Health Care Webinar/CA Office of Economic Development

There is still room for more participants on the Webinar PrimePay, California Employers and CAL Insurance is doing April 13th from 9AM to 10. The topic is the impact of the recently passed health bill on small and medium sized businesses.

Our presenter Lucian Wulsin from the Insure the Uninsured Project will be presenting. Lucian is recognized as a health policy expert. There will be time for your questions. It is free but you must register.

To do so call 800-399-5331.

See below announcement of the opening of the Governors Office of Economic Development.

Scott Hauge
President Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-680-2188


Small Business CaliforniaGovernor Schwarzenegger Establishes Office of Economic Development

Signs Executive Order, Appoints Director, Launches Web Site to Improve Communication between Businesses and State

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed an executive order establishing the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GoED), a one-stop shop to help businesses acquire the direction, information and resources they need to invest, succeed and expand in California. The Governor appointed Joel Ayala, former president and chief executive officer of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, as director of the new office.

“California is the best place in the world to do business, and by cutting red tape and streamlining functions, my Office of Economic Development will make the state an even better partner to the economy,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This office is exactly what businesses need to navigate through state requirements and take advantage of state resources, and Joel Ayala is exactly the person to head it up. He knows what it takes to create jobs and bring businesses to our state, and I am looking forward to working with him to boost California’s economy.”

Those who want to do business in California must interact with the state in many ways, such as establishing, registering and maintaining their businesses, obtaining permits and licenses, reporting required information and paying taxes. The state also has more than 100 individual economic development programs and services available to businesses. At GoED, experienced staff will guide businesses through the various state requirements and help them access state resources.

The idea of creating a one-stop shop to cater to California businesses needs was originally suggested as a part of the Governor’s 2004 California Performance Review <http://cpr.ca.gov/> and again in a February 2010 Little Hoover Commission <http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/200/report200.html> report. The office will have three defined functions: to promote California as a place to do business; to support businesses interested in starting, growing, financing, expanding or relocating in California; and to help those businesses facing challenges to operating in California.

GoED will be open for business beginning today and can be contacted toll free at 877-345-GoED (877-345-4633) or at http://www.business.ca.gov/ <http://www.business.ca.gov/> .GoED is being established, staffed and housed using existing state resources. The Administration is currently in the process of drafting legislation that will make GoED a permanent entity in state government.

Joel Ayala has been appointed to lead GoED as the director. Since 2007, he has been president and chief executive officer of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. Previously, Ayala served as president and chief executive officer for the Orange County Chamber of Commerce from 2001 to 2007 and school director for adult education and corporate training at the Career Management Institute from 1994 to 2001. He was deputy probation counselor for the Orange County Probation Department from 1985 to 1993. Ayala is a member of the Orange County Presidents Council and a previous member of the Santa Ana Workforce Investment Board, Anaheim Workforce Investment Board, University of California, Irvine Alumni Association Board of Directors and the California Task Force for Small Business Department of General Services.

Ayala, 44, of Anaheim, earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and social ecology from the University of California, Irvine.This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $138,000. “I’m looking forward to working with the Governor, businesses and the people of California to improve the economy and get people back to work,” said Joel Ayala. “The development and growth of businesses is more important now than ever due to the economic hardships so many communities face. Improving California’s business climate will attract new businesses and allow greater prosperity for businesses that are already here.”

The full text of the Governor's executive order is below:

EXECUTIVE ORDER S-05-10

WHEREAS job creation and retention are critical to California’s economic well-being and quality of life; and

WHEREAS in 2009, the United States confronted the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression; and

WHEREAS California was especially hard hit by the global financial crisis, and while the recovery has begun, economic growth remains modest and high unemployment persists; and

WHEREAS unemployment in the State stood at 12.5 percent as of February 2010; and

WHEREAS it will take aggressive action on the part of government and the private sector to ensure that California leads the recovery; and

WHEREAS good jobs enable Californians to achieve their potential and contribute to the economic performance of the State; and

WHEREAS California has led the world in innovation as the high-technology capital of the world, the biotechnology capital of the world, the agriculture capital of the world, the entertainment capital of the world, the aerospace capital of the world, and now the green-technology capital of the world; and

WHEREAS in 2009, venture capital investment in California led all other states, with approximately $8.9 billion of the $50 billion invested nationwide; and

WHEREAS in my State of the State Address this year, I announced a job creation package that will create or retain at least 100,000 jobs, and additional efforts are necessary to eliminate barriers in further creating jobs; and

WHEREAS I have just signed two important parts of this jobs package: a homebuyer tax credit and a sales tax exemption for companies purchasing green-technology manufacturing equipment; and

WHEREAS people who want to do business in California must interact with the State to establish and maintain their businesses, by obtaining permits and licenses, registering their businesses, reporting required information, and paying taxes; and

WHEREAS California has at least 100 individual programs and services across 28 separate state government entities that support economic development; and

WHEREAS the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide approximately $85 billion in cash and tax benefits to Californians; and

WHEREAS state-level services and resources for California businesses are disjointed, with an uneven geographical distribution of services, no centralized entity with broad expertise, no mechanism to focus efforts and measure results, and a lack of effective coordination with other government and private sector resources; and

WHEREAS some of these services and resources reside under the authority of other constitutional officers, including the Lieutenant Governor, the Treasurer, and the Secretary of State; and

WHEREAS from a business owner’s perspective, state government is not a collection of independent agencies, but rather one “state government” and therefore, business owners expect seamless services from the State; and

WHEREAS some who want to start a business in California do not know where to begin, and even some established business owners find it difficult to navigate the state bureaucracy; and

WHEREAS the State should simplify the path to the state-level resources and services that businesses need to grow and succeed in California; and

WHEREAS the California Performance Review and the Little Hoover Commission have also recognized this need for a central economic development entity, and action is needed. NOW,

THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, by virtue of the power vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of California, do hereby order effective immediately:

1. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development is hereby created. Its purpose is to promote California as a place to do business, to support those interested in starting, growing, financing, expanding or relocating a business in California, and to help, to the extent possible, those businesses facing challenges to operating in California. The Office of Economic Development shall exist within the Governor’s Office, and shall be headed by a director designated by the Governor.

2. The Office of Economic Development shall be the state’s lead entity for economic development coordination with all public and private entities and shall perform the following functions:

a) Leading the State’s business-oriented outreach and marketing efforts and promoting California as a place for business investment and job creation, working with private-sector, nonprofit and other government entities;

b) Creating a Web portal that will provide one-stop access to state-level information and resources for businesses;

c) Serving employers, corporate real estate executives and site location consultants who are considering California for business investment and expansion;

d) Communicating the business advantages of California locations for new business investment and expansion;

e) Providing site, workforce training and infrastructure availability and cost information;

f) Providing permit and regulatory assistance;

g) Facilitating participation in state capital financing, grants, loans, tax credits, and other incentives;

h) Supporting the State’s small businesses by providing information about accessing capital, regulatory compliance, state procurement and state initiatives that support small businesses;

i) Encouraging collaboration among research institutions, start-up companies, local governments, venture capitalists and economic development organizations to promote innovation;

j) Working with the federal government to leverage economic development programs and to foster relationships with international counterparts to help address barriers to trade, find business partners and promote California’s strengths; and

k) Conducting ongoing research about how California can remain on the leading edge of innovation and emerging sectors.

3. The Office of Economic Development shall be created with existing resources and shall be staffed with personnel from agencies and departments whose functions relate to economic development, including small business promotion. These agencies shall include, but not be limited to, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Agency, the State and Consumer Services Agency, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the Office of Planning and Research.

4. Each member of the Cabinet shall identify a senior manager within his or her agency to coordinate business support activities with the Office of Economic Development.

5. The Office of Economic Development shall operate a Web portal, as described above in paragraph 2(b), and shall be prepared to respond appropriately and promptly to all requests for information and assistance from businesses that need help interacting with California state government.

a) The Web portal shall provide assistance with: establishing or registering a business; license, permitting and registration requirements; tax requirements; and building codes and zoning.

b) The Office of Economic Development shall ensure all state Web sites focused on economic development and business support are user-friendly and provide accurate, updated resources.

6. The Director shall seek advice and input from local government officials, economic development agency officials, and industry leaders.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the agencies and departments under my executive authority shall cooperate in the implementation of this Order. Other entities of state government not under my direct authority are requested to assist in its implementation. This Order does not and is not intended to create any rights or benefits, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California, its agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees or any other person.

I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this Order shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given to this Order.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of April 2010.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor of California

ATTEST:
Debra Bowen

New for 2010: Tax Credit Helps Small Employers Provide Health Insurance Coverage

Mark Herbert from Speakers Pelosi’s office sent me information that outlines the tax credits available to small businesses under the health bill. Note they are available now.

Please see below

The money given the SBA to continue the 90% guarantee of 7a and 504 loans and the waiver of fees is expected to run out in the next couple of weeks. It was expected that the $40 million of interim money would last until the end of April but it appears this will not be the case. If the money does run out it will be the third time in the last 6 months. What small business needs is a permanent solution. We need the passage of S2869 which both Senator Feinstein and Boxer have signed onto.

