Welcome to the April 24-28 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your NFIB small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

• Last Thursday (April 20), the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee passed Senate Bill 616 on to the Appropriations Committee. It’s one of the two leave bills NFIB is fighting strenuously against this session.

• According to a coalition letter in opposition to SB 616, which NFIB is a signatory, it would:

— increase minimum sick days from 3 days to 7 days — increase the cap that employers can place on paid sick days from 6 days to 14 days

— increase the number of paid sick days an employee can roll over to the next year from 3 days to 7 days.

• “Those businesses that can afford to offer more than three days of sick leave are doing so, but many, many businesses cannot absorb that cost,” stated the letter. “These mandated, increased labor costs will inevitably either be passed on to consumers as higher prices for goods and services, or force employers to reduce jobs or cut wages or other benefits.”

• A similar measure in the other chamber, Assembly Bill 1359. would also allow paid sick days to accrue and carry over into the next year. It also increases the number of sick-leave days to seven, although the additional four days could be unpaid. It is one vote away from passing the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee

• Jumbo Jacks, Skittles, and Marlboros is the title of State Director John Kabateck’s latest Kaba-Text. In it, he discusses three bills to make the case that the current Legislature is turning California into a nanny state.

• NFIB California’s annual Small Business Day, held last Wednesday, April 19, was a great success with close to 100 members signed up. Attendees heard from California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, and Sen. Roger Niello. If you attended or not and want to ask a question or provide input to our three guests, contact Grassroots Manager Taylor Criddle, taylor.criddle@nfib.org.

• On Monday, April 17, The Center Square featured NFIB’s statement in response to President Biden’s veto of a joint Congressional bipartisan resolution of disapproval for the WOTUS final rule, quoting NFIB Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman.

• On Tuesday, April 18, NFIB presented Congress with “My Small Business Is Not a Tax Loophole” petition signed by almost 12,000 small business owners urging Congress to reject new tax hikes on small businesses.

• On Tuesday, April 18, NFIB President and CEO Brad Close penned an op-ed in USA Today titled, “Small businesses have enough to worry about with Tax Day. Overzealous IRS shouldn’t be one of them.”

• On Wednesday, April 19, NFIB sent a press release on Episode 7 of the Small Business Rundown podcast featuring NFIB President Brad Close discussing the IRS, and how small business owners are impacted by the agency’s focus on enforcement instead of compliance assistance and customer service.