So we are at the half way point in this year’s legislative session. All bills to remain alive must have passed their House of origin or have an urgency clause meaning it will take a two thirds vote to pass. One of the things however to watch for is what is called gut and amends. This is a procure where a bill is rewritten and new language replaces the original language. The new language does not have to have any connection with the original language.
This seems very strange to me and things get slipped in that can be truly awful. Our government affairs person Lori Kammerer watches this very closely during the session.
Do you think this should be allowed?
If you want to see bills Small Business California sponsored, supported and oppose please go to www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org
I want to thank all of you that contributed to our Clinic by the Bay fundraiser. It was successful beyond our wildest dreams as we have raised $134000.
Senator Diane Feinstein also showed up bringing 4 drawings which we raffled off. Again thank you
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, June 03, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
761/SB Cal Board meeting/ California Silver Shovel Award for Job Creation
Good news. SB761 has been made a two year bill and is dead for this session. This is the bill that required employers with 10 or more employees to provide 6 weeks unpaid family leave. Small Business California worked hard to stop this bill.
Yesterday our Board met. Besides transacting Board business we had the opportunity of talking to Angie Wei the top legislative person for Cal Federation of Labor. She thanked Small Business California for being the first business organization to support AB 863 the workers compensation reform bill of last year .
She also thanked us for being the first business organization opposing 623 which would have unraveled some of those reforms.
We also had a teleconference with Christine Baker the Head of the Department of Industrial Relations. Again she acknowledged how helpful small business California has been in the passage of the workers compensation reform and defeat of 623. We have also worked closely with her on issues around independent contractors
She is also working on the massive problem of California Unemployment Insurance debt. As I think most of you know Small Business California is part of a task force put together by Marty Morgenstern the head of the labor agency.
Small Business California definitely has a presence in Sacramento
With all the bad news about job creation in California I thought you might find the below interesting.
PRESS RELEASE
Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Riley Robbins
Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 (916) 322-0671
AREA DEVELOPMENT RANKS CALIFORNIA ONE OF THE TOP STATES FOR JOB CREATION – STATE WINS FIRST EVER ‘SILVER SHOVEL AWARD’ BASED ON GO-BIZ PROJECTS
SACRAMENTO – GO-Biz Director Kish Rajan today announced that California has received Area Development Magazine’s ‘Silver Shovel Award’ for excellence in job creation, for the first time since the award was created in 2006. The award is based on projects submitted by GO-Biz that demonstrate California’s growing ability to create high-value jobs and ranks California among the top states in the nation for job creation.
“This award demonstrates California’s on-going ability to create high quality jobs in a wide array of industries across the state,” said GO-Biz Director Kish Rajan. “Area Development bases their ranking on actual job creation so it’s not surprising that when a state ranking is based on real results, California stands out as a leader.”
As part of the criteria for the award, participating states must submit information about their top ten job creation and investment projects, which are compared to projects in other states with comparable populations based on the number of high-value added jobs per capita, amount of investment, number of new facilities, and industry diversity.
“The states receiving 2013 Shovel Awards deserve special recognition for their efforts to attract new businesses and to help their existing corporate citizens to expand their businesses,” said Geraldine Gambale, editor of Area Development. “They have managed to thrive and emerge from the recession as economic leaders.”
Area Development recognized the Samsung Semiconductor expansion in San Jose as the second most significant manufacturing project in the nation. California projects submitted for the award spanned the entire state and included such industry leaders as Sutter Health (Roseville), Amazon (San Bernardino and Patterson) Caterpillar (Kern City) and more. The California entries were all signature GO-Biz projects that required significant staff time and resources to complete.
“These projects are prime examples of public private partnerships between GO-Biz, our regional partners and the private sector to bring new jobs to California,” said Deputy Director for Business Investment Services, Leslie McBride. “GO-Biz project specialists worked countless hours to incentivize these companies to either relocate into California or expand within our borders.”
The Award will be presented to GO-Biz Director Rajan and will be on display at their offices in Sacramento. A report on the 2013 Shovel Award winners will be published in the Spring 2013 issue of Area Development and are posted online at www.areadevelopment.com/awards. View this GO-Biz Press Release online HERE.
About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit: www.business.ca.gov.
###
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Yesterday our Board met. Besides transacting Board business we had the opportunity of talking to Angie Wei the top legislative person for Cal Federation of Labor. She thanked Small Business California for being the first business organization to support AB 863 the workers compensation reform bill of last year .
She also thanked us for being the first business organization opposing 623 which would have unraveled some of those reforms.
We also had a teleconference with Christine Baker the Head of the Department of Industrial Relations. Again she acknowledged how helpful small business California has been in the passage of the workers compensation reform and defeat of 623. We have also worked closely with her on issues around independent contractors
She is also working on the massive problem of California Unemployment Insurance debt. As I think most of you know Small Business California is part of a task force put together by Marty Morgenstern the head of the labor agency.
Small Business California definitely has a presence in Sacramento
With all the bad news about job creation in California I thought you might find the below interesting.
PRESS RELEASE
Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Riley Robbins
Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 (916) 322-0671
AREA DEVELOPMENT RANKS CALIFORNIA ONE OF THE TOP STATES FOR JOB CREATION – STATE WINS FIRST EVER ‘SILVER SHOVEL AWARD’ BASED ON GO-BIZ PROJECTS
SACRAMENTO – GO-Biz Director Kish Rajan today announced that California has received Area Development Magazine’s ‘Silver Shovel Award’ for excellence in job creation, for the first time since the award was created in 2006. The award is based on projects submitted by GO-Biz that demonstrate California’s growing ability to create high-value jobs and ranks California among the top states in the nation for job creation.
“This award demonstrates California’s on-going ability to create high quality jobs in a wide array of industries across the state,” said GO-Biz Director Kish Rajan. “Area Development bases their ranking on actual job creation so it’s not surprising that when a state ranking is based on real results, California stands out as a leader.”
As part of the criteria for the award, participating states must submit information about their top ten job creation and investment projects, which are compared to projects in other states with comparable populations based on the number of high-value added jobs per capita, amount of investment, number of new facilities, and industry diversity.
“The states receiving 2013 Shovel Awards deserve special recognition for their efforts to attract new businesses and to help their existing corporate citizens to expand their businesses,” said Geraldine Gambale, editor of Area Development. “They have managed to thrive and emerge from the recession as economic leaders.”
Area Development recognized the Samsung Semiconductor expansion in San Jose as the second most significant manufacturing project in the nation. California projects submitted for the award spanned the entire state and included such industry leaders as Sutter Health (Roseville), Amazon (San Bernardino and Patterson) Caterpillar (Kern City) and more. The California entries were all signature GO-Biz projects that required significant staff time and resources to complete.
“These projects are prime examples of public private partnerships between GO-Biz, our regional partners and the private sector to bring new jobs to California,” said Deputy Director for Business Investment Services, Leslie McBride. “GO-Biz project specialists worked countless hours to incentivize these companies to either relocate into California or expand within our borders.”
The Award will be presented to GO-Biz Director Rajan and will be on display at their offices in Sacramento. A report on the 2013 Shovel Award winners will be published in the Spring 2013 issue of Area Development and are posted online at www.areadevelopment.com/awards. View this GO-Biz Press Release online HERE.
About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit: www.business.ca.gov.
###
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
SB 761 Desaulnier FTDI - Amendments/AB837
SB761 is a most troubling bill as it would allow employees of businesses with less than 50 to take 6 weeks of unpaid family temporary leave. Yesterday it was amended per below to exclude businesses with less than 10 employees and who have worked 90 days. Failure of an employer to keep a job open
allows an employee the right to file a civil suit and collect attorney fees.
Please see below amendment. It must pass this week on the Senate floor or it will not be taken up this session.
Below are the specific amends that Senator Desaulnier added to his SB 761…
(f) An employer who regularly employs 10 or more individuals, or an agent of that employer, that discharges or in any other manner discriminates against an employee who has been employed by him or her for 90 working days or more because the employee has applied for, used, or indicated an intent to apply for or use, family temporary disability insurance benefits under this section shall be liable to an employee affected by the unlawful violation for actual damages and appropriate equitable relief, including reinstatement. An employee may bring a civil action seeking these remedies in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the employee prevails in the action, the court may award the employee reasonable attorney’s fees and cost.
AB 837 which is sponsored by Small Business California passed in the Assembly by a vote of 74 to 0. This bill will codify the SBDC program and is a first step in getting California to put forth funds to match the SBA funds.
We are watching small business relevant bills and you can see our positions by going to our website at www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org.
All bills must pass their house of origin this week.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
allows an employee the right to file a civil suit and collect attorney fees.
Please see below amendment. It must pass this week on the Senate floor or it will not be taken up this session.
Below are the specific amends that Senator Desaulnier added to his SB 761…
(f) An employer who regularly employs 10 or more individuals, or an agent of that employer, that discharges or in any other manner discriminates against an employee who has been employed by him or her for 90 working days or more because the employee has applied for, used, or indicated an intent to apply for or use, family temporary disability insurance benefits under this section shall be liable to an employee affected by the unlawful violation for actual damages and appropriate equitable relief, including reinstatement. An employee may bring a civil action seeking these remedies in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the employee prevails in the action, the court may award the employee reasonable attorney’s fees and cost.
AB 837 which is sponsored by Small Business California passed in the Assembly by a vote of 74 to 0. This bill will codify the SBDC program and is a first step in getting California to put forth funds to match the SBA funds.
We are watching small business relevant bills and you can see our positions by going to our website at www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org.
All bills must pass their house of origin this week.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, May 24, 2013
WaPo: Some very good news for Obamacare
In a previous email I said that May23 Covered California[Exchange] was going to release information on how individual policies would work and the rates. They did not release information on how the small group program[SHOP] and as best as I could tell they only provided rates for families. The small business group will be released in early June.
The numbers cited below are average around California and the 19 regions how somewhat different rates. If you want the rates by region and a broader description of how the plans will work let me know.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Hi Scott – Just wanted to make sure you and your members saw this info on the California marketplaces. Feel free to forward to any interested parties.
Best,
Chris
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/24/wonkbook-some-very-good-news-for-obamacare/
In 2009, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that a medium-level “silver” plan — which covers 70 percent of a beneficiary’s expected health costs — on the California health exchange would cost $5,200 annually. More recently, a report from the consulting firm Milliman predicted it would carry a $450 monthly premium. Yesterday, we got the real numbers. And they’re lower than anyone thought.
As always, Sarah Kliff has the details. The California exchange will have 13 insurance options, and the heavy competition appears to be driving down prices. The most affordable silver-level plan is charging $276-a-month. The second-most affordable plan is charging $294. And all this is before subsidies. Someone making twice the poverty line, say, will only pay $104-a-month.
Sparer plans are even cheaper. A young person buying the cheapest “bronze”-level plan will pay $172 — and that, again, is before any subsidies.
-----
Chris Van Es
Special Assistant for Public Engagement
US Small Business Administration
(202)205-7660
Christopher.vanes@sba.gov
The numbers cited below are average around California and the 19 regions how somewhat different rates. If you want the rates by region and a broader description of how the plans will work let me know.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Hi Scott – Just wanted to make sure you and your members saw this info on the California marketplaces. Feel free to forward to any interested parties.
Best,
Chris
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/24/wonkbook-some-very-good-news-for-obamacare/
In 2009, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that a medium-level “silver” plan — which covers 70 percent of a beneficiary’s expected health costs — on the California health exchange would cost $5,200 annually. More recently, a report from the consulting firm Milliman predicted it would carry a $450 monthly premium. Yesterday, we got the real numbers. And they’re lower than anyone thought.
