Welcome to the July 21-25 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

The Legislature

The Legislature is on summer vacation until August 18, but the Assembly didn’t leave town without giving good governance, the will of the people, and small businesses a black eye, when it failed to give Senate Bill 84 a first hearing in its chamber. Result: the bill is dead for the year.

The measure took aim at curbing the shameful misuse of the Americans With Disabilities Act as a tool to shake down small business owners for payment to make a frivolous lawsuit go away, by giving them 120 days to correct violations.

“Shame on the Assembly, if it allows SB 84 to die in its chamber,” said John Kabateck, state director for NFIB in California, in a news release sent Wednesday, July 16. “If the Assembly’s strategy was to bank on ignoring it in hopes of it going away, we will not let the issue die with your constituents and next year’s voters. It passed the Senate 34 to 2 with huge bipartisan support. To not give it one hearing in the Assembly is anti-democratic. In the too frequent battle between fat-cat trial lawyers and struggling small business owners, the wealthy always win. Bad message to send.”

That news release followed another one issued two days before on Monday, July 14, that kept the drumbeat for a hearing going. In the end, however SB 84 was allowed to die for the year.

NFIB’s position was widely reported as a result of the news releases, as this story from the Palo Alto Daily Post confirmed, Berman, Papan aren’t saying how they’ll vote on a bill to give small businesses relief from ADA lawsuits.

NFIB thanks all its members who responded to the Action Alert sent to them last Wednesday. Thanks to you, this issue will not die.

A fuller report on the rest of NFIB’s legislative agenda will be in the next Main Street Minute.

ATTENTION: Members in Stanislaus, Merced counties

As part of NFIB’s series of Roundtable events with key legislators, this Thursday, July 24, we are holding a meeting with Assemblymember Juan Alanis in his Modesto district office, 1010 Tenth St., Suite 5800, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Come join us. Register here for this free event.

Alanis, who has a 100% pro-small-business voting record, is vice chairman of the Assembly’s Agriculture and Public Safety committees and a member of its Budget, Business & Professions, Natural Resources, and Public Employment and Retirement committees.

Letter to the Editor

In a letter to the editor in the San Francisco Chronicle, NFIB member Mark Fernwood of Danville (Contra Cost County) takes issue with misleading crime data,

“Regarding ‘California says crime is down. But officials know the data is flawed’ (Crime, SFChronicle.com, July 3): The story confirms what many Bay Area business owners have known for years: The numbers don’t reflect reality … What Californians need is a system that prevents crime before it happens. We need accurate and transparent data so that lawmakers can make informed decisions. Until then, please stop telling the people who are sweeping up broken glass and repairing broken cameras that things are improving.”

Calendar

— July 24: 1 p.m. meeting with Assemblymember Juan Alanis for Stanislaus and Merced county-area NFIB members.

— August 18: Legislature reconvenes from summer recess

— August 26: NFIB California’s Leadership Day at the Capitol

— August 29: Last day for fiscal committees to hear and report bills to the floor

— September 1: Labor Day. Legislature not in session

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

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

National

Highlights from Federal Government Relations Principal Louis Bertolotti’s weekly report

— NFIB sent a press release highlighting Principal of Federal Government Relations Andrea McGee’s op-ed in Small Business Xchange regarding credit card swipe fees.

— NFIB Principal of Federal Government Relations Tyler Dever spoke with FOX Business to discuss the Securing Help for Involuntary Employment Loss and Displacement (SHIELD) Act.

— Small Business Trends highlights NFIB’s support for H.J. Res. 88, which would rescind the federal waiver that allows California to impose stricter emissions standards.

— NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Madrigal v. Ferguson concerning transportation workers and exemptions to the Federal Arbitration Act.

Next Main Street Minute: July 28. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.