Governor has until the end of the month to veto or sign bills sent to him by the Legislature
Welcome to the September 9-13 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your small-business advocacy team in Sacramento.
Veto-Request Season Has Arrived
- With the Legislature having adjourned its 2023-2024 session August 31, all eyes turn to Gov. Gavin Newsom for what bills he will sign or veto, which he has until September 30 to decide.
- NFIB and its business coalition partners have already sent him requests for a veto on four bills:
— Assembly Bill 2499—“California’s businesses have been subject to nine new leaves in just the last four years. Some of those leaves address the same circumstances addressed in this bill. While one more leave in isolation may not seem burdensome, it is important to view this proposal as part of the broader set of mandates to which employers are subject, especially our smallest employers. We must continue to oppose the expansion of this 12-week leave.”
— Assembly Bill 2738—“AB 2738 eliminates the court’s discretion under current law to award a prevailing plaintiff fees and costs, including expert witness fees and costs, and instead requires the court to award them for Labor Code enforcement by public prosecutors.”
— Senate Bill 399—“SB 399’s overbroad provisions and narrow exemptions effectively prohibit any discussion or communications regarding political matters by an employer and expose companies of all sizes to liability for hosting or supporting political events. Its broad scope is why Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado vetoed a nearly identical bill in May 2024, noting that the overbroad language of the law would put employers in the ‘impossible position’ of determining whether any speech could be deemed ‘political,’ and the exemptions were so narrow that they were ‘unworkable.’”
— Senate Bill 1299—“We are unaware of data to support the presumption proposed by SB 1299. Further, the presumption would apply even in situations where any link between the employer’s conduct and a heat-related illness or injury is tangential, at best, and appears to mandate that WCAB evaluate employer compliance with regulations created by a different state agency.”
Oil Industry Answers Governor Back
- “It should be common sense for gas refineries to plan ahead and backfill supplies when they go down for maintenance to avoid price spikes. But these price spikes are actually profit spikes for Big Oil, and they’re using the same old scare tactics to maintain the status quo,” Governor Newsom said in a statement.
- Not so easily done.
- “On Friday [August 30], Andy Walz, president of Americas products for Chevron, sent a letter to the California Energy Commission saying that Newsom’s new refinery proposal ‘risks the safety of refinery operations, the orderly functioning of markets and would leave industry and labor experts without a voice in key policies,’” reports the Los Angeles Times.
— “’The physical, operational and cost burdens to sustain unnecessary inventory are also a concern,’ he wrote. ‘Building just one new storage tank can take a decade and cost $35 million. These costs would likely be passed onto the consumer. And given the current regulatory regime, with constraints on permits and a gasoline vehicle sales ban, there is no opportunity to recover capital invested to build additional tanks, which could be the ‘last straw’ for the state’s energy market investors.’”
- According to NFIB’s latest Small Business Problems & Priorities report, issued August 14, the Cost of Natural Gas, Propane, Gasoline, Diesel, Fuel Oil is the 6th most severe problem cited by small business owners. Nearly one-in-four report it as critical. The 6th rank is a 13-rank jump from its 19th place in the 2020 report. The quadrennial Problems & Priorities reports list a total of 75 issues.
Another Lesson in Economics 101
- You can’t draw a salary and benefits from a job you don’t have.
- It’s what NFIB frequently reminds legislators when they toy with adding another leave mandate (California has 17 of them) or bumping up the minimum wage once more (California also allows its local governments to set their own rates). There is a balancing act, and you can’t keep adding costs onto the backs of small business owners without commensurately forcing their cost-cutting reactions.
- Now, with enough actors and writers out of work, perhaps they can collaborate on a script driving home the point. Opinion: Actors and writers celebrated last year’s labor victory. Now the cheering seems premature.
— “What seems clear is that while the fall is traditionally a season of hope and optimism, with new TV shows about to debut and the pivot from summer movies toward prestige releases vying for top awards, the prevailing mood in Hollywood exhibits little of either. And while actors and writers rightfully celebrated last year’s hard-won contractual victories, the sad plot twist of 2024 is that higher wages and improved residuals don’t mean much without access to jobs that will yield those short- and longer-term dividends.”
Latest NFIB California News Releases
- NFIB Opposes Giving Local Governments Greater Debt Power
“For good reasons, small business owners are by nature apprehensive of giving government too much power to spend, because they know that somehow they will eventually get stuck with the tab,” said Tim Taylor, policy director for NFIB in California. “So, it should come as little surprise that NFIB California highly recommends a ‘No’ vote on Proposition 5.”
- California Comment on Latest NFIB Jobs Report
“First and foremost, according to [State Director John] Kabateck, is for Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 4721, S. 1706), which would make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent. Without it, taxes will increase on over 90% of small business owners if Congress fails to act.
- “Kabateck also called on Governor Newsom to veto all the anti-business legislation just sent to him by the State Legislature, including Senate Bill 399, which he called an appalling assault on the free speech rights of employers.”
- Speaking of Kabateck, yesterday (September 8), he debated Joe Sanberg, principal backer of Proposition 32, the minimum wage initiative, on NBC4 in Los Angeles.
- Also check out the latest media hits containing NFIB’s message by clicking NFIB California in the News 2024.
Election Resource Story Posted
- Check out this new story on the NFIB California webpage, NFIB California 2024 Small Business Election Central, to find voter information, all our endorsements so far, and other relevant information. The story will be updated periodically until Election Day.
Calendar
- September 30 deadline for governor to sign bills into law
- 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
National
Highlights from NFIB Federal Government Relations Principal Josselin Castillo’s weekly report
- On September 5, NBC News quoted NFIB President Brad Close in response to Vice President Harris’ small business proposal.
- Also on September 5, NFIB Vice President of Federal Government Relations Jeff Brabant joined “The Doug Wagner Morning Show” on AM 600 WMT Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a radio interview and discussed the importance of making the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent.
- On September 6, NFIB led 50 trade associations in sending a letter to the House Committee on Small Business leaders requesting legislative action to provide regulatory relief and reduce red tape for small businesses.
A Look Ahead
- Tomorrow, September 10, Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade will testify in the House Education and the Workforce Committee at hearing titled ERISA’s 50th Anniversary: The Value of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits. Click here to tune in.
- On September 12, Vice President of Federal Government Relations Jeff Brabant will testify in the Senate Finance Committee hearing titled The 2025 Tax Policy Debate and Avoidance Strategies. Click here to tune in.
- On September 18, NFIB will begin its Guardian Awards ceremony.
- On September 24, NFIB will begin its Small Business Tax Deduction Summit that will run through the next day.
This Main Street Minute can also be read on the NFIB California webpage here. Next Main Street Minute September 16.