As always, Sarah Kliff has the details. The California exchange will have 13 insurance options, and the heavy competition appears to be driving down prices. The most affordable silver-level plan is charging $276-a-month. The second-most affordable plan is charging $294. And all this is before subsidies. Someone making twice the poverty line, say, will only pay $104-a-month.
Sparer plans are even cheaper. A young person buying the cheapest “bronze”-level plan will pay $172 — and that, again, is before any subsidies.
-----
Chris Van Es
Special Assistant for Public Engagement
US Small Business Administration
(202)205-7660
Christopher.vanes@sba.gov
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
PayPals "Cash for Registers"/ Covered California
What are your thoughts on this ? Do you use any of these companies?
Hi Scott,
I’m writing a blog post on PayPal’s “Cash for Registers” program tomorrow morning and wanted to get your thoughts on it. It seems like a year ago we were writing about how mobile devices were going to change how small business took money. Today there are more options than just Square.
My initial thought is this is good for small businesses because you have companies like PayPal, Square and Groupon competing for their attention and hopefully keeping transaction costs down.
Do you think this is the case? What have you been hearing from other small businesses?
Thanks again for your time.
Adolfo Flores
Reporter, Los Angeles Times
213-237-4592
On Thursday there will be a big announcement on Covered California[ Exchange]. It is my understanding that they will announce the plans available and the rates for those plans. I will try to get you more information in the next couple of days.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Hi Scott,
I’m writing a blog post on PayPal’s “Cash for Registers” program tomorrow morning and wanted to get your thoughts on it. It seems like a year ago we were writing about how mobile devices were going to change how small business took money. Today there are more options than just Square.
My initial thought is this is good for small businesses because you have companies like PayPal, Square and Groupon competing for their attention and hopefully keeping transaction costs down.
Do you think this is the case? What have you been hearing from other small businesses?
Thanks again for your time.
Adolfo Flores
Reporter, Los Angeles Times
213-237-4592
On Thursday there will be a big announcement on Covered California[ Exchange]. It is my understanding that they will announce the plans available and the rates for those plans. I will try to get you more information in the next couple of days.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, May 20, 2013
Affordable Care Act
On October 1 2013 all employers will be required to give employees model notices about Exchanges. In California the Exchange is called Covered California.. There are two separate forms. One is for employers who provide health insurance and another for employers who don’t. The forms are currently available from the Department of Labor. It is not clear whether California will come up with its own form.
The notices will
Inform employees of the existence of state health care Exchanges
Explain what services will be provided
Explain how the employee may contact the Exchanges to request assistance
Detail how employees may be eligible for a premium tax credit or cost sharing sharing reduction if the employers plan does not meet certain requirements.
You have all heard that employers with 50 full time employees or full time equivalents will be required to provide a qualified health plan or pay a penalty. The penalty is $2000 if the employer does not provide insurance or $3000 if they do provide insurance and the cost is 9.5% or more to the employee. Full time employees are defined as 30 hours a week. The fine will only be applied if the employee purchases insurance through the Exchange with a subsidy.
For people interested in getting an estimate on the cost of individual coverage in Covered California go to www.coveredca.com.
For those of you in San Francisco and subject the Health Care Security Ordinance it is not clear how this will reconcile with the ACA. We know that the coverage provided by SF is not insurance. We also believe that money an employer puts into the medical reimbursement account cannot be used as pretax dollars for an employee to purchase insurance. The City attorney is looking into this.
The City Attorney is also looking into how employer payments can be provided to employees for medical and dental cost by employers.
Time is running short for the answers to these questions.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, May 17, 2013
AB837/ SBA Affordable Care
I am pleased to report the AB 837 passed unanimously in Appropriations this week. This bill will codify Small Business Development Centers and is a step to getting funding to meet the SBA match.SB Cal put together a coalition of 25 business associations supporting this legislation.
Yesterday I met with Go Biz director Kish Rajan and SB Cal will be working with him on further development of SBDCs
I gave a speech yesterday to the California Metals Association and it really is clear to me that small businesses need to understand more clearly the Affordable Care Act. Please see SBA call on this.
If you have 50 employees what is the threshold you have for employees qualifying for medical coverage. My guess is that it is more than 30 hours. This is important because under ACA 30 hours is the definition. Do you have employees that work 30 hours that are not on your medical plan?
Please Join SBA for our May Stakeholder Call
This month, SBA staff will discuss updates in the Affordable Care Act implementation and the SHOP marketplaces, along with previewing National Small Business Week. Please pass this on to your leaders, members, and any others who may be interested. We hope you can join!
WHAT: SBA’s Monthly Stakeholder Call
WHEN: Tuesday, May 21 at 3:00 PM ET (Please note that these calls take place on the third Tuesday of every month at 3 PM ET.)
To Register: Please email Chris Van Es at Christopher.vanes@sba.gov. Call-in information will be sent to attendees Tuesday morning.
May Agenda:
1) Welcome
2) Affordable Care Act Implementation Update
3) National Small Business Week Preview
4) Questions
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Yesterday I met with Go Biz director Kish Rajan and SB Cal will be working with him on further development of SBDCs
I gave a speech yesterday to the California Metals Association and it really is clear to me that small businesses need to understand more clearly the Affordable Care Act. Please see SBA call on this.
If you have 50 employees what is the threshold you have for employees qualifying for medical coverage. My guess is that it is more than 30 hours. This is important because under ACA 30 hours is the definition. Do you have employees that work 30 hours that are not on your medical plan?
Please Join SBA for our May Stakeholder Call
This month, SBA staff will discuss updates in the Affordable Care Act implementation and the SHOP marketplaces, along with previewing National Small Business Week. Please pass this on to your leaders, members, and any others who may be interested. We hope you can join!
WHAT: SBA’s Monthly Stakeholder Call
WHEN: Tuesday, May 21 at 3:00 PM ET (Please note that these calls take place on the third Tuesday of every month at 3 PM ET.)
To Register: Please email Chris Van Es at Christopher.vanes@sba.gov. Call-in information will be sent to attendees Tuesday morning.
May Agenda:
1) Welcome
2) Affordable Care Act Implementation Update
3) National Small Business Week Preview
4) Questions
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
VIM Alliance Survey Report
I have done some things in my life that I am really proud of. Founding Small Business California and the SF Small Business Advocates are a couple of them.
But there is nothing I am more proud of than my work with Volunteers in Medicine and cofounding Clinic by the Bay. All of our clinics are free clinics.
Volunteers in Medicine has 92 clinics around the country of which Clinic by the Bay is one. We also have a Clinic in ElCajon and Indio. I am Vice Chair of Volunteers in Medicine and we recently completed a survey of our clinics. Out of the 92 clinics 75 responded to the survey. Some of the highlights of our findings are:
In 2012 we served 96089 patients and had 362203 patient visits.
The cost per patient was $288 and per patient visit $80. Compare that to the cost of the emergency room.
We had 11412 volunteers. 5502 were medical professionals and 5910 Non Medical
The top 4 diagnosis problems were
Hypertension
Diabetes
Dyslipidemia
Obesity
I think this is truly remarkable given we do not accept any government money.
For complete survey go to link below
Here is your link: http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org/2012%20Survey%20Report.pdf
On May 29th Clinic by the Bay will be holding its spring fundraiser. The cost of tickets start at $100 and we will have a silent auction. For those of you in the SF area I hope you will attend. You can purchase tickets by going to our website www.clinicbythebay.org. Click on Events.
If you can’t attend a contribution of any amount would be greatly appreciated. You can do so online.
Thank you for your consideration and if anyone in the SF area is interested in volunteering please let me know. If you know a doctor or nurse that might be interested in volunteering please let them know.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
But there is nothing I am more proud of than my work with Volunteers in Medicine and cofounding Clinic by the Bay. All of our clinics are free clinics.
Volunteers in Medicine has 92 clinics around the country of which Clinic by the Bay is one. We also have a Clinic in ElCajon and Indio. I am Vice Chair of Volunteers in Medicine and we recently completed a survey of our clinics. Out of the 92 clinics 75 responded to the survey. Some of the highlights of our findings are:
In 2012 we served 96089 patients and had 362203 patient visits.
The cost per patient was $288 and per patient visit $80. Compare that to the cost of the emergency room.
We had 11412 volunteers. 5502 were medical professionals and 5910 Non Medical
The top 4 diagnosis problems were
Hypertension
Diabetes
Dyslipidemia
Obesity
I think this is truly remarkable given we do not accept any government money.
For complete survey go to link below
Here is your link: http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org/2012%20Survey%20Report.pdf
On May 29th Clinic by the Bay will be holding its spring fundraiser. The cost of tickets start at $100 and we will have a silent auction. For those of you in the SF area I hope you will attend. You can purchase tickets by going to our website www.clinicbythebay.org. Click on Events.
If you can’t attend a contribution of any amount would be greatly appreciated. You can do so online.
Thank you for your consideration and if anyone in the SF area is interested in volunteering please let me know. If you know a doctor or nurse that might be interested in volunteering please let them know.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, May 13, 2013
AB769/ IIPP for Small Business is Posted on the CHSWC Website
We just received word that Assemblywoman Skinner’s SB 769, which eliminated the Net Operating Loss Carryback provision in California’s tax law. has been pulled by the author. It is an urgency bill so could come back this year but it would have to pass by a two thirds vote.
Small Business California put together a coalition of 27 associations opposing this measure. Thank you to all that signed..
Last Friday I sent an email asking your position on SB 761. This bill would have required small business under 50 employees to provide 6 weeks Paid Family Leave. The threshold for employees would be $300 per the base period. Failure to do so could bring about a lawsuit or complaint to the Labor Commissioner.
Lori and I related the results to the Senators office and said that the tax on employees who are not eligible for the same benefits as employees of businesses over 50 should not have to pay the tax.
The Senator has until May 31 to get this passed in the Senate.
Thank you to all that responded.
I have mentioned in previous emails the requirement for all businesses with employees to have an Injury and Illness Prevention Plan. If you do not have one in writing please see materials to help you do so. Small Business California is part of the Advisory Group that developed these material.
To the IIPP for Small Business Advisory Group,
The IIPP for small business materials have been posted on the Commission’s website and can be accessed at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/WOSHTEP/iipp/
Selma S. Meyerowitz, Ph.D.
Associate Governmental Program Analyst
Commission on Health and Safety and
Workers' Compensation
1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
510-622-5051 (Phone)
510-622-3265 (Fax)
smeyerowitz@dir.ca.gov
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Small Business California put together a coalition of 27 associations opposing this measure. Thank you to all that signed..
Last Friday I sent an email asking your position on SB 761. This bill would have required small business under 50 employees to provide 6 weeks Paid Family Leave. The threshold for employees would be $300 per the base period. Failure to do so could bring about a lawsuit or complaint to the Labor Commissioner.
Lori and I related the results to the Senators office and said that the tax on employees who are not eligible for the same benefits as employees of businesses over 50 should not have to pay the tax.
The Senator has until May 31 to get this passed in the Senate.
Thank you to all that responded.
I have mentioned in previous emails the requirement for all businesses with employees to have an Injury and Illness Prevention Plan. If you do not have one in writing please see materials to help you do so. Small Business California is part of the Advisory Group that developed these material.
To the IIPP for Small Business Advisory Group,
The IIPP for small business materials have been posted on the Commission’s website and can be accessed at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/WOSHTEP/iipp/
Selma S. Meyerowitz, Ph.D.
Associate Governmental Program Analyst
Commission on Health and Safety and
Workers' Compensation
1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
510-622-5051 (Phone)
510-622-3265 (Fax)
smeyerowitz@dir.ca.gov
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, May 10, 2013
Urgent I need your response SB761 by Monday
On Monday Lori and I will be meeting with Senator Desaunier's office regarding SB761.The bill is currently on the Senate floor.
I will make the legislation as simple as possible and would really appreciate your feedback.
