State Budget Brings Smiles

by Gary Toebben

Democrats and Republicans in the State Capitol had something to smile about this weekend. Democrats used their strong majority to replenish some of the cuts from prior years. And while no Republicans voted for the final budget, many in the minority party were appreciative of Gov. Jerry Brown's frugal approach to the use of unexpected state revenue.  

The $96.3 billion end product was the first balanced budget passed before the June 15 deadline since 1986. The budget included Gov. Brown's Local Control Funding Formula, which will dramatically change how we fund schools and allow all school districts more flexibility in the use of resources they get from the State. The budget also provided the funding necessary to match federal dollars and implement California's new health care exchange, Covered California.  

During the legislative session to date, the Chamber has supported or opposed nearly 50 pieces of legislation in the areas of fiscal policy, education, energy and environmental regulation, health care, transportation, housing and infrastructure. As of May 31, which was the deadline to get bills out of their house of origin, 23 Chamber-supported bills are moving forward, while 11 bills we opposed were defeated or held in committee.

Bills advancing include top Chamber priorities SB 731 (Steinberg), the vehicle for statewide California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) modernization, and SB 391 (DeSaulnier), the Homes & Jobs Act, which will create an affordable housing fund that can be used by our Home for Good partnership to build more permanent supportive housing for the homeless in L.A. County. Other priorities include a statewide natural gas policy and a plan to combat the underground economy and recapture lost revenues. AB 113 (Blumenfied) passed the Legislature and was signed by Gov. Brown to direct additional funds to the Secretary of State's office to accelerate the process of approving new business filings and eliminate a massive backlog.  

Several priority bills for education and workforce development are also moving forward. Two Chamber sponsored bills — AB 484 (Bonilla) would authorize the next 21st century assessment system and SB 300 (Hancock) would formally adopt the new Next Generation Science Standards. Bills that expand access to college financial aid for low-income and vulnerable youth populations also made it out of their houses of origin.

Chamber advocacy helped stop legislation that would have harmed the business environment in the State. Two bills that would have chipped away at Proposition 13, AB 59 (Bonta) and AB 188 (Ammiano) were held in committee soon after our ACCESS Sacramento trip. Attempts to repeal cost-savings provisions of worker’s compensation reform, institute a soda tax and set strict rules that would have hurt nonprofit hospitals also failed to advance. All in all, of the California Chamber of Commerce’s 37 identified job killer bills, only six remain active.

The Chamber will continue its strong advocacy throughout the summer as bills are heard and studied in the second house. A balanced, on-time budget is a good start, but the laws debated during the remainder of the session will have a major impact on business growth and job creation in our state. 

And that's The Business Perspective.