September 21, 2007

CalChamber Urging Veto of ‘Job Killer’ Proposals
Opposition Stops Many ‘Job Killers’ for Now

Before legislators adjourned their regular session on September 12, they sent 12 California Chamber of Commerce-opposed “job killer” bills to the Governor for consideration.

The CalChamber will be asking the Governor to veto these proposals and is urging employers to send their veto requests to the Governor as well.

Amendments made in the closing days of the regular session reduced the impact of several “job killers.” Action on others has been delayed until the next session.

As the result of negotiations, legislation that originally would have rolled back cost-saving workers’ compensation reforms now resolves a problem with current law and the CalChamber is urging support for the bill (see story).

Seeking Veto

The CalChamber is asking the Governor to veto the following “job killer” bills: Barriers to Affordable Housing
● AB 35 (Ruskin; D-Redwood City) Increased Construction Costs. Establishes an isolated process by which a minimum level of “green building” standards are set by a private entity, thereby excluding any public review or input. The measure also creates conflicts and confusion with existing and proposed building codes.
● AB 888 (Lieu; D-Torrance) Increased Construction Costs. Makes it extremely difficult for small businesses to compete by establishing an arbitrary definition of “commercial.” The bill also creates conflicts and confusion with existing and proposed building codes and establishes an isolated process by which a minimum level of “green building” standards are set by a private entity, thereby excluding any public review or input.
● AB 1058 (Laird; D-Santa Cruz) Increased Construction Costs. Adds significant costs to housing purchase as well as rental affordability by requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development to use the most stringent provisions of five sets of national “green building” guidelines as a basis for developing California’s mandatory “green building” standards. The bill also causes confusion by establishing a multiple-state agency quasi-regulatory authority for developing “green building” standards.
Costly Workplace Mandates
● AB 8 (Núñez; D-Los Angeles) Health Care Tax on Employers. Imposes a tax on small employers who can’t afford to provide health care coverage, to fund health care coverage for those who don’t currently purchase it.
● AB 504 (Swanson; D-Oakland) Mandatory Payments for Striking Employees. Forces employers to pay striking employees by creating a new definition of lockout that requires an employer to pay restitution to employees.
● SB 180 (Migden; D-San Francisco)/ SB 650 (Migden; D-San Francisco) Increased Agricultural Costs. Hurts competitiveness of California agriculture producers, driving businesses out of state, killing jobs and increasing loss of farmland, by artificially increasing labor costs for California producers who must compete in a global market with lower-than-average operating costs; removes secret ballot election requirement for union representation and prohibits employer communication with employees. SB 650 sunsets after five years.
● SB 622 (Padilla; D-Pacoima) Independent Contractors. Creates a new excuse to sue employers and exposes them to excessive new penalties for “willful misclassification” of independent contractors without providing a clear roadmap for employers to comply.
● SB 936 (Perata; D-Oakland) Roll Back of Cost-Saving Workers’ Compensation Reforms. Increases the cost of hiring and keeping employees by rolling back historic reforms and doubling permanent disability costs in California’s workers’ compensation system.
● SB 942 (Migden; D-San Francisco) Increased Workers’ Compensation Costs. Alters the rules for return-to-work and the provision of Supplemental Job Displacement Voucher benefits in workers’ compensation to require that employers provide the injured worker with a job voucher before they know the amount of the benefit that is due to the injured worker, and provides no avenue to recoup costs if the benefit provided was more than that to which the injured worker was actually entitled.
Fuel Price Increases
● SB 210 (Kehoe; D-San Diego) Restrictive Fuel Standard. Interferes with the development of a competitive alternative fuels market and threatens job creation in California by creating a costly Low Carbon Fuel Standard that conflicts with the existing standard created by Governor’s Executive Order S-7-04.
Inflated Liability Costs
● SB 93 (Corbett; D-San Leandro) Inflated Liability Costs. Artificially inflates medical damage awards in third party liability cases by not allowing judges to consider the actual cost of medical expenses as evidence, ultimately increasing, not only legal costs, but also rates for auto and general liability insurance.

Amended

● AB 5 (Wolk; D-Davis) Housing Development Restrictions. Following amendments, the CalChamber is neutral on this former “job killer.”
● AB 70 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Housing Development Restrictions. No longer a “job killer,” but still opposed by the CalChamber, the bill slows development of housing. The CalChamber is asking the Governor to veto this bill.

Stopped for Now

Further action has been delayed until next year on bills that increase employer liability exposure - AB 437 (Jones; D-Sacramento); legislate a new fuel mandate - SB 140 (Kehoe; D-San Diego) and tax freight movement - SB 974 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach).

For more information on the “job killers,” see the status report on major bills in this issue or visit www.calchamber.com/jobkillers.

Action Needed

Write Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and urge him to veto the “job killers.” For easy-to-use sample letters, visit www.calchambervotes.com.

Staff Contact: Dominic DiMare