Three Job Killer Bills Held in Appropriations; Six Move to Senate or Assembly Floors for Action5/29/2018
Strong opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce helped to stop three job killer bills from continuing past the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday to reach Assembly Floor. CalChamber continues call attention to the negative impacts the remaining job killer bills would have on California’s job climate and economic recovery should they become law.
Following are job killer bills that are awaiting action this week by the full Senate or Assembly:
Three bills were held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 25:
Action Needed The CalChamber is encouraging businesses to contact their Assembly and Senate representatives to urge them to vote “no” on these job killer bills. For more information on the remaining “job killer” bills, visit www.CAJobKillers.com Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin spearheaded an effort to secure approximately $80 million to fund the Rice Avenue overpass project at Fifth Street. The intersection has been labeled the third most dangerous rail crossing in California. Funding was granted by the California Transportation Commission. Governor Jerry Brown is scheduled to be in Oxnard this afternoon for a ceremony acknowledging the kick-off of the project. Darren Kettle, executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, which was tasked with finding the money for the project, welcomed the approval of the funds from state Senate Bill 1, last year’s Road Repair and Accountability Act. The legislation is funded by increased gas taxes and new vehicle license fees. “We could not be more pleased that the commission awarded these funds to this project,” said Kettle, who attended the meeting in San Diego. “It’s a project that’s been in the making for decades and the funding was always going to be a question and with this award, that means the project can become a reality.” If everything goes according to plan, construction of the bridge could begin by the end of 2020, he said. We sincerely thank Assemblymember Irwin for her diligent and persistence to secure funding for the project! Proposition 68 Authorizes Bonds Funding Parks, Natural Resources Protection, Climate Adaptation, Water Quality and Supply, and Flood Protection. Authorizes $4 billion in general obligation bonds for: parks, natural resources protection, climate adaptation, water quality and supply, and flood protection. Placed on Ballot by: Legislature. CalChamber Position: Support Reasons for Position The CalChamber Board voted to support the measure because it will provide funds for: groundwater cleanups that improve water quality; flood protection and repair; clean drinking water projects; and parks in urban and disadvantaged communities. More Information: www.yes68ca.com Proposition 69 Requires that Certain New Transportation Revenues Be Used for Transportation Purposes. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. Requires that certain revenues generated by a 2017 transportation funding law be used only for transportation purposes and generally prohibits Legislature from diverting funds to other purposes. Placed on Ballot by: Legislature. CalChamber Position: Support Reasons for Position The CalChamber Board voted to endorse this measure to add protections for the new transportation revenues approved under CalChamber-supported SB 1 (Beall; D-San Jose; Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017), which enacted the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. More Information: YesProp69.com Proposition 70 Requires Legislative Supermajority Vote Approving Use of Cap-and-Trade Reserve Fund. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. Beginning in 2024, requires that cap-and-trade revenues accumulate in a reserve fund until the Legislature, by a two-thirds majority, authorizes use of the revenues. Placed on Ballot by: Legislature. CalChamber Position: Support Reasons for Position The CalChamber Board voted to support this measure because it will encourage bipartisan support for a cap-and-trade expenditure plan and allow for a process to negotiate expenditures that furthers the goals of the Legislature as a whole. More Information: www.calchamber.com/ballot Proposition 71 Sets Effective Date for Ballot Measures. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. Provides that ballot measures approved by a majority of voters shall take effect five days after the Secretary of State certifies the results of the election. Placed on Ballot by: Legislature. CalChamber Position: Support Reasons for Position The CalChamber Board voted to support the measure because allowing initiatives and referenda to go into effect before the vote has been certified by the Secretary of State can create confusion and even the erroneous implementation of new law. More Information: kevin.mullin@asm.ca.gov Proposition 72 Permits Legislature to Exclude Newly Constructed Rain-Capture Systems from Property-Tax Reassessment Requirement. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. Permits Legislature to allow construction of rain-capture systems, completed on or after January 1, 2019, without requiring property-tax reassessment. Placed on Ballot by: Legislature. CalChamber Position: Support Reasons for Position The CalChamber Board voted to support Proposition 72 because rain water recapture systems are an effective means of conserving water that should be encouraged. More Information: SaveCaWater.org Election Resources For information on how to register to vote or how to vote, contact the office of the Secretary of State at 1-800-345-VOTE (8683) or visit www.sos.ca.gov. The website includes links to check voter status, register to vote online and the official voter information pamphlet. Election information also is available on the California Chamber of Commerce grassroots website at www.calchambervotes.com. Now that the city council recall attempt is behind us, the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce is ready to get back to work and present the annual State of the City Address. Please join us on June 22 as we hear from:
Interim City Manager and Chief of Police, Scott Whitney Interim Assistant City Manager and Director of Development Services, Ashley Golden Mayor of the City of Oxnard, Timothy B. Flynn The mayor tells us he will focus on the future and not dwell on the past. We have a lot of opportunities as well as challenges ahead of us. The State of the City will be held at the Embassy Suites on Friday, June 22, from 11:30 to 1:30. Sponsors are currently being accepted. Individual reservations can be made by clicking here or calling the office at 805-983-6118. We thank the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort for their Title Sponsorship! The California Chamber of Commerce today added SB 993 (Hertzberg) to its job killer list, bringing the total number of job killers to 28. The latest bill will be considered as a special order of business in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee on May 16.
