2013
Recent articles and videos from news sources that mention the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber.)
Her Job: Stopping Wage Theft
Julie Su doesn't back down from fights when she thinks employers are cheating their workers. "She's bright," said Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. "She's not out there trying to harass people who are trying to comply with the law." (Los Angeles Times 05/22/13)
Brown Defends California's Business Climate
Gov. Jerry Brown is acting as California's cheerleader-in-chief, countering the state's anti-business reputation in an address to hundreds of business, agriculture and education leaders. The Democratic governor spoke Wednesday to an annual gathering in the state capital hosted by the California Chamber of Commerce. (Associated Press 05/22/13)
California Expects Boost in Tourists from China
Earlier this month, local politico blog Fox and Hounds posted a pro-China tourism op-ed from Susanne Stirling, vice president of international affairs at the California Chamber of Commerce. Stirling posted some rather startling numbers about the money Chinese travelers already pump into the Golden State economy. (Sacramento Business Journal 05/16/13)
Is California losing the race for business?
California Chamber of Commerce president Allan Zaremberg said while California does have challenges in building a better business climate, those problems — high taxes, a thorny regulatory system and a high cost of living — shouldn’t be laid on GO-Biz. “It’s still a work in progress,” Zaremberg said. “They have a good team there that will try to see how companies can be best assisted as they want to expand in California.” (Sacramento Business Journal 05/10/13)
Talking Covered California's 'Massive Challenge' in Video
Health care reform is a “mammoth challenge,” Covered California executive director Peter Lee says in a new video on small business questions about the new insurance marketplace for individuals and small employers that will go life next year, but “it will be easy relative to how complicated buying insurance has been in the past.” The video is in the latest edition of CalChamber News. (Sacramento Business Journal 04/29/13)
How Jerry Brown Scared California Straight
He’s also won over much of the business community, though he raised their personal taxes. “He comes at things differently than Arnold Schwarzenegger,” says Allan Zaremberg, chief executive officer of the California Chamber of Commerce, who worked with Brown on his first, abandoned tax hike. “You better be damn well prepared when you talk to him.” Zaremberg is pleased with Brown’s work to lower health-care costs to businesses and reform the state’s environmental quality act, which he says can be burdensome. “He’s analytical, and it’s important to have that kind of maturity when we have a term-limited legislature—nearly half of the assembly is completely new to state government this year,” says Zaremberg. “He’s a stabilizing force.” (Businessweek 04/25/13)
A Measure of Pollution in the Bay Area
While environmental health advocates praised the map for shining a light on struggling areas, businesses and some lawmakers expressed concern that the map could actually keep economic development out of those areas. "They will receive aid from the state, which is good, but they may lose jobs," said Mira Guertin, a policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce. "They may have a more difficult job trying to get a business to locate there when the business says, 'I don't have any risk, or less risk, if I locate in a ZIP code right next door because the tool doesn't identify that ZIP code as having a high risk.' " (San Francisco Chronicle 04/24/13)
Effort to Save State's Unemployment Insurance Program is Underway
Employers counter that they're working hard with all parties, including labor, to find an economical solution to the unemployment insurance crisis. "The resolution must provide needed reforms and ensure that the competitiveness of California business is not compromised or California's economic recovery unduly harmed," Marti Fisher, a lobbyist with the California Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. (Los Angeles Times 04/19/13)
State Senate Leader Said Revamp of Environmental Law is on Track
The senate leader also released a letter Wednesday from business groups including the California Chamber of Commerce and California Manufacturers and Technology Assn. supporting his bill at a time when they say lawsuits and red-tape are bogging down development projects. (Los Angeles Times 04/17/13)
Bill Proposing Risk Assessment for Products Worries Eatery Owners
Tom Indrieri, owner of Tommy's Market Street Grill in downtown Colusa, is outraged that a state bill might require restaurants to conduct public health risk-assessments of products. (Sun-Herald 04/17/13)
Bill Would Increase Commercial Property Taxes
Jennifer Barrera, a policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce, said the bill unfairly targets business owners, especially publicly traded companies that sell ownership shares on a daily basis. Those firms would constantly trigger new assessments -- which wouldn’t actually help the state, she said. (The Sacramento Business Journal 04/15/13)
'Job Killer' List Signals Start of 'Big Game' in State Capitol
Each spring, once all the measures have been introduced, the state Chamber of Commerce singles out a few dozen it considers to be the most onerous and labels them "job killers," thus setting parameters of that year's big game. (Dan Walters in The Sacramento Bee 04/09/13)
AB 5 Not the 'Hand Up' Homeless People Need
This bill, which even its author, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, concedes is “aspirational,” would impose unfunded mandates upon cities while adding homelessness to a listing of protected classes. (Scott A. Mann in the U-T San Diego 04/09/13)
California Chamber Flags 32 “Job Killer” Bills
The California Chamber of Commerce released its annual list of “job killer” bills on Monday, targeting 32 measures in the state Legislature it believes will have a negative impact on California’s business climate if they were to become law. (Los Angeles Business Journal 04/08/13)
CalChamber Calls Out 32 "Job Killer" Bills This Year
The California Chamber of Commerce is out with its annual list of "job killer" bills today, bestowing the title on 32 pieces of legislation authored by legislative Democrats. (The Sacramento Bee 04/08/13)
Soda Taxes Wrong for California
California voters agreed to $6 billion in tax increases through last fall’s Proposition 30. But some state legislators found that hike insufficient to satisfy their insatiable appetite for revenue, so now they’re coming for middle-class Californians’ grocery carts and restaurant tables. State Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, wants every Californian to stump up an extra $1.44 per standard 12-pack of soft drinks purchased for the state coffers. (J. Justin Wilson in the U-T San Diego 04/05/13)
Civil Injustice Prevails in California
Assembly Bill 227 would protect the goals of Proposition 65, which requires businesses and landlords to warn of products and environments with toxic exposures above certain thresholds, but also combat abusive lawsuits by giving businesses 14 days to make corrections before they could be sued. This would avoid some costly lawsuits and fines of up to $2,500 per day, and thwart opportunists seeking out-of-court settlements by threatening to file lawsuits. (The Orange County Register 03/26/13)
Chamber of Commerce Honors Ventura County Woman for Small-Business Advocacy
The California Chamber of Commerce has named Suzanne Scar its 2012 Small Business Advocate of the Year for her involvement with state legislation that affects small-business owners. (Ventura County Star 03/25/13)
What If It Paid to Invest in Schools?
