Letter to Readers

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Dear Reader:

High costs of essentials, from housing to energy, threaten the state’s prosperity. That is why this issues guide focuses on Creating A More Affordable California.

Lawmakers can help reverse the affordability crisis by pursuing some of the sensible, workable ideas presented in this guide, including the following:

• Reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to reduce time-consuming and costly litigation that discourages or prevents construction of new housing, renewable energy projects, and critical water storage.
• Reject new taxes, and hidden taxes, that penalize employers for investing or producing in California, and that increase costs or reduce availability of products or services.
• Restore a just and accessible forum for workplace disputes by replacing the broken Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
• Ensure that further greenhouse gas mitigation measures are technology-neutral, cost-effective, and include system reliability and public safety as guiding principles.
• Mitigate future employer costs and hiring disincentives by helping repair the Unemployment Insurance Fund deficit and reforming the program to reduce costs and increasing efficiencies.

Please join our ongoing effort to make living and working in our state more affordable for everyone. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter to stay informed on what your elected representatives are doing about affordability issues and how you can influence the discussions. For inspiration, we will continue to share positive stories via California Works profiles of member companies and their employees who help our state compete in the global economy.

Together we can make sure that Californians have access to opportunities for years to come.