Under the California Family Rights Act which currently exist in California an employer with 50 or more employees who have worked 1250 hours is required to provide paid family leave for 6 weeks. If they fire the employee or don’t allow the employee to return to their job the employee can file suit against the employer.
SB 761 would extend this to all employers with no minimum hours but a requirement that the employee has earned in the base period[ I am not sure if this is three or four months ] $300. If the employer fires or does not take back the employee all businesses would be subject to a lawsuit
Please understand that the employee is receiving these funds from money they have contributed so the employer is not paying for this.
One of the arguments the author makes for this is that employees that work for companies with less than 50 employees are not eligible for these funds even though they pay into the fund.
The counter argument to this is that legislation could be drafted such that employees who work for companies with less than 50 employees do not have to pay into the fund.
What should SB Cal do. Some options
Support the bill as written
Oppose the Bill as written
Support with an exemption for businesses with less than 25 employees
Support with an exemption for businesses with less than 25 employees but require the 1250 hours of work.
Support with an exemption for businesses with less than 50 employees. The ramifications of this is businesses with over 50 employees would not have the requirement of 1250 hours so they would have to provide for anyone who makes $300 during the base period
Take no position
Other ideas
It is really important I hear back from you. We will not use any names but your responses will be noted and relayed to the Senators staff
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Court of Appeals NLRB Ruling/ Workers Compensation
I receiver this email from David Burton at the National Small Business Association. Some very good news for millions of small businesses around the country
Federal Appeals Court Invalidates NLRB Poster Regulation
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declared in a rule that employers subject to its jurisdiction (which is most employers) would be guilty of an unfair labor practice if they did not post a “Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act” on their properties and on their websites.
On May 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the rule was invalid because the NLRB had no statutory authority to issue or enforce the rule.
The NLRB has not indicated whether it will seek a review by the Supreme Court.
To read the opinion, click here.
Yesterday I received a very thoughtful letter from a restaurant owner regarding the cost of his workers compensation. He was seeing his workers compensation cost skyrocketing due to some questionable claims. He voiced his frustration that employers don’t seem to have any rights to question a claim and the system is such that it frequently is cheaper for the insurance company to just settle these claims.
SB 863 will go a long way in cutting cost and already has had an impact on workers compensation increases. Christine Baker our good friend that heads up the Department of Industrial Relations has committed to doing everything she can reduce the cost drivers in the system..
This year SB 626 was introduced to unravel these reforms and Small Business California was at the forefront in opposition to the legislation which is dead this year.
For those of you that have an experience modification I strongly suggest you ask your insurance broker how much your claims are costing you. You will be amazed as in many cases it is three times the cost of the claim. You should also ask what your experience modification would be with no claims. Make sure you ask your insurance broker to provide you with your experience modification worksheet done by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, May 03, 2013
Calculator
Yesterday I sent a clarification saying that businesses with less than 50 employees do not have to offer dependent coverage to employees and that this would make them eligible for subsidies. The problem is when I use a $50000 annual household income the cost is the same whether the employer provides coverage for their employees or not. See below.
At $60000 annual household income it goes up to $409 but would go down if covering children only but stays the same if covering just the two adults or two adults with children.
Will this have any bearing on your decision to continuing to provide health insurance for your employees.
From: Micah Weinberg [mailto:mweinberg@bayareacouncil.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 10:17 AM
To: shauge@smallbusinesscalifornia.org
Cc: Michael.Lujan@covered.ca.gov
Subject: no incentive for employer
Scott:
The issue that you pointed out is one of the reasons the law states that, at least for businesses over 50, if you are offered dependent coverage those dependents can’t get a subsidy even if the cost of family coverage is unaffordable. If you’re right, there IS no real incentive for the employer to offer coverage to anyone other than higher-wage employees with small families. At the same time, though, it’s going to be difficult to design a system that will be legal, not disadvantage higher wage workers through not offering dependent coverage, and still allow for all of the low to mid-wage employees to go to the Exchange.
Best,
Micah
Micah Weinberg, PhD
Senior Policy Advisor
BAYAREA COUNCIL
mweinberg@bayareacouncil.org
www.bayareacouncil.org
@mdweinberg
1215 K Street, Suite 2220
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-949-6240 (c) 916-706-1277 (o)
Watch this video to see how the Bay Area Council is driving health system transformation toward affordability and better health for Californians.
At $60000 annual household income it goes up to $409 but would go down if covering children only but stays the same if covering just the two adults or two adults with children.
Will this have any bearing on your decision to continuing to provide health insurance for your employees.
From: Micah Weinberg [mailto:mweinberg@bayareacouncil.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 10:17 AM
To: shauge@smallbusinesscalifornia.org
Cc: Michael.Lujan@covered.ca.gov
Subject: no incentive for employer
Scott:
The issue that you pointed out is one of the reasons the law states that, at least for businesses over 50, if you are offered dependent coverage those dependents can’t get a subsidy even if the cost of family coverage is unaffordable. If you’re right, there IS no real incentive for the employer to offer coverage to anyone other than higher-wage employees with small families. At the same time, though, it’s going to be difficult to design a system that will be legal, not disadvantage higher wage workers through not offering dependent coverage, and still allow for all of the low to mid-wage employees to go to the Exchange.
Best,
Micah
Micah Weinberg, PhD
Senior Policy Advisor
BAYAREA COUNCIL
mweinberg@bayareacouncil.org
www.bayareacouncil.org
@mdweinberg
1215 K Street, Suite 2220
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-949-6240 (c) 916-706-1277 (o)
Watch this video to see how the Bay Area Council is driving health system transformation toward affordability and better health for Californians.
Hearing on Parking and Business in San Francisco
Please see email from Stephen Cornell. I hope you can attend Monday.
Scott
Finally we will have a hearing on how the S F M T A (the department that controls all parking, roads and Muni) works (or doesn’t) with San Francisco Businesses. IT IS REAL IMPORTANT TO COME AND HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Small Business Commission
Monday May 6th
5:30 P M (item 6 on agenda so you can come at 6 PM)
City Hall
Room 400
We are all affected by PARKING, by MUNI, by BIKE LANES, by Lack of Notices Letting our voices be heard or just lending your support to our commission that understands what our needs are is very important. This will be the 1st time the M T A will be before an official Commission
Any questions
Small Business Office (415) 554-6134
Or
Stephen Cornell (415) 673-8900
Scott
Finally we will have a hearing on how the S F M T A (the department that controls all parking, roads and Muni) works (or doesn’t) with San Francisco Businesses. IT IS REAL IMPORTANT TO COME AND HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Small Business Commission
Monday May 6th
5:30 P M (item 6 on agenda so you can come at 6 PM)
City Hall
Room 400
We are all affected by PARKING, by MUNI, by BIKE LANES, by Lack of Notices Letting our voices be heard or just lending your support to our commission that understands what our needs are is very important. This will be the 1st time the M T A will be before an official Commission
Any questions
Small Business Office (415) 554-6134
Or
Stephen Cornell (415) 673-8900
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Affordable Care Act SHOP/ AB626 AB 1138/AB769
In a previous email I said that under the Affordable Care Act all businesses that provide health insurance to employees would be required to offer coverage to dependents. Businesses however would not be required to provide insurance to dependents. The significance of this is that if an employer offers insurance to dependents the dependents would not be eligible for subsidies. Yesterday I received a call from Michael Lujan the head of the Small Business Health Insurance Options Program [SHOP] telling me that he has received information that businesses with less than 50 employees are not required to offer coverage to dependents and therefore employees dependents will be eligible for subsidies. This is a big deal because had employers been required to offer insurance to dependents, thereby loosing the benefit of the subsidies, the employer would in many cases be doing a disservice to their employees because the cost of the dependent coverage for the employee would exceed the cost of individual coverage for the employee and dependents. To get an idea of what the subsidies are go to www.coveredca.com and see calculator.
Two awful bills are dead for this legislative session.
AB626. This bill would have eliminated many of the reforms we worked so hard on last year. Small Business California put together a coalition of over 30 small business associations to help defeat this bill.
AB1138. This bill was administrative nightmare for small businesses and insurance carriers.
We are finalizing our opposition letter for AB 769 which would eliminate the tax credit for loss Carrybacks. We will be sending our association opposition letter out today with about 30 associations signing. Thank you to all that have signed and if you have not and want to add your association please let me know today.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Two awful bills are dead for this legislative session.
AB626. This bill would have eliminated many of the reforms we worked so hard on last year. Small Business California put together a coalition of over 30 small business associations to help defeat this bill.
AB1138. This bill was administrative nightmare for small businesses and insurance carriers.
We are finalizing our opposition letter for AB 769 which would eliminate the tax credit for loss Carrybacks. We will be sending our association opposition letter out today with about 30 associations signing. Thank you to all that have signed and if you have not and want to add your association please let me know today.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Net Operating Loss Carryback/ Fix the Debt
Next Monday the Revenue and Tax Committee will be hearing Assemblywoman Skinners bill to repeal the Net Loss Carryback. This is awful legislation and will hurt many small businesses in California. Small Business California filed yesterday filed a letter of opposition cosigned by other associations including
Brand Source Pacific Rim Region,Small Business Majority, California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies. Golden Gate Restaurant Association,California Metals Association, Engineers Contractors Association, California Fence Contractors Association, California Chapter of the American Fence Association, Flasher Barricade Association and the Marin Builder Exchange.
I will be putting together another association letter so if you are an association and would like to be added please let me know and I can send you a copy of the letter.If you are an individual and want to oppose you can use the association letter and change it accordingly
Small Business California does not usually get involved in a lot of National issues but the National debt is one that we believe is of importance to California small businesses. In past Small Business White House Conference this came up as one of the top issues.
We therefore will be supporting this effort.
Please see below letter from the campaign. Do you agree? If you want more information please let me know.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
As a small business owner, you understand how challenging it is to plan for the future when there is so much economic uncertainty around the future of taxes, healthcare costs, and the overall economy, due to the political gridlock in Washington. As the engine of economic growth in this country, the small business community can play a critical role in pushing our elected leaders to make the tough decisions necessary to promote investment and job creation, while also dealing with our unsustainable and mounting debt.
For this reason, I am writing to encourage you to add your voice to the national dialogue. We are working with the Campaign to Fix the Debt, which was founded by Al Simpson and Erskine Bowles, as a non-partisan effort to urge lawmakers to come together to pass a comprehensive, long-term plan to address our nation’s fiscal challenges, stabilize the unsustainable trajectory of our national debt, and create the certainty and confidence needed for businesses - both large and small - to invest, create jobs, and grow the economy. Attached is some information on the Campaign to Fix the Debt.
There are a number of ways that you can get involved, including:
• Attend an open press roundtable discussion on the deficits and debt, from the perspective of California small business owners. (If you are interested in joining me for one of these events in California, please contact me directly.)
• Engage in media (e.g., write op-eds or letters to the editor or do interviews with press) to add your voice to national debt issue.
• Sign the Campaign to Fix the Debt’s Citizens' Petition.
• Contact your Member of Congress by letter, phone, or in person.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact me, and I will put you in touch with someone from Fix the Debt to get you involved.
Best,
Phong Dinh
Senior Director of Coalitions, Campaign to Fix the Debt
Direct: 202.735.2804 • Cell: 703.855.4417
Web: www.fixthedebt.org • Email: dinh@fixthedebt.org
Sign the Citizens' Petition to Fix the Debt.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Legal Delays/ Swipe Fee Settlement/ JFK quote
A couple of weeks ago I met with Andi Liebenbaum Senior Governmental Affairs Analyst Judicial Council Administrative Office of the Court. She wanted to discuss the cuts to the Courts over the last few years. She asked if small business people around the state have experienced the delays in the judicial process and was it creating problems and expense for small business.
