Welcome to the May 22-26 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute

• Last Thursday (May 18) was a big day in the life of legislative proposals. Bills were to have passed their chamber’s appropriations committee or they, for all intents and purposes, had their legislative lives snuffed out. Although no bill is technically dead until the end of session, failure to pass an appropriations committee by deadline is like having 15 of the 20 nails firmly hammered into the coffin lid.

• To no one’s surprise, only one of the six bills listed in the ‘Good’ section of NFIB’s Good, Bad, and Ugly list and that would mildly benefit small business leaped the appropriations hurdle. Senate Bill 271, which allows for independent repairing of wheelchairs, advanced to the full Senate for a vote.

• Supporters of so-called Right to Repair legislation across the nation, which NFIB is often part of, hope SB 271, should it ever become law, might be a springboard for other consumer goods, such as cell phones, where manufacturers, or their authorized representatives, have a monopoly on repairs.

• Colorado managed to squeeze through a Right to Repair law for tractors, but not before incurring the wrath and strong opposition of John Deere. Washington state managed to get a Right to Repair bill through its House only to see it die in the Senate after it incurred the fire-breathed excoriations of Big Tech.

• Also, to no one’s surprise, measures increasing sick days, paid family leave, and the minimum wage were passed through the appropriations committee gate. So, too, was one requiring displacement notices when a chain employer closes up shop.

• With some confidence (remember, nothing’s ever certain until the end of session), it seems safe to say that a bill establishing a wealth tax is dead, and one modifying the definition of ownership interest is stuck in the mud.

• Click the Good, Bad, and Ugly link above for the latest status on the 14 measures on that list. NFIB is opposing, supporting, and tracking a total of 47 bills so far. A report on the others will be forthcoming in future Main Street Minutes.

• That is the sub-headline in the Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, released last Monday (May 15).

• “Under the administration’s estimates and assumptions, the budget condition would worsen in future years. Specifically, under these estimates, the state faces operating deficits of around $15 billion in each year of the outlook (2024-25 through 2026-27). Cumulatively, these deficits would compound such that the state would have a negative $41 billion balance in the SFEU [Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties] by 2026-27.”

• For those of you in a hurry, the above paragraph can be translated, “Fat chance the state is going to help pay down its $20 billion unemployment insurance trust fund loan it took out from the federal government.” But then, you always had a hunch who would have to do that.

• On the latest NFIB California Podcast, author Carol Roth discusses Assembly Bill 5 and elements from her book, The War on Small Business, How the government used the pandemic to crush the backbone of America. Click here to listen.

• Come meet Assemblyman Josh Hoover at an NFIB Small Business Roundtable, Friday, May 26, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be held at NFIB-member business Leslie Roper Day & Associates, 950 Glenn Dr. Ste. 230, Folsom. A reservation is required and can be made here. For more information, call or email NFIB Grassroots Manager Taylor Criddle at 916-448-9904, Taylor.Criddle@nfib.org.

• By the way, Assemblyman Hoover now has a podcast, Point of Order, and has posted the first episode, Democracy, Taco Bell, and the State Budget, on YouTube.

• NFIB celebrates 80 years of Advocacy. Since 1943, NFIB has been the voice of small and independent businesses, working to promote and protect small business owners’ right to own, operate, and grow their businesses. President Brad Close commemorates NFIB’s 80th Anniversary in this video message to NFIB members.

• On May 18, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) re-introduced one of NFIB’s top legislative priorities, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, which would make the Small Business Deduction permanent. Read NFIB’s press release here. Take Action to urge Senators to support the Small Business Deduction here. Learn more about the Small Business Deduction here

• On May 17, NFIB released the latest NFIB Podcast, “Federal Legislation to Lower Energy Costs,” read more here.

• On May 16, NFIB sent a letter of opposition to members of the U.S. Senate opposing the nomination of Acting Secretary Julie Su for Secretary of Labor. The letter expressed concerns that if confirmed, Ms. Su would enact rulemaking that will cause significant harm to small business owners and disregard the DOL’s statutory requirements to consider the impact of federal regulations on small businesses. Read the press release here.