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November 22, 2005
The 2005 Vote Record
The
South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce Raises Elected
Officials’ Awareness on Business Legislation
The
2005 Vote Record: The 31 Bills Tracked by the SBACC and How
State Senator Bowen, State Senator Lowenthal, State Senator
Vincent, Assembly member Horton, Assembly member Karnette,
and Assembly member Oropeza Voted
The South
Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce (SBACC) unanimously
voted to follow 31 pieces of local, state and federal
legislation that would have a significant negative affect on
South Bay businesses. The SBACC members reviewed the issues
during early 2005 that will impede the success the local job
market.
The
SBACC’s official positions on each of the 31 bills have been
available at www.sbacc.com
including summaries and explanations of why the SBACC
opposed and supported each of the 31 bills. The SBACC
lobbied vigorously during the 2005 legislative session for
your local legislators to OPPOSE 13 bills and SUPPORT 18
bills.
Click here to
download a detailed list of all 31 bills including how our local
legislators voted.
“The South
Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce strongly believes
that our local elected officials must be held accountable
for their votes,” stated Marna Smeltzer, Chair of the South
Bay Association of Chamber of Commerce. “We will continue to
advocate and communicate on behalf of our business community
to ensure our local legislators vote to support pro-business
and pro-jobs legislation in 2006.”
The South
Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce’s elected
legislators, State Senator Bowen, State Senator Lowenthal,
State Senator Vincent, Assembly member Horton, Assembly
member Karnette, and Assembly member Oropeza received
letters on all 31 bills tracked by the SBACC.
“Despite
our local representatives’ anti-jobs votes, the SBACC will
regroup and establish a new plan to advocate for South Bay
businesses,” added Smeltzer. “The SBACC will work harder
next legislative session to bring an end to anti-business
legislation and change the South Bay into a business
friendly environment.”
Summary of
How the SBACC Legislators Voted in 2005
To reach
the following vote percentages supporting pro-jobs for each
local legislator, the South Bay Association of Chambers of
Commerce tallied the number of times your representatives
voted in agreement with the SBACC’s position and divided
that total by the number of chances each elected official
had to vote on the Assembly or Senate floor. During the
2005 legislative session, State Senator Bowen voted on 15
bills; 15 bills were proposed for State Senator Lowenthal’s
vote; State Senator Vincent voted on 15 bills; 12 bills were
proposed for Assembly member Horton’s vote; Assembly member
Karnette voted on 12 bills; and 12 bills were proposed for
Assembly member Oropeza’s vote.
|
SBACC Legislator |
Bowen |
Lowenthal |
Vincent |
Horton |
Karnette |
Oropeza |
|
Total Aligned with SBACC |
6 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
|
Total Against SBACC |
9 |
9 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
|
Supporting Pro-Jobs Legislation Percentage |
37% |
37% |
47% |
50% |
50% |
58% |
Click here to
download a detailed list of all 31 bills including how our local
legislators voted.
November 1, 2005
South Bay Association of
Chambers of Commerce Prevails On 2005 Job Killers
Last month, the Governor gave the South Bay Association of
Chambers of Commerce (SBACC) a huge victory for local
businesses’ bottom lines. Seven out of the eight “job
killer” bills from the 2005 legislation were vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger. Months of vigorously advocating
against these “job killer” bills passed by California’s
legislature prevented a negative impact on local jobs in the
South Bay.
“Beginning back in January, the SBACC put in many hours to
improve our local employers’ expenditures,” said Marna
Smeltzer, Chair of the SBACC. “The SBACC is pleased that the
Governor aligned with our positions for our region. The
South Bay’s local economy would have undoubtedly suffered
without his vetoes.” These proposed laws, which made it to
the Governor’s desk for consideration, could have created
new employment burdens in our region. Bills to increase
health care rates, the minimum wage, and employer lawsuits
all were stopped.
Three of the final eight proposed laws that the SBACC
strongly advocated against are highlighted here:
AB 48 (Lieber)
Establishes a minimum wage increase for the State of
California. This bill increases the minimum wage effective
on and after January 1, 2006. The current wage is $6.75.
This bill raises the wage to $7.25 in 2006, and $7.75 in
2007. AB 48 causes California to have the highest minimum
wage in the nation. An increase in wages increases
employers’ expenses in the state by billions annually. Also,
this rise would deter business owners from remaining or
generating new jobs in California.
SB 174 (Dunn)
Creates new minimum wage lawsuits against employers in the
State of California. This bill provides new incentives for
plaintiffs and their attorneys to file lawsuits on minimum
wage and overtime by creating two new types of class action
"sue your boss" lawsuits.
SB 399 (Escutia)
Revises the State of California’s health services and third
party liability. Specifically, this bill amends these third
party claim procedures. SB 399 increases health care costs
by raising legal expenses on the self-insured and insurers.
Expands non-economic damage awards and requires employers to
make medical payments in excess of current Medi-Cal
reimbursement rates. Modifies the provider lien procedures
to instead authorize the lien for the reasonable and
necessary charges for services provided to the beneficiary
against the portion of any judgment, award, or settlement
relating to past medical expenses in the action or claim
brought against a third party.
“We are disappointed, however, that many of the bills we
supported did not pass the legislature in the end,” Smeltzer
added. “The SBACC will continue to fight for a better South
Bay job climate on the next wave of ‘job killers’ during the
2006 legislative session.” |