I would also like to hear from attorneys that receive this email. What are you experiencing.
As a small business owner myself I try to stay away from the courts as much as possible and honestly I have not heard this about this problem except from attorneys.
Please give me your comments.
Awhile back I sent an email telling people how they could claim a return on swipe fees by Visa and Mater Card based on the settlement being offered in the class action lawsuit. Over the weekend I received an email from Hut Landon telling me that the American Booksellers Association believes settlement is not in the best interest of Independent Booksellers around the country. In the interest of fairness please see below statement by Oren Teicher CEO of the American Booksellers Association.
Last week while riding on Muni I saw a sticker with a quote from John F Kennedy. I think it is something we should all think about.
He said
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie—deliberate,contrived and dishonest but the myth,persistent,persuasive and unrealistic. Beliefs in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought”
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Swipe Fee Class Action Settlement - Booksellers Urged To Opt Out and Object
Dear Booksellers:
I am writing about an important opportunity for booksellers to join a growing effort to reject the recent class action settlement over rapidly rising Visa and Master Card swipe fees. By now, you should have received a 20-plus-page settlement notice that requires you to act by May 28.
The settlement notice offers you several options: to file a claim for monetary damages (equal to approximately two to three months' worth of interchange fees); to opt out of the settlement; to object to the settlement; or to opt out and object to the settlement. The deadline to file your decision is May 28, 2013.
After very careful consideration - and consultation with other retail associations - ABA is recommending that booksellers opt out and object to the settlement. You will find an informative Settlement Summary (click here) that was put together by the class plaintiffs opposing the settlement. It will provide the pros and cons of each option, along with forms that allow you to opt out and object.
In short, it is our belief that the settlement does not offer meaningful changes to the interchange or "swipe fee" rules that are the centerpiece of the case. And, importantly, the settlement denies all current and future merchants their right to bring future legal action related to interchange rules and rate setting, among other things, against Visa, MasterCard, and the banks.
Opting out and objecting is the most complete way to express your opposition to the settlement. Moreover, you will also get the best protection from any argument that you have accepted the settlement's release terms and you will be entitled to sue for past damages.
A fairness hearing in the swipe fee case is scheduled for September 12. Clearly, if, at the hearing, the Judge is presented with the fact that an overwhelming number of businesses from the retail community have decided to opt out and object to the settlement that may go a long way in persuading the court that the settlement is unfair.
Let me stress that, ultimately, the decision as to whether to accept the settlement, to object to it, or to opt out and object to it is up to you. You must do what is best for your own business. But, importantly, if you take no action the court may interpret this silence as total acceptance and support of the terms of the settlement.
So please, do read the Settlement Summary carefully and then make your decision.
If you wish to opt out and object, you can do so electronically at http://merchantsobject.com/opt-out-object/.
Sincerely,
Oren Teicher, CEO
American Booksellers Association
Forward email
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NCIBA
1007 General Kennedy Avenue
PO Box 29169
San Francisco
CA
94129
I would also like to hear from attorneys that receive this email. What are you experiencing.
As a small business owner myself I try to stay away from the courts as much as possible and honestly I have not heard this about this problem except from attorneys.
Please give me your comments.
Awhile back I sent an email telling people how they could claim a return on swipe fees by Visa and Mater Card based on the settlement being offered in the class action lawsuit. Over the weekend I received an email from Hut Landon telling me that the American Booksellers Association believes settlement is not in the best interest of Independent Booksellers around the country. In the interest of fairness please see below statement by Oren Teicher CEO of the American Booksellers Association.
Last week while riding on Muni I saw a sticker with a quote from John F Kennedy. I think it is something we should all think about.
He said
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie—deliberate,contrived and dishonest but the myth,persistent,persuasive and unrealistic. Beliefs in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought”
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Swipe Fee Class Action Settlement - Booksellers Urged To Opt Out and Object
Dear Booksellers:
I am writing about an important opportunity for booksellers to join a growing effort to reject the recent class action settlement over rapidly rising Visa and Master Card swipe fees. By now, you should have received a 20-plus-page settlement notice that requires you to act by May 28.
The settlement notice offers you several options: to file a claim for monetary damages (equal to approximately two to three months' worth of interchange fees); to opt out of the settlement; to object to the settlement; or to opt out and object to the settlement. The deadline to file your decision is May 28, 2013.
After very careful consideration - and consultation with other retail associations - ABA is recommending that booksellers opt out and object to the settlement. You will find an informative Settlement Summary (click here) that was put together by the class plaintiffs opposing the settlement. It will provide the pros and cons of each option, along with forms that allow you to opt out and object.
In short, it is our belief that the settlement does not offer meaningful changes to the interchange or "swipe fee" rules that are the centerpiece of the case. And, importantly, the settlement denies all current and future merchants their right to bring future legal action related to interchange rules and rate setting, among other things, against Visa, MasterCard, and the banks.
Opting out and objecting is the most complete way to express your opposition to the settlement. Moreover, you will also get the best protection from any argument that you have accepted the settlement's release terms and you will be entitled to sue for past damages.
A fairness hearing in the swipe fee case is scheduled for September 12. Clearly, if, at the hearing, the Judge is presented with the fact that an overwhelming number of businesses from the retail community have decided to opt out and object to the settlement that may go a long way in persuading the court that the settlement is unfair.
Let me stress that, ultimately, the decision as to whether to accept the settlement, to object to it, or to opt out and object to it is up to you. You must do what is best for your own business. But, importantly, if you take no action the court may interpret this silence as total acceptance and support of the terms of the settlement.
So please, do read the Settlement Summary carefully and then make your decision.
If you wish to opt out and object, you can do so electronically at http://merchantsobject.com/opt-out-object/.
Sincerely,
Oren Teicher, CEO
American Booksellers Association
Forward email
This email was sent to shauge@cal-insure.com by office@nciba.com
Update Profile/Email Address
Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™
Privacy Policy.
NCIBA
1007 General Kennedy Avenue
PO Box 29169
San Francisco
CA
94129
Friday, April 26, 2013
Reporter Questions
Please see questions from a reporter that I have worked with for years. Please see questions below. I would also be interested in knowing even if you wouldn’t talk to a reporter
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Hi Scott,
Here are some questions:
The ACA includes a provision that would extend nondiscrimination rules “similar” to those that apply to self-insured employer plans to employers who buy fully insured coverage from carriers. The IRS rules say that employers can’t discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees in terms of access to coverage or generosity of benefits. So, currently, some fully insured employers, for example, might allow the CEO or other executives free or lower cost coverage than other employees. Some might offer them PPOs, while other employees are in an HMO. It’s not clear yet -- because final regulations are not out – exactly whether examples like that in the future will be considered discriminatory. The provision won’t go into effect until the final regs are issued. I’m hoping to chat with some firms that may have benefit packages like currently.
1) Are you fully insured?
2) Do your higher paid employees – even just the CEO – get different benefits or face different eligibility standards for coverage than other employees? My addition do you provide HMO for employees but take a more expensive PPO and pay for it from your company? Do you cover employees employee coverage only for your employees but cover your dependent and pay for it through your company?
3) If so, what changes are you contemplating in light of the ACA provision? My addition. You probably are not aware of this as very few people are. My question would be are you concerned about how ACA may rule on this?
If anyone is willing to chat today, that would be great. They (or you) could shoot me an email with their contact phone number and I will call.
Best,
Julie
Julie Appleby, MPH
Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News
202 654-1343
Who are we? Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. Our stories appear in media outlets nationwide, including USA Today, the Washington Post and NBC.com, and on our website, www.kaiserhealthnews.org.
My KHN stories can be found here: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Reporters/ApplebyJ.aspx
Stories from my 10 years covering health policy for USA Today can be found here: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=&sortby=REVERSE_CHRON&datetype=0&frommonth=04&fromday=01&fromyear=1987&tomonth=02&today=28&toyear=2013&By=appleby&Title=&Sect=ALL
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Hi Scott,
Here are some questions:
The ACA includes a provision that would extend nondiscrimination rules “similar” to those that apply to self-insured employer plans to employers who buy fully insured coverage from carriers. The IRS rules say that employers can’t discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees in terms of access to coverage or generosity of benefits. So, currently, some fully insured employers, for example, might allow the CEO or other executives free or lower cost coverage than other employees. Some might offer them PPOs, while other employees are in an HMO. It’s not clear yet -- because final regulations are not out – exactly whether examples like that in the future will be considered discriminatory. The provision won’t go into effect until the final regs are issued. I’m hoping to chat with some firms that may have benefit packages like currently.
1) Are you fully insured?
2) Do your higher paid employees – even just the CEO – get different benefits or face different eligibility standards for coverage than other employees? My addition do you provide HMO for employees but take a more expensive PPO and pay for it from your company? Do you cover employees employee coverage only for your employees but cover your dependent and pay for it through your company?
3) If so, what changes are you contemplating in light of the ACA provision? My addition. You probably are not aware of this as very few people are. My question would be are you concerned about how ACA may rule on this?
If anyone is willing to chat today, that would be great. They (or you) could shoot me an email with their contact phone number and I will call.
Best,
Julie
Julie Appleby, MPH
Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News
202 654-1343
Who are we? Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. Our stories appear in media outlets nationwide, including USA Today, the Washington Post and NBC.com, and on our website, www.kaiserhealthnews.org.
My KHN stories can be found here: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Reporters/ApplebyJ.aspx
Stories from my 10 years covering health policy for USA Today can be found here: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=&sortby=REVERSE_CHRON&datetype=0&frommonth=04&fromday=01&fromyear=1987&tomonth=02&today=28&toyear=2013&By=appleby&Title=&Sect=ALL
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Net operating Loss Carryback/ AB 837/Internet Tax
Last year Small Business California and over 30 small business associations opposed Assemblywoman Skinners bill to eliminate Net Operating Loss Carrybacks.Well its back. Assemblywoman Skinner has introduced AB 769 mirroring last year’s legislation eliminating these Carrybacks. Small Business California will again oppose this legislation. It is our position that small businesses should not lose this credit and California tax law should be the same as Federal tax law.
Yesterday I went to Sacramento to support Small Business California and the California Hispanic Chamber sponsored bill AB 837. This bill would codify the Small Business Development Center program and is the first step in getting state funding for California SBDCs This program served 60000 small businesses in California in 2012. I am pleased to report it passed on a 9 to 0 vote.
Small Business California would like to thank the thank Assemblywoman Campos for authoring the legislation and Toni Symonds for her assistance in getting this passed. Toni is the Chief Consultant for the Jobs and Economic Development Committee[JEDE]
You all I am sure have read that the Market Place Fairness Act will be coming before the full Senate shortly. This bill would level the playing field between brick and mortar businesses and those that sell over the internet. Businesses with less than $1 million receipts would be exempted.Small Business California strongly supports this as we were a major backer of the Amazon tax in California . It is expected that this will pass the Senate by the end of the week or the first week of May.
Please see link to Senator Diane Feinstein statement supporting this and in my conversation with Senator Boxers office it is expected that she will support.
The bill will then go to the House where passage is expected to be more difficult. I would like to encourage you to contact your House member and ask them to support this important piece of legislation
http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org/Marketplace%20Fairness%20Act.pdf
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Yesterday I went to Sacramento to support Small Business California and the California Hispanic Chamber sponsored bill AB 837. This bill would codify the Small Business Development Center program and is the first step in getting state funding for California SBDCs This program served 60000 small businesses in California in 2012. I am pleased to report it passed on a 9 to 0 vote.
