(October 1, 2010) The California Chamber of Commerce today released its tally of job killer bills vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as a list of those job killers and job creators he signed into law.
During the 2010 session the following “job killer” bills were vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger:
Costly Workplace Mandates
AB 482 (Mendoza; D-Norwalk) Expanded Employer Liability — Increased exposure to liability for hiring decisions by unduly restricting the ability of employers to base employment decisions on the evaluation of all legally available information, including consumer credit reports.
AB 2187 (Arambula; I-Fresno) Expanded Employer Liability — Created a significant disincentive to locate jobs and operations in California by potentially criminalizing almost any legitimate wage dispute with a terminated employee that takes longer than 90 days to resolve.
SB 145 (DeSaulnier; D-Concord) Workers’ Compensation Apportionment — Eroded recent workers’ compensation reforms and leads to higher premiums for California employers by undercutting fair and reasonable provisions in current law that protect an employer from paying for disability that was not caused by a workplace accident.
SB 1121 (Florez; D-Shafter) Harms California Farms and Farm Workers — Placed farms at a competitive disadvantage, increases cost of doing business for California farmers, and reduces available resources to invest in workers and farms by removing overtime exemption for agricultural employees. Vetoed by the Governor, July 28.
SB 1474 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Increased Agricultural Costs — Designed to increase union representation of agricultural employees even when it is against the will of employees by undermining the process that now guarantees, through secret-ballot elections, a fair vote and the expression of agricultural employees’ true sentiments on the selection of a collective bargaining representative. This act would have hurt California’s businesses by driving up costs and made employers less competitive in a global market.
Economic Development Barriers
AB 1405 (De León; D-Los Angeles) Climate Change Tax Increase — Increased costs and discourages job growth by granting the Air Resources Board broad authority to implement unlimited fees and taxes with little or no oversight.
SB 967 (Correa; D-Santa Ana) Restricts Business Options — Limited choice and drives up prices for consumers and for state and local government by providing a preference to bidders who commit that 90 percent of the work will be performed by California employees.
SB 1272 (Wolk; D-Davis) Discourages Investment — Created uncertainty for California employers making long-term investment decisions by requiring all future-enacted investment incentives to sunset after seven years.
Inflated Liability Costs
AB 1680 (Saldaña; D-San Diego) Interferes with Contractual Agreements — Burdened businesses with unnecessary litigation costs and slows resolution of disputes by presumptively invalidating arbitration agreements in an otherwise voluntary contract if the underlying claim involves a possible hate crime.
AB 2773 (Swanson; D-Alameda) Undermines Judicial Discretion — Unreasonably increased business litigation costs by limiting judicial discretion to reduce or deny exorbitant legal fees in fair employment and housing cases.
Governor Signs AB 1602, SB 900
Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 1602 (John A. Perez; D-Los Angeles) and SB 900 (Alquist; D-Santa Clara), both identified by CalChamber as “job killer” bills. These bills seek to implement the federal health care law, going far beyond what the law requires and potentially adding hundreds of millions in General Fund costs, according to an analysis by former state Finance Director Michael Genest.
Governor Signs 4 Job Creator Bills
During the 2010 session the following “job creator” bills were signed by Governor Schwarzenegger:
Increased Construction Jobs
AB 1846 (M. Perez; D-Coachella) Expedited Environmental Review — Streamlines the CEQA approval process for certain projects by allowing industries subject to compliance with greenhouse gas regulations under AB 32 to go through an expedited environmental review through a focused environmental impact report. Signed by Governor, August 27.
AB 2098 (Miller; R-Corona) Increases Construction Jobs — Authorizes Riverside County Transportation Commission to use design-build to construct a portion of State Highway 91, thus putting more jobs on the ground more quickly. Signed by Governor, September, 24.
SB 1192 (Oropeza; D-Long Beach) Increases Construction Jobs— Creates construction jobs building travel infrastructure and creates a better travel environment for state business and tourism. Signed by Governor, September 30.
SBX8 34 (Padilla; D-Pacoima) Supports Construction of Vital Projects— Ensures the expedited permitting of environmentally sound solar thermal projects, enabling them to qualify for grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Signed by Governor, March 22.
Cumulative Job Killer Vetoes
In 2010, CalChamber identified 43 pieces of “job killing” legislation. Twelve Job Killers made it to the Governor’s desk and 10 of those were vetoed. During his administration, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed 90% of the job killers sent to his desk for action.
In previous years, Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed CalChamber identified “job killer” bills that reached his desk as follows:
2009 — Six of 6 "job killer" bills vetoed;
2008 — Nine of 10 “job killer” bills vetoed;
2007 — Twelve of 12 “job killer” bills vetoed;
2006 — Nine of 11 “job killer” bills vetoed;
2005 — Seven of eight “job killer” bills vetoed;
2004 — Ten out of 10 “job killer” bills vetoed.