Small Business California is working with the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders and the National Small Business Association to get this done. One of our members Jim Baird of Bay Area Development is working with the Association of 504 lenders also in this effort.

You all know that Small Business California is headquartered in San Francisco. You also know that San Francisco has some quirky politics [I am being nice here]. The Board of Supervisors recently passed a resolution to make Monday a meatless day in SF. A number of years ago the Wall Street Journal wrote an article entitled “Who needs Oprah when you have the Board of San Francisco Supervisors”.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188



WASHINGTON ― Many small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that provide health insurance coverage to their employees now qualify for a special tax credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Included in the health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, approved by Congress and signed by President Obama on March 23, the credit is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees.

“This credit provides a real boost to eligible small businesses by helping them afford health coverage for their employees,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We urge small businesses and tax-exempt employers to look closely at this important tax break - which is already effective - to see if they qualify.”

The maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid in 2010 by eligible small business employers and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations. In 2014, this maximum credit increases to 50 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations.

The credit is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ low and moderate income workers. It is generally available to employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees paying wages averaging less than $50,000 per employee per year. Because the eligibility formula is based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, many businesses will qualify even if they employ more than 25 individual workers.

The maximum credit goes to smaller employers – those with 10 or fewer FTEs – paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less.

Eligible small businesses can claim the credit as part of the general business credit starting with the 2010 income tax return they file in 2011. For tax-exempt employers, the IRS will provide further information on how to claim the credit.

The IRS will use postcards to reach out to millions of small businesses that may qualify for the credit. The postcards will encourage small business owners to take advantage of the credit if they qualify.

More information about the credit, including tax tips, guides and answers to frequently asked questions, is now available on the IRS Web site, IRS.gov.

Internal Revenue Service
Governmental Liaison for California & Nevada

David versus Goliath Support SB1373

Yesterday we got great news that Betty Yee the Chair of the Board of Equalization will be sending a letter of support for SB1373.

This is Small Business California’s bill that would require vertically integrated manufacturers[these are manufacturers that make asphalt and concrete and then bid on the construction project] to pay the same sales tax as small contractors when they only do the construction work. Right now these vertically integrated manufacturers have a competitive advantage of between 6% and 7% and this bill will level the playing field.

We now need your help.

You might be saying to yourself this doesn’t affect me. Why should I send an email? The reason is that small business is only going to be effective when we work together. This clearly is a case of inequity for small contractors. It is the big guys versus the little guys. I think you would hope that when an issue effects your industry that you would get the support of other small businesses not impacted.

Please send an email to Bob Hartnagel in Senator Leno’s office. His email is:

Bob.Hartnagel@sen.ca.gov

The letter very simply is -

Dear Senator Leno,

As a small business I strongly support SB1373 that will correct an inequity in the Tax Code and level the playing field for small business when competing against big companies. We appreciate your leadership on this.

Sincerely

Your name
Your company

Cc Revenue and Tax Committee

Please send a copy to me and I will make sure the Revenue and Tax Committee gets a copy of your email. I think this is doable in less than 5 minutes and it will make a difference.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

HIRE Act/ Workers Compensation/ Health Webinar

Please see information from Rich Gunn, of Burr Pilger Mayer, regarding tax credits available to business. Thanks Rich for sending.

Yesterday a committee of the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau decided not to do a midyear recommendation on workers compensation rates. It is expected the full Board will follow next week.

This does not mean companies will not make new filings July 1.

At some point rates are going to go up dramatically. Rates have gone up for most classes of business but they have not been dramatic except for construction and State Fund. With a projected combined loss ratio of 125% to 130% for 2009 the pressure is there but no one knows when.

Cal Insurance, the California Association of Employers and PrimePay will be holding a webinar April 13th at 9AM discussing the recently passed health legislation. The Presenter will be Lucian Wulsin the head of the Insure the Uninsured Project and partner of Small Business California. Lucian is a recognized expert on this and he will answer your question about how the health legislation will affect your business. If you are interested in participating let me know. It is free but we can only accommodate 200 callers.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval
StreetSan Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188




President Signs HIRE Act into Law Creates New Tax Incentives

On March 18, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (H.R. 2847). The Act includes provisions designed to spur job growth and help business owners.

The effective date for many of its provisions is March 18, 2010. This means that provisions like the up-to-$1,000 credit for "retained workers" (under Act Sec. 102) apply for any tax year ending after March 18, 2010.

Below we have highlighted key business and offshore provisions.

Business Tax Changes in the 2010 HIRE Act:

Extension of enhanced small business expensing (Section 179) retaining the $250,000 expensing election

Payroll tax holiday eliminating the current 6.2 percent employer Social Security tax for eligible new hires

Up-to-$1,000 business tax credit for keeping eligible employees for at least 52 consecutive weeks

Note: The HIRE Act does not extend the "bonus depreciation" tax break that was also available for business equipment purchases in 2009

Offshore Anti-abuse Provisions in the 2010 HIRE Act

Increased disclosure of beneficial owners

Foreign financial asset reporting

New reporting rule for PFICs

IRS will be authorized to require a financial institution to electronically file returns with respect to any taxes withheld by the financial institution even though the financial institution files less than 250 returns during the year

Provisions related to foreign trusts and imposition of a minimum penalty of $10,000 on any such failure to file

To review each provision in-depth please go to this link:

http://tinyurl.com/yh7wrkv

For further information contact Rich Gunn at rgunn@bpmcpa.com

Health Bill and Corporate Write Off

Many of you I am sure have seen that a number of large companies are taking charges in the current quarter for reforms that came out of the health care bill. 300 large corporations have urged the President to repeal a provision that allows them to receive a subsidy on drug coverage and then take a tax deduction for the expense. The companies have said this would deal a significant blow to corporate profits and discourage companies from hiring more workers.

I don’t understand the large companies on this one as it seems to me that if I receive a subsidy I shouldn’t be allowed to then take a deduction. Seems like double dipping but maybe some of you can explain this to me.

Yesterday I received an inquiry from a reporter indicating that businesses are going to be allowed to reduce their prepayment on payroll taxes due to the economy. I have not heard of this. Are any of you familiar with this provision and if so will it help you?

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Waiver of fees and 90% guarantees extended/ IRS Scam/ On Bill Financing/ LA Times

I just received word from Tony Wilkinson of the National Association of Government Lenders that legislation has been passed by the House and the Senate to extend the 90% guarantees on SBA 7a and 504 loans through the end of April. It is expected the President will sign. While this is good it is another stop gap measure and what is really needed is the passage of HR4312 which would extend funding through the end of the year.

Yesterday I received an official looking email which appeared to be from the IRS. It appeared that they were checking information. Have any of you received this? If so it is a scam. My accountant told me the IRS does not send things through email.

Southern California Edison just filed with the California Public Utilities Commission[CPUC] their intention to do On Bill Financing as is being done by San Diego Gas. This would mean 0% financing for small businesses who do energy retrofits. The loans would be $5,000 to $100000. Unfortunately it is not clear when the program will start for small businesses. San Diego Gas has loaned over $6 million on the program and numerous small contractors are getting work they would not have received without the program. The amazing thing is that the default rate on these loans is around 1%.Small Business California and our Executive Director Hank Ryan is responsible for bringing On Bill Financing to California and has spent numerous hours testifying before the CPUC.

For more information on On Bill Financing go to www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org

I received a call the other day from a reporter at the LA Times. It seems they will be running stories about the impact of the health bill on small businesses. If you are in the LA area please let me know if you would be willing to speak to her.

For those of you in the Bay Area I will have my comments in the SF Chronicle Sunday. My comments were based on your responses to me.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Governor's Conference on Small Business & Entrepreneurship II

I have been asked by a reporter how the health bill will affect small business both directly and indirectly. Please provide me your comments today.

Please see below information on the Governors Small Business Conference May 6. Click on the image and zoom in to enlarge it.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Health Bill Passes

I know many of you were opposed to the health bill but it now has passed. It is now time to move forward as there are many details to be worked out. Small Business California plans to be involved in those discussions.

The biggest issue I think for California small businesses is the development of an Exchange. Small Business California wants to be part of its development.

Do you want more information about what an Exchange is? Do you want to be part of this discussion?

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taravel Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-680-2188
shauge@cal-insure.com

SBIR/IRS collects 4 cents and $202.31 in penalties/SBA Stimulus Funding

I have been asked why Small Business California should get involved in the Small Business Innovation Research[SBIR] debate.

I start with Ms Velazquez statement “Without the participation of venture -backed companies, the SBIR program has become little more than corporate welfare for marginal companies who are unable to secure external market based funding”.

Ms Velazquez is the Chair of the House Small Business Committee and in fairness to her she retracted her statement but still believes VCs should be allowed into the program.

The statement in my mind is an attack on the small businesses around the country and the SBA. Does she also mean that small businesses that get SBA 7a and 504 loans, which are not "external market based programs", are taking corporate welfare and marginal small businesses.

