Welcome to the Sept. 22-26 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

This Morning

NFIB State Director John Kabateck will participate in a roundtable discussion on Proposition 36, jointly sponsored by Californians Against Retail and Residential Theft (CARRT) and the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA).

This morning’s (September 22) event is the first in a series that NFIB will be participating in throughout the state and begins at 10 a.m. at the North County Family Justice Center, 1050 Los Vallecitos Blvd., in San Marcos.

NFIB is a member of CARRT and was an early and vociferous backer of the November 2024 ballot initiative, which passed by 68% of the vote. But is it working as planned? Early implementation of Proposition 36 varies widely across counties, reports the Public Policy Institute of California.

Also participating in the discussions will be prosecutors, law enforcement, community stakeholders, and other business leaders. Topics include what’s working—and what isn’t; best practices in enforcement and diversion; and developing collaborative, community-based solutions to reduce retail theft.

NFIB’s goals are to make sure Prop. 36 is fully funded and fully enforced at the local level and to build stronger relationships between small business owners and their public safety and community leaders. San Diego-area members are invited to attend and can RSVP to taraneh.sarebanha@sdcda.org

Future Main Street Minutes will report on the first meeting and on the dates, times, and places of upcoming meetings.

The Veto-Signature Season is Here

Starting today (September 22), Gov. Gavin Newsom has a little more than three weeks to sign or veto bills sent to him from the recently concluded (September 13) session of the California State Legislature. His deadline is October 15.

This is the time of year the governor’s office is flooded with requests to veto or sign legislation, and, either through a coalition or working alone, NFIB has wasted no time in making sure the voice of small business is heard.

Last week, NFIB joined with other business groups in asking the governor to sign two bills and veto four others.

— A ‘Request for Signature’ letter, jointly signed by NFIB and 165 other business groups, was sent to the governor on Senate Bill 72 (Caballero). “Given the extreme climate impacts of the 21st century, an expanding economy, a growing population, the anticipated reductions from existing water resources, and the controls on the use of groundwater, California needs to align the state’s water supply strategy and policies with a target that will result in an adequate and reliable water supply for all beneficial uses including the environment, agriculture, the economy, and all Californians. Recent research estimates a shortfall in California’s future water supply between 4.6 and 9 million acre-feet annually by 2050 if the state takes no action,” said the letter.

In a separate letter NFIB sent to the governor, it pointed out that “SB 72 is a legacy bill which will complement and amplify your [the governor’s] Water Supply Strategy and extend beyond any single Administration. SB 72 is the solution to address the water challenges facing California.”

— Another bill NFIB sent a ‘Request for Signature’ letter on was Assembly Bill 265 (Caloza), which pointed out that “265’s establishment of a state-funded program will provide much-needed resources to ensure small businesses can recover [from the wildfires], rebuild, and invest in resilient infrastructure,” from the devastation caused by recent wildfires.

— A ‘Request for Veto’ letter, jointly signed by NFIB and 19 other business groups was sent to the governor on Senate Bill 82 (Umberg). “Because the bill is almost certainly preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), California courts will be forced to waste time and resources on litigation over its enforceability, rather than on resolving disputes that belong in the judicial system,” said the letter. “And while well-intentioned, SB 82 threatens the ability of both consumers and businesses to use arbitration, which is a faster, less costly alternative to expensive courtroom litigation, benefiting all parties as well as our courts.”

— Another ‘Request for Veto’ letter on Senate Bill 642, signed by NFIB and five others, points out, “Our outstanding concern with SB 642 is proposed subdivision (i)(2) in Section 1197.5. That language allows recovery under the Equal Pay Act to reach back as far as six years, which is double the present statute of limitations. One of the reasons statute of limitations exist is to ensure memories and evidence are fresh.”

— Two more Request for Veto letters were sent on Assembly Bill 1136 and Assembly Bill 1336.

“We respect the efforts of this bill to ensure that those who are authorized to work in the United States remain able to do so without fear of losing their job and appreciate recent amendments,” said the letter on AB 1136. “However, our outstanding requested amendment is the period of time during which an employer is required to rehire a former employee.”

In the letter on AB 1336, It pointed out that “AB 1336 would create a presumption that a heat-related illness or injury is occupational if the employer fails to comply with any one of the dozens of heat illness prevention standard provisions in Sections 6721 or 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. It applies regardless of any causal link to the claim at issue and regardless of whether a citation was issued.”

Be sure and check out future Main Street Minutes for updates on the status of a dozen other bills of small business interest sent to governor.

Calendar

— October 6: County elections offices begin mailing ballots for the Statewide Special Election on Proposition 50.

— October 7: Ballot drop-off locations open

— October 15: Last day for governor to sign or veto bills

— November 4: Statewide Special Election Day on Proposition 50. Click here for more information from the secretary of state.

— January 5, 2026: Legislature reconvenes

National

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

— NFIB released a new White Paper titled, “Direct Assault on Main Street: Looming Labor Threats That Could Decimate Small Businesses and Their Workforce.” Dylan Rosnick, Principal of Federal Government Relations and the white paper’s lead author said, “Congress is considering bipartisan policy proposals that would directly threaten small businesses and their workforce. These anti-small business policies would significantly increase government involvement in the daily operations of small businesses, add to the weight of harmful mandates, and raise the costs of hiring and keeping qualified employees.”

— The U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means cited NFIB’s tax survey and EY study in a press release: “The One Big Beautiful Bill included a historic working families tax cut that will fuel economic growth and job creation. For example, according to a study by NFIB, permanency of the Small Business Deduction will create an estimated one million new small business jobs each year over the next decade and two million each year in the following years.”

Next Main Street Minute: September 29. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.