Author: John Kabateck

Earlier this week, the American Tort Reform Association released its 2010-11 Judicial Hellholes Report – and it was no surprise that several California cities once again have the dubious honor of being listed among America’s worst areas for civil litigation. From lawsuits claiming that extra virgin olive oil was “extra virgin enough” to one litigant filing more than 1,000 Americans with Disabilities (ADA) access lawsuits since 2003, California continues to be a haven for those who want to take advantage of the system to make a quick buck.

Lawsuit abuse hurts California’s economy and burdens consumers. The threat of abusive lawsuits increases the cost of doing business and raises prices across the state. California small businesses are preyed upon more frequently than other businesses for the simple reason that they do not have the resources to fight these types of lawsuits. When surveyed in 2008, three quarters of NFIB member small businesses felt threatened by frivolous lawsuits and, if sued, would consider closing their doors forever.

NFIB is committed to supporting pro-small business policies that strengthen our economy, and provide our members with stability. One very important priority in our agenda and for our members is fiscal responsibility. We oppose wasteful government spending, which directly threatens free enterprise.

One of the key priorities for our members is fiscal responsibility and a commitment to free enterprise. Small businesses oppose wasteful government spending, which impedes job creation and exacerbates the already-unstable environment that government is fostering.

The nonpartisan National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust announced its endorsement of Meg Whitman for Governor. NFIB made this endorsement after balloting our nearly 20,000 members about which candidate we should support for Governor – and the choice was clear.

Meg is the only candidate who has run a business, created jobs for California and signed the front of a check.  She has the  track record, commitment and vision that we know will transform today’s Sacramento mindset from heaping huge new burdens upon Main Street to one that will finally provide struggling small businesses the incentives and support they so desperately need. 

Meg believes innovation and entrepreneurship should be encouraged, not penalized. She recognizes that small businesses are the backbone of our economy and as Governor, she will make certain California government gets out of the way of small businesses and creates the conditions for them to thrive.

The National Federation of Independent Business Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust endorses Carly Fiorina for U.S. Senate.  On behalf of nearly 20,000 NFIB members in California, and even more small business employees and supporters across the state, this is a significant endorsement in an important election year.  Never have the stakes been so high for our job creators – small business owners.

The differences in this race could not be clearer. Carly Fiorina is a business leader who advocates for reasonable regulations, lower taxes, and more incentives and opportunities for Main Street. Senator Barbara Boxer is an advocate for higher taxes and more government intrusion into the lives of small business owners with a decades-long record of anti-small business votes.

Carly has signed the front of a paycheck and understands the day-to-day struggles of small business owners. Sen. Boxer has spent the last four decades as a professional politician with a record that shows she fails to understand the challenges of Main Street businesses.

It seems that every election year, several key phrases start to emanate from the Capitol – "small business" and "job creation".  A note to press secretaries and communications directors everywhere: just because a press release claims that a particular legislator is "small business" friendly or favors "job creation", doesn’t make it so.

It’s time for our state leaders to get serious about small business and pay attention to what job creators genuinely need from Sacramento.

First, legislators must ask themselves, "Who is responsible for creating jobs?"  The answer should be obvious when you learn that small business creates approximately three quarters of all new jobs.  They also create 14 times more patents per employee than large businesses and include more than 98 percent of business establishments.

While the legislature is in session, the National Federation of Independent Business/California will be profiling anti-small business bills and the adverse effect they would have on California’s job creators.  This is the second column of the 2010 series.

That spot between the rock and the hard place is a bad place to be.

In fact, it’s a very tight fit.

And the California Legislature is about to make it a bit tighter.

THE ROCK

When you visit your local bookstore, restaurant or dry cleaner, you may have noticed the kindly-worded sign letting you know that the business charges a small fee for you to use a debit card. Well, the debit card surcharge imposed by the mom-and-pop store is not there to squeeze you for a little more profit; a small business charges this fee to cover the ever-increasing cost imposed by the big electronic payment networks such as VISA, Mastercard and Interlink, and those mandatory fees may be 2.5 percent of the purchase price or higher.

In their ongoing quest to avoid accountability, many California politicians have thrown their support behind a measure that will gut the 2008 Proposition 11 redistricting reforms which took the job of drawing legislative districts out of the control of legislators and gave it to an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. And if they have their way, their measure will derail a November congressional redistricting reform ballot measure, the Voters FIRST Act for Congress that transfers the drawing of congressional districts to the citizens’ commission and away from self-serving, career politicians, as well. Although these politicians try to frame their effort as being in the interest of voters, one only need take a look at the history of this issue to understand their true motives: self-interest.

During the 2001 redistricting, California congressional representatives from both parties cut deals to protect the seats of incumbents. In the process, several members of Congress gave $20,000 to a consultant to help ensure their seats were safe. They got what they paid for; only one congressional seat has changed parties in the last decade. That wiz of a redistricting consultant, Michael Berman, also happens to be the brother of Rep. Howard Berman, whose seat was spared from what many agree should have been a challenge from a Latino candidate – considering the changing demographics of his district.

While the legislature is in session, the National Federation of Independent Business/California will be profiling anti-small business bills and the adverse effect they would have on California’s job creators. This is the first column of the 2010 series.

We’ve all got them in our wallets, purses and desk drawers. They hide from us and we forget that we have them until we “discover’ them again. What are we referring to? Gift certificates – the best one-size-size-fits-all present for those family members or friends that are the hardest to shop for. But as usual, the California legislature can’t leave anything alone…now they’re proposing a change to gift certificates that is no gift for small business, especially mom-and-pop retailers.

Senate Bill 885 doubles the gift certificate redemption provision from a value of $10 to a value of “less than $20” and requires a printed disclosure statement be included on each card or certificate. Doubling the value of the cash-out provision increases the burden already facing small business owners by expanding potential financial liabilities with outstanding gift certificates.

For far too long, the Californians has been missing an important voice on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) – the voice of small business. With that in mind, NFIB/California is proud to sponsor Assembly Bill 2328, introduced by Assembly Member Roger Niello, which requires one of the two public member appointees that currently sit on CARB be an owner of a small business.

The Air Resources Board (Board) consists of 11 members appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate and they serve “at the pleasure” of the Governor, meaning that the Governor can replace them at any time. Of the 11 members on the Board, absolutely none represent the interests of California’s largest employer . . . small business.

Why is having a small business owner on CARB so important?