Will these programs only be legitimized if VC’s are allowed to use the program? It should be noted that VC’s that have less than 500 employees can use the SBIR or if they do not control the management of the small business those small businesses can use the SBIR program.

For background information there are 4000 companies getting venture capital in the US and there are 25 million small businesses in the US.

You might find the article by Bob Shallit interesting. It was in the Sacramento Bee. It is a story about a car wash owner who had two IRS agents show up at his business to collect 4 cents the IRS says was due. The penalties on this were $202.31

Click here: Bob Shallit: IRS visits Sacramento carwash in pursuit of 4 cents - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News Sacr

Last week I sent an email regarding HR 4213 which would provide $560 million stimulus funding to continue the 90% guarantees on 7a and 504 SBA loans and waive the fees on those loans.

It should be noted it does not include increasing the size of those loans from $2 million to $5 million. That would be done by passage of HR 4302 which Small Business California has strongly supported.

The provisions of HR4302 are in the Senate jobs bill which Senators Feinstein and Boxer have coauthored. We have been working on getting House members from California to coauthor HR 4302 and to date the Congress people that have signed on are Baca, Speier, Costa, Cardoza, Richardson, Davis and Woolsey.

Please ask your congressman to support HR 4302. If you want a sample letter please let me know. Please also tell me where you are located so we can set the letter up to the person in your district.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

SBIR

I have written about the battle in Washington between small business and the large venture –backed companies. Basically venture backed capital companies want to redefine the SBA’s criteria of small business.

On March 4 a document passed by the House contained the following statement put forth by Chair of the House Small Business Committee Nydia Velazquez:

“Without the participation of venture-backed companies, the SBIR program has become little more than corporate welfare for marginal companies who are unable to secure external market based funding."

The passage of the document was with the proviso that the document could be changed to make punctuation and technical changes.

For some background information, if you go to the www.sbir.gov website, you will see The US Small Business Administration[SBA] Office of Technology administers the Small Business Innovation Research[SBIR] Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer{STTR] Program. Through these two competitive programs, SBA ensures that the nation’s small,_high-tech innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal governments research and development efforts.

Eleven federal departments participate in the SBIR program; five departments participate in the STTR program awarding $2 billion to small high-tech businesses.

It should be noted that the SBIR program does not prohibit venture-backed companies from participating in the SBIR program just those that do not meet the definition of small business put forth by the SBA.

There was a firestorm around the country about Ms. Velazquez' comments. As a result Ms.Velazquez revised her statement to say:

“In addition, SBA should permit venture capital-backed small businesses to be able to fully participate in the Small Business Innovation Research program. Such participation is essential for high- growth small firms seeking capital, particularly during this period of economic weakness”

Seems to me this is a bit more than punctuation and technical changes but the bottom line is that Ms Velazquez has become a real problem for small business. Not only on the SBIR issue but she prevented an amendment to include small businesses from being included on the credit card reform bill passed by the legislature and signed by the government and voted against the $125 million included in the Defense bill which extended stimulus funding for SBA loans

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

ALERT Senate Votes, Extend SBA Recovery Act to 12/31

Please see below for the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders information to members. As you all know Small Business California and the National Small Business Association have been working closely with NAGGL to get this funding.

We now ask Speaker Pelosi and all members of the California House delegation to support passage quickly of HR 4213.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188



Senate Passes HR 4213, Includes NAGGL-Originated Amendment to Extend & Fund SBA Recovery Act Provisions through CALENDAR Year


March 10, 2010

Dear Members,

Just moments ago the Senate passed HR 4213, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions, and for other purposes -- more commonly called the 'Tax Extenders Bill' to extend jobless benefits, tax breaks... and small business programs.

The bill includes an amendment sought by NAGGL that increases the amount of funding to further extend the SBA Recovery Act provisions. NAGGL argued that the additional $354 million proposed in earlier legislation would likely not support SBA lending stimulus provisions through even the end of the fiscal year.

Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Snowe (R-ME) (the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship) concurred with NAGGL. As part of a technical amendment, the Senate has increased the funding to $560 miliion (in addition to the $60 million for March). The $620 million total should be sufficient to get the SBA lending industry through the end of the CALENDAR year. The bill also includes an extension of the authorization of the SBA Recovery Act provisions through 12/31/2010.

What's next? HR 4213 now goes to the House for consideration. NAGGL is hopeful that all congressional work will be completed and the bill signed into law by the March 28 expiration of the recently extended stimulus provisions.



Thank you for your continued support. We'll keep you updated on naggl.org and through email alerts.


Anthony R. Wilkinson
& Your NAGGL Team


NAGGL
215 East 9th Avenue
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74074

Proposition 16 June Ballot

PG&E will be putting on the ballot Proposition 16. This measure will require a two-thirds voter approval before local governments provide electricity service to new customers or establish a community choice electricity program using public funds or bonds.

Questions: Were you aware this would be on the June ballot? Do you support or oppose this initiative?

Last week I heard from Tony Wilkinson of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders that the Senate has put forth an amendment that would provide $560 million for the SBA to provide 7a and 504 loans with a 90% guarantee and waives the fees on these loans for the calendar year. This is on top of the $60 million that is now in place with the extender legislation that was passed a couple of weeks ago. Small Business California has been at the for front of this effort along with our partners at the National Small Business Association.

Small Business California has delivered the results of our survey to every House member from California and the Governor’s office. We will be sending the surevey results this week to every member of the California legislature.

For the results for 2010 and the results of 2009 please visit our website at http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org/


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Workers Compensation/ AB 32 Global Warming

On Tuesday I spoke at the Department of Workers Compensation conference. Dave Belluschi from the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Board also was a speaker and he reported that he expects that combined loss ratio for workers compensation for 2009 was going to be around 125%. The combined loss ratio for 2008 was 111%. As I have said before at some point there is going to be double digit increases for small businesses for their comp insurance.

You all may know that there is a movement afoot to put a measure on the ballot to suspend implementation of AB 32.The measure will delay implementation until California’s unemployment drops to 5.5% for a year. Currently the unemployment rate is just over 12%.

Yesterday Valero Energy Corp and Tesoro Corp Texas based refiners have pledged $2 million to get signatures to put this on the ballot. What are your thoughts on this?



Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Survey Results/CARB Workshop

Please see link to the results of Small Business California’s 6th annual survey.

The top concerns for Small business are:

1. The Economy-88% Top or High Priority

2. Cost of Healthcare-79% -Top or High Priority

3. Quality of Public Education-74%

4. Repair of Infrastructure-66%

5. Access to Capital- 64%

6. Awarding state contracts to small business-61%

7. Regulations-60%

8. State Taxes-58%

9. Energy- 48%

We had over 2700 hundred responding. Thank you.

English results:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsSurveyResultsPage.aspx?ID=L247A8TNDLL3


The California Air Resources Board has developed, and is hosting, a FREE workshop entitled “Taking Advantage of the Growing Green Economy – Real People. Real Solutions. Real Opportunities!” in conjunction with the Green California Summit on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, from 9:30AM to 4:00PM, at the Sacramento Convention Center. Please help us promote this workshop by distributing the attached agenda and flyer to your networks, colleagues, customers and clients.

The focus of this workshop is "Real California Small Businesses" learning from other "Real California Small Businesses" about what is working, what didn't work, how their respective businesses have benefited from the actions they've taken to “Green” their businesses by reducing energy and fuel use, becoming more efficient, accessing local assistance programs, and selling green products and services.

This is a fresh approach and the response thus far has been quite excellent. Our confirmed attendance figures to date have already exceeded our original attendance goals within the first three days of marketing, but we want to be even MORE successful with your assistance! We've expanded the room that was originally reserved for us so we still have capacity to accommodate additional small businesses who want to learn and GROW during this very challenging economy.

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you AT the workshop on March 16!

Jerry Hart
Air Pollution Specialist
CA Air Resources Board
ghart@arb.ca.gov
916-324-5941

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian needs to take immediate action to reduce energy consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and cut your energy cost, see our web site at http://www.arb.ca.gov/


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

SB California Survey/Withholding

Last call for Small Business California survey. We will be closing Monday. To date we have over 2600 responses. Please see below links for survey in English and Spanish. Thank you to all that have completed the survey and if you haven’t please do so.

You may be interested to know that people in New York and Rhode Island are working with us to develop a similar survey. Also on Monday I hand delivered in Washington preliminary results of our survey to Senator Boxers office, Senator Snowes office, Speaker Pelosi’s office and Congresswoman Speiers office. I also gave the survey to SBA Administrator Karen Mills and a staff person from the Senate Small Business Committee.

When the survey is complete it will be sent to every State Senator, Assemblyperson and the Governor. We will also be sending to Senator Feinstein and every California member of the House of Representatives

2010 Small Business California Survey in English:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD



2010 Small Business California Survey in Spanish:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A9FR7KRDV


Thank you to all of you that sent letters opposing the 3% withholding for sole proprietors and Partnerships. Due to a tremendous response from the business community this has been put on a back burner. There , however, are no guarantees it won’t raise its ugly head in the coming months as the budget gets put together.

