October 1, 2023
NFIB California Main Street Minute, October 2-6
Welcome to the October 2-6 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.
VICTORY on Unemployment Benefits- In the biggest victory for businesses to come out of the 2023 Legislature, the most anti-business in state history, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced (September 30) his veto of Senate Bill 799.
- Already more than $18 billion in arrears to the federal government for loans it took out to keep the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund solvent and benefits going to those in legitimate need of them, SB 799 sought to extend benefit eligibility to employed striking workers.
- Even for Newsom, who touts himself as a pro-Labor governor, SB 799 went too far. To no fanfare, his veto was buried in a list of other vetoes and signings announced on Saturday, the slowest news day of the week.
- NFIB was second to none in lobbying against SB 799 every step of its legislative and executive way and thanked the governor in this news release for doing the right thing.
- The governor signed Assembly Bill 1355 into law, which authorizes employers to supply individuals with electronic statements or materials relating to claims for benefits if the individual opts into receipt of electronic statements or materials. NFIB’s letter of support can be read here.
- Also on the governor’s Saturday list of signings and vetoes was his approval of Senate Bill 553, a measure on occupational safety and workplace violence. In its letter of opposition, NFIB and its coalition partners were not against parts of the bill, “However, we are strongly opposed to the remaining portions of SB 553, which would short-circuit an ongoing regulatory process for unclear reasons, create wasteful recordkeeping obligations, and overreach into simple verbal disputes, all without improving safety.”
- The governor has until October 14 to either veto or sign all the bills put on his desk. With last week’s action on AB 1355, SB 553, SB 799, NFIB is keeping its eye on 14 bills it would like to see vetoed and one it would like to see signed. The entire list of 58 bills NFIB narrowed down for lobbying for or against and their current status can be read here.
- Prior to his veto of SB 799, last week’s big legislative news was Gov. Newsom’s signing of Assembly Bill 1228 into law. Regular readers of the Main Street Minute were notified earlier this would happen, after the deals the fast-food industry and labor cut were underway.
- Thursday’s signing did, however, provide a nice bit of political theater with fast-food workers the SEIU was able to round up giving good cry and greeting the governor’s action the way Parisians did when Allied Forces liberated their city in 1944, only this time without American GIs throwing Hershey bars and nylon stockings to the crowd.
- Not everything is final. How could it be, the way California’s governance is conducted? A brief chronology is in order.
— Assembly Bill 257 was the precursor to AB 1228. Passed by the Legislature, signed into law by the governor on September 5 of last year, and to have taken effect January 1 of this year, it created a new state agency that would have complete control over all wage and workplace decisions in the fast-food industry.
— Rightfully, a business coalition led by the International Franchise Association and which NFIB lent its support to, challenged the law and successfully gathered enough signatures to place a referendum before voters on the November 2024 ballot asking them if the law should remain in place. The referendum effectively froze implementation of the law.
— As reported in the September 18-22 Main Street Minute, the fast-food franchise industry then cut a deal with legislative leaders allowing the council to remain but with greatly neutered power. It also boosted minimum wages. In exchange, the industry would remove its ballot referendum.
- The new minimum-wage rate for fast-food workers begins April 2024 at $20 an hour. A new state minimum-wage rate for everyone else jumps to $16 an hour on January 1.
- In its report on yesterday’s bill signing, CalMatters reminded its readers, “The law is [still] contingent on the restaurant industry formally withdrawing its November 2024 referendum to overturn a fast food council law passed last year.”
- For NFIB members running retail businesses, this coming Wednesday, October 4, is important.
- Rampant retail theft and workplace violence are particularly pronounced problems in California, and our state government has stubbornly refused to help.
- Arming our members with timely information is one of the benefits of belonging to NFIB. This Wednesday, October 4, at noon EST/9 a.m. Pacific, NFIB is producing a free webinar for all members and encourages them to spread the word with fellow small business owners.
- Titled Workplace Safety in a Violent World, the webinar will feature nationally regarded security expert Carol Dodgen speaking on:
— Understanding the types of workplace violence — Warning signs/pre-incident indicators — Reporting incident information — Counseling and defusing — Handling disciplinary actions, including terminations — Triggering events — Creating policies and procedures.
- Register now. Register here. Can’t make it? Register anyhow and NFIB will send you a recording of it.
- “Nobody is giving any attention to the most vulnerable cases. And the most vulnerable and pervasive cases … in those hitting small and ethnic businesses and families and our neighborhoods,” NFIB California State Director John Kabateck told Fox News last week. “NFIB has joined with 200 other California businesses to raise awareness of organized retail theft, which has caused more than $100 billion in product losses across the U.S., according to a 2022 National Retail Security Survey.”
- What else can California voters expect to see or not see come 2024?
- Tom Ross, president and CEO of Swing Strategies, the state’s premier ballot initiative firm, offers this rundown and a chance to sign up for an upcoming webinar. Ross has also been a former guest on an NFIB California podcast.
- Kevin Dobson of the Capital College & Career Academy, and Ken Wenham, president of Roebbelen Contracting, discuss a new dynamic underway for education and the workforce.
- This week, NFIB launched the federal Member Ballot topics included: independent contractor payment reporting, energy restrictions, regulations, generic prescription drug access, and the research and development tax deduction. Members can vote their ballot at NFIB.com/VoteMyBallot. For 80 years, NFIB members have voted their ballot, which determines NFIB’s policy positions. To learn more about NFIB’s lobbying process, visit NFIB.com/VoteReport.
- On the regulatory front, we posted more information on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed “overtime” rule here. If finalized the new rule would extend overtime to all employees making less than $55,068 per year (the current threshold is $35,568), affecting an estimated 3.6 million workers. DOL will accept comments through November 7th.
- Finally, sharing an Americans with Disabilities Act tip sheet put together by NFIB’s Jim Brown (and reviewed by Rob Smith) to assist small businesses in Tennessee who have been hit with an extraordinary number of ADA drive-by lawsuits. The page is a helpful compilation of resources, including links to NFIB’s past webinars on ADA public accommodation compliance.
- Here is a clip of former United Nations Ambassador and Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley saying, “Let’s make sure we make the small business tax cuts permanent. They only made those temporary, they made the corporate taxes permanent.” It was a good clip promoting the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, which makes the Small Business Deduction permanent.
NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.
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