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NFIB California Main Street Minute, January 27-31 

NFIB California Main Street Minute, January 27-31 

January 27, 2025

Bills on mortgage forbearance, excluding tips from income taxes, and defanging the Low the Carbon Fuel Standard starting on their legislative journey

Welcome to the January 27-31 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your small-business advocacy team in Sacramento. 

Fifth Anniversary of the Main Street Minute 

As all good small-business owners do, Sunder Ramani, NFIB California Leadership Council member and a former chairman, saw a couple of moving parts in need of a common axle to give NFIB’s sales and lobbying efforts some improved traction. Thus was born the idea for a Main Street Minute about 17 years ago. 

But the idea was left to atrophy until it vanished. Five years ago, Nate Haderlie, Senior Advisor of Kabateck Strategies, whose president, John Kabateck, retook the reins of NFIB California, wondered why such a vital communications vehicle was allowed to die on the vine and decided to resuscitate it.

On January 27, 2020, a new Main Street Minute was launched and has been a weekly feature on the NFIB website every week since. Twice a month, it’s included in the eNews all NFIB members in California receive. Its sole purpose is to always spot and highlight a legislative or bureaucratic maneuver coming out of official Sacramento that is either harmful (most frequently) or helpful (very rarely) to small businesses in the Golden State. 

Suggestions on how to improve the Main Street Minute in its coverage of state government are welcome and can be sent to Anthony.Malandra@nfib.org. More importantly, as always, any member who would like to become more involved in the media and lobbying efforts of NFIB California can click here to see what that would entail and then send an email to Grassroots Manager Taylor.Criddle@nfib.org if you’re interested. 

Welcome to the People’s Republic of California 

Forget for a moment California currently has its tin cup out for some wildfire-fighting help from Uncle Sam, the leaders of Cal Exit Now believe it’s time to vamoose from the nation entirely. 

On Thursday (January 23), their ballot initiative to do so qualified for signature-gathering. “Marcus Ruiz Evans, who is based in Fresno and heads the organization Cal Exit Now, is the proponent of the proposed initiative,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle. “If Evans can collect 546,651 signatures of registered voters by July 22, California’s November 2028 ballot will include the question: ‘Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?’” 

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters speculates, If California split from the US and became a nation, it would be comparable to Canada. The debate surrounding the issue is, no doubt for some, a nice diversion from all that ails California at the moment, but it does, for others, have that nostalgic ring of a roomful of college students discussing the deeper meanings of an Ingmar Bergman film over a six-pack of Brown Derby beer and a party-size bag of Cheetos. 

“Constitutionally, there can be no such thing as secession of a State from the Union,” says the American Historical Association in this web story. 

More Importantly, for Those Wanting an Early Start 

With an election just behind us, the Main Street Minute didn’t want to start out with a ballot initiative item, but the above story made it necessary. It gives us the opportunity, however, to remind everyone of two ballot measures that have already qualified for placement on the November 3, 2026, ballot. 

One is Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 (ACA 13), which “would further provide that an initiative measure that includes one or more provisions that would amend the Constitution to increase the voter approval requirement to adopt any state or local measure would be approved by the voters only if the proportion of votes cast in favor of the initiative measure is equal to or greater than the highest voter approval requirement that the initiative measure would impose. The measure would specify that this voter approval requirement would apply to statewide initiative measures that appear on the ballot on or after January 1, 2024.” 

As reported in the July 8-12 Main Street Minute last year, “Because they can, legislators yanked Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 off the [2024] ballot, which was put on in a fit of pique over the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPGA) having made the ballot. When the Supreme Court of California tossed the TPGA, rather than also yank ACA 13 off the ballot, lawmakers simply put it on the 2026 ballot. Why waste a good opportunity to tell voters not to pull something like this again.” 

Also having secured a place on the November 2026 ballot is Senate Constitutional Amendment 1 (SCA 1) by former Sen. Josh Newman, who is still a little sore after once being recalled from office.  

“This measure would eliminate the successor election for a recalled state officer and instead provide, in the event an officer is removed in a recall election, that the office will remain vacant until it is filled in accordance with the Constitution and statute. The measure would repeal the prohibition against the officer subject to the recall being a candidate to fill the office in a special election, but would prohibit the appointment of the officer subject to the recall election to fill the vacancy.” 

