Welcome to the February 23-27 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

Bill Deadline Passes

Last Friday (February 20) was the deadline to introduce bills for consideration in the 2026 session of the Legislature. As expected, there was a flurry of them. NFIB is currently analyzing hundreds of them and will report in future Main Street Minutes on the ones good or bad for small business.

From the pile of bills now being examined, we are expecting none to match the bombshell status of Assembly Bill 1900, the single-payer health-care proposal dropped  the week before. Defeating AB 1900 will consume a big chunk of NFIB’s efforts.

And to think 95% of Californians have health care insurance.

$12 a John Hancock

“Proponents of more than a dozen statewide measures have been gathering signatures to get on the November ballot, with each new entrant threatening to drive up what signature gathering firms can charge,” reports Politico California Playbook. “Two of the five anti-wealth-tax measures hit the street at $12 a signature as of Friday [February 13], according to campaign professionals tracking the market. The going rate rose to $10 for a union-backed measure extending a high income tax on top earners and a lawyer-championed measure counteracting Uber’s initiative governing legal representation.”

Can You Share Your Story?

We are fighting to limit drive-by ADA and Prop 65 lawsuits, as well as preserve and protect PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act) reforms.

The more voices we can gather to speak out against predatory lawsuits, the more effective we can be at instituting reforms to prevent future attacks on small businesses.

To share your experience, CLICK HERE. 

By the Numbers

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), which frequently solicits input from NFIB, publicized some new numbers last week on businesses in the Golden State. You can see a summary of PPIC’s report here. A few findings catching the eye of the Main Street Minute were:

— “Over 90% of private business establishments (or physical sites) employ fewer than 20 employees while 6% have 20 to 99 employees. These smaller establishments with fewer than 100 employees account for about six in ten jobs across the state. This mix of business size has held steady for the past two decades.

— “Women are underrepresented as business owners in California. In 2023, most California firms were male owned (62%). The rest were female owned (25%) or jointly owned by men and women (13%). By comparison, men make up 54% and women comprise 46% of the state’s workforce.

— “Women are slightly more likely to own small businesses (92% of women-owned firms have fewer than 20 employees; 90% for men). Men own almost nine times as many firms with 500-plus employees.

— “Latino and Black Californians are also underrepresented: about 15% of firms are owned by Latinos and 2% are Black owned. These groups comprise 40% and 5% of the state’s workforce, respectively. Conversely, Asian and white Californians are overrepresented. Although comprising 17% and 33% of the workforce, 24% of firms are owned by Asian Californians and 58% are owned by white Californians.

— “Some industries have relatively large shares of minority-owned businesses: about 43% of firms in accommodation and food services are Asian owned, 26% of transportation and warehousing firms are Latino owned, and 8% of arts, entertainment, and recreation firms are Black owned.

— “About 26% of California businesses were family owned in 2023. In some California metro areas, rates of family-owned businesses are even higher: more than 40% of businesses in Napa, Stockton-Lodi, and Visalia metro areas are family owned.”

For those wanting to compare PPIC’s numbers with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s for California, click here.

So, How’s DROP Working?

Anyone wanting an update on the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) of the California Privacy Protection Agency can drop in on the Agency’s next board meeting Friday, February 27, at 9 a.m., Suite 300 of the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel, 400 R St., Sacramento. Click here to see the agenda and for information about how to attend remotely.

What Others are Saying

— Economist Jared Walczak writing in CalMatters, California can learn from European countries that tried wealth taxes

“Over the past six decades, 14 European countries have imposed a broad tax on personal wealth. Most repealed them, with officials citing capital flight, disappointing revenue, high administrative costs and revenue losses from other existing taxes.

“Whereas the California ballot initiative applies only to billionaires, European wealth taxes tend to apply far more broadly. The three currently in effect in Europe kick in when net wealth reaches $200,000 (in US dollars).

“California’s proposed 5%, one-time wealth tax would be much narrower since it only applies to about 200 of the state’s wealthiest households, but its application to those taxpayers’ net worth would be significantly broader. Therefore some effects — particularly capital flight by the highest-net-worth households — would be magnified. However other impacts, on small business formation, for instance, are likely to be substantially attenuated.

“A California wealth tax, at a rate higher than anything in Europe and applied to a far greater share of the wealth of highly mobile billionaires, doubles down on the economic harms that led most European countries to abandon them.”

— Associated Builders and Contractors, Nearly 9 out of 10 US Construction Workers Are Not Union Members

“According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 Union Members Summary released today, 11.1% of U.S. construction industry workers belong to a union, an increase from 10.3% in 2024, versus 88.9% who do not.

“The BLS reported that 995,000 construction industry workers were members of a union, while 8 million chose to pursue their careers in merit-based construction in 2025. The construction industry grew to 9 million workers in 2025.”

Calendar

— March 26-April 6: Legislature on Spring Break

— May 5: Small Business Leadership Day at the Capitol

— May 29: Last day for bills to pass their house of origin

— June 2: Primary Election for eight state constitutional offices, four Board of Equalization seats, all 52 congressional seats, all 80 assembly seats, and 20 (even-numbered districts) state senate seats. Governor’s proclamation here.

— June 15: Deadline (by midnight) to pass new state budget

— July 2-August 3: Legislature on Summer Recess

— August 31: Legislature adjourns its 2026 session

— September 30: Last day for governor to sign or veto bills sent to him.

National

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

— NFIB sent out letters of support for H.R. 7328, the Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act and H.R. 5258, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act. Principal of Federal Government Relations Mary Alex Hamby said, “NFIB supports amending the Americans with Disabilities Act to better serve both individuals with disabilities and small businesses alike.”

— NFIB Senior Vice President for Advocacy Adam Temple published an op-ed in Real Clear Politics on importance of the Credit Card Competition Act for small businesses: “92% of NFIB’s small and independent business owner members believe they should be able to pick the credit card networks that process their transactions.”

— The NFIB Research Center released its new Small Business Energy Survey, which provides insight into how energy costs impact business operations. Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade said, “Small businesses are highly exposed to energy cost increases, have limited flexibility to reduce costs, and experience direct operational and financial impacts as a result.”

Next Main Street Minute: March 2. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.