Last week, the California State Assembly passed yet another mandate bill that is bad news for small businesses around the state.  AB 2716 by Assembly Member Ma passed with a 45-33 vote and will force all employers to provide paid sick leave regardless of their ability to pay and would expose small businesses to yet another round of lawsuits.

And to add insult to injury, when did this vote take place?  On the very day that California has set aside to honor the best and brightest small businesses around the state – California Small Business Day.  Dozens of legislators voted against the interests of California’s economic powerhouse – small business – by supporting a multi-billion dollar job-killing mandate, then walked across the street to proclaim their undying support for the very businesses they had just crushed.  To say the least one must question their motives for attending the event.

As our leaders look to revive the flat-lined 2007 "Year of Healthcare", it is important to remember that small business owners, employees, and family members make up 60 percent of the uninsured, so until healthcare is fixed for small business it is not "fixed".  But what does truly "fixed" health care look like for California’s job creators?

NFIB has put forth ten principles for small business healthcare reform which include:

• Universal: All Americans should have access to quality care and protection against catastrophic costs.  A government safety net should enable the neediest to obtain coverage.
• Private: To the greatest extent possible, Americans should receive their health insurance and healthcare through the private sector.  Care must be taken to minimize the extent to which government safety nets crowd out private insurance and care.
• Affordable: Healthcare costs to individuals, providers, governments, and businesses must be reasonable, predictable and controllable.
  

When President Bush outlined his principles for an economic stimulus plan, he emphasized the need to help small businesses. He reiterated that theme in his State of the Union message.

There’s a good reason for that: Small businesses are creating the bulk of the new jobs in this country.

You might have missed that news amidst the recent front-page reporting of economic gloom and doom and headlines about interest rate cuts. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees actually added 66,000 jobs in December. During 2007, small businesses added a total of 716,000 jobs, according to the ADP National Employment Report, which tracks the payroll data of several hundred thousand businesses. In fact, the firm says that in 11 of the past 12 months, small businesses added more jobs than medium- and large-size businesses combined.

Day after day, we see the spending-induced budget deficit grow in California. As the year began, it quickly rose from $14 billion in January to an estimated $17.2 billion today, and who knows where it will be by the time the budget is due (though rarely delivered on-time) in June. The need to fix the budget is urgent, and our state legislators need to work with the Governor to address the problem before it is too late. But it needs to be a thoughtful discussion, and one that does not place the burden of additional taxes on hardworking small business owners and families.

There are some in the legislature that are chomping at the bit to raise taxes to cover this massive budget gap. But how would you go about generating $20 billion into the state coffers? It would look something like this: each family would have to pay $1,100 in additional taxes, the state sales tax would have to increase by two to five cents, and property taxes would also go up.

As we make the transition from one year to another, one cannot but hope the future holds great promise for both personal and professional endeavors.  One also reflects on the past.  Families mark the doorjamb with a notch to track the growth of children.  Small business owners look over the books to measure the product of their blood, sweat, and tears.

It is hard to imagine losing all that to a natural disaster, but even more so to the government elected by voters to protect our rights.  But many California homeowners and small business owners find themselves facing that reality.