Keeping small business owners informed of the latest goings-on in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C. is one of the many valued benefits of membership in NFIB.

On Nov. 18, NFIB California hosted a virtual event with two experts with their fingers on the pulse of the latest activities happening in the State Capitol and in Congress. Beth Milito, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, and Tim Taylor, NFIB California’s legislative and policy director, joined NFIB California State Director John Kabateck for an hour-long discussion on issues affecting small-business owners’ right to own, operate and grow their enterprises.

Click here, or on the graphic below, to go right to the video.

In the first half of the presentation, Taylor talked about:

— efforts to repeal the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard

— reforming the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)

— online shaming of business owners trying to correct labor-law violations

— California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reforms

— a welcomed new law on water

— lawsuit-loaded Senate Bill 222 “the worst bill I’ve ever seen in my life”

— the unemployment insurance trust and whether the state can pay its loans off

— property taxes

— and other issues.

For her part, Milito updated NFIB members recent congressional actions and court cases on:

— where the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting law stood

— what small business owners should know about no taxes on tips or overtime

— California’s encroachment on the federal National Labor Relations Board’s responsibilities

— the latest on the EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule

— tariffs

— and other issues.

NFIB’s successes helping stop last year’s ballot initiative on the minimum wage (Proposition 32) and helping pass the ballot initiative curbing retail theft (Proposition 36), and why it didn’t take a position on this year’s reapportionment ballot measure (Proposition 50) were covered by Kabateck.

Keep an eye on your emails for future virtual events, webinars, calls to action, and legislative updates. And, make a regular habit of checking the “News” tab on the NFIB website, www.nfib.com, for the latest national small business initiatives, and while there, pull down the “California” tab in the upper-right corner to find out the latest from Sacramento.