AG Becerra Must Ensure Proposed Privacy Regulations Don’t Deliver Knock-Out Punch to California Latino Businesses
In 2018, the California legislature passed and Governor Brown signed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The law was well-intended: to help consumers protect their online privacy. But as its implementation date nears (January 1, 2020), that good goal has been usurped by its price tag and unreasonable burdens on California businesses. As CEO of […]
Don’t Tax Latino Communities In Need Of Clean Drinking Water
At a time when many of our state’s Latino communities cannot access clean water at home, lawmakers should be doing everything they can to solve this urgent problem. Unfortunately, a bill in Sacramento could create what is essentially a new beverage tax that would make it more expensive for these communities to purchase clean drinking […]
CARB’s Emissions Tax is Out of Step with California’s Jobs Mission
It’s not often you see California politicians agree on something, but nowadays there is undeniable unity on one issue: from small town city councils to the Governor’s office, everyone’s talking about the importance of jobs. One glaring exception seems to be the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which is seriously considering adopting a cap and […]
Bounty Hunter Clause Cripples Small Businesses
Small businesses are the engines that drive California – and the U.S. – economy. Contrary to popular belief, it is the independents, the small business and minority owned firms that serve as the barometer for the state’s economic prosperity. Fortune 500 companies are definitely important job pillars, to be sure, but 70 percent of new jobs are created by small businesses and many of these businesses lean on relationships with big business to grow and innovate. But let’s be clear, small businesses are leading the charge to economic recovery and fueling California ‘s revenue base. Governor Brown recognized this in designating May as California’s Small Business Month.
It’s critically important that public policies support, rather than hinder, small businesses development. Ninety-nine percent of companies in California are small businesses, and small businesses provide over 52 percent of all private sector jobs.
But the road to success for any small business is far from certain. Two Bounty Hunter Clause Cripples Small Businesses out of every five small business ventures fail after only two years. If the road to success is difficult for the average small business, the statistics are downright sobering among Latino-owned businesses.
It’d be a big mistake to revisit the “bag ban” legislation
It’s more than a little disturbing that Governor Schwarzenegger, this week, said that he’d like to reintroduce failed legislation that would not only ban stores from giving out free plastic shopping bags, but also force stores to charge their customers for paper or reusable bags and let the stores keep the money. The proposal was so bad on so many fronts that proponents scrambled to make last minute changes to address some of the more absurd provisions.
Now the Governor wants to blame the defeat on, what he calls, “special interests” instead of facing the truth– it was an awful bill that would have further damaged our already fragile economy. California’s unemployment rate is nearly 13 percent. Small businesses are struggling. Working families are cutting budgets to make ends meet. State government is facing a $20-billion deficit.
Now is not the time to target an industry that employs more than 1200 Californians. What would happen to these jobs if bag ban legislation becomes law? Why would any business stay in a state that chooses to eliminate the market for its products?