Welcome to the May 4-8 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

We’re Off and Running

Today (May 4) is the last day county clerks have to mail all the state’s voters their June 2 Primary Election ballot.

There are no ballot propositions in Primary Elections anymore. All the ones the Main Street Minute has recently written about and will continue to do so are for the November ballot. But all state constitutional offices are up, and there are 62 candidates wanting the top one of governor.

Small Business Leaders Descend on State Capitol, Tomorrow

NFIB California thanks our members who are making the trek to Sacramento for tomorrow’s (May 5) Leadership Day. Assemblymembers Blanca Rubio and Alexandra Macedo and Sen. Tony Strickland will address the gathering in the morning, and in the afternoon, they will meet with other legislators in the Capitol Annex Swing Space.

The Power of the Small Business Voice is the most highly regarded in the nation, but the congressional and legislative agendas of Main Street entrepreneurs must constantly compete for the attention of lawmakers. NFIB’s action alerts, voting records, news releases, editorials, social media posts, political endorsements, and issue-specific awareness campaigns all aid in making the small business voice heard, but a personal visit to a lawmaker’s office makes it hard to forget.

How Broke is the State?

Last Tuesday (April 28) the Legislative Analyst’s Office released its latest gothic horror report, Understanding $100 Billion in Spending Growth: Causes and Fiscal Implications.

“Both our office and the administration have estimated the state faces structural deficits ranging from $20 billion to $30 billion annually. While recent revenue gains— driven by a strong stock market and investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence—have buoyed the state’s near-term budget picture, long-term imbalance will likely persist without significant policy changes …

“Since 2019-20, General Fund spending has grown just over $100 billion—from $146 billion in 2019-20 to $248 billion under the Governor’s budget proposal for 2026-27 … Addressing the budget gaps will require sustained and consequential action—through revenue increases, spending reductions, or likely both.”

Ever Hear of It?

NFIB has been the loudest voice in pushing the state to pay down or off its $20 billion loan it has outstanding with the federal government for the money it borrowed to shore up its unemployment insurance trust fund. Now, we are also adding to our lobbying activities another state account running in the red, the little-known, little-publicized Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF).

On April 22, we joined with 54 other business groups in sending a coalition letter to Senate Budget Committee leaders requesting budget trailer bill language addressing the looming fiscal crisis surrounding SIBTF.

As the letter explains, “In 1945, California set up a subsequent injury fund as part of our workers’ compensation system, primarily to incentivize employers to hire disabled war veterans in an era that predated state and federal fair employment laws. The intent of the special fund was to compensate workers beyond the standard benefits where their work-related disability was worsened by a pre-existing condition and, as a result, their permanent disability (PD) rating is higher than it would have been absent that pre-existing condition.

“After being infrequently used for more than a half century, the volume of applicants to SIBTF has nearly tripled over the past decade. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, ‘Most SIBTF claims cite common health issues as pre-existing disabilities (rather than severe conditions as originally intended).’ Even so, benefits paid per claim have skyrocketed from $13,699 to $80,814. Total fund liabilities for resolved and pending cases are in the billions of dollars, with some actuarial studies estimating the cost as high as $28 billion.”

From Nielsen Merksamer

April 27, 28 Legislators signed a letter to the California Air Resources Board urging it to amend its Cap-and-Invest proposal. Another letter from the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and the Board’s Senate budget subcommittee called for additional time for public comment. The Board extended the comment period until May 4. The Board also extended the comment period until May 4 for the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions proposed rule. On May 6 the Senate Environmental Quality and Budget Subcommittee 2 Committees will hold a joint informational hearing on the Cap-and-Invest rulemaking and the Board plans to vote on both proposals at its May 28 meeting.

The Past Hasn’t Passed

“Jim, if you want to stay here, just remember one rule. Always vote against every tax increase and for every appropriation, and if anybody ever asks you how you plan to finance the new programs you vote for, just tell them you’re for cutting the fat out of government to do it.”

— A Disorderly House, The Brown-Unruh Years in Sacramento, by James R. Mills, a story about the Legislature in the early 60s.

Meet the Newest Legislative Staffer

“South Dakota has the smallest legislative staff in the country; roughly 60 staffers help lawmakers with research and drafting legislation. These days Mr [State Rep. Kent] Roe relies increasingly on artificial intelligence (AI) to manage his workload,” reports The Economist in its April 25-May 1 edition.

“The representative says he uses AI chatbots for research, crafting arguments and mulling over talking points. ‘Honestly I love it,’ he enthuses. ‘It’s a search engine on steroids.’ He sometimes uses AI to help write bits of legislation, too.

“The lawmaker runs first drafts of bills through Grok, an AI tool developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, to refine his ideas or check which other states might have passed similar laws. He likes to prompt Grok to apply what he calls a ‘constitutional stress test’ on proposed legislation. ‘It’s an accepted tool, same as a calculator is to do math, or a cell phone is to do phone calls,’ he points out. ‘We’re not in the world of buggy whips anymore.’”

Calendar

— May 4: Last day for counties to begin mailing ballots for the June 2 Primary Election

— May 5: Small Business Leadership Day at the Capitol

— May 18: Last day to register for the June 2 Primary Election

— 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 2: All ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before June 2 and received by county elections offices no later than June 9

— 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

NFIB Webinar, Buying, Selling, or Expanding Your Business, Wednesday, May 6, 12 noon ET, Click here for more information and to register.

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

— NFIB led 50 trade associations in a letter to the U.S. Senate supporting the Heat Workforce Standards Act, which would prevent the OSHA Heat Standard from being finalized and would prevent potential future rules. Principal of Federal Government Relations Dylan Rosnick said, “The proposed regulation fails to recognize employers are already combating heat-related injuries or illness. It would punish businesses with more mandates… and could force them to close or sell off to a larger competitor.”

— NFIB sent letters to Congress in opposition to H.R. 8418, which would subject businesses to harsh fines if they fail to notify new hires about unionization. Dylan Rosnick said, “The so-called Know Your Labor Rights Act violates First Amendment protections and unnecessarily involves the government in what should be voluntary agreements.”

— NFIB submitted a statement for the record to the House Ways and Means Committee ahead of their hearing with large hospital system CEOs. Principal of Federal Government Relations Tyler Dever said, “Restoring a more competitive health care marketplace is critical to improving affordability.”

Next Main Street Minute: May 11. All Main Street Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner, or, to get right to it here, www.nfib.com/california.