Small Business California is closely watching this and will let you know if it comes back into play.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Internet Sales Tax

The Northern California Retail Booksellers Association is an affiliate member of Small Business California. I received a call from Assemblywoman Nancy Skinners office asking us to support legislation supporting brick and mortar stores to level the playing field on the sales tax. I asked Hut Landon the ED of the Booksellers Associationto give me his organizations position. Please note there are many small businesss impacted by this and not just booksellers.

The argument against this is that Amazon and Overstock will eliminate their affiliates in California.. Please note this provision has been passed in I believe 5 states and Amazon has eliminated affiliates in most states however they were very small states except New York. New York, I think has more sales than all the other states combined.

I will get back to Assemblywoman Skinners office with your comments.

The issue is should sales tax be charged on internet sales?

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-288



There are several reasons to support legislative efforts to compel Amazon.com, Overstock.com and other large out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on sales made to California customers.

1. Let's start with the law. Consumers are legally obligated to pay sales tax on taxable items they purchase, whether from an independent business, a chain store, or Amazon. If you don't pay it at the time of purchase, you're still obligated to do so. It's called use tax. Look at your state tax form -- there's a place to record the amount you owe. No one does it, of course, but the tax is still owed. So this is not a new tax; we're only talking about how it's collected.

2. The law, part two. The California state tax code states that retailers with "nexus" in the state must collect sales tax. Nexus is most commonly defined as physical presence, so if you buy a pair of shoes on Macys.com, sales tax will be collected because Macy's has a physical presence in the state.

But the tax code also says that out-of-state sellers without a physical presence in the state have nexus if they have affiliates, or sales agents, operating on their behalf. In Amazon's case, they have literally thousands of affiliates driving traffic to its site in exchange for a commission on any sales that occur. For many such sales agents, Amazon provides weekly specials that can be emailed out as a further inducement to shop.

3. The consequences. Let's take any retail business and tell them that they now have a major competitor with deep pockets and an aggressive discount pricing model. That competitor also enjoys a nearly 10% price advantage because it does not collect sales tax. Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical example. Amazon and Overstock alone are selling electronics, appliances, clothing, shoes, furniture, sporting goods, hardware, groceries, toys, auto parts, garden supplies, books, music, etc. If you or any business you know is selling anything on this list, they are up against competitors who have a huge competitive edge right out of the gate.

Now, if you don't care about small business and what they add to a neighborhood or a community, or the jobs they provide and create, you can stop reading. But small business are closing right and left because they can't compete with these out-of-state behemoths, especially in tough economic times. And the ones that are still around are having to cut back on the number of employees and benefits they provide, which only adds to the state's economic woes.

4. Fairness. These small merchants aren't asking for a handout or for special treatment, and many of them have successfully competed against chain stores for years. But it's tough to compete when they're at a 10% disadvantage for every single sale. Hardly a level playing field.

5. Why you should care. In addition to collecting sales tax for the state, these local businesses support local causes and charities, and are integral to vibrant, diverse shopping neighborhoods. And if that doesn't move you, consider this: the state Board of Equalization has stated that sales tax revenue lost to out-of-state e-tailers amounts to over $150 million annually. That's money that could be used to help schools, hire more police, retain essential health services, keep state parks open...you get the idea.

Hut Landon
Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA)
Presidio National Park
1007 General Kennedy Avenue
PO Box 29169
San Francisco, CA 94129

415-561-7686, 415-561-7685 (fax)
www.nciba.com

2010 Small Business California Survey in Spanish

Here is the link to the Small Business California Survey in Spanish. Please forward it on to any of your colleagues and associates.

We have over 2500 responses to the survey as of last night and it would be helpful to get some input from the Hispanic small business owners in the state.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A9FR7KRDV


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
Phone: (415) 680-2188

SBA Loan Funds/ Washington Meetings

It looks like the stimulus money for 7a and 504 will run out Monday. The SBA will go back to the queue system. Expect a big drop off in loans starting next week.

I will be going to Washington on Sunday and meeting on Monday with Speaker Pelosi’s staff, Congresswoman Speier’s staff, Senator Boxers staff and Senator Snowes staff on this issue.

On Wednesday Assemblyman Mark Leno agreed to carry Small Business California’s bill to have sales tax charged to manufactures of asphalt and concrete who compete with contractors on road work. This means they have a 6% plus bid preference when they bid on this work. Small contractors have been fighting this for about 20 years and went nowhere without Small Business California’s help. Thanks to all of you that sent letters to Senator Leno’s office in August.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Gavin Newsome/Survey in Sapnish

Mayor Gavin Newsom is considering a run for Lt Governor. He has until March 12 to file the papers but he has until 5PM today submit a ballot statement for the voter guide. I am curious how small business around the state feels about Mayor Newsom. Would you support him?

I am particularly interested in how SF small businesses feel about this. If he should run and win he would have to resign as Mayor and the Board of Supervisors would select the new Mayor.

Many people don’t realize that the Board can select anyone they want with 6 votes. It does not have to be a current member of the Board raising possibilities of Aaron Peskin past President of the Board of Supervisors being selected as Mayor.

We are going to be keeping our survey open one more week. To date we have 2365 respondents.

We expect today or tomorrow to have the survey in Spanish. If any of you can distribute the survey to Spanish speaking small business people let me know. Currently we have only 5% of the respondents identifying themselves as Hispanic and we would really like to see that number increase.

If you haven’t completed the survey please do so and for all of you please forward to others. I don’t know if it is doable but it would be great to have over 3000 respondents. Last year we had about 630.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD



Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Breaking News SBA Funding Stripped from Baucus/Grassley Jobs Bill

In a real shock yesterday Senator Harry Reid stripped the Baucus/ Grassley bill of the $354 million for extending money for the 7a and 504 increase guarantees and the waiver of fees.

This after the White House applauded Senators Baucus and Grassley for working out a bipartisan jobs bill.

As I understand it the Senate will be in recess next week and the funding will run out at the latest February 28. I say at the latest February 28th because it is very possible there will be a rush to get loans approved before February 28 and I am hearing that it is more likely that funding will run out earlier.

I will get back to you with a strategy on what you might be able to do but if you have a pending loan push your Bank hard to get this funded immediately.

Small Business California will be sending a letter to Senators Feinstein and Boxer to ask them to do everything they can to get funding extended. They have been very supportive of this and both coauthored S2869 which provided the funding and an increase in SBA loan size from $2 million to $5 million.

Our survey received over 500 responses yesterday bringing the total responses to over 2000.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Independent Contractor Letter

Please see letter below being sent to every state Assembly Person and State Senator. We need to have as many of you as possible send a letter of opposition to your Assembly Person and State Senator. The situation is that the 3% withholding could be included in a budget bill to be sent to the Governor in the next week or so as part of the 8th Special Legislative Special Session.

Please click on www.leginfo.ca.gov to identify your legislators and to contact them. I sent a sample letter earlier in the week but don’t worry about the eloquence of your letter just that you oppose this and how it impacts you.

The California Chamber of Commerce has also sent out an alert on this issue.

I am pleased to tell you our annual survey just went over 1300 respondents. We are going to be keeping it open a couple more weeks as next week we will have it in Spanish also.

If you would like me to send the survey to you in Spanish so that you can distribute please let me know. I especially would like to hear from the Hispanic Associations that are on this email.

You all know that Small Business California has been working on the stimulus funding for SBA 7a and 504 loans to keep the 90% guarantees in place, waive the fees on these loans and increase the size of the loans from $2 million to $5 million. We are hearing that the Republicans seem to be okay with the allocation of this money to the 7a and 504 loans but are struggling with the increase to 5 million. The current money allocated for the guarantees and waiver of fees will run out the end of February.

As you can see Small Business California is extremely busy representing your interest. I hope you will consider joining Small Business California if you haven’t done so already. The cost is $150 for businesses with sales of less than $1 million and $300 for businesses over 1 million. You can join by going to our website at www.smallbusinessclifornia.org or we can send you an application and invoice you if you ask us to do so by return email.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Insurance Industry IK Withholding Letter

Thank you to all that responded saying you would send a letter of opposition to the 3% withholding for independent contractors. Please see sample letter below.

I think the easiest way for you to send is to go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.
Click on legislator and put in your zip code. Go to your Senator and Assemblypersons site. Click on legislators contact site. It will ask you for personal information but in the comments say you are a small business owner and give the name of your company and why you oppose. Feel free to change the letter below anyway that works for you.

If you are a business group and would like to sign an opposition letter please let me know. I have 12 associations so far that will be signing letter


Dear Assembly Member / Senator _____:

I am a small business owner in your district. My company, _____, employs ____ persons. We have been in business in ______ since ____.

I am writing to oppose the independent contractor withholding proposal. This is another budget gimmick that does not generate more revenue to the State of California. Instead, it merely accelerates monies that will already be paid to the State and imposes an onerous burden upon small businesses like my company.