SB 993 (Hertzberg; D-Van Nuys) would impose a 3% tax on services purchased by businesses in California. CalChamber has identified SB 993 as a job killer because it adds another layer of taxes onto California companies, raising costs, and puts them at a competitive disadvantage. According to CalChamber’s analysis, SB 993 would increase the cost of doing business in an already costly state by taxing most of the services used by businesses, including those necessary for day-to-day operations, like accounting or janitorial services. Additionally, SB 993 would make an already complex tax system even more costly and challenging for California businesses to navigate. The negative impacts of SB 993 will hit small businesses the hardest. Although the bill has a limited exemption from this tax increase for certain small businesses, it certainly does not protect all of them. Small businesses depend on the services included under SB 993 to conduct their operations. While larger businesses will be able to avoid paying taxes on certain services by bringing them in-house, most small businesses will not be able to do so. The burden of complying with this new tax will also be more challenging for small businesses that provide services – as they likely have limited resources to set up a new tax system within their companies. Additionally, such small businesses could suffer a loss of customers and revenue due to higher prices for their services. Even though SB 993 focuses on business-to-business transactions, and attempts to avoid raising taxes on individuals – this bill would increase the costs of producing and selling goods here in California. These costs would ultimately be passed on to consumers – with the higher prices disproportionately impacting working families, CalChamber’s letter states. SB 993 will be heard in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee on May 16. Only 22 job killer bills remain alive; To view the job killer list, visit www.cajobkillers.com. For up-to-date information on the job killer list, follow @CAJobKillers on Twitter. “Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement” -Peter Drucker5/15/2018
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD “Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement” -Peter Drucker It is my honor to serve as Chair of the Board for the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce. For 110 years, the Oxnard Chamber has served as a catalyst for business growth, as the convener for leaders and influencers, and the champion for stronger communities. Our team, in concert with our nearly 500 members, works to promote the business and economic well-being of our diverse community to benefit enterprises, big and small, through advocacy, services and education, business exposure, and promotional opportunities. Our main objectives are to: represent the interest of business with government; encourage a strong local economy; promote the community; advocate political action and provide promotional opportunities and networking for our members. One of my favorite programs offered by the Chamber is the Oxnard Leadership program. Growing local leaders to serve on boards, committees, and potentially serve as elected officials, is one of the most important tasks we as a community have. I’m proud of the high-quality leadership series our Chamber has developed and would encourage you to consider enrolling employees in this worthwhile program. Participants in the Oxnard Leadership program receive a comprehensive overview of the Oxnard area – its realities, opportunities and challenges. Sessions move to various locations throughout the Oxnard area and provide students with a unique opportunity to meet key business and government leaders who play integral roles in the region by way of tours, panels, and speakers. Class speakers address, not only the facts, but also perspectives, challenges, and opportunities in highly interactive sessions. (For more information, please call 805-983-6118 or email info@oxnardchamber.org) I would encourage you to reach out to me with any suggestions, questions or ideas you may have that would benefit our business community. I look forward to working with each of you in the months ahead. Congratulations to Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin on the unanimous vote of support for her legislation to help employers curb sexual harassment cases. AB 2770 passed out of the Assembly with full support of both Democrats and Republicans on May 7. The bill will enable businesses to avoid hiring repeat sexual harassment offenders, ending the cycle of harassment in industries across California. The bill also protects employees from defamation lawsuits for reporting sexual harassment allegations to employers or official agencies. Alleged harassers are not only suing victims, but also filing suit against employers for defamation. Such lawsuits put employers in an impossible position as they have an affirmative duty to take reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct harassment. Worse, if the alleged harasser’s employment is then terminated, or the alleged harasser resigns, employers are put in an even more difficult position. The company has knowledge of the harassing activity and yet its hands are tied. If the company tells a potential employer that the employee was accused of harassing conduct, the company is on the hook for a defamation claim. If the company stays silent, the harassers are then free to victimize more individuals at their next job without anyone at the new company ever knowing about the unacceptable behavior. By addressing this situation, AB 2770 will reduce frivolous lawsuits and allow an employer to use the financial resources that would have been diverted to litigation to grow its workforce instead. AB 2770 will be heard in the Senate before (hopefully!) becoming law. The bill was sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce and supported by employer groups and local chambers of commerce throughout the state. Thank you, Assemblymember Irwin!! Four California Chamber of Commerce-opposed job killer bills are likely dead for the session, having failed to advance to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for a vote. In addition, a fifth bill was amended recently to remove the job killer tag.
