With committee hearings now underway for proposed bills in the 2022 legislative session, questions persist about what could ultimately become law in an election year.
Primary concerns continue about the impact of crime, the supply chain crisis, and duplicative regulations on small businesses, John Kabateck, California state director with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), told the Northern California Record.
“We are still a long way from seeing what the bills will look like in final form,” Kabateck said. “The trail of every legislative process is chock full of twists and turns and lots of opportunity to amend, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but there is no doubt we will see special interests including labor unions and lawyers try to get everything they can this year, but without question NFIB will be front and center fighting the bad stuff and trying to advance relief and help that businesses desperately need.
“And we are being extra vigilant, not just as an individual organization, but with the collective job creator community to make sure they are seeing all the pro-business, pro-economy forces gathered together as much as possible to help get the best outcomes, not just for business owners and not just for employers, but their workers and communities they serve.”
The business community has sent a coalition letter outlining concerns with SB 1044, introduced by Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, which would allow employees to leave work if they feel unsafe, but as written contains too much vague language, Kabateck said.
“Whereby a disaster could be interpreted by a lawyer or by an employee to mean anything,” Kabateck said. “Perhaps good intentions, but they need to narrow the scope. The way it is currently could open the door for a cottage industry of lawyers, and we want to make sure that that’s avoided.”
Kabateck also noted the number of bills addressing crime and retail theft, including modifying or repeal of Proposition 47, the law that lessens penalties for felony violations.
“Unfortunately, as we've seen in recent weeks, nothing has made it out of those committees,” Kabateck said. “Many of the progressives in the capitol are still more beholden to the social justice community versus protecting the lives and livelihoods of small businesses and families.”
At any time, but especially during an election year, state leaders need to consider the voices of their constituents, Kabateck said.
“We would hope that in the election year, that our leaders would be doing everything they could to keep small businesses open, moving forward, and hiring people,” Kabateck said. “And the ones they must be accountable to are the voters of every district.”