Under this proposal, businesses in this state would be required to collect taxes from other businesses and we would serve as a collection agent for the State. The new expense of withholding and remitting these monies to the Franchise Tax Board would be a cost borne by small businesses like my company. Moreover, small businesses would effectively be providing interest-free loans to the state. Even if an independent contractor owes no state taxes, 3% will still be withheld, affecting our cash flow and impacting our business.

I believe this proposal is unreasonable and should be rejected by the Legislature. I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience whether you will oppose this harmful idea.

Sincerely,


We now have 956 people responding to our survey. If you haven’t completed please do so within the next week. As always forward to others and if you are an association please send to members. It would really be great even if you have sent to send one more time.
Thanks

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

3% Withholding for Independent Contractors/Survey

I am sorry for all the emails but something came up yesterday that could have a serious negative impact to small business. As you all know Small Business California wants to be known as a proactive organization but sometimes we just have to say no.

There is a movement afoot in Sacramento to impose a 3% withholding for independent contractors. So if you hire a sole proprietor or I think a company that is a partnership or LLP you would have to withhold 3% and send it to the state. The money will be held by the state and if there is a return it will be without interest.

Not only will this be a hardship for low margin businesses but another bookkeeping burden placed upon small business.

We need to make our voices heard to our legislators that this is a bad idea.

Please let me know if you would be willing to send a letter to your Assembly person or state Senator. Tell me where you are located.

On a more positive note we had as of 9AM this morning 730 responses to our survey, We got about 400 yesterday. If you haven’t done so already please take a few moments to complete. We will be closing the survey earlier this year due to the overwhelming response we have gotten in the last 5 days


http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Survey/Health Cost/$5000 Tax Credit/ Senate Jobs Bill 2869

We are getting close to 300 responses to our survey. Thank you to all that have completed the survey and the associations that have sent this to their members. I also want to thank those of you that have forwarded to your colleagues.

If you haven’t completed please do so and forward.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD

You may have seen in the paper this morning that health care cost for 2009 have increased to 17.3% of GNP and this represents an increase over previous years. I can’t think of a stronger argument that we need meaningful health reform in Washington and it is critical that we end partisan bickering between the Democrats and Republicans and get something meaningful done not just for small business but the future of our country.

I have mentioned that the President has recommended a $5000 tax credit for businesses with a net increase in employment. Many of you have indicated to me that you didn’t understand how this works. Briefly you will get your credit on a quarterly basis by reducing what you pay in FICA taxes. It is not subtracted from profits. Please note that you take the credit on a quarterly basis after you have paid an employee $7000.

If you would like a more complete description of the credits please let me know.

Small Business California is working hard to get additional funding for the SBA 7a and 504 loans to continue the increased guarantees, the waiver of SBA fees on those loans and the increase to $5 million of loans the SBA can make. Time is running short as the current funding will run out the end of this month.

What I am hearing is that Senator Reid is talking about doing a number of Jobs bills starting with the provisions that have the best chance of passing. We are very hopeful that we can get S2869 into the initial bill and get it passed before the end of the month but quite frankly this appears like it will be very difficult and the SBA will run out of money.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Small Business California Survey

We have had 127 responses to our survey. We expect to get over 600 and I hope you will take a few minutes to complete.

Thank you to all that have completed the survey and all that have forwarded to their colleagues. For those of you that haven’t done so please take a few moments to complete

See link below

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD


One of the most surprising results so far is that 23% of the respondents did not see themselves in business in three years. If you are one of those people I would be interested to know why and if you would be willing to talk to the media.

On Saturday Small Business California received the Business of the Year award from the Pacific Conservation League. We are proud of the work we are doing to assist small businesses in reducing their energy use and Hank Ryan our executive director is viewed not only in California but around the country as a small business energy expert.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Annual Small Business Survey

Its that time of year that Small Business California sends out its an survey. This is the sixth annual survey and it will set Small Business California’s agenda for the year. As always the results of the survey will be sent to every state legislator and the Governor.

Last year we had over 600 responses and a response from every county in the state.

The survey will take between 10 an 15 minutes.

Please also forward to other small businesses or your association members.All of you will also receive the results.

I would like to thank Jim Ross of Jim Ross Consulting for making this survey possible.


http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A6JHNSTRD


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
415-680-2109

President Obama's Small Business Tax Credits

The details of President Obama’s small business tax credits are now becoming more clear. They are:

A $5000 tax credit for every net new employee

Small businesses that increase wages or hours for their existing employees will be reimbursed for the Social Security payroll taxes they pay on the increase payroll.

Firms will be able to claim the credit on a quarterly basis.

Will this encourage you to hire more employees or increase wages?

Are these tax credits more important than increasing the ability of small business to access capital?

I am getting calls from the media on this so I would appreciate your response.

Yesterday I was on the call with the White House people. I asked the question about continued stimulus funding for the SBA 7a and 504 loans. This funding would be used to continue the 90% guarantee on loans and the waiver of fees. It also would allow the SBA to make loans up to $5 million. Unfortunately my question did not get answered and it is not clear how much effort the President will make to make sure money is available after February.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

White House Calls Today/President Obama's Speech

I just received this and it is very short notice but some of you may be interested in getting on this call. ------------------

Good morning, the White House will host a series of conference calls with senior Obama Administration officials to discuss key aspects of the State of Union Address. The White House is encouraging you to participate in these calls and will have a question and answer session at the end of each call. As a reminder, these calls are not intended for press purposes. Please dial in a few minutes early to ensure full participation. Please give the title of the call to the operator to enter the call.

11:30AM EST

Jobs Creation and Economic Growth

(877) 941-2936

Fred Baldassaro
Senior Advisor
Office of Business Affairs and Public Liaison
202-622-9245
202-294-3437
fred.baldassaro@do.treas.gov

What did you think about President Obama’s speech. Certainly he has changed his focus from Health legislation to Jobs. He also seemed to recognize the importance of small business and put forth some proposals that could be helpful to small business but I think the small business community wants to see action beyond speeches. Hopefully that will occur because the United States will not be successful in its efforts to create jobs without small business.

One important measure that must get passed is additional stimulus funding for SBA 7a and 504 loans. This money would be used to continue the 90% SBA guarantee on 7a and 504 loans and increase the ability of the SBA to make loans up to $5 million. As you know Small Business California is working hard on getting the passage of HR 4032. We have called every California member of House asking them to Cosign. To date Congresswoman Speier, Congresswoman Richardson, Congresswoman Woolsey, Congressman Costa and Congressman Cordoza have agreed to do so.

In San Francisco President of the Board of Supervisors David Chiu and Supervisors Avalos, Campos,Chu,Daly,Dufty and Elsbernd are all sending letters to Speaker Pelosi asking her to support HR 4302. We are hopeful Supervisors Alioto Pier,Mar, Maxwell and Mirkarimi will come on Board.

The stimulus funding that has been provided for the SBA will run out at the end of February. Small businesses around the country will be watching to see just how serious the President and the Legislators are in stimulating small business job creation and whether they can get past the partisan bickering to provide much needed capital to us


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Excerpts From Nancy Pelosi Speech on American Recovery and Investment Act

Many of you have asked what the Federal Stimulus package has for small business. Please see below information I have received from Speaker Pelosi’s office.

Do any of these things benefit you?

I received an email from one of our members Burr, Pilger and Mayer. They are an accounting firm in SF. The content of the email was that President Obama on Jan 22 signed HR 4462 that allows donors to Haitian earthquake victims after Jan 11, 2010 to March1 2010 to take an itemized deduction in their 2009 taxes. Please contact your accountant for more specifics.

I just received word that Volunteers In Medicine has opened its 77 clinic. These are in 25 states around the country. Our Volunteers in Medicine clinic,Clinic by the Bay, is moving right along and we believe we will be opening in the summer of 2010. Thank you to all that have made a contribution.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188


Small Business/Business Excerpts From Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Speech on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Business Tax Incentives to Create Jobs and Spur Investment ($10 billion over 10 years)

· Bonus Depreciation: Help businesses quickly recover costs of new capital investments by extending the increased bonuses depreciation for businesses making investments in new plans and equipment in 2009.

· Buying Back Debt: Provides assistance to companies looking to reduce their debt burdens by delaying the tax on businesses that have discharge indebtedness, which will help these companies strengthen their balance sheets and obtain resources to invest in job creation.

· Small Business Expensing: Spurs small business investment by extending small business expensing, which doubles the amount small businesses can immediately write off their taxes for capital investments and purchases of new equipment made in 2009 from $125,000 to $250,000. This write off phases out completely for investments over $800,000 (up from $500,000).

· Small Business Loss Carrybacks: Increases cash flow for small businesses by providing a 5-year carryback of net operating losses (NOLs). This would allow small businesses (with gross receipts of less than $15 million) to write off losses incurred in 2008 against taxes assessed over the previous five years (current law limits NOL carryback to the previous two years), thereby reducing their taxes this spring.

· Small Business Investment: Spurs investments in small businesses by cutting the capital gain tax on investors in small businesses who buy stock (in the next two years) and hold for more than five years – increasing from 50 percent to 75 percent the capital gains that are excluded from tax.

