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2008
Successes
 December
16, 2008
Chamber Saves Long Beach Businesses Millions
in 2008
The Long Beach Chamber saved local businesses
millions of dollars in state mandates throughout
2008. An example of the Long Beach Chamber’s efforts
is the result of ending a proposal that would have
mandated paid sick leave. The Chamber believed the
proposal unreasonably expanded Long Beach employer’s
costs and liability by mandating millions of dollars
in new taxes on Long Beach businesses. The Chamber
testified at the California State Senate Committee
hearing in Sacramento hand-delivering letters of
opposition from local Long Beach businesses. The
proposal did not gain the needed votes to pass.
“This proposed mandate would have put Long Beach
businesses out of business by requiring them to
offer a benefit that most cannot afford, especially
in a time economic uncertainties,” stated Randy
Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Chamber.
The proposed sick leave law would have covered all
employees, so that part-time, seasonal and temporary
workers would earn paid sick days. The proposed law
mandated, without exception, that all employers
provide paid sick leave to an employee after just
seven days of work in a calendar year to care for
their own illness, or to provide to a sick child,
spouse, domestic partner or other relative.
Furthermore, it would have created a record-keeping
system in order to keep track of the mandated sick
leave time even after an employee left his or her
job in case that employee returned to work some time
later.
“The Chamber will continue to oppose any mandates on
our local businesses that are considered
unreasonable, especially since our job creators in
Long Beach seem to always be to be the target for
costly mandates,” stated Joanne Davis, Chair of the
Long Beach Chamber Government Affairs Committee.
“The Chamber’s proactive government affairs efforts
helped end the costly mandatory sick leave proposal
and we will continue that save level of activism in
2009 to protect local jobs and our quality of life,”
continued Davis.
December
16, 2008
Chamber Helps Secures Passage of Job
Creating Proposals In 2009
Governor Schwarzenegger signed two
Chamber supported “job-creator”
proposals helping to better define
and enforce important regulations
and easing burdens on the local
economy. The Governor signed into
law Chamber supported SB 1608
(Corbett) and AB 1384 (Kerkorian)
which improve our local economy and
give businesses the ability to
create new jobs.
SB 1608 improves ADA requirements
and helps prevents frivolous
lawsuits by expanding outreach
efforts to businesses about the
importance of meeting ADA
regulations. The new law also
creates important court delays on
lawsuits if businesses met certain
requirements which minimizes using
the courts to frivolously attack
businesses and stifle job growth in
Long Beach.
“The Long Beach Chamber supported SB
1608 because it gives our local
economy the protection it needs to
create more jobs,” stated Blake
Christian, Chairman of the Long
Beach Chamber Board of Directors.
“Further action must be taken to
prevent ADA frivolous lawsuits and
we will work in the coming year to
secure further protections for
businesses who are impacted by this
litigation,” continued Christian.
AB 1384 imposes stronger penalties
on trademark infringement and
protects intellectual property that
helps businesses create new hardware
and software. Copyright and
trademark infringement impacts our
statewide economy $34 billion
annually. According to the
California Chamber of Commerce, Los
Angeles County lost 106,000 jobs,
$5.2 billion in revenue to our
economy and over $483 million in
state and local government tax
revenue in 2005 alone.
“Both new laws are a good first step
in helping reverse barriers to job
creation in Long Beach,” stated
Joanne Davis, Chair of the Chamber
Government Affairs Committee. “We
hope the Legislature will continue
in the coming year to build on top
of these successes and help Long
Beach create more jobs.”
December
16, 2008
Chamber Stops Job Killing Proposals
In 2009
Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger vetoed proposals marked by the Chamber and the
California Chamber as “job-killers.” The Governor vetoed the
Chamber opposed port container fee SB 974, authored by Long
Beach Senator Alan Lowenthal. If enacted, this proposal would
have imposed a fee on cargo coming into the ports of Long Beach
and Los Angeles. The Long Beach Chamber supports efforts to
minimize the environmental impact of our ports on our region.
However, The Chamber opposed SB 974 because of the negative
economic impact the fee would have placed on imports placing our
business community at a competitive disadvantage.
“We are committed to
working with the international trade community, the Governor and
the Legislature to support proposals that minimize environmental
impacts of our ports,” stated Joanne Davis, Chair of the Long
Beach Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee. “However, given
the current state of our distressed economy, SB 974 is the wrong
idea at the wrong time.”
Three other
“job-killers” identified by the Chamber also made the list of
vetoes by the Governor:
AB
2386 (Núñez; D-Los Angeles):
This proposal would have eliminated the secret
ballot voting method for employee unionization, a process known
as “card checks.” The Long Beach
Chamber believes that labor unions in California are
experiencing a decline in membership and that the “card check”
proposal is a nothing more than a membership recruitment tool.
Instituting a “card check” process is known to create a work
environment where workers are intimated into signing their
ballots to support unionization, eliminate an important concept
of a secret ballot and opens the door to potential abuses and
undue influences.
SB 840 (Kuehl;
D-Santa Monica):
This proposal would have created a single-payer,
government-run health care system which would eliminate
healthcare choices and potentially create a cumbersome,
ill-managed bureaucracy seen in many other government agencies.
The Chamber supports ideas for comprehensive healthcare reform.
However, SB 840 put too much of the financial responsibility
upon Long Beach businesses at a time when job creation is more
important than ever.
SB
1717 (Perata; D-Oakland):
This proposal would have eliminated important Long Beach
Chamber-supported workers compensation reforms instituted by the
Governor in 2004. SB 1717 would have increased the cost of doing
business in Long Beach and therefore slowing job creation.
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