April 27 was the deadline for all policy committees to hear and report any relevant legislation to the Assembly and Senate Appropriations committees. Missed Deadline • AB 1745 (Ting; D-San Francisco) Vehicle Ban: Would have banned the sale of combustion engine vehicles in the state by prohibiting the registration of a new vehicle in the state after 2040 unless it was a zero-emission vehicle. Failed deadline. Assembly Transportation Committee, 04/27/18. • AB 2527 (Muratsuchi; D-Torrance) Costly Litigation Against Small Employers: Would have exposed small businesses who were seeking financial investors in their company to devastating class action litigation by banning the use of arbitration agreements, which is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act, prohibiting class action waivers, allowing for the award of treble damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees, and interfered with contractual negotiations between sophisticated parties by dictating the choice of forum and choice of law for such litigation. Failed deadline. Assembly Business and Finance Committee, 04/27/18. • AB 2571 (Gonzalez Fletcher; D-San Diego) Public Employee Retirement Systems Investment Policy: Sought to publicly shame investment managers and the hospitality companies in which they invest, by forcing them to submit an annual report subject to a public review, that disclosed employee wage information according to gender, ethnicity, and race, exposing such companies to costly litigation. Failed deadline. Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee, 04/27/18. • AB 2765 (Low; D-Campbell) Portable Benefits for The Gig Economy: Would have imposed onerous and costly mandates on companies in the gig economy labeled as the “digital marketplace” by adding them under the provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), expanding the protected classifications under FEHA for contractors of the digital marketplace to include “familial status,” and created further confusion and uncertainty regarding the use and classification of independent contractors. These new mandates would have dramatically increased the amount of frivolous litigation under FEHA and the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for the digital marketplace. Failed deadline. Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, 04/27/18. Job Killer Tag Removed As a result of April 26 amendments, CalChamber has removed AB 2447 (Reyes; D-Grand Terrace) from the job killer list, but remains opposed. Before the amendments, the bill would have invited more litigation and increased the complexity and cost of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by forcing lead agencies to make a no discrimination finding before certifying an environmental impact report or adopting a negative declaration for a project. CalChamber remains opposed to AB 2447 because the bill fundamentally changes how CEQA has operated for more than four decades with substantial fiscal and practical impacts. Next Deadline The next significant deadline for job killing legislation is May 11, which is the last day for policy committees to hear and report nonfiscal legislation to the floor for consideration by the entire Assembly or Senate. The Chamber Board of Directors regretfully accepted the resignation of Michael Wynn Song as Chair at their meeting on April 26. Michael was elected to the position in December of 2017, but his plans to spend the next few years in Oxnard changed and he moved his home and family to Texas. Stacy Miller of Stacy Miller Public Affairs was elected to fill the Chair of the Board vacancy. Ms. Miller previously served as Chair-Elect of the Oxnard Chamber. Although Stacy has only been a full-time Oxnard resident for a few years, she has been visiting Oxnard since she was a little girl. Her family liked to vacation on our coast. Ms. Miller was elected to the Chamber Board of Directors in 2016 for a term beginning in January 2017. With a vacancy in the Chair-Elect position, Celina Zacarias of California State University Channel Islands volunteered to fill it. Celina is no stranger to chambers of commerce. She has served on numerous chamber boards and was recently the Chair of the Simi Valley Chamber. We thank both women for stepping forward to guide the Oxnard Chamber through the rest of 2018, and we wish Michael Wynn Song the best in his new home. Legislative committee hearings today will give lawmakers a chance to cast votes to protect sexual harassment victims and employers from being sued for defamation, as well as block trial lawyer-sponsored attempts to create more avenues for litigation.