· 3% Government Withholding: Delays the mandate that federal, state, local governments withhold 3 percent of payments to businesses for goods and services, which is supported by the National Small Business Association.

Spurring Job Creation by American Businesses Large and Small

American businesses, large and small, are the engine of the economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, expands opportunities for small business, and contains incentives for businesses of all sizes to invest in new plants and equipment. The measure will strengthen a broad range of industries, such as renewable energy, construction and manufacturing, and information technology, which are critical to creating jobs now, as well as transforming our economy for the 21st Century.
Creating Small Business Opportunities (Invests over $1 billion to create an estimated 645,000 jobs)

· Spurs more than $21 billion in new investment in small business and small business loans, with guarantees needed to make loans more attractive to lenders and free up capital for small businesses. By making the Small Business Administration a more active partner and by unfreezing credit markets, this will give small firms access to the capital they need to stay afloat, create jobs and help drive economic recovery.

o Eliminates all fees on SBA-backed loans.
o Establishes a new program that will allow SBA to make no-interest loans to firms that are struggling to make payment on existing debts.
o Raises from 85 to 90 percent the portion of a loan that the Small Business Administration will guarantee.
o Spurs investment in high-growth, small firms by streamlining the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to allow them to invest more flexibly.

· Guarantees nearly $3 billion in loans for rural businesses at a time of unprecedented demand due to the credit crunch. Private lenders are increasingly turning to this program to help businesses get access to capital.

· Invests in Economic Development Assistance (EDA) to address long-term economic distress in urban industrial cores and rural areas, distributed based on need and ability to create jobs and attract private investment. Every $1 in federal EDA funds leverages $10 in private investments.

Business Tax Incentives to Create Jobs and Spur Investment ($76 billion in 2 years; $10 billion over 10 years)

· Bonus Depreciation: Helps businesses quickly recover costs of new capital investments by extending the increased bonus depreciation for businesses making investments in new plants and equipment in 2009.

· Buying Back Debt: Provides assistance to companies looking to reduce their debt burdens by delaying the tax on businesses that have discharged indebtedness, which will help these companies strengthen their balance sheets and obtain resources to invest in job creation.

· Small Business Expensing: Spurs small business investment by extending increased small business expensing, which doubles the amount small businesses can immediately write off for capital investments and purchases of new equipment made in 2009 from $125,000 to $250,000. This write off phases out completely for investments over $800,000 (up from $500,000).

· Small Business Loss Carrybacks: Increases cash flow for small businesses by providing a 5-year carryback of net operating losses (NOLs). This would allow small businesses (with gross receipts of less than $15 million) to write off losses incurred in 2008 against taxes assessed over the previous five years (current law limits NOL carryback to the previous two years).

· Small Business Investment: Spurs investments in small businesses by cutting the capital gain tax (by increasing from 50 percent to 75 percent the capital gains that are excluded from tax) for investors in small businesses who buy stock (in the next two years) and hold for more than five years.

· 3% Government Withholding: Delays the mandate that federal, state, and local governments withhold 3 percent of payments to businesses for goods and services, which is supported by the National Small Business Association.
Creating Small Business Opportunities

· Rural Business Loans: Guarantees nearly $3 billion in loans for rural businesses at a time of unprecedented demand due to the credit crunch.

· Small Business Loans: Spurs more than $21 Billion in new investment in small business and small business loans, with guarantees needed to make loans more attractive to lenders and to free up capital for small businesses. This will give smaller firms access to the capital they need to stay afloat, create jobs and help drive an economic recovery.

o Eliminates all fees on SBA-backed loans
o Establishes a new program that will allow SBA to make no-interest loans to firms that are struggling to make payment on existing debts.
o Raises from 85 to 90 percent the portion of a loan that the Small Business Administration will guarantee.

· Bonus Depreciation: Helps businesses quickly recover costs of new capital investments by extending the increased bonus depreciation for businesses making investments in new plants and equipment in 2009.

· Small Business Expensing: Spurs small business investment by extending increased small business expensing, which doubles the amount small businesses can immediately write off for capital investments and purchases of new equipment made in 2009 from $125,000 to $250,000. This write-off phases out completely for investments over $800,000 (up from $500,000).

· Economic Development: Invests in Economic Development Administration (EDA) programs to address long-term economic distress in urban and rural areas, distributed based on need and ability to create jobs and attract private investment. Every $1 in federal EDA funds leverages $10 in private investments.

· As the Farm Bureau noted: “Farmers and ranchers will also greatly benefit from the extension of both the small business expensing levels and bonus depreciation tax, which will help them improve cash flow while aiding the economy by encouraging purchases of equipment.”

Stimulus Money SBA/ Sales Tax

Small Business California has been working hard on the passage of HR 4302 which will continue funding for the increase in SBA guarantees on 7a and 504 loans, waive the fees on those loans and increase the size of those loans from $2 million to $5 million.Yesterday we got word from Congressman Costa’s office that he will be cosigning HR 4302. As you will recall Congresswoman Speier and Congresswoman Richardson sign on last week.

With the election in Massachusetts and the turmoil in Washington I fear that we are again going to see funding run out at the end of February as it did in November. This clearly creates problems in the banking community because of the uncertainty and like in November we will see SBA loans plummet. If you haven’t done so already please call your Congressman and ask him/her to cosign this important bill

Yesterday Lori Kammerer our lobbyist, Skip Brown of Delta Construction and I met with 7 people in Betty Yees office to discuss the issue of charging integrated manufacturers sales tax on the cost of materials for road and concrete work. This is an issue of leveling the playing field for small contractors bidding on this work. It also would raise around, we estimate, $100 million for the state.

As a result of this meeting SB Cal will be introducing legislation this week to address this problem.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Charlie Brown and NoRTEC

A small business hero died last Friday. His name is Charlie Brown and he ran the Northern Training Employment Consortium NoRTEC. I first met Charlie when I was appointed to the State Workforce Investment Board. Charlie had a novel approach to job creation and that was to see business and especially small business as the customers of NoRTEC and if done right they would create jobs.

Well Charlie and the people of NoRTEC do it right and NoRTEC has been recognized Nationally for their tremendous work in not only helping businesses but training and placing people in good jobs.

On a personal level Charlie was a mentor to me and he was always there to give me support and guidance. I will miss him greatly.

To find out more about NoRTEC and Charlie's legacy please visit their website at www.nortec.org


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188



-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Cross [mailto:mcross@ncen.org]
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 10:24 AM
;
Subject: Charlie

I'm very sorry to tell you that Charlie passed away peacefully on Friday evening. He was at home with Terri and their daughters at his side.

I spent some time with Terrianne yesterday. I think she is doing as well as can be expected, but this has been extremely difficult for her and the family. I know that they would appreciate your prayers and support.

At Charlie's request, there are no services planned. If you would like to send Terrianne a card, her address is: 5797 Thoreau Ln, Paradise, CA 95969.

One of the last things that Charlie told Terri was: "Don't you dare cancel the board meeting!" We are not going to go against his wishes, so we will have the board meeting as planned next Thursday. We are planning an abbreviated agenda with time for people to share their thoughts about Charlie.

As you know, Charlie ran NoRTEC like a family. This has also been very difficult for the NoRTEC family. We would also appreciate your prayers and support. The office will be closed on Tuesday in Charlie's honor.

Michael

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association/ Tax on Internet/ Annual Survey

The Northern California Independent Retail Booksellers Association has formally joined as an affiliate member of Small Business California. Small Business California will be working closely with them in their efforts to have all companies including Amazon be required to charge sales tax on internet sales. According to some accounts the state loses over $400 million and clearly creates an unfair playing field for brick and mortar small businesses. This is not only applicable to book stores but electronics stores and music stores just to name a few.

We now have three affiliate members. The other two are The Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors and the California Association of Telecommunications companies

You may have wondered what SB Cal was doing on the issue of sales tax on integrated manufacturers who compete on construction projects. The Board of Equalization has now written two reports on this both of which we feel understate the problem for small contractors competing on road work. On January 20th Lori Kammerer our lobbyist and Skip Baldwin of Delta Construction and I have a meeting with BOE staff to discuss. Thank you to all that sent letters to Senator Mark Leno’s office on this issue

In the next couple of weeks we will be sending out our annual survey. Please take a look at it and let me know questions you might like added. Thursday January 21 we will finalize. Thank you to those that have told me you will help distribute and for others that may not have done so let me know if you will help.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Support For H.R. 4302

On Monday a letter and email went out to all 53 California House representatives asking them to co author HR4302. This is the bill that will provide stimulus funding for 7a and 504 loans. The funding will be used to guarantee these loans up to 90% and waive the fees. It also will increase the size of these loans from $2 million to $5 million.

Yesterday I received an email indicating that Congresswoman Jackie Speier will be adding her name as coauthor. Thank you Congresswoman.

In Sacramento the JOBS Committee will be sending a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chair of Small Business Committee Nydia Velazquez asking them to support HR5302. Thank you Toni Symonds.

