Welcome to the August 11-15 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

The Legislature

Not letting go. Issue No. 2.

As mentioned in last week’s Main Street Minute, NFIB will not let go of the outrage sparked by the State Assembly’s killing of Senate Bill 84, a modest measure providing a safe-harbor of time to correct an ADA violation before being subjected to a shakedown lawsuit. It passed the Senate 34 to 2, and we intend to make it a campaign issue and have it dog the re-elections of those responsible.

This week, we call attention to a second outrage we plan on not letting voters forget: the continued extra costs employers must pay in unemployment insurance taxes as a result of pandemic-era bungling by the state, which has led to California’s embarrassing status as the only state in the union not to have paid Uncle Sam back for the loans it took out to keep unemployment benefits going to those in need of them.

“This thing is just getting worse and worse,” said former-Sen. John Moorlach in an editorial in The Orange County Register last Wednesday (August 6). “If you’re in a small business, you really don’t realize the amount until your payroll service tells you.”

Although Moorlach and The Register assign Gov. Gavin Newsom most of the blame, the Legislature must also share in the calamity for what Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones and NFIB State Director John Kabateck, in this jointly authored guest editorial in the California Globe, called “a growing burden with no end in sight …

“… And what are they getting for it? Nothing. Not better service. Not better programs. Just a penalty for surviving. And it’s not just the taxes. The interest on the state’s unemployment insurance debt continues to rise with every passing month. The longer California delays paying off the principal, the more expensive this crisis becomes, digging an even deeper hole for the next generation to climb out of that growing debt.”

Meanwhile, the Legislature is still in summer recess, returning on August 18. With the 2025 adjournment scheduled for September 12, it will be an action-packed month.

Speaking of the guest editorial …

It has also been included in the frequently updated NFIB California in the News 2025 story of media hits on the small business agenda.

Minimum Wage Rate Increasing Again

“The minimum wage shall increase by 2.49 percent to $16.90 per hour and shall be implemented for all employers on January 1, 2026,” said the Department of Finance in this August 1 memorandum to legislative leaders. The department is responsible for adjusting each year’s minimum wage rate to changes in the Consumer Price Index.

But wait!

Statewide, there is a higher minimum wage for fast-food workers and a higher minimum wage for certain health-care workers. Also, California allows local governments to set a higher minimum-wage rate if they wish. Click here for a list municipalities and counties that do so.

Homeowner’s Insurance

NFIB makes no endorsement of the insurance companies named or of the methodologies used by the San Francisco Chronicle to come up with its list, but we pass it along for informational purposes only.

Home Insurance Tracker: Rates & Ratings. Check out our first-of-its-kind tool.

“Despite California’s insurance crisis, there are still more than 100 different state-regulated companies offering home insurance. This guide can help you research every single one of them.

“The top 12 insurers — State Farm, Farmers, CSAA, Liberty Mutual, Mercury General, USAA, Allstate, Auto Club Enterprises, Travelers, American Family, Chubb and Nationwide — collect 85% of premiums statewide. But there are also dozens of smaller companies that make up the other 15% of the market. (The figures do not include the California FAIR Plan or non-regulated insurers.)”

The Missing Middle of Retail Theft

Passage of NFIB-backed Proposition 36 last November was a huge step in finally acknowledging and addressing the rampant retail theft epidemic that had infected California. Now, for the “missing middle.”

“Known as a ‘top offender’ among the store’s asset protection workers, [Neil] Peck allegedly went on a  six-month shoplifting spree starting in November 2024, stealing more than $8,000 in merchandise over 17 occasions  before being arrested in May 2025, according to court records,” reports The San Francisco Standard.

“The Target shoplifting spree was far from Peck’s first brush with California’s criminal justice system. The 49-year-old from Redding has racked up 24 criminal convictions since he was 17, eight of them for theft from CVS, Walgreens, and other stores. Yet an examination of his three-decade criminal history reveals a mind-numbing pattern of catch and release, in which Peck is let out of jail while his cases wend through the system, only to fail to appear in court when ordered, prompting his rearrest. He is ordered to accept mental health treatment while on probation but never does. He has never been to prison, according to state records.

“Cases like Peck’s represent a ‘missing middle’ in the criminal justice system, experts say, in which mentally ill, nonviolent offenders are referred to voluntary treatment that they abandon and end up cycling in and out of the criminal justice system.”

Calendar

— August 18: Legislature reconvenes from summer recess

— August 26: NFIB California’s Leadership Day at the Capitol

— August 29: Last day for fiscal committees to hear and report bills to the floor

— September 1: Labor Day. Legislature not in session

— September 9: California turns 175 years old

— September 12, 2025—January 5, 2026: Interim recess of the 2025-2026 session of the California State Legislature

— October 15: Last day for governor to sign or veto bills passed before September 12.

National

Highlights from Federal Government Relations Principal Louis Bertolotti’s weekly report

— Principal of Federal Government Relations Dylan Rosnick published an op-ed in Washington Reporter on the issues impacting the small business labor market.

— NFIB released Episode 67 of the “Small Business Rundown” podcast featuring NFIB Director of Federal Government Relations Josh McLeod and NFIB member and small business owner Steve Flanagan discussing challenges with beneficial ownership information reporting.

— Reuters reports on a U.S. judge vacating the Federal Reserve’s “swipe fees” regulation, mentioning NFIB Small Business Legal Center’s involvement.

— Fast Company and Certainty News cited NFIB’s Small Business and Technology Survey in articles on small businesses’ use of AI.

Next Main Street Minute: August 18. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.