California: Business Scores the Legislature and Governor

A mixed record for business in this year’s legislative session got a bit of a boost when the governor signed a slew of bills intended to help business. While the latest flurry of bill signings is good news, big issues still concern the business community.

The ballyhooed effort at the beginning of the legislative session to improve the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ended in a whimper. What CEQA reform was achieved came about because politicians in Sacramento wanted to make it easier to build a basketball arena in downtown Sacramento. Broader CEQA reforms were benched.

Minimum wage was increased against business opposition as businesses, especially small businesses, struggle to recover from the recession. Business is still battling the burdens of heavy taxes and regulations, which has prompted some businesses to consider relocating outside the state.

But there were some steps forward.

Among the bills signed by the governor was AB 227 that would allow businesses in violation of Proposition 65 anti-toxic regulations to have a couple of weeks to fix any problems. This bill will reduce the threats of bounty-hunter lawsuits and give businesses a fair chance to correct honest mistakes.

Some regulations were swept away for California’s high-tech companies. New laws will make it easier for digital retailers to deal with smart phone payments.

Importantly, investors who received notices following a court decision that they must pay a total of millions in back taxes got relief from the legislature who passed a bill to overturn the decision. The governor signed the bill.

During the session, the legislature moved to drastically reduce the time to approve business filings at the Secretary of State’s office. The issue highlighted California’s slow paper filing system to get businesses up and running. The average waiting time was 43 days. The legislature demanded the time be trimmed to five days and quickly passed AB 113, signed by the governor.

The California of Chamber of Commerce also had a successful session in opposing its list of Job Killer bills. Of the 38 bills the Chamber tagged as Job Killers, 37 did not become law.

The governor also signed SB 12 by Senator Ellen Corbett, which will enhance the state’s marketing effort with a newly created “Made in California” label to highlight the state’s reputation for creating innovative products.

Via: California Political Review

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Totalitarians Run California

The main problem with the California Legislature is not that it spends your money far faster than it comes in, or that much of it is squandered on absurd programs and on the enrichment of those Californians who work for the state. Those are symptoms of the real problem, which is that the Legislature recognizes no natural limits on its power.

If a legislator doesn’t like something, expect a proposal to ban it. If a legislator likes a particular idea, expect plans to build a bureaucracy to implement it.

The only issues off the table involve fixing those budgetary and governmental problems that the state government is legitimately tasked with handling.

When you see supposedly serious efforts to address a problem, such as the Legislature’s last-minute embrace of public-employee pension reform, a closer look reveals such reform is just a fig leaf covering something else.

This particular reform package does little but was passed after polls showed the governor’s tax-increase initiative (Proposition 30) for November was on thin ice. The pension bill is designed to help a political campaign — “Look, voters, we are serious about reforming government, so go ahead and vote yourself (or your wealthier neighbors) a hefty tax hike!”

So another legislative session comes to a close, and a load of new rules and regulations is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature or veto. California bans and regulations, including those emanating from local governments, have gotten so out of hand that regulation-happy New Yorkers at the New York Times now are making fun of our state.

“Once known for its sunny, freewheeling disposition — a live-and-let-live sensibility rooted in Western ideals and relied upon by generations of surfer dudes and misbehaving Hollywood stars — this region has long been as regulated as anywhere,” the Times reported recently. “Lately, however, cities, school districts and even libraries have been outlawing chunks of what used to pass here for birthright at a startling clip.”

Via: CA Political Review

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