Small Business California would like to thank the thank Assemblywoman Campos for authoring the legislation and Toni Symonds for her assistance in getting this passed. Toni is the Chief Consultant for the Jobs and Economic Development Committee[JEDE]
You all I am sure have read that the Market Place Fairness Act will be coming before the full Senate shortly. This bill would level the playing field between brick and mortar businesses and those that sell over the internet. Businesses with less than $1 million receipts would be exempted.Small Business California strongly supports this as we were a major backer of the Amazon tax in California . It is expected that this will pass the Senate by the end of the week or the first week of May.
Please see link to Senator Diane Feinstein statement supporting this and in my conversation with Senator Boxers office it is expected that she will support.
The bill will then go to the House where passage is expected to be more difficult. I would like to encourage you to contact your House member and ask them to support this important piece of legislation
http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org/Marketplace%20Fairness%20Act.pdf
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, April 22, 2013
Unemployment/ ACA/ SB 626
Small Business California is on the Labor Secretary’s Unemployment Task Force. There is a 1`0 plus billion dollar shortage in the state unemployment account. California is traditionally late in their payments to the Federal government causing penalties which are paid by employers.
What has been your experience in dealing with unemployment claims?
Do you have any ideas how the debt can be repaid?
Are you concerned about the impact this will have on your business?
I have been contacted to see if I know of businesses in the LA area that would be willing to speak to NPR about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on their business. They are trying to focus on businesses with 40 to 60 employees who may face the 50 person threshold and be required to provide insurance to their employees or face a fine.
Next Wednesday SB 626 will be heard in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. This is an awful bill that rolls back reforms Small Business California worked so hard on getting passed last year. We have put together a coalition of over 30 small business associations opposing this bill. Small Business California will be there to speak in opposition.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
What has been your experience in dealing with unemployment claims?
Do you have any ideas how the debt can be repaid?
Are you concerned about the impact this will have on your business?
I have been contacted to see if I know of businesses in the LA area that would be willing to speak to NPR about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on their business. They are trying to focus on businesses with 40 to 60 employees who may face the 50 person threshold and be required to provide insurance to their employees or face a fine.
Next Wednesday SB 626 will be heard in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. This is an awful bill that rolls back reforms Small Business California worked so hard on getting passed last year. We have put together a coalition of over 30 small business associations opposing this bill. Small Business California will be there to speak in opposition.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Language for Credit Card Settlement
Please see below letter from Aaron regarding a Cash Settlement for businesses that accepted Visa or Master Card between January 1 2004 to November 28 2012. This could mean hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars to you.
I know Aaron and Jim very well so this is not hoax..
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
In the last few months, many businesses should have received letters regarding the large settlement reached in the long-running lawsuit over the interchange rates that Visa and Mastercard have charged businesses and non-profits in the past. Any person, business or other entity that accepted Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards in the U.S. at any time between January 1, 2004 and November 28, 2012 may be eligible to receive a payment from the $6.05 billion settlement fund.
Under the terms of the settlement, local businesses will be able to collect money from the credit card companies based on past credit card transactions. If you ignored the letter in the mail, it’s not too late to register your business for your share of the settlement money.
You can learn more about the settlement and preregister for reimbursement at the court authorized website - https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en.
This is the only website with court authorized information about the settlement. The Judge on this case recently required some groups to change the misleading language on their sites.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/usa-antitrust-creditcards-idUSL2N0CY1YQ20130411
This is an opportunity to recoup the money that is owed to you from credit card fees. The more you have paid in fees since 2004, the larger your settlement could be. The amount paid from the Cash Settlement Fund will be based on actual or estimated interchange fees attributable to Visa and MasterCard transactions from January 1, 2004 through November 28, 2012.
Here is some of the media coverage regarding the outreach efforts underway in other parts of California to help businesses recover fees:
San Diego Story - http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/feb/19/national-public-charity-helps-reimburse-swipe-fees/
Santa Barbara Story - http://www.noozhawk.com/article/santa_barbara_business_credit_card_class-action_settlement_swipe_fees/
Please contact Aaron Goldsmith if you have any questions – 415-824-0582 or Aaron@JimRossConsulting.com. You can also contact Jim Ross at 415-824-0582 or at jim@jimrossconsulting.com
For more information, please see the FAQ section of the court approved settlement website: https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en/Home/FAQ
--
Aaron Goldsmith
Jim Ross Consulting
951 830 0919
415 824 0582
I know Aaron and Jim very well so this is not hoax..
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
In the last few months, many businesses should have received letters regarding the large settlement reached in the long-running lawsuit over the interchange rates that Visa and Mastercard have charged businesses and non-profits in the past. Any person, business or other entity that accepted Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards in the U.S. at any time between January 1, 2004 and November 28, 2012 may be eligible to receive a payment from the $6.05 billion settlement fund.
Under the terms of the settlement, local businesses will be able to collect money from the credit card companies based on past credit card transactions. If you ignored the letter in the mail, it’s not too late to register your business for your share of the settlement money.
You can learn more about the settlement and preregister for reimbursement at the court authorized website - https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en.
This is the only website with court authorized information about the settlement. The Judge on this case recently required some groups to change the misleading language on their sites.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/usa-antitrust-creditcards-idUSL2N0CY1YQ20130411
This is an opportunity to recoup the money that is owed to you from credit card fees. The more you have paid in fees since 2004, the larger your settlement could be. The amount paid from the Cash Settlement Fund will be based on actual or estimated interchange fees attributable to Visa and MasterCard transactions from January 1, 2004 through November 28, 2012.
Here is some of the media coverage regarding the outreach efforts underway in other parts of California to help businesses recover fees:
San Diego Story - http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/feb/19/national-public-charity-helps-reimburse-swipe-fees/
Santa Barbara Story - http://www.noozhawk.com/article/santa_barbara_business_credit_card_class-action_settlement_swipe_fees/
Please contact Aaron Goldsmith if you have any questions – 415-824-0582 or Aaron@JimRossConsulting.com. You can also contact Jim Ross at 415-824-0582 or at jim@jimrossconsulting.com
For more information, please see the FAQ section of the court approved settlement website: https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en/Home/FAQ
--
Aaron Goldsmith
Jim Ross Consulting
951 830 0919
415 824 0582
Friday, April 12, 2013
Small Business Development Centers AB 837
The Small Business Development Centers are unquestionably the premier technical assistance provider for small businesses in California. Some statistics.
In 2012 SBDCs assisted small companies that created 6962 jobs
3855 jobs which were slated for elimination were saved attributed to assistance from SBDCs
929 new businesses were started with the help of SBDC
$285 million in new revenue was generated by SBDC clients
62000 small business owners sought out and chose California SBDC consultants and trainers. Over 50% of those served were woman,48% were minorities and 12% were veterans and service disabled veterans
Over 90% of those served would recommend the services to a colleague.
This without one dime of money from the state of California.
This is a travesty. Almost all the states in the country contribute to their SBDC program. What makes it even worse is that the SBA funds the California SBDCs on a matching basis and California SBDCs have had to return money to the SBA. That money goes to other States SBDC program.
To try and obtain money it has been recommended that first the California SBDC program be codified. AB 837 has been introduced by Assemblywoman Campos to do just that. The bill introduces accountability standards and reporting requirements if and when California appropriations are made to support the California SBDC.
According to the Fact sheet on the bill this bill would require the California SBDCState Chair[ an existing nonstate position], in any year that state appropriations are made to support the California SBDC ,to submit a report to the director of the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development, and to the legislature, with detailed information on the programs activities and performance.
AB 837 would create zero cost to the state. Any appropriations the California SBDC would be under a separate budgetary action.
Small Business California is sponsoring this bill along with the California Hispanic Chamber. We are in the process of getting associations and individuals to also support this. The NFIB is a supporter. Will you help us? Have you used an SBDC to help your business?
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
In 2012 SBDCs assisted small companies that created 6962 jobs
3855 jobs which were slated for elimination were saved attributed to assistance from SBDCs
929 new businesses were started with the help of SBDC
$285 million in new revenue was generated by SBDC clients
62000 small business owners sought out and chose California SBDC consultants and trainers. Over 50% of those served were woman,48% were minorities and 12% were veterans and service disabled veterans
Over 90% of those served would recommend the services to a colleague.
This without one dime of money from the state of California.
This is a travesty. Almost all the states in the country contribute to their SBDC program. What makes it even worse is that the SBA funds the California SBDCs on a matching basis and California SBDCs have had to return money to the SBA. That money goes to other States SBDC program.
To try and obtain money it has been recommended that first the California SBDC program be codified. AB 837 has been introduced by Assemblywoman Campos to do just that. The bill introduces accountability standards and reporting requirements if and when California appropriations are made to support the California SBDC.
According to the Fact sheet on the bill this bill would require the California SBDCState Chair[ an existing nonstate position], in any year that state appropriations are made to support the California SBDC ,to submit a report to the director of the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development, and to the legislature, with detailed information on the programs activities and performance.
AB 837 would create zero cost to the state. Any appropriations the California SBDC would be under a separate budgetary action.
Small Business California is sponsoring this bill along with the California Hispanic Chamber. We are in the process of getting associations and individuals to also support this. The NFIB is a supporter. Will you help us? Have you used an SBDC to help your business?
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Thursday, April 11, 2013
AB 227
In a previous email I indicated that Assemblyman Gatto has introduced AB 227 to give businesses 14 days to post the required Prop 65 warning sign when notified of a violation. This is a common sense piece of legislation.
Small businesses want to conform with the law but may not be aware of this requirement and attorneys have brought actions against a business that cost thousands of dollars.
Now we need your help. Please call Assemblyman Phil Tangs office and ask that he support Prop 65. Be sure to leave your name, business and address of your business. If you live in his district indicate your address. You can call at any time and so do not worry about calling during business hours.
Yesterday I met with Aaron Moreno who is staffing this bill for Assemblyman Gatto. He asked that SF businesses contact Assemblyman Phil Ting being that he is on the Environmental Safety and Toxic Material Committee. It is important to contact as soon as possible. The district office number is 415-557-2312
It will be heard before committee April 16.
Please let me know if you call. Thank you.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Small businesses want to conform with the law but may not be aware of this requirement and attorneys have brought actions against a business that cost thousands of dollars.
Now we need your help. Please call Assemblyman Phil Tangs office and ask that he support Prop 65. Be sure to leave your name, business and address of your business. If you live in his district indicate your address. You can call at any time and so do not worry about calling during business hours.
Yesterday I met with Aaron Moreno who is staffing this bill for Assemblyman Gatto. He asked that SF businesses contact Assemblyman Phil Ting being that he is on the Environmental Safety and Toxic Material Committee. It is important to contact as soon as possible. The district office number is 415-557-2312
It will be heard before committee April 16.
Please let me know if you call. Thank you.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, April 08, 2013
Affordable Care Act /Penalties/ SB 1098
The penalties for individuals under the ACA are somewhat misunderstood. The number for an individual is a minimum of $95. This increases to $325 in 2015,$695 in 2016 and $695 indexed for inflation thereafter.
There is an additional penalty for spouses and dependents up to a maximum of three times the individual penalty
This is increased to 1% if an individual makes over $19500 [ according to the IRS subtracts the first $10000 so the 1% does not apply] This is first year.
For couples with no dependents it is 1% of excess income defined as that over $20000. This means they would have to make over $28000 for the 1% to apply. The rate goes up to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% 2016. This is first year
For couples with one dependent it is 1% of excess income defined as $23900. This means that the household income would have to exceed $$37500 for the 1% to apply. The rate goes up to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% in 2016. This is first year
For couples with 2 dependents it is 1% of excess income defined as26800. This means that the couple and two dependents would have to make $$46000.
The rate goes up to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% 2016. This is first year
There are additional rules around this but I am trying to keep it simple.
Senator Harkey has introduced SB 1049 which would require the Board of Equalization to pay the same interest rate on over payments as they charge on underpayments. This was the law until 1991. Seems like common sense legislation and Small Business California will be supporting.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
There is an additional penalty for spouses and dependents up to a maximum of three times the individual penalty
This is increased to 1% if an individual makes over $19500 [ according to the IRS subtracts the first $10000 so the 1% does not apply] This is first year.
