Several California Chamber of Commerce-opposed Job Killer bills are set for policy committee hearings this week. CalChamber is urging businesses to contact their legislators and urge them to oppose these bills.
For the majority of the bills below, this will be their first policy committee hearing of the session.
On the Assembly side, the various policy committees will vote on:
- AB 138 (Bloom; D-Santa Monica) Targeted Tax on Sweetened Beverages — Unfairly imposes a targeted excise tax on distributors of sweetened caloric beverages to fund health-related programs for all which will force distributors to reduce costs through higher prices to consumers or limit their workforce. Assembly Health Committee, April 9.
- AB 495 (Muratsuchi; D-Torrance) Cosmetic Product Ban — Bypasses a legislatively mandated analytical process to judge the safety of consumer products and seeks to prohibit safe cosmetic products based upon the mere presence of a chemical in the product, no matter the level, that will lead to potential regrettable substitutions and job losses in the cosmetic industry. Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, April 9.
- AB 725 (Wicks; D-Oakland) Inclusionary Housing Requirement — Will exacerbate California’s housing crisis by imposing a statewide, indirect inclusionary housing requirement that prohibits local jurisdictions from allocating more than 20% of their share of regional housing need for above moderate-income housing in areas zoned for single-family development. Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee, April 10.
- AB 755 (Holden; D-Pasadena) Targeted Tax on Purchase of Tires — Imposes a $1.50 targeted tax on the purchase of new tires, that will unfairly raise prices on California residents, including employers, in order to fund the mitigation of zinc in storm water for all. Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, April 9.
- AB 1468 (McCarty; D-Sacramento/Gallagher; R-Yuba City) Targeted Tax on Opioids — Unfairly imposes an excise tax on opioid distributors in California, which will increase their costs and force them to adopt measures that include reducing workforce and increasing drug prices for ill patients who need these medications the most, in order to fund drug prevention and rehabilitation programs that will benefit all of California. Assembly Health Committee, April 9.
Senate committees will consider the following job killers:
- SB 1 (Atkins; D-San Diego) Unprecedented Delegation of Legislative Authority and Increased Litigation — Creates significant uncertainty and litigation risks to regulated entities by giving certain state agencies unfettered authority to adopt rules and regulations without any of the Administrative Procedure Act safeguards when the agency, in its discretion, determines that the federal rules and regulations in effect on January 19, 2017 are more “stringent” than existing federal law. It also increases the potential for costly litigation by creating private rights of action under California law or when a state agency takes the foregoing discretionary action. Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, April 9.
- SB 44 (Skinner; D-Berkeley) Targeted Mandate that Will Increase Transportation Costs — Severely impacts transportation costs by directing the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop a strategy to reduce all motor vehicle emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 by disproportionally targeting diesel medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Threatens jobs by requiring an immediate strategy for reduction of diesel vehicles without sufficient alternate technology. Senate Environmental Quality Committee, April 10.
- SB 561 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara) Significant Expansion of Liability and Litigation Under California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018 — Creates an onerous and costly private right of action that will primarily benefit trial lawyers to sue for any violations of the CCPA and removes businesses’ 30-day right to cure an alleged violation of the CCPA as well as businesses’ ability to seek guidance from the Attorney General on how to comply with this confusing and complex law. Senate Judiciary Committee, April 9.
