The Most Crucial Small Business Saturday is Coming

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

Small Business Saturday on November 28 is this event’s most important in its 11-year history because of what the pandemic has done to small businesses and their workers. Now with an upsurge in coronavirus cases and potential stiff business restrictions imposed by California governments, it is more important than ever to support small businesses during […]

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In 2020, California Lawmakers Failed to Protect Californians Against Lawsuit Abuse

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

Another legislative session has come to close here in California and, once again, lawmakers have let Californians down. Why? There is a fundamental issue that has been hurting our great state for many years that lawmakers simply refuse to address: lawsuit abuse. You may be thinking that lawsuit abuse is an issue reserved for courtrooms […]

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Small Business Looks at the CA Election Results

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

Small businesses throughout California are happy to see the ‘No’ vote on Proposition 15 holding a narrow lead, but they will watch to see if it will stick. It’s a direct dollars-and-cents issue for them because they are certain to be hit with the largest property tax increase in California history at the worst possible […]

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Small Business Retail Theft a Major Concern this Election Season

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

Shoplifting and stealing are becoming a bigger problem in California, which is why small businesses are showing interest in two statewide ballot measures that deal with crime and justice. Proposition 20 seeks sterner criteria defining felonies, while Proposition 25 is a referendum on the Legislature’s no cash bail law.   A survey by the National Retailers […]

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Study Brings out Five Worries with California’s Economy

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

A study released late last week by the nation’s leading small-business association revealed five issues in particular that were more problematic for Main Street entrepreneurs in California to deal with than they were for their counterparts across the nation. Every four years since 1982, NFIB has published its Small Business Problems & Priorities report listing […]

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Time to stop the mandates, give business time to recover

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

Proponents of a newly-proposed privacy initiative, the so-called California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), claim to have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The actual number of qualifying signatures may be close, based on my experience with previous initiatives.   But as someone who has signed a few ballot initiative arguments, I question whether this […]

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Exempt All Small Businesses Under AB 5

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

When the phone calls come into the National Federation of Independent Business/California offices about AB 5 we know the questions will boil down to this: Is our type of business one of the lucky ones that gained an exemption under the new worker classification law?  We’ve developed flow charts and explanations on how different businesses […]

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Governor’s Budget Recognizes the Importance of Starting a Business

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

California’s business community has felt like a punching bag over the years, with rankings like CNBC’s showing the state placed last in the cost of doing business and business friendliness categories. So, it is refreshing that Governor Gavin Newsom recognizes the importance of small businesses to California’s economic well-being, which he does in his most […]

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Small Business Releases its 2020 Legislative Agenda

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

Not in any of our members’ memory has NFIB California needed to shape and refine its legislative agenda for the coming session so soon, but these are extraordinary times. The fate of thousands of people who have freely chosen to be their own bosses, the further legal life of the only tax that has done […]

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People Don’t Want a Sales Tax on Services

John Kabateck
NFIB State Director in California

As the 2020 election nears, Californians are bracing for an onslaught of local and state tax increase proposals on everything from property to soda. Proponents are already selling these taxes as though they are the missing piece in the California Dream, while conveniently ignoring the people who are going to pay more: taxpayers, consumers and […]

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