On Tuesday, August 23rd, California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse joined with legislators to hold a press conference at the State Capitol announcing the results of a voter survey recently done in California. The survey asked votes if lawsuit reform an important part of improving California’s business environment and attracting and keeping good jobs.
The results? Voters across the political spectrum and throughout California said yes, the lack of legal reform and abundance of abusive lawsuits are hurting our economy. Approximately two-thirds of California voters believe that the number of lawsuits filed against businesses or public entities in California has hurt the state’s economy.
At the press conference, State Senate Minority Leader Bob Dutton said “Lawsuit abuse hurts the economy and costs jobs. Whether it is large companies facing class action lawsuits or small businesses getting hit with ADA lawsuits, California’s legal climate is known nationally as being unfriendly to business, yet at every turn California chooses to create lawsuits that hurt job and business growth.”
What’s more, the survey found that more than 7 out of 10 voters believe California’s liability laws make it harder for employers to do business and succeed in California, and 74% believe that enacting lawsuit reform is an important part of improving California’s business environment and attracting and keeping jobs.
With our unemployment level at 12%, you would think legislators would want to prioritize legal reform as a major issue to get California back on track. As we stated, voters of all political persuasions and backgrounds want legal reform. It seems that our leaders in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. are deaf.
This mentality has got to end. Voters clearly believe legal reform must be added to the list of necessary reforms to get our economy moving again. Businesses know that poor legal climates cost them money, and generally do less business in states with bad legal climates. This means our local and state governments are losing badly-needed tax revenue and jobs to states that have passed legal reform.
The voters have spoken: two-thirds of California voters are likely to support a candidate who supports lawsuit reform as a way to create a better business environment in Califonira. It’s time to stop the politics and pass legal reform.