Analysis: Which proposed bills help, hinder, small businesses
by John Seiler | March 23, 2015 4:43 pm
Among the approximately 2,000 bills considered in the California Legislature this year, many affect small businesses. Here’s the analysis of four by the National Federation of Independent Business California[1]:
Assembly Bill 23[2] and Senate Bill 5[3], the Affordable Gas Tax for Families Act. The bills are sponsored, respectively, by Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno; and state Sen. Andy Vidak, R-Hanford. The NFIB/CA supports the bills, which in its analysis would:
- Exempt certain categories of persons or entities, such as transportation fuels, from inclusion in the state’s cap-and-trade program.
- Will remove transportation fuels from the cap-and-trade program and eliminate the gas tax.
Unless the tax exemption is passed, according to a recent study[4] by the California Drivers Alliance, the tax potentially could kill over 18,000 jobs and $2.9 billion in economic output in 2015.
Tax Holiday
AB1280[5]: Small Business Tax Holiday. It’s by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, R-San Diego. The NFIB/CA is a sponsor of the bill, which in its analysis:
- Allows a one-day sales and use tax exemption annually for small businesses that collect less than $200,000 on sales tax the previous year.
- The specific day would be the Saturday following Thanksgiving, also known as “Small Business Saturday.”
- Does not interfere with a local government’s ability to tax.
- Mirrors a similar proposal that has been put forth in Florida this year.
Double Pay
AB67[6], the Double Pay on the Holiday Act of 2015. It’s by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego. The NFIB/CA opposes the bill, which in its analysis:
- Defines “family holiday” to mean either December 25 or the fourth Thursday of November each year, the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Provides that any work performed on a family holiday shall be compensated at no less than twice the employee’s regular rate of pay.
- Provides that “employee” does not include an employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that meets specified criteria.
- National Federation of Independent Business California: http://www.nfib.com/california/
- Assembly Bill 23: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_23&sess=CUR&house=B&author=patterson_%3Cpatterson%3E
- Senate Bill 5: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_5&sess=CUR&house=B&author=vidak_%3Cvidak%3E
- recent study: http://www.californiadriversalliance.org/resources/
- AB1280: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_1251-1300/ab_1280_bill_20150227_introduced.htm
- AB67: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_67&sess=CUR&house=B&author=gonzalez_%3Cgonzalez%3E
Source URL: https://calwatchdog.com/2015/03/23/analysis-which-proposed-bills-help-hinder-small-businesses/