Welcome to the February 9-13 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

One Deadline Passes, Another Coming Up

January 31 was the last day bills introduced in one house (Assembly or Senate) in 2025 to have passed on to the other house. Friday, February 20, will be the last day to introduce bills for consideration this year.

Two bills on NFIB’s support list are beginning their opposite-house journey. They are Senate Bill 84 (Niello), allowing some violations to be corrected within 120 days before a penalty can be levied, and Senate Bill 690 (Caballero), dealing with the processing of personal information.

Two measures also on NFIB’s support list were introduced this year. They are Assembly Bill 1620 (Sanchez), allowing a deduction in computing income, and Senate Bill 885 (Strickland), which would put some hurdles in the way of regulations before they could take effect.

More bill introductions are expected before the February 20 deadline in a couple of weeks.

And now, for some really good news.

A deal forged in 2024 reformed the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), the state’s horrendously bad 20-year anti-employer law, but it took the threat of a ballot initiative, the Fair Pay and Employers Accountability Act, to bring some of the reluctant parties to the table.

Given the outcome of a ballot measure such as Proposition 36, which showed people fed up with a lot of California’s current system, it was probably wise for the much-too-powerful attorneys’ lobby in this state to bargain rather than block.

As NFIB California State Director John Kabateck put it in a PAGA-related January 8 news release, asking the Supreme Court of California for permission to file an amicus brief in the case of Leeper v. Schipt, “Small business owners and other employers had to wait 20 years to finally win some reforms to the state’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which quickly evolved from a well-intentioned-but-misguided law into a legal weapon to wring settlement money out of employers, the biggest amounts of which went to law firms instead of the supposedly aggrieved.”

Progressive politicians are still smarting over the 2024 deal and don’t want to leave well enough alone. Sen. Scott Wiener last year introduced Senate Bill 310, which would have begun chipping away at the PAGA reforms. Last Monday (February 2), his effort came to an end when his SB 310 “died on file pursuant to Joint Rule 56.”

We need your help.

The death of SB 310 is not the end of the story. Our lobbying team in Sacramento is expecting a flood of new bills ahead of the February 20 deadline, including other attempts to weaken the PAGA deal. In preparation, NFIB is preparing a survey for our members, inquiring about their experiences with lawsuit abuse. Please take it as soon as it arrives. The timing is important.

Calendar

— February 16: Presidents’ Day. No legislative session

— February 20: Last day to introduce bills

— March 26-April 6: Legislature on Spring Break

— 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

— The four-day partial government shutdown was ended on Tuesday [February 3], as Congress passed a bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The only exception was the Department of Homeland Security, whose funding now runs out on Feb. 13, unless a new deal is reached.

— The 80th episode of the “Small Business Rundown” podcast was released. NFIB member Greg Niewold joined the Small Business Rundown to discuss the challenges of state and federal death taxes and how they impact multi-generational family businesses like his.

— February 6 marked the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. 20 years ago, when Salt Lake City hosted the Games, then-NFIB President Jack Farris wrote an op-ed with an interesting comparison. “Maybe there should be a Small-Business Olympics,” he pondered. “If there is one group of Americans who are familiar with staunch competition, it is that indomitable group of entrepreneurs who, day in and day out, find themselves up against massive obstacles and endless tests of their endurance.”

Next Main Street Minute: February 16. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.