The Legislative Analyst reports that the state budget is currently projected to have a $26 billion surplus, with the potential to grow as large as $40 billion by the end of the fiscal year. While the strength of the budget is welcome news, the LAO’s projections do not expect employment to fully recover until 2025 […]
Despite the governor and public health officials citing family gatherings as the main cause of the increase in COVID cases, it’s once again the workers and small business owners that is paying the price. We have repeatedly asked the governor and his administration for contact tracing data that would show how business openings have affected […]
The California Business Roundtable (CBRT) Board of Directors has voted to support Proposition 16, the November ballot measure that will repeal Prop 209 and remove the ban on affirmative action involving race-based or sex-based preferences from the California Constitution. The Board of Directors voted to support Prop. 16 as part of a broader ongoing commitment […]
The California Business Roundtable supported increased funding for the CalEITC funding last year and our research on upward economic mobility shows it is a critical anti-poverty tool. But programs like the EITC are only effective when people are at work. Due to the governor’s decision to allow for the minimum wage increase, despite the state […]
Dear Governor Newsom, In early January, you released your proposed state budget for the next fiscal year. Thanks to a sustained economic recovery within the business community, the state has near-full employment and $78 billion more in total budget tax revenue since 2010–11. In fact, state and local tax and fee revenue has increased by […]
When SB 32 passed in 2016, California businesses and consumers were confronted with huge costs due to the Air Resources Board command-and-control regulations created to achieve mandated and unprecedented emission reductions, even though California represents only one percent of total global emissions. As a result, we aggressively sought reforms to create a market-based cap-and-trade program […]
While the governor’s leadership has been the key to keeping California in the black and paying down debt, the Legislature continues to grow permanent spending based on an increasingly volatile revenue stream. The Legislature’s highest priority for environmental policy is sustainability. Yet today their highest priority for budget and fiscal policy is unsustainability. Since the […]
(Editor’s Note: Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, issued the following statement today regarding the State Senate’s passage of SB 562 (Lara / Atkins), the single-payer healthcare bill, which will cost $400 billion per year to implement) “There is no realistic funding mechanism to support SB562, especially given all the existing spending obligations […]
(Editor’s note: The following statement was issued by Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, regarding the report that SB 562 (Lara / Atkins), the single-payer healthcare bill, will cost $400 billion per year to implement.) Let’s look at the facts: California’s 2017-18 budget is estimated at $180 billion. We are the highest tax […]
Labor Day 2016 continues to show improving conditions within California’s economy. The Legislature has just concluded a session that is being described as one of the most progressive ever for environmental and labor union policies. And Governor Brown is looking at over 700 new laws on his desk. His signature or veto will directly impact […]
