Job Creators
2026 Affordability Agenda – Cost Cutters and Cost Drivers
On March 19, 2026, the California Chamber of Commerce launched its annual Affordability Agenda, highlighting legislation that will either help businesses and consumers by cutting costs or will drive up costs despite the state’s high cost of living.
Since 2008, the CalChamber identified job creator bills that encouraged employers to invest resources back into the economy and local communities rather than spend them on unnecessary government-imposed costs. As of 2025, these bills are now branded as Cost Cutters as part of the CalChamber’s Affordability Agenda.
2023 Job Creators
AB 52 (Grayson; D-Concord) Manufacturing Tax Credit Expansion. Expands investment and production in California by expanding the sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of manufacturing and research and development (R&D) equipment. Held in Senate Appropriations Suspense File. Failed deadline to move from fiscal committee to floor, September 1, 2023.
SB 301 (Portantino; D-Burbank) Conversion to Zero-Emission Vehicles. Incentivizes production of zero-emission vehicle parts in the state, increasing manufacturing and jobs, by offering a rebate for zero-emissions vehicle conversions. Placed on Assembly Inactive File, September 13, 2023.
SB 592 (Newman; D-Fullerton) Improved Labor Law Compliance. Requires labor law guidance to be translated into commonly spoken languages in California and protects business owners from being penalized if they relied in good faith on guidance issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Failed passage in Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee, April 19, 2023.
SB 703 (Niello; R-Sacramento) Flexible Workweek. Allows for an employee-selected flexible work schedule and relieves employers of the administrative cost and burden of adopting an alternative workweek schedule per division, which accommodates employees, helps retain employees, and allows the employer to invest these savings into growing its workforce. In Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee. Failed deadline to move from policy committee to fiscal committee, April 28, 2023.