AB 2770: Sexual Harassment Employer/Employee Protection Scheduled for consideration in the Assembly Judiciary Committee is California Chamber of Commerce-sponsored AB 2770 (Irwin; D-Thousand Oaks), a job creator that seeks to codify case law to ensure victims of sexual harassment and employers are not sued for defamation. Alleged harassers are not only suing victims, but also filing suit against employers for defamation. Such lawsuits put employers in an impossible position as they have an affirmative duty to take reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct harassment. Even worse, if the alleged harasser’s employment is then terminated, or the alleged harasser resigns, employers are put in an even more difficult position. The company has knowledge of the harassing activity and yet its hands are tied. If the company tells a potential employer that the employee was accused of harassing conduct, the company is on the hook for a defamation claim. If the company stays silent, the harassers are then free to victimize more individuals at their next job without anyone at the new company ever knowing about the unacceptable behavior. AB 2770 would protect employers and allow them to warn potential employers about an individual’s harassing conduct during a reference check without the threat of a defamation lawsuit. CalChamber is asking members to urge their Assembly representatives to vote yes on AB 2770. AB 2074/AB 2995: Painting Businesses into a Corner Also being considered in Assembly Judiciary this morning are two CalChamber-opposed bills that in focusing on lead-based paint create an extraordinary new scheme of product liability that would collectively result in thousands of new lawsuits, benefiting trial lawyers, wherein businesses could be held retroactively liable for alleged harms that they did not cause. AB 2074 (Bonta; D-Oakland) and AB 2995 (Carrillo; D-Los Angeles) set a troubling precedent for all types of consumer products sold in California by discarding the plaintiffs’ burden to prove which entity caused their alleged harm. The bills place into law a system of absolute liability on various type of businesses, including product manufacturers, sellers and distributors, that did nothing more than stock or sell a legal product at the time. Unless an entity could prove it never manufactured, sold, distributed or promoted the product in the “geographical area” or during the “relevant time period”—both of which are undefined—it would have to pay all of the plaintiff’s claimed damages despite having no connection to the alleged harm. AB 2995 defines the mere presence of lead-based paint on a property as an “injury,” automatically defining every home in California with a drop of lead-based paint as an injured property, regardless of whether actual lead-based paint risks exist. By doing so, AB 2995 would establish the “injury to property” that is required to occur in order for the absolute liability outlined in AB 2074 to apply. CalChamber is asking members to urge their Assembly representatives to vote no on AB 2074 and AB 2995. SB 820: Discourages Settlement AgreementsAlso, this afternoon the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider CalChamber-opposed SB 820 (Leyva; D-Chino), which provides that any settlement agreement in a case where sexual harassment, assault, or discrimination have been alleged cannot include a confidentiality provision regarding the allegations of the case, unless the employee/claimant requests confidentiality. As CalChamber articulates in its letter, this is basically already current law. SB 820 will not provide a victim with any greater protection then he/she has now and will only benefit trial attorneys. Instead, SB 820 simply leverages a confidentiality provision as a higher value item for negotiation so that the trial attorneys can increase the amount of the settlement and, therefore, the amount of their contingency fee. The bill will limit the ability to informally resolve civil cases that include an allegation of harassment or failure to prevent harassment CalChamber is asking members to urge their senators to vote no on SB 820. The Weiser Agency is a local, family-owned, Farmers Insurance agency based in the Channel Islands Harbor. Their dedicated team takes pride in providing custom insurance solutions to protect all you love including your home, business, boat, car and overall lifestyle you have worked so hard to build. The Weiser Agency is nationally ranked within the top 1% of Farmers Insurance agencies in the country. They take pride in the work they do to protect and support thousands of business owners and families in the community through insurance solutions. They believe it's their responsibility to offer clients a customized insurance portfolio that fits their unique lifestyle, both now and in the future. For additional information call 805.984.3777 and visit their website at www.theweiseragency.com Learn how to get the most out of your listing on our website. See what complimentary promotional opportunities are available to both new and veteran members. Can participation on a Chamber committee help your business? It's all available May 16 at the New Member Mingle & Happy Hour 1.5. The Chamber's Director of Communications, Janet Pozos, will be on hand to demonstrate how easy it is to link your social media accounts to your Chamber web listing. Members can also offer discounts or coupons to fellow Chamber members or the general public. Meet some Chamber Board members, the Chamber staff, and your fellow newbies! The New Member Mingle is free to attend. It will be in the Chamber office (400 E. Esplanade Drive, Suite 302) on May 16 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. Refreshments, wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Click here to let us know you are coming! |