Welcome to the December 8-12 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

It’s Tomorrow. Register Now

No firm is more knowledgeable about ballot initiatives than Swing Strategies, and its president and CEO, Tom Ross, invites you to join his company for a year-end update of what lies ahead.

“As 2025 comes to a close, we’ve seen a flurry of new initiatives filed in California — several of which are quickly emerging as serious contenders for the 2026 ballot. With the landscape shifting each week, it’s an ideal moment to take stock of what’s moving, who’s behind the major proposals, and what these measures could mean for stakeholders across the state,” says the invitation.

“We invite you to join Tom Ross and Tino Rossi on Tuesday, December 9 at 11:00 AM for a California Ballot Initiative Update Webinar. They’ll walk through the newest filings, provide insights into which measures are gaining traction, and offer early analysis on political dynamics, and timelines.” Register here.

Second Retail Theft Roundtable Coming Up

A second retail theft roundtable is coming up this Wednesday, December 10, in Sacramento. It will be held at the Jan Scully Conference Room in the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, 906 G St. in Sacramento.

NFIB California is the lead partner of the Californians Against Retail and Residential Theft (CARRT) coalition, which is co-hosting roundtables throughout the state along with local district attorneys. Sacramento-area NFIB members wishing to attend can RSVP to Nate@carrt.org

Click here for a story on the first roundtable in September in San Diego.

According to CARRT, “With Proposition 36 [which NFIB endorsed] now in effect, California has taken meaningful steps to hold serial retail theft offenders accountable while expanding access to treatment and rehabilitation. While early implementation shows promising signs, challenges remain—especially as communities navigate organized retail theft, habitual offenders, and the resource needs required to support sustainable outcomes.

“This convening provides a valuable opportunity to:

— Hear directly from local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies about what they are seeing on the ground

— Learn how Prop 36 is shaping enforcement, intervention, and rehabilitation efforts

— Share experiences from the business and retail community

— Contribute to a collaborative discussion focused on practical, community-centered solutions.

Your Action Needed Now!

Let your Sacramento representative know: It’s time to repay the state’s unemployment insurance debt now.

California borrowed money from the federal government for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program during the COVID pandemic and still has an outstanding loan balance of $21 billion.

NFIB members have said the added costs are forcing them to increase costs, reduce employees, forgo a paycheck, and cut spending across the board. Some have said they are considering closing shop or moving to another state. Cost increases will continue to add up as California does nothing to address the UI debt. Your lawmakers need to hear complaints from you – members of the small business community.

Click here to send your message directly to your legislator.

NFIB California in the News

The Voice of Small Business rang out in the San Fernando Valley twice in one week when powerhouse Los Angeles radio station KNX News 97.1 interviewed NFIB California State Director John Kabateck first about Small Business Saturday and then about NFIB’s latest Jobs Report.

The news release which prompted KNX’s story on the Jobs Report can be read here.

We Could Name More, But Let’s Start with One

“The Legislature should have always been checking up on the effects of its decrees, rather than assuming that what it does will automatically have the desired effects,” writes CalMatters’ Dan Walters in his column titled Assembly Speaker Rivas promises to scrutinize how California’s new laws work.

“However, it appears that legislators will have to volunteer their bills for scrutiny, which could mean that only obviously successful ones will be subjected to the process.

“It’s difficult to believe that the turkeys — measures that are publicity stunts or payoffs to campaign contributors, for instance — will be scrutinized, much less those with unintended and negative consequences.”

Here’s a better bill than the ones mentioned in Walters’ column that NFIB suggests legislators could examine for its high “turkey” content. Senate Bill 553 (Cortese) requires every employer to come up with a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan or plans if different parts of the business pose different risks for violence.

NFIB vigorously opposed SB 553, one of the great needless paperwork burdens ever concocted, during its legislative journey and will make it part of its 2026 agenda to push for its repeal.

SB 553 was signed into law in September of 2023. More than two years later reports the state Dept. of Industrial Relations, “Cal/OSHA is currently working on developing a workplace violence prevention standard that meets the requirements of Labor Code section 6401.9 and will submit it to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) no later than December 31, 2025. OSHSB is required to adopt the standard no later than December 31, 2026.”

Cat Declawing, Insulin, AI, Plastic Bags

The San Francisco Chronicle is the first media out of the starting gate with a ‘new laws taking effect in 2026’ story. It singles out 15 for special mention, including new laws on insulin, artificial intelligence (five bills), plastic bags, and cat declawing.

Future Main Street Minutes will report on what other media highlight.

Calendar

— December 16, release of the monthly NFIB Small Business Optimism Index

— December 16, next eNews to the entire California NFIB membership

— January 5, 2026: Legislature reconvenes

— January 7: NFIB California Leadership Council meets

National

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

— NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case NLRB v. California concerning whether a California labor law violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of SBLC said, “Allowing California to undermine the NLRA threatens the stability of labor relations across the country.”

— The Energy Choice Act advanced out of the Energy & Commerce Committee and now heads to the House floor.

— An EPA press release highlighted NFIB’s response to the new proposed WOTUS rule, quoting President Brad Close: “The previous WOTUS regulation was a nightmare for small business landowners and all property owners.”

Next Main Street Minute: December 15. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.