On February 23, CALA kicked off the national Create Jobs Not Lawsuits tour in Lodi. The tour will visit and team up with other reform organizations around the country in states feeling the strains of lawsuit abuse. Why did CALA kicking off the event in Lodi? It’s a hotbed of lawsuit abuse.

It’s an undisputable fact that the California’s legal climate is hindering economic growth and hurting job creation. Californians are fed up with lawmakers‘ continued inability to pass meaningful reforms which would reduce the burden forced upon them and allow them to do what they do best: create jobs and move our economy forward.

Our legal climate has already hurt our economy badly. Last year, Andrew Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Carl’s Jr. franchise, announced that the company is scuttling its plans to expand in California due in large part to the legal climate here.

Where will CKE Restaurants focus its expansion? Texas, which has taken enormous strides to make its legal climate friendly to business, and as a result has experienced an economic boon while we here in California are left behind.

If our politicians aren’t taking the lead on legal reform, it’s time for the voters to let them know that legal reform and job creation go hand in hand and make legal reform a key issue in 2012. The Create Jobs Not Lawsuit tour will do precisely that as it travels across the nation. Hopefully our leaders are listening!