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Mark Cook, Chairman
Taco Bell

301 N. Citrus Avenue

Covina, CA 91723
 
 
Economic Development CouncilCalChamber Identifies 2007 'Job Killer' Proposals

25 Bills Would Hurt California's Competitiveness

The California Chamber of Commerce this week released its annual list of "job killer" bills under consideration in the state Legislature, highlighting the negative impact these bills would have on California's global competitiveness.

"These bills are the worst of the worst by singling California out and making the state a less desirable place to do business," said Allan Zaremberg, CalChamber president.

"Since Arnold Schwarzenegger has been Governor the state has seen a steady increase in new jobs - 850,000 to be exact - and billions of dollars in additional tax revenues," Zaremberg said. "These 'job killers' would reverse this trend by imposing new mandates and taxes that will stifle investment and job growth and decrease revenue to the state's coffers."

Among the bills on this year's list are new health care taxes, rollbacks of workers' compensation reform, limits on affordable housing and development, restrictions on the use of voterapproved transportation funding, and a tax on freight movement.

The CalChamber annually releases a list of "job killer" bills to identify legislation that will decimate economic and job growth in California. The CalChamber will track the bills throughout the rest of the legislative session and work to educate legislators about the serious consequences these bills will have on the state. The list of "job killers" begins below. For updates on the status of "job killer" bills and links to CalChamber letters, visit www.calchamber.com/jobkillers.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

• AB 5 (Wolk; D-Davis) Housing Development Restrictions. Stops new housing development in the Central Valley by punishing new development for the failure of local agencies to develop flood control plans that are based on information not available until 2011. Assembly Appropriations.

• AB 35 (Ruskin; D-Redwood City)/ AB 888 (Lieu; DTorrance)/ AB 1058 (Laird; D-Santa Cruz) Increased Construction Costs. Increases cost to businesses by shifting the development of "green state building" standards for residential, commercial and government buildings from the Building Standards Commission, which considers cost impact in its development of standards, to other state entities, which do not consider cost impact and have no experience in the development or adoption of building standards. Assembly Appropriations.

• AB 70 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Housing Development Restrictions. Halts development of housing by imposing joint liability on cities and counties for any flood damage, if they permit housing in undeveloped areas. Assembly Appropriations.

• AB 1065 (Lieber; D-Mountain View) Construction Costs Increase. Substantially increases the cost of housing and development in California by implementing tight energy efficiency measures for all new residential and commercial buildings without taking into account the additional costs that will be passed on to consumers. Assembly Appropriations.

• SB 464 (Kuehl; D-Santa Monica) Rental Property: Owner Restrictions. Discourages construction and investment in rental housing by forcing rental property owners to stay in business, regardless of economic circumstances. Senate Floor.

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.

Assembly Appropriations.

• AB 338 (Coto; D-San Jose) Rollback of Cost-Saving Workers' Compensation Reforms.

Undermines workers' compensation reforms and increases temporary disability costs in workers' compensation claims by increasing the number of weeks benefits can be paid, and by creating a disincentive to use utilization review to enforce medical treatment guidelines. Assembly Appropriations Suspense File.

• 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. Assembly Floor.

• AB 1201 (Leno; D-San Francisco) Increased Health Care Costs.

Reduces access to health care due to increased labor costs resulting from unlawful altering of federal labor law governing union eligibility requirements and secret ballot union elections. Assembly Appropriations.

• SB 48 (Perata; D-Oakland) 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. Senate Appropriations hearing May 21.

• SB 180 (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. Senate Floor.

• SB 936 (Perata; D-Oakland) Rollback 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. Senate Floor.

• SB 942 (Migden; D-San Francisco) Increased Workers' Compensation Costs.

Increases lawsuits against employers by expanding antidiscrimination laws related to workers' compensation claims

and creating a legal presumption that an employer has discriminated. Senate Floor.

Economic Development Barriers

• AB 493 (Ruskin; D-Redwood City) New Vehicle Surcharge. Assesses an unfair surcharge on new vehicles, which will increase costs for small businesses to transport their goods and services. Assembly Appropriations Suspense File.

• SB 375 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Growth Restrictions.

Limits increased transportation capacity and affordable housing, and thwarts intent of voters who approved broadbased transportation bonds, by blocking use of these funds except for narrowly defined "infill" development projects. Senate Appropriations hearing May 21.

• SB 466 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Increased Costs for Timber and Wood Products.

Reduces the amount of timber available for harvest, resulting in lost job opportunities, and increased costs for timber and wood products, by requiring landowners to give up 2 acres of forestland for every acre converted away from timber production. Senate Appropriations Suspense File.

• SB 974 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Tax on Freight Movement.

Increases the cost of shipping goods and makes California less competitive by imposing an illegal per-container tax in the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland. Senate Appropriations Suspense File.

Expensive, Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens

• AB 904 (Feuer; D-Los Angeles) Food Packaging Cost Increase/Collection Mandate.

Increases costs on all businesses that sell food by imposing new mandates on food service packaging and creating a new requirement that food providers collect and recycle 25 percent of the food service packaging they sell. Assembly Appropriations.

• AB 1554 (Jones; D-Sacramento) New Government Bureaucracy for Rate Regulation.

Reduces health care choice, access and quality by creating additional bureaucracy to impose price controls on health care policies, while failing to address the major cost drivers of rising medical care costs. Assembly Appropriations. • SB 201 (Florez; D-Shafter) Leafy Green Vegetable Cost Increases.

Threatens agricultural productivity, and increases the costs of leafy green vegetables, by mandating day-to-day growing practices in statute and requiring a state waiver for any deviations. Senate Appropriations Suspense File.

• SB 899 (Simitian; D-Palo Alto) Plastic Packaging Ban. Pushes jobs out of California and increases costs for industries that use plastic packaging by banning the manufacturing and distribution of specified plastic packaging in California. In Assembly.

Fuel Price Increases

• SB 140 (Kehoe; D-San Diego) New Fuel Mandate.

Disadvantages California businesses and increases fuel prices by creating a fuel mandate that picks a winner in the alternative fuels market, preventing the research and development of additional viable options that may be cheaper and more efficient. Senate Appropriations Suspense File.

• 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. Senate Appropriations Suspense File. Alert Volume 33, Number 16
Serving the Business Community
With its diversified membership of volunteer business leaders, the EDC is well equipped with the background and skills necessary for the program to operate at its highest possible level. Each is committed to the EDC's goals of identifying the needs, wants, and concerns of local businesses, and to the improvement of services among business, government, and the community.

When requested, the EDC has a Task Force available to meet with local business owners to discuss specific needs or problems. In many cases a better understanding of city regulations provides an on-the-spot solution. But whenever necessary, the EDC Task Force responds by communicating information directly to the proper city departments or staff along with recommendations for action.

Finally, the EDC is continually developing new ideas and programs and expanding its communications network within the local community as well as with other city, state, and federal agencies.





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