Chamber President Allan Zaremberg noted that one of California’s great competitive advantages has long been a higher education system that “has been the envy of the world,” but that there is also a need “to focus on jobs that don’t require a degree from Berkeley.” (Timm Herdt in Ventura County Star 03/19/13)
Reinvigorating 'Career Tech' a Worthy Goal
Steinberg on Tuesday held a news conference — surrounded by representatives of business, labor and academia — to propose legislation that would revive career tech in high schools. Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, noted that "not everybody needs a degree from Berkeley. Not every job requires a degree from Berkeley." (George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times 03/20/13)
Assembly Speeds Along Money to Reduce Business Filing Backlog
It's not often you find business and manufacturing groups standing with Democratic lawmakers, as they did at a news conference after the bill's passage. But it seems just about everyone can agree that - even with the state's tight finances - California can find a couple million dollars to ease a processing period that's six times that of most other states. (Capital Public Radio 03/18/13)
Small Businesses Running Out of Time for Health Care Tax Credit
Many small employers qualify for a health care tax credit under the federal health reform law — but they must file by the March 15 corporate tax filing deadline, according to the California Chamber of Commerce. (Sacramento Business Journal 03/11/13)
Healthcoverage Tax Credit Deadline Nears
Thousands of small California businesses that provide health insurance to employees are eligible for a credit against their 2012 taxes, but a large number of them are unaware of the credit even as the March 15 corporate tax filing deadline fast approaches. (The Orange County Register 03/06/13)
Driving Issue: Car Dealer Frederick ‘Fritz’ Hitchcock Looks to Improve State’s Business Climate as Chairman of California Chamber of Commerce
Frederick “Fritz” Hitchcock has spent nearly 50 years in the car business, buying and selling dealerships, mostly in Southern California. He bought his first dealership in 1969; now he owns four in the region. In the process, he’s become a leader among car dealers, serving on the boards of state and national car dealer associations. More recently, he’s taken his civic activism to a new playing field: he’s now the 2013 board chairman for the California Chamber of Commerce. Hitchcock, 73, recently sat down with the Business Journal at his corporate office in City of Industry to talk about the car dealer business, his views on the state’s business climate and his lifelong love of major sporting events. (Los Angeles Business Journal 03/04/13)
California Chamber of Commerce Chief Urges Political Involvement in Seaside Speech
The head of the California Chamber of Commerce told a gathering of business people in Seaside on Wednesday to get more involved in politics and warned of changes brought by the Affordable Care Act. (Monterey County Herald 01/30/13)
That Day in Court May Take a While
Resolving a divorce, a custody tussle, a contract dispute, a landlord tenant fight, an unpaid debt or any number of multimillion-dollar or small claims civil issues takes longer and costs more than it used to. “A lot of things are being delayed and some will have severe consequences,” said Allan Zaremberg, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. “And it’s those people who can least afford to have their lives disrupted that are the ones most impacted.” (Capitol Weekly 01/22/13)
Budget Plan Ups the Gamble on Wealthiest Taxpayers
Loren Kaye, president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, thinks the most recent data will push the most wealthy's portion to almost two-thirds of state income taxes. "About 700,000 Californians are paying for almost half of the state budget," said Kaye, who's think tank is a subsidiary of the California Chamber of Commerce. (KXTV 01/15/13)
California Chamber of Commerce Pleased With Balanced Budget
Chamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg says while there are still many unmet needs in the state, a balanced budget and a potential surplus in the coming years is a positive signal for businesses. (Capital Public Radio 01/11/13)
Proposition 13 Tax Curbs Face Attack In California
The November vote was a victory for public-sector unions, which have the most to gain from weakening Proposition 13. It also put California business owners on alert for tax changes that fall hard on commercial property. "Even the people who advocate a change in Proposition 13 don't seem to want a change in residential (tax) rates," said Allan Zaremberg, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. (Investor's Business Daily 01/10/13)
New California Laws Cover Broad Areas of Employment
The California Chamber of Commerce issued an updated list of new laws that will impact California employers. (North Bay Business Journal 01/07/13)
Banning the 'R' Word, Flowers Galore, Space Travel Beckons
The measure won legislative support from the California Labor Federation and the California Chamber of Commerce, which saw the bill as clarifying a murky aspect of employee law. “Social media is a developing area of the law,” said Jennifer Barrera, a lobbyist for the state chamber. “The boundaries on what you can and cannot investigate haven’t really been made clear.” (Capitol Weekly 01/01/13)