For the legislative and political week December 19-23
Happy Holidays and welcome to the December 19-23 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your NFIB small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.
Are You Ready to Comply?
- With a huge helping hand from NFIB California’s chief legislative advocate, Kevin Pedrotti, the Main Street Minute has narrowed to 15 the number of legislative bills becoming law on January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, that are most impactful to small businesses. Actually, there’s a 16th bill (an old one) in the last year of its phase-in. It leads off the list.
- NFIB members are highly encouraged to acquaint themselves with the soon-to-be laws that cover a range of issues, such as statute of limitations on sexual harassment cases to new job-posting requirements to bereavement leave.
Speaking of Complying …
- Are you ready to start complying with the California Privacy Rights Act, scheduled to take effect on January 1? No? Never mind that the California Privacy Protection Agency has yet to finalize its proposed regulations, which it was supposed to have done last July 1, the enforcement of the regulations starts January 1, ready or not.
COVID-Infected Workers
- From CalMatters, “California businesses will no longer have to pay COVID-infected workers to stay home under rules approved Thursday by Cal/OSHA, the state’s workplace safety agency — a development applauded by industry groups and opposed by labor unions and worker safety advocates. The new regulations, which are set to take effect early next year and last for two years, are the latest example of California winding down its pandemic policies ahead of a scheduled Feb. 28 expiration of the COVID state of emergency. State data updated Thursday shows that California’s COVID test positivity and death rates are beginning to tick down after a late-fall surge, though hospitalizations are still on the rise.”
- There’s more to the story. NFIB members are encouraged to check out the rest of the CalMatters article, which you can find by scrolling past the climate lead-off.
Latest NFIB Podcast Talks Recession, Homelessness
- James Beckwith, president and CEO of Five Star Bank, makes a return engagement on the latest NFIB California Podcast. One of the more articulate and intelligent bankers in the nation, he discusses a possible recession and, because he and host John Kabateck, NFIB California’s state director, live in the Sacramento area, the unavoidable topic of homelessness and its effect on small businesses. Click here to listen to the half-hour podcast. By the way, a complete list of all NFIB California Podcasts, launched in September 2020, can be found here.
- Next Up: employment law expert Ben Ebbink on the new laws taking effect in 2023 small-business owners need to be aware of most.
NFIB California in the News
- “It was not the intent of drafters of the ADA in 1990 for an attorney to make a buck for himself,” Elizabeth Milito, executive director of the NFIB Small Business Center, told the Southern California Record for a story about a Carmichael, California, attorney who “pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return on which he underreported the income he earned from duplicate ADA lawsuits.”
The Power of the Small Business Voice
- Now that the dust has settled on the November election, we have updated The Power of the Small Business Voice single page of bulleted information for use in media kits, for our Sales teammates, and for Leadership Council members needing to make a presentation.
NFIB National
Highlights from Abigail Reno’s and Caitlin Lanzara’s weekly reports.
- With 2023 just around the corner, NFIB reflected on what we’ve accomplished for small business owners in Congress, the Courts, and more. Read here. Here are a few highlights from the article:
— NFIB Small Business Legal Center challenged OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in NFIB v. OSHA, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of NFIB. OSHA withdrew the vaccine mandate.— NFIB stopped all proposed direct small business tax increases and labor mandates from becoming law in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, formerly known as the Build Back Better Act.
— NFIB fought to remove the expansion of the 3.8% Small Business Surtax, saving small businesses an 11% increase in taxes.
— NFIB fought to protect the 20% Small Business Deduction (Section 199A) for all businesses organized as sole proprietorships, S-Corporations, partnerships, and LLCs with taxable incomes up to $170,050 individual/$340,100 joint, for tax year 2022. NFIB will continue to fight to make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent (IRS Form 1040, line 13), as it is set to expire after 2025.
- On December 7th, NFIB Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman was named a top lobbyist of 2022 by The Hill: “This list honors the corporate lobbyists, hired guns, association leaders, and grassroots activists who leveraged their expertise and connections to make a difference in the nation’s capital this year…Kevin Kuhlman, National Federation of Independent Business.” This article was heavily syndicated.
- The House of Representatives approved the annual defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900). NFIB helped prevent a lot of problematic provisions from being included, such as expanded beneficial ownership reporting requirements, which were not included in the final bill.
- Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Small Business Administration (SBA) following an ad campaign sponsored by Goldman Sachs. The bill does not include any regulatory reform proposals, such as empowering the SBA Office of Advocacy, or requiring indirect costs in regulatory flexibility analysis by other agencies.
— Federal Government Relations will be devising a strategy to reach out to Sen. Cardin’s staff to voice concerns.
- The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are expected to release their final WOTUS rule soon.
We at NFIB want to wish you and yours a joyous Christmas and holiday season.
Next Main Street Minute December 26.
