Welcome to the June 1-5 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

The Legislature

Last Friday (May 29) was the deadline for bills to pass their house of origin for consideration by the opposite chamber.

We are supporting, opposing, or monitoring 70 bills and from that list have narrowed to 12 the Good, Bad & Ugly ones. We remind everyone that no bill is technically dead until the end of session (August 31), but failure to pass certain deadlines, such as last Friday’s, make their fate almost certain.

First, some good news. Three horrendously bad-for-business bills that NFIB lobbied strenuously against look as if they’ve taken their last legislative breath.

— Assembly Bill 1900 (Kalra) would heave created a California Guaranteed Health Care for All program, or CalCare, to provide comprehensive, and prohibitively costly universal single-payer health care.

— Assembly Bill 2021 (Schiavo) would have incentivized whistleblower complaints with the California Consumer Privacy Agency.

— Senate Bill 982 (Wiener) would have authorized the attorney general to bring a civil action against a party responsible for climate-attributable damage.

Three other bad-for-business bills are still alive, one of which NFIB has sent an Action Alert to its members about.

— Assembly Bill 1421 (Wilson) would establish a road user charge or a mileage-based fee system.

— Assembly Bill 1234 (Ortega) would require the Labor Commissioner to speed up hearing dates and automatically levy a 30% penalty that would apply even if a defendant acted in good faith.

— Assembly Bill 2646 (Krell) would raise the state’s minimum-wage rate to $19.75 per hour, starting January 1, 2027. Action Alert here.

And, what about the six good-for-business bills on our Good, Bad & Ugly list?

— Two of them passed their houses of origin – last year! NFIB sent this news release last Thursday (May 28), trying to spur action on them.

Sadly, it looks like the end for helpful measures such as suspension of the state’s gas tax, excluding some overtime pay from taxation, legislative approval before a new rule can be adopted, and requiring cost-of-living impacts on regulations.

There’s No Money. Get It?

“Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel sent a letter telling his colleagues to curb their ambitions for new programs,” reported Politico California Playbook. “Gabriel said he needed to be ‘direct about my view that the Legislature must exercise fiscal discipline and restraint — particularly around new spending — as we finalize our state budget.’ The governor projected a similar message of restraint in presenting a budget plan that did not include any new major spending and aims to use a $16.5 billion windfall in tax revenue, largely from AI companies, to erase the state’s budget deficit for the next two years.”

$1,700 Per Week for Life

“At the center of the fight is the Subsequent Injuries Benefit Trust Fund, or SIBTF, which began as a narrowly focused program to encourage employers to hire injured war veterans,” reports the Sacramento Bee’s Joe Rubin in his well-researched article.

‘“(The fund) was established in 1945 to help World War II veterans with severe disabilities, such as missing limbs, return to the workforce at a time when employers avoided hiring them,’ said Crystal Young, deputy secretary of communications for the state’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency. ‘… (It has) exponentially grown beyond its original scope in ways that strain both the severely injured workers it is meant to help and the employers, including public entities, who fund it.’

“According to a July 2025 report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, nearly all SIBTF claimants receive the state’s most generous disability benefit — $1,700 per week for life — which the LAO called ‘a rarity in standard workers’ compensation.’ Those payments can add up to millions of dollars, with attorneys who work on contingency, paid around 10% of the total award.

“Those advocating for a fundamental reset — including [Gov. Gavin] Newsom, businesses, cities and counties — say a cottage industry of consultants and attorneys have morphed the claim process to include common ailments such as high blood pressure and toenail fungus.

“According to the LAO, employer contributions to fund SIBTF have grown from $35 million in 2014-15 to $850 million last year. The LAO noted that the costs fall not just on private businesses but on cities, counties and school districts, which pay their SIBTF assessments directly out of operating budgets.”

$213 Million

The amount of his own money Tom Steyer has spent on his campaign for governor.

The Regulatory World

From Nielsen Merksamer’s Weekly Report

— May 27, the California Air Resources Board released summary results from the –— May 20 carbon market auction. All allowances offered for sale were purchased. May 29, the Board is entering Day 2 of their meeting to decide on changes to the cap-and-invest program. We will provide an update on their deliberations next week.

— May 29, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration provided notice it will not proceed with its proposed rulemaking on hazardous substances tax law.

Calendar

— June 2: Primary Election for eight state constitutional offices, four Board of Equalization seats, all 52 congressional seats, all 80 assembly seats, and 20 (even-numbered districts) state senate seats.

— June 2: All ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before June 2 and received by county elections offices no later than June 9

— June 15: Deadline (by midnight) to pass new state budget

— July 2-August 3: Legislature on Summer Recess

— August 31: Legislature adjourns its 2026 session

— September 30: Last day for governor to sign or veto bills sent to him.

National

Free Webinar: OSHA Basics for Small Business, Wednesday, June 3, 12 Eastern. Register here.

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

— NFIB released the April industry-specific quarterly SBET survey highlighting the construction, manufacturing, retail, and services industries. Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade said, “Small business optimism declined in all reported industries. Despite lower optimism, over half of Main Street owners rated the health of their business as excellent or good.”

— The Small Business Legal Center released its May Docket.

— The 88th episode of the “Small Business Rundown” podcast was released, featuring workplace safety and health law expert Felicia Watson and Beth Milito. The pair explained how OSHA inspections work and what small business owners need to know to avoid costly penalties and keep up with rule changes.

Next Main Street Minute: June 8. All Main Street Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner, or, to get right to it here, www.nfib.com/california.