Welcome to the May 5-9 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your small-business advocacy team in Sacramento.

NFIB At the Table Shaping Policy for California Small Businesses

The Voice of Small Business in California was heard on two big issues last week on panels it was invited to participate on.

Last Wednesday (April 30), NFIB California State Director John Kabateck spoke to a group organized by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), the state’s premier research organization. The invitation from PPIC Vice President Sarah Bohn gives more details.

“In 2025, the Public Policy Institute of California’s Economic Policy Center is embarking upon a year-long exploration of what California businesses are experiencing and need to start, grow, and sustain their efforts in California. To help inform this work, I am creating a short-term advisory group that can provide guidance in our effort to identify the full set of relevant perspectives and hear from a wide range of voices throughout the state as we conduct this analysis.

“Our intention is to consult with this group throughout the year as we seek to more fully understand specific factors influencing business sustainability, including business formation and subsequent growth, whether to stay in California or potentially relocate outside of the state, and other considerations affecting profitability and risk management over time.”

Kabateck reports that the inaugural meeting of the advisory group went well and highlighted the issues of retail theft and PAGA reform as two good examples of how a bipartisan consensus can come together and achieve policy ends. Wage-and-hour reform and other workplace policies were examples of what the state can improve on and how the advisory group can inform those improvements.

Health Care

The next day (May 1), Kabateck helped kick off the latest outreach program of another advisory group, one he’s been a member of for the past four years, the All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) run by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI).

According to an ABCs of APCDs How States Are Using Claims Data to Understand and Improve Care issue brief put out by the California Health Care Foundation, “All-payer claims databases (APCDs) systemically collect administrative data, including medical, pharmacy, and dental claims, eligibility files, and provider (physician and facility) files. These claims are created when an insured patient receives care or fills a prescription, and include a record of what was provided, who provided it, how much was charged, and how much was paid. Data are submitted directly to a central point, often a state agency or its vendor.

“This information could be used by policymakers, health care providers, plans, employers, and academic researchers to understand regional variation in care delivery and price, monitor population health trends, and ensure patients have adequate access to care. Several states have created transparency tools for consumers using APCD data.”

Put succinctly, “It’s about having the most transparent, up-to-date information to help small business owners and all Californians make the most informed decisions about affordable, accessible, health-care products and services,” said Kabateck.

NFIB members are no strangers to the health-care affordability issue. “It is the most popular but costly benefit offered by about 30% of small employers,” according to NFIB’s policy paper, Addressing the Health Insurance Affordability Crisis for Small Businesses. “For nearly 40 years, NFIB members have consistently identified the rising cost of health insurance as their number one business concern.”

Included in the 11 recommendations NFIB makes is “Promote  Price Transparency and Price Certainty,” which is what HCAI seeks to do.

“Through NFIB, small business is not only at the table on public policy research but also leading the charge, especially on the issue of health care,” said Kabateck “So much of getting the right public policies in place requires keeping the drumbeat of your cause going. Our presence on the two advisory committees helps achieve what we’re trying to do.”

The Legislature

As one veteran Capitol observer reported to his clients, “It was supposed to be the week the California Legislature wrapped up its fiscal work with mechanical efficiency. Instead, it turned into a marathon of meltdowns.”

Politico California explains what happened in this story, GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL: Assembly Dems keep scoring for Republicans, and the San Francisco Chronicle joined the media pile-on in this story, Are California Democrats actively trying to make themselves irrelevant?

So, then, next week’s Main Street Minute will have a better update on the small business legislative agenda.

NFIB in the News

“The TCJA [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] has insulated small businesses from skyrocketing costs of living and doing business since the pandemic, NFIB California Director John Kabateck told The Center Square. He added that greater losses in private sector employment could impact funding for critical public services.

“’We would have seen more people in the unemployment line and small businesses and employers fleeing California. This has proven to give them the ability to stay open and keep operating,’ Kabateck said during an interview. ‘When small business owners thrive, consumers thrive, and so do our public services. If this were to expire, we will see fewer jobs and businesses on Main Street, which means less dollars going to our public coffers.’”

The story ran on nine of The Center Square’s subscribing media, including MSN Money.

Last Friday (May 2), NFIB sent this news release, California Comment on Latest NFIB Jobs Report.

Upcoming Events

— Friday, May 9, NFIB Small Business Roundtable with Assemblymember Juan Alanis, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Availability Professional Staffing, 2813 Coffee Road Building A, Modesto. For more information and to register, click here.

— August 26, NFIB California’s Leadership Day at the Capitol. More details to come in future Main Street Minutes.

Calendar

— May 14: Deadline for the May revise of the state budget

— May 26: Memorial Day. Legislature not in session.

— June 6: Last Day for Senate and Assembly to pass bills introduced in their chambers.

— June 15: Budget bill must be passed by midnight.

— July 4: Independence Day. Legislature not in session.

— July 18-August 17 Summer recess.

— September 12, 2025-January 5, 2026: Interim recess of the 2025-2026 session of the California State Legislature.

— October 15: Last day for governor sign or veto bills passed before September 12.

National

Highlights from NFIB Federal Government Relations Principal Josselin Castillo’s weekly report

— As Congress reconvened, team FGR [NFIB’s Federal Government Relations] had over 30 direct member office touches in one week as the reconciliation process kicked off.

— NFIB Leadership attended meetings with Senior White House staff on economic priorities and small business trends.

— The House voted on multiple Congressional Review Act measures. NFIB key-voted legislation that would rescind the federal grant to California to implement more stringent vehicle emissions standards, therefore increasing energy costs. Press release. Key vote.

Next Main Street Minute, May 12. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.