For couples with no dependents it is 1% of excess income defined as that over $20000. This means they would have to make over $28000 for the 1% to apply. The rate goes up to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% 2016. This is first year
For couples with one dependent it is 1% of excess income defined as $23900. This means that the household income would have to exceed $$37500 for the 1% to apply. The rate goes up to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% in 2016. This is first year
For couples with 2 dependents it is 1% of excess income defined as26800. This means that the couple and two dependents would have to make $$46000.
The rate goes up to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% 2016. This is first year
There are additional rules around this but I am trying to keep it simple.
Senator Harkey has introduced SB 1049 which would require the Board of Equalization to pay the same interest rate on over payments as they charge on underpayments. This was the law until 1991. Seems like common sense legislation and Small Business California will be supporting.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, April 05, 2013
NSBA Survey on Immigration and Workforce/SB121
Please see below press release from the National Small Business Association regarding immigration and workforce issues.. What do you think about the findings.
A bill has been introduced SB 121[Evans] that would require all publicly held businesses to notify their shareholders 24 hours before making a contribution to a candidate or a cause. They also will be required to do an annual report It is not clear if there is a threshold contribution level or whether it applies to all contributions. It is also not clear whether this applies to PACs.
This does not appear to affect small businesses as most are not publically.
For more information go to www.leginfo.ca.gov
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
America's Small Business Advocate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2013
Contact:
Molly Brogan
202-552-2904
press@nsba.biz
NSBA Releases New Survey on Immigration and Workforce
Washington, D.C. – The National Small Business Association (NSBA) today released its 2013 Workforce and Immigration Survey. Among the key findings: while only 17 percent employ immigrant workers, nearly half of respondents said they rely on highly-skilled workers with a STEM background, driving broad agreement that a new visa category ought to be created for highly-skilled workers.
Although a narrow majority of respondents responded they would support requiring all employers comply with some kind of E-Verify system—which was not defined in the survey—the overwhelming majority (76 percent) do not use the current system or have never even heard of it.
“When confronted with the current reality of the E-Verify system and the fact that many leading proposals would enforce penalties of up to $75,000 and 10 years in prison, we would expect a marked drop in this already low level of support for mandating the existing program or massive increases in penalties on all employers,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken.
The survey also asked small-business owners about workforce preparedness and found that one-third say the quality and education of the current workforce is not meeting their needs. To address this shortfall, 92 percent say the offer some kind of additional training to employees, and 32 percent offer money toward employees’ continuing education or certification programs.
When it comes to hiring procedures, 43 percent of small-business respondents report conducting a criminal background checks on prospective employees, and 80 percent report putting new employees to work within one week of being hired.
“As lawmakers debate immigration reform and other workforce proposals, NSBA is calling on them to give small business the tools to grow and create jobs and avoid unnecessary burdens that will have a stymieing effect on economic growth,” said NSBA Chair David Ickert of Air Tractor, Inc. in Olney, Texas.
Click here to download the report.
http://nsba.biz/docs/Workforce-Immigration-Survey-2013.pdf
Click here to view NSBA’s recent letter to Congress on immigration reform.
http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Immigration-Reform-Letter-House-4.3.13.pdf
Celebrating more than 75 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.
###
==============================================
You are receiving this email because you are part of the NSBA Communications Committee.
Unsubscribe shauge@cal-insure.com from this list:
http://nsba.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=7b612f61e94bba4fe98732ff8&id=b774439545&e=22e0c899de&c=633ae33330
Our mailing address is:
National Small Business Association
1156 15th Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
Our telephone:
(800) 345-6728
Forward this email to a friend:
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Update your profile:
http://nsba.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=7b612f61e94bba4fe98732ff8&id=b774439545&e=22e0c899de
A bill has been introduced SB 121[Evans] that would require all publicly held businesses to notify their shareholders 24 hours before making a contribution to a candidate or a cause. They also will be required to do an annual report It is not clear if there is a threshold contribution level or whether it applies to all contributions. It is also not clear whether this applies to PACs.
This does not appear to affect small businesses as most are not publically.
For more information go to www.leginfo.ca.gov
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
America's Small Business Advocate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2013
Contact:
Molly Brogan
202-552-2904
press@nsba.biz
NSBA Releases New Survey on Immigration and Workforce
Washington, D.C. – The National Small Business Association (NSBA) today released its 2013 Workforce and Immigration Survey. Among the key findings: while only 17 percent employ immigrant workers, nearly half of respondents said they rely on highly-skilled workers with a STEM background, driving broad agreement that a new visa category ought to be created for highly-skilled workers.
Although a narrow majority of respondents responded they would support requiring all employers comply with some kind of E-Verify system—which was not defined in the survey—the overwhelming majority (76 percent) do not use the current system or have never even heard of it.
“When confronted with the current reality of the E-Verify system and the fact that many leading proposals would enforce penalties of up to $75,000 and 10 years in prison, we would expect a marked drop in this already low level of support for mandating the existing program or massive increases in penalties on all employers,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken.
The survey also asked small-business owners about workforce preparedness and found that one-third say the quality and education of the current workforce is not meeting their needs. To address this shortfall, 92 percent say the offer some kind of additional training to employees, and 32 percent offer money toward employees’ continuing education or certification programs.
When it comes to hiring procedures, 43 percent of small-business respondents report conducting a criminal background checks on prospective employees, and 80 percent report putting new employees to work within one week of being hired.
“As lawmakers debate immigration reform and other workforce proposals, NSBA is calling on them to give small business the tools to grow and create jobs and avoid unnecessary burdens that will have a stymieing effect on economic growth,” said NSBA Chair David Ickert of Air Tractor, Inc. in Olney, Texas.
Click here to download the report.
http://nsba.biz/docs/Workforce-Immigration-Survey-2013.pdf
Click here to view NSBA’s recent letter to Congress on immigration reform.
http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Immigration-Reform-Letter-House-4.3.13.pdf
Celebrating more than 75 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.
###
==============================================
You are receiving this email because you are part of the NSBA Communications Committee.
Unsubscribe shauge@cal-insure.com from this list:
http://nsba.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=7b612f61e94bba4fe98732ff8&id=b774439545&e=22e0c899de&c=633ae33330
Our mailing address is:
National Small Business Association
1156 15th Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
Our telephone:
(800) 345-6728
Forward this email to a friend:
http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=7b612f61e94bba4fe98732ff8&id=633ae33330&e=22e0c899de
Update your profile:
http://nsba.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=7b612f61e94bba4fe98732ff8&id=b774439545&e=22e0c899de
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Workers Compensation Bill AB1138/ GO Biz Presentations
On March 21 AB1138 went through a process called gut and amend. What this means is the original language of the bill is eliminated and a new language is added. This is new language. If you look at the link it says that if an employer doesn’t keep track of their employees on a quarterly basis they are subject to penalties. It also says they will lose the exclusive remedy that exist on workers compensation injuries currently in California.. Right now as a general rule an employee cannot sue an employer if they suffer a workers compensation injury. SB Cal will be watching this closely. Comments?
Crack down on misclassification (AB 1138 – Chau). Misclassification of workers is spreading quickly. It brings down wages and working conditions in many key unionized industries. It also puts responsible contractors and other employers at a competitive disadvantage. We increased penalties for misclassification in previous legislation, now we need to improve enforcement. We will require that employers list the workers that are covered by their workers’ compensation insurance policies in order to expose who they employ off the books or misclassify as independent contractors.
The bill is here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_1138&sess=CUR&house=B&author=chau
For those of you in the Sacramento area and the San Diego area please see two events being presented to small business. I went to the one in Emeryville and it was excellent.
Michael Lujans presentation on the Affordable Care Act is not to be missed if you can make.
CDC Small Business Finance and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) are pleased to host a working lunch for small business owners. The program will provide information on healthcare compliance, workforce training funds, and resources to help grow your business. Details are below! For more information about GO-Biz, please visit www.business.ca.gov.
Brown Bag it!
A Working Lunch for Small Businesses
The program will address the following questions and issues:
• Will the new health care law affect your business? Michael Lujan (Director, Small Business Health Options Program from the California State Health Benefit Exchange, newly named as Covered California) will explain how the Affordable Care Act will affect small businesses in California.
• In need of funds for employee training? Robert Meyer from the State of California’s Employment Training Panel will describe how small businesses can qualify for this program, which offers small businesses reimbursements for workforce training.
• What can GO-Biz do for your business? Barbara A. Vohryzek, Small Business Advocate from GO-Biz, will describe the range of services that GO-Biz provides to business owners.
Event Details
April 9, 2013, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
West Sacramento Civic Center Galleria
1110 West Capitol Avenue, West Sacramento
Registration $20.00 - Lunch provided
The event flyer is attached. Register now! Space is limited.
Please visit us at www.bit.ly/brownbagit for registration and more information.
Event Details
April 11, 2013, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Liberty Station Conference Center
2600 Laning Road, San Diego, CA 92106
The event flyer is attached. Register now! Space is limited.
Please visit us at http://cdcloans.com/san-diego-brown-bag-it-event for registration and more information.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Crack down on misclassification (AB 1138 – Chau). Misclassification of workers is spreading quickly. It brings down wages and working conditions in many key unionized industries. It also puts responsible contractors and other employers at a competitive disadvantage. We increased penalties for misclassification in previous legislation, now we need to improve enforcement. We will require that employers list the workers that are covered by their workers’ compensation insurance policies in order to expose who they employ off the books or misclassify as independent contractors.
The bill is here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_1138&sess=CUR&house=B&author=chau
For those of you in the Sacramento area and the San Diego area please see two events being presented to small business. I went to the one in Emeryville and it was excellent.
Michael Lujans presentation on the Affordable Care Act is not to be missed if you can make.
CDC Small Business Finance and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) are pleased to host a working lunch for small business owners. The program will provide information on healthcare compliance, workforce training funds, and resources to help grow your business. Details are below! For more information about GO-Biz, please visit www.business.ca.gov.
Brown Bag it!
A Working Lunch for Small Businesses
The program will address the following questions and issues:
• Will the new health care law affect your business? Michael Lujan (Director, Small Business Health Options Program from the California State Health Benefit Exchange, newly named as Covered California) will explain how the Affordable Care Act will affect small businesses in California.
• In need of funds for employee training? Robert Meyer from the State of California’s Employment Training Panel will describe how small businesses can qualify for this program, which offers small businesses reimbursements for workforce training.
• What can GO-Biz do for your business? Barbara A. Vohryzek, Small Business Advocate from GO-Biz, will describe the range of services that GO-Biz provides to business owners.
Event Details
April 9, 2013, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
West Sacramento Civic Center Galleria
1110 West Capitol Avenue, West Sacramento
Registration $20.00 - Lunch provided
The event flyer is attached. Register now! Space is limited.
Please visit us at www.bit.ly/brownbagit for registration and more information.
Event Details
April 11, 2013, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Liberty Station Conference Center
2600 Laning Road, San Diego, CA 92106
The event flyer is attached. Register now! Space is limited.
Please visit us at http://cdcloans.com/san-diego-brown-bag-it-event for registration and more information.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Unemployment Insurance/Upcoming Affordable Care Act Opportunities for Small Business Owners
Small Business California is part of a task force put together by Labor Secretary Marty Morgenstern to try to solve the over $10 billion debt to the Federal government for Unemployment Insurance. A consultant is being hired to come up with solutions to this problem. We will be at the table when decisions are made how to solve this most serious problem. We will keep you up dated on this issue over the year. If you want more information please let me know.