In San Francisco President of the Board David Chiu has drafted a letter to Nancy Pelosi asking for her support. We are working on getting Supervisors to sign on the bill. At this point we have President Chiu, Sean Elsbernd,Michela Pier Alioto and John Avalos. Thank you David, John,Sean and Michela. We expect others will be signing. For those of you in SF if you know a Supervisor that has not signed please contact them and ask them to do so.

If any of you on this email know a California House member please ask them to coauthor Hr4302. If I can provide you additional information please let me know.

See below a request by Andrew Zingale who is the Legislative Director for Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Lori Soldana. He is asking for small business input on a proposal to provide small business owners more time to pay late fees. He has sent a letter from a small business constituent outlining the issue.
Please let me know your thoughts


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188


Mr. Hauge,

I don’t recall if we’ve had the opportunity to meet but I am the Legislative Director for Assembly Woman Lori Saldaña (San Diego), and follow your updates to the Small Business CA community on your distribution list.

We have been asked by a constituent and small business owner to look into a proposal (below) to allow more time to pay late penalties. I plan to discuss this with the Business & Professions Committee consultants here in the Assembly, but I’m also looking for feedback from Small Business associations such as SBC.

Any thoughts you may have would be welcomed as I vet this proposal. I appreciate your time.

Andrew Zingale
Legislative Director
Assembly Speaker Pro-Tem Lori Saldaña
Phone: (916) 319-2076
Fax: (916) 319-2176
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a76/

-----Original Message-----

As we discussed the other night, my little company is hopefully going to return to some growth in 2010 – after what was clearly the hardest year I’ve ever experienced. Frankly, it has been tough to remain “in business” and receive payments from clients (or even keep contracts, given cutbacks in other companies).

There are, in fact, many weeks that a very small amount of money in the bank account ($50-$200, in many cases) has meant the difference between keeping the company alive, and either paying utilities, contractors, vendors, or just barely getting through to the next week.

There is at least one thing that maybe could be a general help to small businesses throughout California, and would reduce the burden the I will assume thousands of other companies may be suffering:

· Corporate/LCC Filing Penalties: First, while California’s Corporate and LLC “annual tax” is relatively high compared to most other States, those companies (like ours) that have decided to “play by the rules” and form ourselves in California have committed to the $800/year basic fee. However, those that are late with filing and payments (as we are currently) are also now subject not only to significant penalties (such as a $250 penalty for our C-corp for not filing certain documents on time), but also (at least for our LLCs) to a Monthly Penalty for paying late (in this case it appears to be $48/month, plus interest). I would suggest that – beyond my personal example – there are likely thousands of other small companies that have barely survived that are only being driven further into debt and being put at further legal risks (such as tax liens, etc.) for not having the cash on hand to immediately catch up and pay these past-due amounts. Again, I think it’s reasonable for companies to pay the basic costs, but charging excessive monthly penalties and interest during these economic times only makes it harder for smaller companies to stay in business (in my opinion). Having a moratorium on additional penalties, or giving us an additional amount of time (120 days? 180 days? Not sure where to draw the line) to pay the basic fees would be one less problem for small companies to worry about (given the other challenges we face trying to regain strength)…

Just my opinion. Thank you very much for considering this suggestion. There are others that I’m sure I can come up with related to small business contracting and the high cost for LLCs (particularly when, for various reasons, one might need to have multiple LLCs), but I’ll leave that for later.

-Kenn Morris
1603 Felton Street
San Diego, CA 92102

Workers Compensation/Senate Health Bill

Awhile back I mentioned the calculations of experience modifications has been changed by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau effective January 1.Where in the past the Bureau charged in the calculation dollar for dollar up to $2000 they are now using $7000 per claim. They also changed the calculation factors so that is you have frequent claims your modification will increase and conversely if you have a low frequency your modification will go down.
We are just beginning to see the impact of this and in some cases it has been dramatic. For example a nonprofit that I work with under the old calculations would have had a modification of 155% under the old rules will now have a modification of 193%. We have also seen reductions but clearly not as dramatic as the increases. It should be also noted that this could have an impact on some contractors as in some cases they cannot bid work if their experience modification is over 125%.
For those of you who have policies that renew in January and who have an experience modification what have you seen. For other who have policies renewing later in the year you may want to contact your insurance broker to see the impact of these changes.

Please see the language that has been incorporated in the Senate health bill. This has serious impacts for small business. The first regulations are around the so called Cadillac coverage tax. Employers will have significant reporting requirements. Keep in mind that benefits are not just health insurance but life, dental,vision HSAs or any benefit.
You also will be required to file an informational report on any vendors that you pay over $600. The change here is that you will now be required to file reports for corporate vendors.
How the tax enforcement will work is not determined and will begin 2013. The IRS will enforce the $600 effective 2011. The National Small Business Association of which Small Business California is a core member has been very vocal on these issues representing the interest of small business.

Sec 9001:
>
>>> (4) RESPONSIBILITY TO CALCULATE TAX AND APPLICABLE SHARES-
>>>> `(A) IN GENERAL- Each employer shall--
>>>>> `(i) calculate for each taxable period the amount of the excess
>>>>> benefit subject to the tax imposed by subsection (a) and the
>>>>> applicable share of such excess benefit for each coverage
>>>>> provider, and
>>>>> `(ii) notify, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may
>>>>> prescribe, the Secretary and each coverage provider of the amount
>>>>> so determined for the provider.
>>>> `(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS- In the case of
>>>> applicable employer-sponsored coverage made available to employees
>>>> through a multiemployer plan (as defined in section 414(f)), the
>>>> plan sponsor shall make the calculations, and provide the notice,
>>>> required under subparagraph (A).
>
>
> And below is a summary of the 'revenue offset provisions' in the
> Senate bill. (Section 9002 also refers to your concern, where
> employers must include the value (cost) of the employer benefit on the
> W-2. Section 9006 refers to the $600 threshold that you mentioned.)
>
> Sec. 9001. Excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage.
> Levies an excise tax of 40 percent on insurance companies and plan
> administrators for any health coverage plan that is above the
> threshold of $8,500 for single coverage and $23,000 for family
> coverage. The tax would apply to self-insured plans and plans sold in
> the group market, but not to plans sold in the individual market
> (except for coverage eligible for the deduction for self-employed
> individuals). The tax would apply to the amount of the premium in
> excess of the threshold. The threshold would be indexed at CPI-U plus
> one percentage point, and a transition rule would increase the
> threshold for the 17 highest cost States for the first 3 years. An
> additional threshold amount of $1,350 for singles and $3,000 for
> families is available for retired individuals age 55 and older and for plans that cover employees engaged in high risk professions.
>
> Sec. 9002. Inclusion of cost of employer-sponsored health coverage on W-2.
> Requires employers to disclose the value of the benefit provided by
> the employer for each employee¹s health insurance coverage on the
> employee¹s annual Form W-2.
>
> Sec. 9003. Distributions for medicine qualified only if for prescribed
> drug or insulin. Conforms the definition of qualified medical expenses
> for HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs to the definition used for the medical
> expense itemized deduction. Over-the-counter medicine obtained with a
> prescription continues to qualify as a qualified medical expense.
>
> Sec. 9004. Increase in additional tax on distributions from HSAs and
> Archer MSAs not used for qualified medical expenses. Increases the
> additional tax for HSA withdrawals prior to age 65 that are used for
> purposes other than qualified medical expenses from 10 percent to 20
> percent. The additional tax for Archer MSA withdrawals not used for
> qualified medical expenses would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.
>
> Sec. 9005. Limitation on health flexible spending arrangements under
> cafeteria plans. Limits the amount of contributions to health FSAs to
> $2,500 per year.
>
> Sec. 9006. Expansion of information reporting requirements. Requires
> businesses that pay any amount greater than $600 during the year to
> corporate and non-corporate providers of property and services to file
> an information report with each provider and with the IRS. Information
> reporting is already required on payments for services to
> non-corporate providers.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

Small Business California - 2009 Accomplishments

Small Business California had a good year in 2009. I apologize for the length of this email but we accomplished a lot in 2009.This is the short version and for a more complete list go to www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org. It will be on our website Friday.

For those of you that are not members of Small Business California I hope you will consider joining. You can do so by going to our website.

For all of you that are members thank you and I hope you feel your money has been well spent. If you have ideas on how we can do more to promote the interest of small businesses in California please let me know.

I want to especially thank our affiliate members the California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies and the Plumbing Heating Contractors and Cooling Contractors of California.

I would also like to thank Jim Baird from Bay Area Development Company for his strong support.

