California Chamber of Commerce “Job Killer Bills” Miss Key Deadline – Employment Law Weekly

California Chamber of Commerce “Job Killer Bills” Miss Key Deadline

Last April, the California Chamber of Commerce released its initial 2024 job killer list which, at the time, included nine bills dealing with labor and employment, taxation, unemployment insurance, environmental and health care issues. Subsequently, additions and deletions were made to the list as legislative activity progressed.  Three of the five remaining California Chamber of Commerce Job Killer bills missed the end of May deadline to pass the house in which they were introduced.

Stalled Bills: The following job killer bills failed to pass before Friday’s deadline:

– – ACA 16 (Bryan; D-Los Angeles): Has far-reaching negative consequences that would impair government operations, stunt development for new housing, infrastructure and clean energy project development and the strong potential to destabilize California’s economy. This constitutional amendment still is likely to come up for a vote in the next couple of weeks.
– – SB 1327 (Glazer; D-Contra Costa): Implements a discriminatory 7.25% tax on the revenue generated from the sale of digital advertising. The bill is likely unconstitutional and will lead to costly litigation for the state.
– – SB 1497 (Menjivar; D-Los Angeles): Imposes an ill-defined tax on a broad set of entities that will increase costs for goods and services in California.

Amended to Remove Job Killer Tag

AB 2499 (Schiavo; D-Chatsworth) will be amended to remove certain qualifying reasons for leave that are not related to safety, narrow the accommodations provisions, and limit the amount of time off an employee can take for certain reasons. The Appropriations Committee had also amended the threshold of applicability to apply to employers with 25 or more employees, which is consistent with existing law. Before amendments, it significantly expanded the 12-week leave related to crimes and lowered the threshold of applicability to employers with just five employees.

Opposed Bills Stopped: Additionally, three CalChamber-opposed bills also failed to pass their house of origin on time. The following bills are dead for the year:

– – AB 2648 (Bennett; D-Ventura): Prohibits the state from purchasing and all food services inside state facilities from offering any single-use plastic bottled beverages despite this packaging having one of the highest recycling rates in the country and despite the negative impacts to both the environment and state budget from using less efficient and more expensive packaging.
– – AB 3155 (Friedman; D-Glendale): Sets disturbing precedent by creating liability without proof for oil well owners/operators if individuals who lived within 3,200 feet of a wellhead develop certain health conditions.
– – SB 1494 (Glazer; D-Contra Costa): Eliminates an important economic development tool by prohibiting local governments from entering into sales tax sharing agreements with businesses. SB 1494 failed passage on a vote of 17-11 on May 23; reconsideration was granted.

What Remains:

– – SB 1116 (Portantino; D-Burbank) Increased Unemployment Insurance Taxes to Subsidize Striking Workers. SB 1116 will allow striking workers to claim UI benefits when they choose to strike. Because the UI Fund is paid for entirely by employers, SB 1116 will effectively add more debt onto California employers. Moreover, SB 1116 will effectively force employers to subsidize strikes at completely unrelated businesses because the UI Fund’s debt adds taxes for all employers, regardless of whether they’ve had a strike.
– – SB 1327 (Glazer; D-Contra Costa) Tax on Digital Advertising Revenue. Implements a discriminatory 7.25% tax on the revenue generated from the sale of digital advertising. The bill targets taxpayers that annually make at least $2.5 billion of revenue from these services.

California Chamber of Commerce “Job Killer Bills” Miss Key Deadline

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