Governor Signs Both ‘Job Creators’ Passed by Legislature in 2009
Remaining Proposals to Improve Job Climate, Help California’s Economic Recovery Stall in 2009
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed both "job creator" bills that passed the Legislature in 2009. One, an urgency proposal, facilitates the smooth recovery of the housing market; the other prevents job losses in the South Coast. Other bills the CalChamber identified as "job creators" that will improve the state’s job climate and stimulate economic recovery if passed did not advance in the Legislature.
When first released, the list included 14 proposals identified as CalChamber “job creators.” Other bills were added to the list as bills were amended during the legislative process. Amendments also resulted in two bills being removed from the list.
"Job Creator/Job Killer" Vote Record as of August 14, 2009
The CalChamber list of 2009 “job creators” includes the following proposed measures:
BALANCED REGULATION
AB 1107 (Blakeslee; R-San Luis Obispo) Economic Review of Regulations — Reduces the likelihood that overly burdensome regulations will be adopted by ensuring that accurate, science-based assessments are conducted, revealing the true cost to California businesses and the economy. (Bill Last Amended 4/13/09)
SB 356 (Wright; D-Inglewood) Small Business Impact Analysis — Improves the small business climate in California by reforming the regulatory development process to include a specific small business economic impact analysis and other provisions that mitigate the cost of regulation to small business. (Bill Last Amended 5/11/09)
ENCOURAGES INVESTMENTS
AB 222 (Adams; R-Hesperia) Green Energy — Encourages new investment and job creation by allowing conversion of solid waste to energy at a biorefinery to count toward meeting the state mandate that 20 percent of energy come from renewable sources by 2010. (Bill Last Amended 7/8/09)
AB 697 (C. Calderon; D-Montebello) Removes Onerous Tax Burden — Relieves employers of a onerous, costly tax burden by prospectively repealing an unfair, strict liability tax penalty that applies even to reasonable tax disputes, that was enacted as part of the September 2008 budget. (Bill Last Amended 6/1/2009)
AB 829 (Caballero; D-Salinas) Manufacturing Investment Incentive — Before May 26 amendments, encouraged investment and jobs in manufacturing by establishing a sales and use tax exemption for manufacturing equipment, beginning in 2013. (No Longer a Job Creator; No Position as Amended 5/26/09)
AB 1565 (Ruskin; D-Redwood City) Research and Development Credits – Encourages investment and jobs in research and development by increasing the research and development tax credit rate from 15 percent to 20 percent, in conformity with federal law, beginning in 2012. (Bill Last Amended 5/28/09)
SB 699 (Alquist; D-Santa Clara) Manufacturing Investment Incentive — Encourages investment and jobs in manufacturing by establishing a sales and use tax exemption for manufacturing equipment, beginning in 2013. (Bill Last Amended 5/28/09)
IMPROVED LEGAL CLIMATE
SB 287 (R. Calderon; D-Montebello) Comprehensive Meal Period Solution — Reduces unnecessary litigation costs for all employers by providing clarity and guidance for complying with and enforcing meal period laws so employees have the opportunity to take meal breaks, enter into on-duty meal period agreements in appropriate situations, and collectively bargain for meal periods.
SB 380 (Dutton; R-Rancho Cucamonga) Meal Period Clarification — Reduces unnecessary litigation costs for employers by providing clarity and guidance for complying with meal period laws by clarifying how employees take meal breaks, enter into on-duty meal period agreements, and revising the timeframe for recovering penalties.
SB 393 (Harman; R-Huntington Beach) More Equitable Court Judgments — Improves fairness and equity of court awards by tying the interest rate on judgments to more closely follow the prime rate. (Bill Last Amended 5/4/09)
SB 807 (Benoit; R-Bermuda Dunes) Meal Period Clarification — Reduces unnecessary litigation costs for employers by providing clarity and guidance for complying with meal period laws by clarifying how employees take meal breaks, enter into on-duty meal period agreements, and revising the timeframe for recovering penalties. (Bill Last Amended 4/2/09)
INCREASED CONSTRUCTION JOBS
AB 333 (Fuentes; D-Sylmar) New Home Construction — Facilitates the smooth recovery of the housing market by extending the life of active tentative subdivision maps and parcel maps for a period of two years. (Bill Last Amended 5/4/09) Signed by Governor, July 15. Chapter 18 (urgency).
AB 765 (Caballero; D-Salinas) Homebuyer Tax Credit — Allows new home purchasers to reserve an already-available tax credit earlier in the homebuying process. Originally encouraged recovery in the residential housing market by extending the duration and raising the funding cap of an already-successful economic stimulus program that offers homebuyers a $10,000 personal income tax credit for new home purchases. (No Longer a Job Creator as Amended 5/21/09)
SB 49 (Dutton; R-Rancho Cucamonga) Homebuyer Tax Credit — Encourages recovery in the residential housing market by extending the duration and raising the funding cap of an already-successful economic stimulus program that offers homebuyers a $10,000 personal income tax credit for new home purchases. (Bill Last Amended 6/9/09)
SB 827 (Wright; D-Inglewood), formerly SB 696 (Wright; D-Inglewood) Supports Construction of Vital Projects — Prevents the loss of thousands of jobs and keeps businesses in California by re-establishing the South Coast Air Quality Management District credit bank. (Bill Last Amended 9/12/09) Signed by Governor, October 11. Chapter 206.
WORKPLACE IMPROVEMENTS/TRAINING
AB 141 (Tran; R-Costa Mesa) Flexible Work Schedules — Helps employees and employers achieve greater flexibility in work schedules by allowing workers to request and employers to mutually agree to a four-day 40-hour workweek without the payment of overtime.
AB 816 (Hagman; R-Chino Hills) Employment Training — Helps California workers and companies stay competitive by ensuring that employer-generated funds are available to train employees for businesses that are locating or expanding in California, as well as those that are retraining employees to make California operations more viable. (Bill Last Amended 4/15/09)
SB 187 (Benoit; R-Bermuda Dunes) Flexible Work Schedules — Helps employees and employers achieve greater flexibility in work schedules by allowing workers to request and employers to mutually agree to a four-day 40-hour workweek without the payment of overtime.