August 5, 2024
NFIB California Main Street Minute, August 5-9
- Elizabeth Milito, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, and NFIB California State Director John Kabateck will discuss how changes in the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) will affect – and benefit – you and other small business owners. Thursday, August 8, 11 a.m. An invitation has been sent to all NFIB members in the state.
- If you have not received your invitation, click here. For any questions, send an email to NFIB Grassroots Manager Taylor Criddle, taylor.criddle@nfib.org.
- (Note: the day before, August 7, Milito and NFIB Research Director Holly Wade, will host a national webinar on cybersecurity and small business with a special guest. See ‘National’ section below.)
- Senators and Assemblymembers return to work today (August 5) and will have less than a month to pass all the bills they want on to the governor. August 31 is the scheduled end of session. Gov. Gavin Newsom will have until September 30 to decide which ones to sign.
- “The coming weeks will see tough negotiations on everything from artificial intelligence regulation to whether California should force the state’s largest tech companies to help fund newsrooms — policy debates with national implications,” reports Politico.
- “Then there is the package of retail theft bills, which divided the Democratic caucus and failed to dissuade proponents of a contentious ballot measure to drop the effort before lawmakers left the Capitol on a sour note in early July.”
- NFIB members should keep an eye out for any Action Alerts we send out asking you to call or email legislators on an important matter.
- The 2023-2024 session of the California State Legislature has not even adjourned yet and already, we’re getting a glimpse into the 2025-2026 session on one big issue: independent contracting.
- Big Labor, which the Legislature is a wholly owned subsidiary of, is not happy with the Supreme Court of California’s recent ruling in favor of Uber (Castellanos v. State of California), a unanimous decision concurred by six of the seven Democratic-appointed justices.
- “’While this decision is frustrating, it must also be motivating,’ said Senate Labor Committee Chair Lola Smallwood-Cuevas in a statement,” reported by The Sacramento Bee. “’I’m more determined than ever to ensure that all workers … have the basic protections of workers compensation, paid sick leave, family leave, and disability insurance and the right to form a union,’ she said.”
- On her official website, up high, Smallwood-Cuevas lets people know, “I spent more than two decades working as a labor organizer and civil rights activist before my election to the State Senate.” That election was in 2022, meaning she’s not up for reelection this year and will have the time, energy and money to go after gig-economy companies.
- Gig jobs were never meant to be full-time or a sole source of income. They were opportunities for people with regular jobs and some time on their hands to pick up a little extra money for a variety of reasons. The very word itself, according to Oxford Languages, means “a job, especially one that is temporary or freelance and performed on an informal or on-demand basis.”
- “In San Francisco and Los Angeles,” reports Axios, “11% of drivers work at least 40 hours per week on average … In Sacramento, only 3% of drivers work full-time.”
- No matter. Smallwood-Cuevas and her allies in the California Labor Federation see gig workers as ripe for unionizing, Supreme Court be damned, and will make a run at them and other independent contractors in 2025.
- Five states do not have lieutenant governors, including our neighbors Arizona and Oregon. Should something happen to the governor in those states, the elected secretary of state steps up.
- Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs recently announced his 2026 bid for lieutenant governor. Tubbs has made a name for himself as a proponent of a universal basic income (UBI) for the poorest among us. In its editorial about his candidacy, we’ll let you decide if the Orange County Register thinks we need a lieutenant governor.
— “It actually may be the perfect job for him.
— “The lieutenant governor serves on a few commissions, but has no real responsibilities unless the actual governor leaves the state, becomes incapacitated or dies.
— “The position also pays $175,000 a year, so it’s a glorified UBI program for ambitious politicians who can spend their time bloviating.”
NFIB in the News- On August 3, California Insider broadcast its 11-minute interview with State Director John Kabateck about Proposition 32, the minimum-wage initiative on the November 5 ballot.
- Speaking of media, NFIB California had a very busy July spreading the small business message throughout the state. Check out the updated NFIB California in the News 2024 web story.
- August 5, Legislature returns from summer recess
- August 8, NFIB Webinar on PAGA changes (see above)
- August 31 deadline for bills to have passed Legislature and sent to governor
- September 30 deadline for governor to sign bills into law
- October 7 County clerks begin mailing ballots to all Californians
- October 21 Last day to register to vote
- November 5, General Election Day
- NFIB Webinar. Cybersecurity is a small business issue. Join special guest Scott Augenbaum, former FBI agent and cybersecurity expert, to learn about the latest privacy laws and details on how to protect your business from fraud and a data breach. Wednesday, August 7, 12 Noon ET. Click here to register.
- Last Thursday, August 1, NFIB released its latest Jobs Report. “Fewer small business owners are planning to raise compensation in the coming months, and plans to hire remain stable,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “July marks the second month of net gains in employment on Main Street, and the number of firms with open positions remains exceptionally high.”
- On July 29, NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the U.S. Supreme Court. The case questions whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) allows the EPA (or an authorized State) to impose generic prohibitions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits that subject permitholders to enforcement for exceedances of water quality standards without identifying specific limits to which their discharges must conform. More information here.

NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.
Related Articles



