Lawmakers and state officials in Sacramento heard from the most highly regarded group of people in the nation, August 26, when small-business-owning members of NFIB’s Leadership Council paid them a visit to remind them of the issues important to the Golden State’s Main Streets.

The morning session opened in the offices of Kabateck Strategies directly across the street from the State Capitol. The gathering heard from:

— California State Treasurer Fiona Ma

— U.S. Small Business Administration Sacramento Director Heather Luzzi

—  California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley

Also in the morning session, NFIB California State Director John Kabateck, Policy Director Tim Taylor, and Grassroots Manager Matthew Woolley spoke about the NFIB agenda and how members could get more involved. Steve Roe, NFIB’s regional sales director, and Ken Greek, division manager of Field Sales, gave a presentation on the recruitment of small-business owners to join NFIB.

After the morning presentation, small-business owners fanned out in the Swing Space of the State Capitol for drop-by meetings with:

— Senator Roger Niello

— Senator Tony Strickland

— Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo

— Assemblymember Joe Patterson

— Assemblymember Catherine Stefani

— Assemblymember Tri Ta

The legislative staffs for Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblymembers Laurie Davies, Diane Dixon, Tom Lackey, and Blanca Rubio sat in for their boss.

Later in the afternoon, NFIB members returned to the Kabateck Strategies offices to hear from Dr. Tara Lynn Gray, director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.

Leadership Day came at just the right time, as legislators look to adjourn their 2025 session on September 12. NFIB members were able to talk with lawmakers about two bills of importance before session’s end:

— Senate Bill 690 (Caballero), which NFIB is supporting, “is necessary to stop the thousands of shakedown letters and lawsuits against California businesses of all sizes for typical business activities, like website analytics or online advertising that are already governed by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),” according to this letter of support.

— Senate Bill 512 (Perez), which NFIB is opposing, “would authorize voters in certain districts to impose transportation-related retail transactions and use taxes through initiative measures,” according to this letter of opposition, “and in so doing, “undermines the two-thirds vote requirement for special taxes.”

Another topic of concern was the state’s unpaid loans on its unemployment insurance trust fund, which every legislator visited by NFIB members said needed addressing. NFIB will work to make sure it remains a top-of-the-mind issue in the 2026 session.