The Legislature 

It was another week of mainly check-ins with the various committees as all attention rightfully is directed at the wildfires. Still, some legislation is percolating that NFIB is monitoring for support or opposition. A sample includes: 

— Assembly Bill 234 “would require the Speaker of the Assembly and the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Rules to serve as nonvoting, ex officio members of the [FAIR Plan] governing committee …” Why? According Section 2 of the bill, “California is experiencing catastrophic wildfires in the state. Availability within the property insurance market normally provided by admitted insurers and licensed surplus line brokers is having the result that needed coverage is often unavailable in the normal insurance market, forcing consumers to resort to the California FAIR Plan Association. The association has grown to such an extent that its financial capacity to pay claims after a catastrophic fire is unlikely. Increased transparency is imperative.” 

— Assembly Bill 238 on mortgage forbearance. “This bill would require a mortgage servicer to, with no additional documentation required other than the borrower’s attestation to a financial hardship caused by the wildfire disaster and with no fees, penalties, or interest, provide the forbearance for up to 180 days, which may be extended for an additional period of up to 180 days at the request of the borrower. The bill would also prohibit a mortgage servicer from initiating any foreclosure process, moving for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or executing a foreclosure-related eviction or foreclosure sale.  

— Senate Bill 2 “would void specified amendments to the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations adopted by the state board on November 8, 2024. Californians need immediate relief from unnecessarily high gasoline prices that will be driven even higher by recent amendments to the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations.” 

— Senate Bill 17, which, beginning January 1 next year, would exclude tips from personal income taxes. 

— Senate Bill 22 is this year’s attempt to pass what NFIB helped defeat last year. “This bill would instead make a gift certificate with a cash value of less than $25, adjusted annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index and rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount, redeemable in cash for its cash value and would require an issuer of gift certificates to display at the cash register a notice of the right of the holder to redeem a gift certificate for cash pursuant to that provision.” NFIB is in negotiations to make this less onerous for its retail members. 

Speaking of the Wildfires 

“The finger pointing needs to wait,” says State Director John Kabateck in his Kaba-Text of the Week on his website. 

“There will come a time to examine the whole tragedy but not before we’ve safely extinguished the fires and helped people adjust to a new life without their homes. 

“A victim of the Napa fires five years ago, Jess Lander, wine reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, provides some incisive thoughts in her article, I lost my home in a California wildfire. Here’s what I wish others knew. 

“ … I especially draw your attention to her, ‘Here are five things you can do to make the most impact,’ section of the article. They’re remarkable for how little it takes to make a big impact.” 

FYI: CalMatters, LAist, PBS SoCal, and NPR affiliate KCRW 89.9 radio have teamed up to publish a daily wildfire updates resource. Subscribe to the free newsletter here. 

RIP Cliff Luengo 

NFIB was saddened to learn of the passing of longtime member Cliff Luengo, owner of RB Construction in Fremont. “He was always there to lend a helping hand with anything we were trying to do,” said John Kabateck, NFIB state director. “We were honored to have him serve on our state leadership council. Not every California small-business owner could have met him, but everyone benefitted from his service to our Main Street family.” 

National 

Highlights from NFIB Federal Government Relations Principal Josselin Castillo’s weekly report 

On January 23, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a hold on the BOI reporting requirements in the lawsuit NFIB brought. NFIB’s press release is here.  

Today [January 24], FinCEN updated its website to acknowledge the Supreme Court’s January 23rd ruling to lift the nationwide injunction in NFIB’s lawsuit and to note that due to a separate nationwide injunction order issued by a different federal judge in Texas, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN.  

What businesses should do next? Although filing is not currently required, business owners should have their BOI information ready. Businesses can review the status on FinCEN’s website and sign up for alerts here in case FinCEN changes things.

Legislative: NFIB continues to advocate for legislation to permanently repeal the Beneficial Ownership Requirements for Small Businesses. A new measure was reintroduced and boasts 83 cosponsors. If you haven’t yet made your voice heard by your federal elected officials, click here to email them now.

— NFIB’s BOI page also has additional information. 

— NFIB.com/ProtectPrivacy. 

Bill Reintroduction: House and Senate champions reintroduced the Main Street Tax Certainty Act. NFIB sent a press release praising the reintroduction of the measure, which will make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent. 

This Main Street Minute can also be read on the NFIB California webpage here. Next Main Street Minute February 3.    

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