Welcome to the January 26-30 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

First of the Big Bill Deadlines Coming Up

This coming Saturday, January 31, is the first of the bill deadlines leading up to the Legislature’s August 31 adjournment. It is on January 31 that bills introduced last year must have passed their house of origin.

Two bills in particular we are lobbying against and hoping they miss the deadline are:

— Senate Bill 310 (Wiener), which would undo the hard-won reforms we and other business groups struggled to achieve on the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). This measure is gaining some last-minute traction, so stay tuned.

— Senate Bill 555 (Caballero) on adjusting workers’ compensation benefits to cost-of-living increases on social security benefits.

A few other (too many) bad-for-small-business bills have already made it out of their house of origin. More on them to come as the session stretches out. Other measures negative for Main Street have yet to be introduced. That deadline is February 20.

Last Day to Register

NFIB members wanting the latest information on the progress of November 2026 ballot initiatives from the most authoritative source in the state have until today, Monday, January 26, to register for the Swing Strategies presentation.

Register here for the Tuesday, January 27, 11 a.m. free webinar.

Five measures have already surpassed the 25 percent mark in signature collection, with the Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Prop. 13 facing the earliest deadline on February 25. Another ten-plus initiatives, however, are in a sprint to meet the April 17 deadline to submit signatures and qualify for the November ballot.

Update on NFIB-Backed Prop. 36

From Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin:

“It is important to remember how we got here. Proposition 47’s reduction in penalties for theft and drug offenses led to minimal consequences for repeat offenders, creating a lack of incentives to stop their criminal behavior or seek help for their addictions. After Proposition 47’s passage, participation in California drug courts dropped an astounding 67%.  And we all witnessed the resulting rise in retail theft, homelessness, and drug addiction in our communities. From the enactment of Proposition 47 in 2014 to 2024, the state’s homeless population surged from 113,952 to 187,084 In short, California was, and still is, in crisis.

“In the first year following Prop. 36’s enactment, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office filed 2,014 treatment-mandated drug cases. While many of those cases are still pending, early resolutions show that 41% of cases result in treatment. This re-incentivization of treatment is a core goal of Prop. 36, and the data suggests it is effective.

“Despite the clear will of the voters and early achievements of Prop. 36, our state lawmakers have chosen not to adequately fund these treatment programs.

“Last year, after ignoring estimates of $600 million for full funding and calls by some legislators for at least $250 million, lawmakers allocated only $100 million to be shared by all 58 counties – a number that will not even come close to fulfilling the voters’ mandate.

“Recently, the governor released his budget for the year, once again neglecting to allocate meaningful funding for Proposition 36.” Click here to read the rest of DA Hestrin’s commentary in The Orange County Register.

NFIB State Director John Kabateck has been invited by the California District Attorneys Association to serve on the newly created Business Protection Task Force to hold state policymakers accountable to fully fund and enforce Prop. 36 and keep Main Street operators and all Californians safe.

Leaving California Data

“Over the past 25 years California has had its slowest rates of population growth ever recorded.  The primary driver of this slowdown has been California residents moving to other states—a trend that remains near record levels, despite having abated somewhat since the pandemic. It is a remarkable turnaround for California—once the epicenter of population growth in the United States. The affordability crisis, especially housing costs, has played a key role, with lower-income households much more likely to leave the state than higher-income households,” says the Public Policy Institute of California in its report, Who’s Leaving California—and Who’s Moving In? released last Wednesday (January 21).

In its report on the same newly released U.S. Census data, As California exodus continues, one state bucked the trend, the San Francisco Chronicle found only four states (Illinois, New Jersey, Louisiana, and West Virginia) having more of its citizens going to California than Californians going to them.

What Others are Reporting

“The construction industry needs to attract an estimated 349,000 net new workers in 2026 to meet demand for construction services, according to a proprietary model developed and released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. In 2027, the industry will need to bring in 456,000 new workers to meet demand as construction spending growth is poised to resume for the first time in years.” ABC news release.

“California’s Recycling agency doesn’t really recycle the items we as consumers are required to separate out from trash into the recycle bins, and charged extra for. According to a new report from CalRecycle, only 1% of milk jugs and 2% of certain plastic material is recycled. California instead dumps it in landfills.” California Globe.

Calendar

— January 31: Last day for bills from 2025 to pass their house of origin

— 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

— Congress has one week left to fund the federal government, or we will face another (partial) shutdown. The House has passed their version of the budget and is now in recess. The Senate is expected to consider the bills early next week.

— NFIB joined a coalition of trade associations in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling for the Administration to delete BOI data, and to quickly issue the final rule exempting U.S. businesses from the burdensome reporting requirements. Director of Federal Government Relations Josh McLeod said, “The Corporate Transparency Act has created a privacy, constitutional, and security nightmare for law-abiding Main Street business owners while failing to stop the criminal activity it was intended to target.”

— NFIB sent a Statement for the Record to the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees, urging Congress to pursue reforms that dismantle consolidation incentives, promote competition, and restore balance to a health care system that is no longer working for small employers or their employees.

— NFIB sent a Statement for the Record to the House Small Business Committee, calling on Congress to protect against threats to the franchise model, and specifically the 2023 Joint Employer Rule.

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