Welcome to the Sept. 29-Oct. 3 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

Big Deadline Approaches

Starting today, September 29, Gov. Gavin Newsom has just two weeks to sign or veto bills sent to him by the Legislature. His deadline is October 12. His office has announced some signings but nothing so far on the bills NFIB is tracking.

Of the bills affecting small businesses the most, NFIB is hoping he signs three measures into law and vetoes 18. NFIB tracked 61 bills for support or opposition in the 2025 session and from that list, singled out 11 particularly Good, Bad and Ugly ones for small businesses. Click here for a printable version of the 11.

Have you acted yet?

Speaking of bad-for-small-business bills, NFIB sent out an Action Alert last week, calling on members to ask the governor to veto Senate Bill 512, which is attempting to undercut the property tax protections put in place by Proposition 13.

For more information, check out this web story, which will allow you to send the governor your opinion at the push of a button.

Thank You, Beth

As she did so effectively last year in Washington, D.C. on the Small Business Tax Deduction, NFIB California Leadership Council Vice-Chair Beth Booth spoke last week (September 22) about the importance of Proposition 36 to a roundtable gathering on retail theft in her home county of San Diego.

The roundtable, which was also attended by State Director John Kabateck, is the first of many upcoming ones throughout the state aimed at not letting what 68% of Californians voted for slip through bureaucratic and financial cracks. Click here for the full story, including Booth’s interview on NBC San Diego.

Booth co-owns Spaces Renewed, a residential design-and-build firm, with her husband Marshall in Oceanside in San Diego County.

Thank you, Beth, for being an effective and articulate voice for small business.

Calendar

— October 6: County elections offices begin mailing ballots for the Statewide Special Election on Proposition 50.

— October 7: Ballot drop-off locations open

— October 12: Last day for governor to sign or veto bills

— November 4: Statewide Special Election Day on Proposition 50. Click here for more information from the secretary of state.

— January 5, 2026: Legislature reconvenes

National

— NFIB Webinar, Wednesday, October 1, 12 noon ET, Fall Legal Reset from a Small Business Attorney: Contract Review, Business Structure Updates, and Intellectual Property Protection. Presented by: Elizabeth Milito, VP Small Business Legal Center and Timothy Coons, Esq., Counsel. Register here.

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

— The House and Senate remain on recess without a funding agreement. A government shutdown seems certain to begin Tuesday at 12-midnight ET.

— NFIB’s Political Team released the NFIB Voting Hub, which offers tools to register to vote and sign up for election reminders.

— NFIB put out a letter of support in favor of the Energy Choice Act, legislation that would prohibit state and local governments from banning energy services based on the type or source of energy. Principal of Federal Government Relations Louis Bertolotti said, “To encourage the use of certain energy sources over others, states and municipalities throughout the country have implemented burdensome restrictions that have decreased access to affordable, reliable energy sources. This legislation will prevent these one-size-fits-all mandates from wreaking further havoc on small businesses and their local economies as electricity demands continue to break peak records.”

Next Main Street Minute: October 6. All Main Streets Minutes can be found on the NFIB website here. Pull down the California tab in the upper-right-hand corner.