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| For Immediate Release August 27, 2003 |
CMTA Contacts: Gino DiCaro
916-730-3443
William Hodges 916-498-3324 Coalition Contact: Tom Knox 916-448-4266 |
Legislative Session and Pending Job Killer Bills
California Business Leaders Call for a Stop to Legislation
that Continues to Threaten Jobs
 |
Leaders of the Coalition for California Jobs (CCJ) called attention to the fact that the California legislature is still in session and that many ‘job killer’ bills continue to move through the legislative process. If approved by the legislature and signed by Governor Davis, these bills will cost California even more high-skilled, good paying jobs and will further damage California’s struggling economy.
“There is more than one big political story in California right now. The state is trying to recover from a devastating economic and employment climate but the legislature continues to approve bills that will make it more difficult for businesses of all sizes to exist and provide jobs in California,” said Allan Zaremberg, President of the California Chamber of Commerce and CCJ co-chair.
Zaremberg and CCJ members throughout the state have participated in “Pink Slip Express” events around California over the past few months, at which the struggles of many employers and employees, brought on by the hostile political climate toward business, were underscored.
“California has lost nearly 300,000 manufacturing jobs alone since January 2001 and small and medium-sized businesses around the state are telling us they are laying off workers or packing up and moving out of state due to the hostile climate toward business in this state,” said Jack Stewart, President of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association and CCJ co-chair. “Despite these facts, the legislature continues to push bills that will aggravate the problem and cost more jobs”
Some of the most damaging ‘job killer’ bills still moving through the legislative process and which could land on the governor’s desk include:
SB 2 (Burton) will impose a new multi-billion dollar health care mandate on California employers – a burden employers cannot absorb on top of the stresses created by skyrocketing workers’ comp costs and other expensive legislative mandates passed in recent years. Rather than increase the number of insured workers in California, it will increase the ranks of the unemployed.
SB 18 (Burton) will severely and unfairly impact land-use decisions and threaten any future development or projects which would create and retain jobs for Californians. SB 18 imposes new and onerous land-use requirements that provide extremely broad authority to the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC). These new requirements could potentially deny public involvement in land use decisions, and provide no guarantee of proper and due process for project proponents or landowners. Further, the language does not provide for a fair appeals process when NAHC is making decisions about a person’s property or livelihood. Housing and commercial development have been one of the few bright spots during California's current economic crisis. SB 18 threatens to derail this and plunge California further into its recession.
SB 122 (Escutia) and AB 95 (Corbett) will increase abusive and frivolous lawsuits under California Business and Professions Code 17200. 17200 is already a widely documented problem for employers who are victims of "shakedown" lawsuits filed by attorneys with the goal of extracting settlements – a problem which has been recognized and highlighted by both Democrats and Republicans. Rather than reform this abusive litigation practice, SB 122 and AB 95 expand the ability of attorneys to shakedown businesses and extract settlements and fees. This will further increase costs to business and result in job loss.
SB 288 (Sher) backers want us to believe that the legislation will help California’s air quality. It will not. Instead, it will encourage frivolous lawsuits against the state’s largest employers – threatening their ability to provide jobs and continue operating in the state. SB 288 will also create uncertainty for future investments and greater confusion for California manufacturers trying to comply with California’s complex air quality regulations. The bill will discourage them from expanding or modernizing their California facilities.
“We cannot ignore that in Sacramento it is business as usual and we can’t risk turning a blind eye to the damage that will be caused to California if these job killer bills are approved,” continued Zaremberg. “California employers and employees must let their legislators know that they’ll be held accountable for votes that will perpetuate the state’s downward economic spiral.”
The Coalition for California Jobs today sent a letter to Governor Davis, members of the legislature and gubernatorial candidates outlining the steps that can be taken to stimulate California’s economy. That letter can be found by logging onto www.cajobsfirst.org.
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