Please see email I received from the SBA about information available to small businesses about the Affordable Care Act
SBA is actively engaged in educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act and the provisions they need to know about. As part of our efforts, we have the following opportunities coming up for you and members of your extended networks to learn more about the law:
1) Affordable Care Act Implementation: What Small Businesses Need To Know – Conference Call with Business Forward – Tuesday, April 2 at 2:00 PM ET
2) The Affordable Care Act & Women Small Business Owners – Webinar with US Women’s Chamber of Commerce – Wednesday, April 3 at 1:30 PM ET
3) Update on the New Health Care Law – Conference Call with Small Business Majority – Thursday, April 18 at 1:00 PM ET
If you have any questions or would like to partner with SBA on ACA education and outreach, please let me know.
Best,
Chris
-----
Chris Van Es
Special Assistant for Public Engagement
US Small Business Administration
(202)205-7660
Christopher.vanes@sba.gov
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, March 25, 2013
Prop 65/EVerify
Ken Mork Brand Source Pacific Rim Region Manager has brought to me another situation around Prop 65. Brand Source is an association that represents furniture dealers in California. Apparently his members are receiving a certified”Supplemental 60 Notice of Violation” letter alleging violations of Prop 65.
In effect the letter is saying that the dealer can make a settlement with the attorney.
The issue is that a product they are selling has a chemical that is on the Governors list of chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer and/or reproductive toxicity. Product contacting these chemicals must be labeled as such.
The problem is that many of the manufacturers of these products are not labeling these products and therefore the dealer does not know that they are in violation.
There are some who are exempt from this
Governmental agencies and public water utilities
Businesses with 9 or fewer employees.
The civil penalties for this are up to $2500 per day for each violation.
In 2011 327 cases were filed and $15.9 million has been extracted and the Citizen Plaintiffs have collected 25% [$521000]of the penalties and the attorney fee totaled $11.8 million.
Have any of you been the subject to this?
You all have heard that there very may well be some Federal immigration reform legislation passed this year. One thing that is being discussed is that all employers will be required to E Verify employees. This is required in a few states and is required on Federal contracts now. What E Verify does is determine the legal status of the employee.
The problem here is that also being discussed are penalties up to $75000 and up to 10 years in jail for violations. I don’t know about you but this seems excessive.
There is an accuracy rate of about 98.5% but a problem arises in that I don’t think there is safe harbor for employers should they not hire a person based on E Verify results. They are therefore subject to lawsuits should they take action based on the EVerify results.
Interestingly enough when I Googled what California is doing I found that AB1236 was signed by Governor Brown in October 2011 prohibiting state municipalities from passing mandatory E Verify ordinances.
What do you think?
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
In effect the letter is saying that the dealer can make a settlement with the attorney.
The issue is that a product they are selling has a chemical that is on the Governors list of chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer and/or reproductive toxicity. Product contacting these chemicals must be labeled as such.
The problem is that many of the manufacturers of these products are not labeling these products and therefore the dealer does not know that they are in violation.
There are some who are exempt from this
Governmental agencies and public water utilities
Businesses with 9 or fewer employees.
The civil penalties for this are up to $2500 per day for each violation.
In 2011 327 cases were filed and $15.9 million has been extracted and the Citizen Plaintiffs have collected 25% [$521000]of the penalties and the attorney fee totaled $11.8 million.
Have any of you been the subject to this?
You all have heard that there very may well be some Federal immigration reform legislation passed this year. One thing that is being discussed is that all employers will be required to E Verify employees. This is required in a few states and is required on Federal contracts now. What E Verify does is determine the legal status of the employee.
The problem here is that also being discussed are penalties up to $75000 and up to 10 years in jail for violations. I don’t know about you but this seems excessive.
There is an accuracy rate of about 98.5% but a problem arises in that I don’t think there is safe harbor for employers should they not hire a person based on E Verify results. They are therefore subject to lawsuits should they take action based on the EVerify results.
Interestingly enough when I Googled what California is doing I found that AB1236 was signed by Governor Brown in October 2011 prohibiting state municipalities from passing mandatory E Verify ordinances.
What do you think?
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, March 22, 2013
health care system
The total health care cost of our health care system is about $2.6 trillion and represents about 17% of our GDP. There are projections it will reach 19% by 2017. What I learned yesterday was that only $80 billion of that total is for primary care. This is really interesting because primary care I think is really at the core of controlling cost.
A company named Qliance located in Seattle Washington provides primary care to individuals, small businesses and some larger companies. The cost range from $59 to $94 per person. They provide at no cost beyond the monthly charge preventative care, urgent care Specialist & Hospital care,behavior&lifestyle management, chronic disease management and wellness. The clinics they have provide extended office hours and weekend hours and appointments with doctors are 30 minutes to an hour.
While the cost may seem high the savings when you look at the number of reduced Emergency room visits, hospitalization days, specialist visits, advanced radiology and surgeries more than makes up for the additional cost. After factoring in the cost the savings are $1727 per member per year. It is interesting to note that the number of primary care visits to Qliance per 1000 of their members is 4411 and the benchmark per 1000 is 1847. You should also be aware that there is no selectivity in people becoming members. Anyone can join.
I think a convincing argument can be made that if our country is going to reduce the cost of health care we need to increase spending on primary care and increase the number of primary care physicians. What do you think?
I am beginning to hear more talk about individuals and businesses that provide health insurance for employees meeting the minimum coverage requirements required under the Affordable Care Act. Is this a concern to you? Are you concerned about coverages not being adequate or not being able to have deductible above $2000 per individual and $4000 per family.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
A company named Qliance located in Seattle Washington provides primary care to individuals, small businesses and some larger companies. The cost range from $59 to $94 per person. They provide at no cost beyond the monthly charge preventative care, urgent care Specialist & Hospital care,behavior&lifestyle management, chronic disease management and wellness. The clinics they have provide extended office hours and weekend hours and appointments with doctors are 30 minutes to an hour.
While the cost may seem high the savings when you look at the number of reduced Emergency room visits, hospitalization days, specialist visits, advanced radiology and surgeries more than makes up for the additional cost. After factoring in the cost the savings are $1727 per member per year. It is interesting to note that the number of primary care visits to Qliance per 1000 of their members is 4411 and the benchmark per 1000 is 1847. You should also be aware that there is no selectivity in people becoming members. Anyone can join.
I think a convincing argument can be made that if our country is going to reduce the cost of health care we need to increase spending on primary care and increase the number of primary care physicians. What do you think?
I am beginning to hear more talk about individuals and businesses that provide health insurance for employees meeting the minimum coverage requirements required under the Affordable Care Act. Is this a concern to you? Are you concerned about coverages not being adequate or not being able to have deductible above $2000 per individual and $4000 per family.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Affordable Care Act
Small Business California has spent a lot of time trying to understand the Affordable Care Act’s provisions and IRS regulations. Two issues have come up that I think are important for small businesses to understand.
The IRS has said that businesses that provide health insurance to their employees must offer coverage to their employees dependents. Interestingly the definition of dependents does not include spouses but children under 26. I would think in California most employers would offer this coverage to the spouses also.
While they have to offer coverage to dependents the business does not have to pay for it. The problem here however is because the employer has offered coverage to the dependents the dependents are not eligible for the subsidies in the Exchange. These subsidies are significant and many situations will arise where the employee would be better off if the employer dropped coverage for them and let the employee set up an individual policy covering them and their dependents taking advantage of the subsidies.
There is a lot of debate on this and I have tried over the last month to get confirmation and am reasonably certain this is the case.
When the Affordable Care Act passed it was assumed that individuals purchasing health insurance would have to pay in after tax dollars. To my knowledge the IRS has not come out with their regulations on this and many think the delay is because they ultimately will rule that in certain cases like an employer setting up an account like a cafeteria plan will allow the employee to pay in pretax dollars. While this may be good it will be a severe blow to the Small Business Health Insurance Options Program[SHOP] in the Exchange. The IRS regulations should be coming out any day on this.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
The IRS has said that businesses that provide health insurance to their employees must offer coverage to their employees dependents. Interestingly the definition of dependents does not include spouses but children under 26. I would think in California most employers would offer this coverage to the spouses also.
While they have to offer coverage to dependents the business does not have to pay for it. The problem here however is because the employer has offered coverage to the dependents the dependents are not eligible for the subsidies in the Exchange. These subsidies are significant and many situations will arise where the employee would be better off if the employer dropped coverage for them and let the employee set up an individual policy covering them and their dependents taking advantage of the subsidies.
There is a lot of debate on this and I have tried over the last month to get confirmation and am reasonably certain this is the case.
When the Affordable Care Act passed it was assumed that individuals purchasing health insurance would have to pay in after tax dollars. To my knowledge the IRS has not come out with their regulations on this and many think the delay is because they ultimately will rule that in certain cases like an employer setting up an account like a cafeteria plan will allow the employee to pay in pretax dollars. While this may be good it will be a severe blow to the Small Business Health Insurance Options Program[SHOP] in the Exchange. The IRS regulations should be coming out any day on this.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
AB 227
Yesterday Lori Kammerer Small Business California Government Affairs person and Lee Petillon Board Member and I were in Sacramento meeting with legislators on legislation Small Business California is sponsoring. In our visits we met with Aaron Moreno in Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s office and he told us about a bill Assemblyman Gatto is proposing AB 227. This is a reasonable measure protecting businesses from lawsuits for not displaying warning posters at their place of business. These lawsuits are costing businesses thousands of dollars to settle. It basically says that a business has 14 days to correct the violation.
Small Business California will be addressing this with our Board and expect to support. Please see legislation below. If you want a poster please let me know and I will send to you.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Small Business California will be addressing this with our Board and expect to support. Please see legislation below. If you want a poster please let me know and I will send to you.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
State Contracts/ Brown Bag Lunch
In Small Business California’s recently released survey 53.7% said “Awarding state contracts to small busineses”was a top or high priority.
Yesterday I received a call from Angel Carrera from the Department of General l Services asking how DGS could be of more assistance to small businesses in obtaining state contracts. Are you certified with the state? If you are certified have you received any contracts? What can the state do to help small businesses in this area?
Last call. See information below about program for small businesses. It will be Thursday March 14 in Emeryville from 11 until 2PM. We are fortunate to have Michael Lujan presenting as he is the head of the SHOP{ Small Business Group Program in Connect California] I hope to see many of you there as Small Business California is a cosponsor of this event. I want to thank Jim Baird at Bay Area Development Company and Barbara Vohrzek the Governors Small Business Advocate for making this happen.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Bay Area Development Company and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) are pleased to host a working lunch for small business owners. The program will provide information on healthcare compliance, workforce training funds and resources to help grow your business. Details are below!
Brown Bag it!
A Working Lunch for Small Businesses
The program will address the following questions and issues:
• Will the new health care law affect your business? Michael Lujan from the Health Benefit Exchange, newly named as Covered California, will explain how the Affordable Care Act will affect small businesses in California.
• Are you in need of money for employee training? Robert Meyer from the State of California’s Employment Training Panel will describe how small businesses can qualify for this program, which offers small businesses funding for workforce training.
• What can GO-Biz do for your business? Barbara A. Vohryzek, Small Business Advocate from GO-Biz, will describe the range of services that GO-Biz provides to business owners.
Event Details
March 14, 2013
Hyatt House
5800 Shellmound Street
Emeryville, CA
The event flyer is attached. Register now! Space is limited. Please visit us at www.baydevco/brownbag for registration.
For more information about GO-Biz, please visit www.business.ca.gov.
Yesterday I received a call from Angel Carrera from the Department of General l Services asking how DGS could be of more assistance to small businesses in obtaining state contracts. Are you certified with the state? If you are certified have you received any contracts? What can the state do to help small businesses in this area?
