SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2016—Today NFIB/CA, the voice of small-business in California, released its annual voting record for our 120 senators and assembly members in the State Capitol. Based on their vote record on bills that significantly impact small business, this ‘scorecard’ serves as a vital reality check to separate the true friends of job creators from political rhetoric.
“Every legislator claims to be a friend of small business, but our voting record puts them to the test,” said Tom Scott, California Executive Director for the National Federation of Independent Business/CA. “I am delighted that 17 senators and 32 assembly members scored above 70 percent, but these numbers still only represent a minority of each chamber’s membership. This should be especially alarming when considering that small businesses employ the vast majority of all private sector employees in California, generate more new jobs than big businesses every year, and provide most young people their first opportunity to enter the workforce.”
NFIB measured lawmakers’ votes they took on 13 bills vital to the health of small business in California during the 2015 half of the current legislative session. 14 senators and 19 assembly members had laudable 100 percent scores. However, 71 legislators in total (or 60 percent of the Legislature) fell below a 70 percent NFIB rating, demonstrating most members could do much more to support California’s small business job creators. The complete NFIB Voting Record with the bill numbers, description, and votes on them can be read here.
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Keep up with the small-business agenda by following NFIB/California on Twitter at NFIB_CA
A special media kit with single pages on information on small business in California can be found here.
According to the latest California information from the U.S. Small Business Administration, “Almost all firms with employees are small. They make up 99.2 percent of all employers in the state.” The National Federation of Independent Business is America’s largest and leading small-business association with 350,000 dues-paying members nationwide, including more than 22,000 in California.
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/California
921 11th St. Suite 400
Sacramento, CA 95814-4405
916-448-9904
Twitter: @NFIB_CA
