FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: John Kabateck, California State Director john@kabstrat.com
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 16, 2025—California’s largest and leading small business association today sent an Action Alert to its more than 13,000 members, calling on them to make one more effort to encourage their Assembly member not to let Senate Bill 84 die, a measure that would markedly remedy the misuse of the Americans With Disability Act for shakedown lawsuits. Friday is the deadline for the Assembly to set a hearing date.

“Shame on the Assembly, if it allows SB 84 to die in its chamber,” said John Kabateck, state director for NFIB in California. “If the Assembly’s strategy was to bank on ignoring it in hopes of it going away, we will not let the issue die with your constituents and next year’s voters. It passed the Senate 34 to 2 with huge bipartisan support. To not give it one hearing in the Assembly is anti-democratic. In the too frequent battle between fat-cat trial lawyers and struggling small business owners, the wealthy always win. Bad message to send.”

Quite simply, SB 84 “would prohibit construction-related accessibility claims under the ADA and the Unruh Civil Rights Act from being initiated until a small business defendant has been served with a demand letter specifying each alleged violation and given 120 days to correct them,” according to a business-coalition letter in support of it. “This is common sense legislation that will provide meaningful protection for small businesses and greater access for the disability community.”

Related

• News Release: Bill to Stop Shakedown ADA Lawsuits Fails to Advance
• Radio: Sacramento station KFBK 1530-AM conducted this interview with Sen. Roger Niello, SB 84’s primary sponsor.
• The Power of the Small Business Voice

Keep up with the latest California small-business news at www.nfib.com. Follow us on X @NFIB_CA and on Facebook @NFIB.CA.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

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