Last call. See information below about program for small businesses. It will be Thursday March 14 in Emeryville from 11 until 2PM. We are fortunate to have Michael Lujan presenting as he is the head of the SHOP{ Small Business Group Program in Connect California] I hope to see many of you there as Small Business California is a cosponsor of this event. I want to thank Jim Baird at Bay Area Development Company and Barbara Vohrzek the Governors Small Business Advocate for making this happen.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Bay Area Development Company and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) are pleased to host a working lunch for small business owners. The program will provide information on healthcare compliance, workforce training funds and resources to help grow your business. Details are below!
Brown Bag it!
A Working Lunch for Small Businesses
The program will address the following questions and issues:
• Will the new health care law affect your business? Michael Lujan from the Health Benefit Exchange, newly named as Covered California, will explain how the Affordable Care Act will affect small businesses in California.
• Are you in need of money for employee training? Robert Meyer from the State of California’s Employment Training Panel will describe how small businesses can qualify for this program, which offers small businesses funding for workforce training.
• What can GO-Biz do for your business? Barbara A. Vohryzek, Small Business Advocate from GO-Biz, will describe the range of services that GO-Biz provides to business owners.
Event Details
March 14, 2013
Hyatt House
5800 Shellmound Street
Emeryville, CA
The event flyer is attached. Register now! Space is limited. Please visit us at www.baydevco/brownbag for registration.
For more information about GO-Biz, please visit www.business.ca.gov.
Friday, March 08, 2013
Thanks you/ AB626
Thank you all for signing the opposition letter for SB 626. You will get a copy of the letter next week with your logo on it. We ended up with 33 associations and this email is going to you representing those associations.
One of the organizations that signed onto the letter was CAMEO.
They are sponsoring a bill[SB 626] to allow people who are unemployed to collect unemployment insurance. Small Business California has not taken a position on this bill but I thought you might be interested in seeing the argument against from the Cal Chamber and the response of CAMEO.
What do you think. Let me know your thoughts.
If you want to ask Heidi at CAMEO questions please contact her in email above
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2109
Survey/ IRS/SB626
Yesterday you all received the link to our annual survey. I have told you that this will be delivered to every Assembly person, state Senator and the Governor . I have also said that the survey is used by legislators.
Yesterday I received a very nice note from Toni Symonds , Chief Consultant for the Assembly Committee on Jobs ,Economic Development and the Economy. She said
“Good stuff,thank you Scott. I will be referring to your survey in my policy analysis”
Thank you Toni
If you have not seen the survey it can be accessed by going to our website at www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org
There has been an effort by the National Small Business Association and Small Business California to get language out of Washington that is understandable.
This is a real problem and as an example I cite and IRS regulation regarding shared responsibility in the Affordable Care Act
“Üse of payroll periods. For payroll periods that are one week,two weeks,or semi-monthly in duration,an employer is permitted to treat as a measurement period a period that ends on the last day of the payroll period preceding the payroll period that includes the date that would otherwise be the last day of the measurement period, provided that measurement period begins on the first day of the payroll period that includes the date that would otherwise be the first day of the measurement period”
You can’t make this up.Thanks David Burton of NSBA for sending this clarification.
We will be sending our association letter opposing SB 626 which would unravel many of the reforms in last year workers compensation reform bill. Please see the 33 associations that will be signing the letter. Thank you to all
Opposing SB 626
1. 101 MFG (Manufacturing)
2. American Fence Association
3. American Subcontractors Association Capital City Chapter
4. California Association for Micro-Enterprise Opportunity
5. California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies
6. California Chapter of American Fence Association
7. California Employers Association
8. California Fish and Seafood Industry
9. California Metals Association Coalition
10. Coalition of Small and Disabled Veteran Businesses
11. Committee on Jobs – San Francisco
12. Engineering Contractors Association
13. Flasher/Barrier Association
14. Golden Gate Restaurant Association
15. Inland Valley Business Alliance- Rancho Cucamonga
16. Main Street Chamber- Rancho Cucamonga
17. Main Street Chamber-Upland
18. Marin Builder Exchange
19. Monterey County Business Council
20. Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
21. Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
22. Pacific Contractors Association
23. Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of California
24. Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of San Francisco
25. San Francisco Builders Exchange
26. San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance
27. San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
28. San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations
29. San Francisco Small Business Network
30. Small Business California
31. Small Business Majority
32. Small Manufactures Association of California
33. Brand Source Pacific Rim Region
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Thursday, March 07, 2013
Small Business California Survey
As I said in a previous email we closed our survey Tuesday. We received over 1300 responses from every county in the state.
The top 7 issues were
The Economy
Access and Cost of Health Care
The quality of public education
Regulations
Taxes
Infrastructure
Awarding state contracts.
Some of the interesting responses to questions were:
38.5 % said revenues had declined the last 12 months with 30% saying they had increased
29.5 % said the number of people employed by them over the last 12 months had decreased while 15.3% said they had increased.
48% said they provide health insurance to employees while 52% said they did not.
63% said they had not contacted their state Senator, Assemblyman or Governor. We really need to work on this.
65.9% do not need capital but for those that did 145 were able to get it and 291 were not.
73.7% had never heard of the Affordable Care small business health tax credit
I want to acknowledge all the work Jim Ross and Sam Felsing of Jim Ross Consulting did in setting up the survey and sending out press releases. I also want to acknowledge the outreach efforts of the Small Business Development Centers around the state.
See link below to entire survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=Pni8C_2fUrWsKys8vHSWypyuHWvxScfLvexFz5Wv2TYzI_3d
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
Medical Care Cost/SB 626
In our survey which is closing today the number one issue outside of the economy for small business for the eighth straight year was Availability and Rising cost of Health Care. In the March 4th USA Today there was an article stating that” the spending for medical care has increased modestly for five years, the lo9ngest period of slow growth since Medicare began in 1966.”
This is probably surprising news to small business owners who provide medical insurance to their employees. The article goes on to say that health care spending in the US hit $2.67 trillion last year which was a record but as a percentage of the overall economy the percentage of GDP shrank from 17.12% to 17.04 percent.
The reason cited for the low numbers was the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Results of our survey will be sent to you Thursday. We have over 1300 respondents.
We continue to get strong support for our opposition to SB 626 which would repeal many of the reforms to the workers compensation bill passed last year.. Please see below Associations that have signed onto our letter. Thank you to all the associations that have signed. If your association wants to be added to the list please let me know and I will send you our letter. All we need is your okay and your logo.
1. American Fence Association
2. American Subcontractors Association Capital City Chapter
3. California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies
4. California Chapter of American Fence Association
5. California Fish and Seafood Industry
6. California Metals Association Coalition
7. Coalition of Small and Disabled Veteran Businesses
8. Engineering Contractors Association
9. Flasher/Barrier Association
10. Inland Valley Business Alliance- Rancho Cucamonga
11. Main Street Chamber- Rancho Cucamonga
12. Main Street Chamber-Upland
13. Marin Builder Exchange
14. Monterey County Business Council
15. Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
16. Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
17. Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of California
18. Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of San Francisco
19. San Francisco Builders Exchange
20. San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance
21. San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
22. San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations
23. San Francisco Small Business Network
24. Small Business California
25. Small Business Majority
26. Small Manufactures Association of California
27 The California Employers Association
28, The Golden Gate Restaurant Association
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, March 04, 2013
SBC survey
We are keeping our survey open a couple of extra days and will close Tuesday. We have 1261 responses so far so I am making a last minute push to get over 1300. Thank you to all that responded and if you have not done so please click on link below and complete. It should take you less than 10 minutes.
We will be doing a press release Wednesday and I will send all of you results Thursday
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/92WN2HY
As you all know Small Business California is taking a leadership position in defeating AB 626 which would eliminate a number of reforms in last years workers compensation legislation. We must stop this bill. In our survey 43.7% of you said workers compensation was a high priority or top priority. 33% said was a moderate priority.
We now have 24 associations signing onto the letter of opposition and many of you are sending individual letters. Again if you are involved in an association and have not already done so please let me know and I will send you association letter. If you are an individual and want to send letter let me know and I will send you Small Business opposition letter.
We are looking to send association letter next Monday.
I am constantly amazed that there seems to be an attitude among many that it is not important to return phone calls and emails. I certainly understand not returning these when they are trying to sell something but what I don’t understand is not returning calls from customers or to people that are providing goods or services to a business. Why is this the case? Is this getting worse?
I am sure most of the businesses that are receiving this email are not guilty of this but I am also sure you see the same phenomena.
Scott Hauge
President
CAL Insurance and Associates, Inc.
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
www.cal-insure.com
Phone: (415) 680-2109
Fax: (415) 680-2137
License #0A32315
"Always looking out for you"
We will be doing a press release Wednesday and I will send all of you results Thursday
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/92WN2HY
As you all know Small Business California is taking a leadership position in defeating AB 626 which would eliminate a number of reforms in last years workers compensation legislation. We must stop this bill. In our survey 43.7% of you said workers compensation was a high priority or top priority. 33% said was a moderate priority.
We now have 24 associations signing onto the letter of opposition and many of you are sending individual letters. Again if you are involved in an association and have not already done so please let me know and I will send you association letter. If you are an individual and want to send letter let me know and I will send you Small Business opposition letter.
We are looking to send association letter next Monday.
I am constantly amazed that there seems to be an attitude among many that it is not important to return phone calls and emails. I certainly understand not returning these when they are trying to sell something but what I don’t understand is not returning calls from customers or to people that are providing goods or services to a business. Why is this the case? Is this getting worse?
I am sure most of the businesses that are receiving this email are not guilty of this but I am also sure you see the same phenomena.
Scott Hauge
President
CAL Insurance and Associates, Inc.
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
www.cal-insure.com
Phone: (415) 680-2109
Fax: (415) 680-2137
License #0A32315
"Always looking out for you"
Friday, March 01, 2013
SB 626
Yesterday Small Business California started putting together a coalition of small business Associations and small business owners opposing SB 626. This bill is a disaster and would overturn many of the workers compensation reforms we fought so hard for last year.
We now have 13 associations on board in opposition. They are:
American Fence Association
California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies
California Chapter of American Fence Association
California Fish and Seafood Industry
California Metals Association Coalition
Coalition of Small and Disabled Veteran Businesses
Engineering Contractors Association
Flasher/Barrier Association
Marin Builder Exchange
SF Chamber of Commerce
Small Business California
Small Manufactures Association of California
SF Small Business Network
We expect to end up with 25 or 30 within the next week. If you are part of an association and would like additional information and our association letter please let me know. If you are an individual and want a sample letter let me know.
When I started Small Business California I wanted to bring the small business community together. I think we are moving towards that goal. It is regrettable that this particular bill is in opposition as we want to be known as a proactive organization. We did that last year supporting the Small Development Centers[ 25 business associations supporting]. In our 7 plus years in existence we have only opposed 7 bills including this.
We are going to defeat SB 626 with your help.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
We now have 13 associations on board in opposition. They are:
American Fence Association
California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies
California Chapter of American Fence Association
California Fish and Seafood Industry
California Metals Association Coalition
Coalition of Small and Disabled Veteran Businesses
Engineering Contractors Association
Flasher/Barrier Association
Marin Builder Exchange
SF Chamber of Commerce
Small Business California
Small Manufactures Association of California
SF Small Business Network
We expect to end up with 25 or 30 within the next week. If you are part of an association and would like additional information and our association letter please let me know. If you are an individual and want a sample letter let me know.
When I started Small Business California I wanted to bring the small business community together. I think we are moving towards that goal. It is regrettable that this particular bill is in opposition as we want to be known as a proactive organization. We did that last year supporting the Small Development Centers[ 25 business associations supporting]. In our 7 plus years in existence we have only opposed 7 bills including this.
We are going to defeat SB 626 with your help.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
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