Positive Bills Clear Legislative Fiscal Committees

Members of the Senate and Assembly fiscal committees took final action last week on hundreds of bills during the biannual clearing of the “suspense file” — proposals projected to impose additional cost pressures on the state budget.

Among the bills that cleared that hurdle were ones viewed by the California Chamber of Commerce as good for the state’s economy, jobs climate and California’s future.

Approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 29 and sent along for a vote by the entire Senate were the following CalChamber-supported bills:

• AB 265 (Caloza; D-Los Angeles) This Cost Cutter bill provides assistance to small businesses by establishing a state-funded program to help them recover from economic or operational disruptions due to local or state emergencies.
• AB 323 (Fong; D-Alhambra) revises workforce programs to improve paid work-based learning opportunities. The bill will facilitate the use of existing funds to support work-based learning.

Approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on August 29 and sent along for a vote by the entire Assembly, were the following CalChamber-supported bills:

• SB 86 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) provides tax credits to clean energy companies. It extends and expands the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) program that provides tax credits to clean energy companies to bolster California’s manufacturing sector while advancing the state’s clean energy economy. The companies use renewable energy, energy efficiency, advanced transportation and manufacturing technologies aimed at reducing air pollution.
• SB 302 (Padilla; D-Chula Vista) removes roadblocks to the state’s energy transition and aligns California’s tax treatment of environmental credits with the federal government and that of a majority of other states. The change will incentivize the production of clean energy.