’s decision, but his actions on a few others over the weekend left small businesses disappointed.
- Most disappointing was his approval of Senate Bill 399, making California the 10th state with a misleadingly named ‘captive audience’ law that for all the dressing up proponents want to give it, is still, more accurately, a ban on the free speech of employers. The governor’s signature does not end the matter. Federal law still supersedes state law, and NFIB is in the middle of a national fight over the issue.
— “In September, a federal judge sided with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota (ABC-MN), and Laketown Electric Corporation and allowed a challenge to Minnesota’s “Captive Audience” law to proceed.
— “Earlier this year, NFIB, ABC-MN, and Laketown Electric sued the state in federal court, arguing the law – which prohibits employers from discussing certain topics with employees in workplace meetings – is an unconstitutional infringement on the free speech rights of small employers and that federal labor law preempts this type of state regulation.” More here.
- Also disappointing were the governor’s signatures on:
— Assembly Bill 2499, creating a new unlawful employment practice
— Assembly Bill 2738, on attorneys’ fees
— Assembly Bill 2754, holding some businesses in the transportation industry jointly liable for the payment of wages and workers’ compensation
— Senate Bill 729, adding more health-care mandates
— Senate Bill 988, imposing new requirements on the use of independent contractors.
- One small bit of good news came with the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1299, which would have created a presumption that a heat related injury was a result of the course of employment. A veto-request letter from a coalition NFIB is part of can be read here.
Meanwhile, Big Special Session Floor Vote Coming Up
- NFIB California State Director John Kabateck joined other association leaders Thursday (September 26) for a news conference to raise concerns about ABX2-1, the bill Governor Newsom wants passed giving the California Energy Commission more authority to impose oil-shortage mandates.
- Joining Kabateck were Julian Canete, CEO of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and Alessandra Magnasco of the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance. But it’s not just business groups that are looking askance at ABX2-1, reports Lynn La of CalMatters.
- “To pass Assembly Bill X2-1, which would require refineries to maintain additional inventory that they can draw from during maintenance periods, Democratic lawmakers will have to ignore the fierce opposition of an important ally: The State Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group for California construction worker unions that represents hundreds of thousands of laborers.
- “Many of them — steelworkers and boilermakers employed at refineries — crowded Thursday’s hearing to voice concerns that state oversight of maintenance would prioritize economic considerations over their safety, and that the bill would establish minimum inventory requirements that refineries are unable to meet, forcing them to shut down.”
- ABX2-1 passed a key committee last week and could come up for a full Assembly vote this week. And the Senate? They’re not in session, not interested in offering anything, and will only come back if it agrees with what the Assembly comes up with. Senators take the word “adjournment” seriously.
And the Winners Are …
- California now has a state crustacean, a state slug, and a state seashell. Is this perhaps a fitting irony, given the progress of our state leaders? You can find the winners here.
Calendar
- October 7, County clerks begin mailing ballots to all Californians
- October 21, Last day to register to vote
- November 5, General Election Day
- November 30, National Shop Small Business Saturday Campaign
- December 2, a new Legislature for the 2025-2026 session convenes for organizational purposes and to collect a per diem before adjourning for the rest of the month.
- January 6, the 2025-2026 session of the California State Legislature opens for regular business.
National
Highlights from NFIB Federal Government Relations Principal Josselin Castillo’s weekly report
- NFIB hosted its 2024 Small Business Deduction Summit last week on Capitol Hill. More than 40 small business owners and advocates descended on Capitol Hill, contacting nearly 100 lawmakers and urging Congress to make the small business deduction permanent.
- FOX Business covered NFIB’s press conference, hosted in partnership with Senator Steve Daines (MT), on the importance of the 20% Small Business Deduction, featuring powerful stories from NFIB member small business owners Candice Price of Nebraska and Michael Ervin of West Virginia. Watch the full segment here.
- Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member, Sen. Mike Crapo (ID-Sen) penned an op-ed in the National Review on the importance of the Small Business Deduction, citing NFIB’s 2024 tax survey and EY tax study.
This Main Street Minute can also be read on the NFIB California webpage here. Next Main Street Minute October 7.