I hope you all agree that SB Cal is out front fighting the battles for California small businesses.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-680-2188
shauge@cal-insure.com



2009 Small Business California Accomplishments


GENERAL

• Completed our fifth annual survey of California small business issues. There were over 600 responses and every county in California was represented in the survey.
• Small Business California testified May 2009 before the House Small Business Committee.
• Represented small business interest in the National Health debate. Small Business California represents small business on the Board of the Pacific Business Group on Health.
• Added the Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors of California as an affiliate member of Small Business California.
• Represented small business on the task force at the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau dealing with calculations of experience modifications.
• Strongly opposed the sale of State Fund which would dramatically have impacted the rates of small business State Fund policy holders.
• Provided strong support to the development of Clinic By The Bay in San Francisco. This is a Volunteers in Medicine Clinic which nationally has 74 clinics in 24 states.
• In August sponsored a fundraiser recognizing San Francisco small business leaders and their accomplishments, over a quarter of a century.
• Supported interim funding of SBA 7a and 504 loans. Put in place coalition of 34 associations for funding until end of fiscal year. Worked closely with NAGGL (7a) and NADCO (504) (S 2869 and H.R. 4302).
• Received the environmental Business of the Year award from the Pacific Conservation League


LEGISLATIVE

• Sponsored Senate Bill 313 that will increase employer compliance in securing the purchase of a workers’ compensation policy and will ultimately lower employer assessments for law-abiding employers who are competing with the underground economy.
• Supported and testified in favor of Assembly Bill 483 (Buchanan) to require the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau to establish and maintain a free, public web site to allow individuals to obtain workers’ compensation coverage information about a specific employer.
• SB-Cal sent several letters to and met with the members of the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees and their staff to keep intact the Net Operating Loss Carry Over Tax ability for small businesses, along with a request to retain the funding for the Health Families Program. Both programs were left either intact or their funding preserved.
• Opposed AB 1139 (Perez) as it would have increased income taxes on those small businesses operating in the state’s enterprise zones.
• Asked Senator Leno to send an inquiry to the BOE to verify and outline the inconsistency of the application of the Government and Tax Codes on small business construction contractors who are being taxed twice as compared to their big business counterparts when bidding for public and private construction projects.
• Secured the development of a Return-to-Work Guidebook that will provide information to employers about the new laws pertaining to FEHA and ADA compliance.
• Hank Ryan has been providing testimony and working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the agency having jurisdiction over the development and implementation of AB 32 regulations, to develop its Scoping Plan that will serve as the road map outlining the phases of each new regulation.
• Small Business California has advocated for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, supporting the interests of independently owned technology companies against competition from large firms seeking to push small business out of the $2 billion a year Federal program. The debate included battles over the changes to the SBA definition of a small business.
• Helped to secure the support of Senators Feinstein and Boxer to secure passage of Senate bill S. 1233. The Senate Bill preserves the spirit of the original SBIR program while SB-California is working with the Speaker’s Office on House bill H.R. 5819 which contains most of the changes that will negatively impact small business.
• Small Business California-sponsored AB 615 is on the two-year track in order to thoroughly develop the expansion of the otherwise very short and unclear definition of existing law “first aid” injuries in the Labor Code when compared to the very specific 14-point list of non-first aid injuries included in Cal-OSHA’s definition.
• Small Business California’s-sponsored AB 801 two-year bill. This bill was made a two-year bill so that the California Department of Insurance could work with labor in securing their sign off in allowing the Department of Insurance to join the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation and the Division of Workers’ Compensation in accessing and retrieving claims information from the Workers’ Compensation Information System for CDI’s fraud detection purposes.
• At Senator Mark Leno’s request, Small Business California has been meeting with the Senator and his staff to provide recommendations to improve the state’s business climate for small employers on the following issues:
o Water Company de-coupling to mitigate lost sales through water efficiency programs. This issue could potentially open the door for On Bill Financing programs for water users.
o Issues affecting small business agriculture are recommended to encourage methane to energy opportunities, i.e. incentives for no till farming and other initiatives.
o Incentives for increased usage of wireless sensors/internet dashboards to monitor small business equipment usage - important to facilitate smart meters for valid energy efficiency savings.
o All investor owned utilities are now addressing On Bill Financing and are or will be offering financing directly to their customers. Only one publicly owned utility (Palo Alto) is in the process of developing OBF. Legislation that would address remaining barriers would be important to help deliver On Bill Financing to customers of the other POUs.




2009 Small Business California Energy Policy Achievements

EPA Grant Milestones

• Engage with CA Green Business Programs to increase support
• Develop guidelines and templates for NSBA Green Business Council
• Organize and distribute utility energy efficiency displays at northern CA Dept of Alcohol Beverage Control offices
• Provide support for Palo Alto municipal utility On Bill Financing program development
• Advocate at the CPUC for revolving fund use of stimulus funds to support energy efficiency financing
• Continue support work with SDG&E for ongoing On Bill Financing program
• Provide briefing about On Bill Financing for U.S. Senate Small Business Committee staff
Energy Foundation Grant Milestones
• Develop and execute the “C of C Green Sheet” for distribution to CA Chambers
• Visit and meet with California Chamber officials at over 40 offices in central valley and southern California
Bay Air Quality Management District Grant
• Create vehicle use profiles for 4 Bay Area businesses
• Work with Ecology Action to create design for employer supported alternative vehicle financing
• Publish Op Ed articles in SF Examiner and NSBA Advocate featuring electric vehicles for businesses

Transportation Alternative Financing

Establish a waiver of the tax on the (effectively) 0% loan for purchasing alternative fuel vehicle and would enable an internal loan from employer to employee in order to generate tax revenues. The value of building out this opportunity for the broadest range of employers to offer would maximize the incentive levels available for low to zero emissions vehicle programs to help bridge the gap of the expected higher costs for BEV (Electric Hybrid Vehicle) and PHEV (Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle)

Letters of Support H.R. 4302

On Saturday I will be attending a New Year’s Celebration with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I would greatly appreciate your sending an email of support for HR 4302. This is the bill that will provide funding for the rest of the fiscal year to provide the 90% guarantee on 7a and 504 SBA loans and waive the fees on these loans It will also increase the maximum size of SBA loans to $5 million from their current $2 million
Small Business California along with 33 other small business association will be sending a letter of support to every California House member.
I am asking that you send an email to Speakers Pelosi’s office as soon as possible.

The email should simply say:

Dear Speaker Pelosi
Small businesses in California are struggling and there is a need for capital so that we can grow our businesses and provide jobs that California so desperately needs. I am writing to ask that you support HR 4302 which will provide funding to keep in place the 90% guarantee on 7a and 504 SBA loans, waive the fees on these loans and increase the size of these loans to a maximum $5 million.
It is accepted wisdom that California cannot get itself out of double digit unemployment without small business. The passage of this bill will go a long way to help small business continue to be the economic engine that drives California’s economy and drives job growth.
Respectfully

Please send this email to Anne.MacMillan@mail.house.gov
And Mark Herbert at Mark.Herbert@mail.house.gov

If you have ever had an SBA loan it would be great to include that and why it was important to you.

Your emails to Senators Boxer and Feinstein contributed greatly to getting them to cosponsor S2869 . This is the exact same bill in the Senate. Please send me a copy of the letter.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-680-2188
shauge@cal-insure.com

How and Why the Experience Rating Plan is Changing

For all of you that have an experience modification on your workers compensation policy this will be important to you. Kelly Lewis from my office represents Small Business California on the Task Force mentioned below.
Small Business California has been very outspoken on this issue and a few years ago we stopped a change that would have been detrimental to small business. We think these revisions will be helpful to many small businesses.

As you all know we have been working hard to get additional stimulus funding for 7a and 504 loans. We will be sending letters to every California House member asking them to coauthor HR 4302.
Today we will be sending a letter to the JOBS Committee in the Assembly. It will be cosigned by 31 Small Business Associations. We are asking that they send a letter of support to the House small business committee and asking committee members to coauthor. We are also asking that a letter be sent to Speaker Pelosi. If you want a list of associations we are working with please let me know.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-680-2188
shauge@cal-insure.com


Dear Scott Hauge,

Some important changes are coming that could affect the premium your clients will pay in 2010.

The changes are to the California Experience Rating Plan (ERP). This is the mandatory plan that produces experience modifications (ex-mods) for all California employers that have sufficient payroll to qualify. The changes are effective January 1, 2010.

The changes to the ERP are based on recommendations from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s (WCIRB) Experience Rating Task Force to improve the ex-mod’s predictive value and make it easier to understand.

Major changes to the Experience Rating Plan:

Claims Split
The methodology formula used for splitting actual losses into primary and excess
components is changing to a “single split” model, with the first $7,000 of every loss
considered primary. This change recognizes that an employer’s claims frequency is
more predictive of future losses than the actual size of a given claim.

Credibility Values Updated
Credibility values are the weights applied to an employer’s loss experience. The updates recognize that the claims experience of a large employer is more predictive of future losses than the claims experience of a small employer.

Who Is Affected by the Changes?

Most employers will experience an ex-mod change of a few percentage points under the new plan. The precise impact on your clients will depend on the size of their payroll and the number and size of their losses. According to the WCIRB, an estimated 47 percent of all employers could see a decrease of up to 10 points under the plan.

If you have further questions about the Experience Rating Plan, please contact your State Fund marketing representative. If you or your client would like more information, visit the Broker or Employer’s page on our Web site at http://www.scif.com/.

Sincerely,
Richard Schultz
Richard Schultz
Regional Vice President of Greater Bay Area