Made in California/Proposition 65 Lawsuits

Lori Kammerer our Government Affairs sent me this report on legislation Small Business California has sponsored or supporter. Definitely good news for small business. The Governor has until October 13^th to sign or veto bills
 
Sponsored by Small Business California, Senate Bill 12 (Corbett) was signed Oct 4 by Governor Brown to establish the “Made in California” program that will allow California manufacturers to capitalize on the state’s global and national reputation and better market their products in an increasingly competitive economic environment.  The statewide marketing strategy created in Senate Bill 12 will operate within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) so that consumers are better able to recognize the high quality products developed in California.  Products that meet program criteria will be eligible to use the state-sanctioned “Made in California” label.  SB 12 will enable California’s small businesses to maintain a competitive edge against businesses that decide to manufacture out of state or out of the country.  The ‘Made in California’ marketing effort will help California’s small businesses remain on the cutting edge of work and product excellence by supporting local business owners, workers and their families in California.  SB Cal will work closely with the Governor’s Office of GO-Biz in implementing SB 12.

 Assembly Bill 227 (Gatto), strongly supported by SB Cal, was recently signed in to law by the Governor.  AB 227 will help to curb an area of abusive Proposition 65 lawsuits.  When Proposition 65 was passed, its intention was to keep California's drinking water clean and to inform consumers about certain toxic chemicals in consumer products. Unfortunately, a number of unscrupulous trial lawyers have abused the law to shake down small businesses who don't post the required warning signs.  Many of these lawyers file multiple lawsuits against small businesses, all for the same claim. Even though no one is hurt or gets sick, lawsuits are filed due to the lack of a warning sign.  Because of the way Proposition 65 is written, failure to post the required signs can lead to thousands of dollars in legal fees and fines.  AB 227 will allow small businesses to have 14 days to put up a notice (for certain types of exposures) before they could be sued. This law revision should stop some of the worst examples of abusive Proposition 65 lawsuits.

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I've picked up Too Funny To Be President by Morris K. Udall for the 6th time. I've come across a quote from former Arizona Senator, Henry Fountain Ashurst that you all might enjoy, "when I have to choose between voting for the people or special interests, I always stick with the special interests. They remember. The people forget."

 

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

I-Bank Press Release: Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Expand the California Infrastructure Bank

PRESS RELEASE
California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank)
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     CONTACT: Brook.Taylor@gov.ca.gov
Monday, October 7^th, 2013                                                                  (916) 322-0667
 

Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Expand the California Infrastructure Bank
I-Bank Director Announces Increased Small Business Lending

Sacramento, Calif. – Executive director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) Teveia Barnes announced today that Governor Brown has signed legislation to expand the I-Bank and increase small business lending in California.

“California’s economy has seen strong recovery but the state needs more tools to accelerate the growth of a fundamental lynchpin of the economy – small business," said I-Bank executive director Teveia Barnes. “The Governor’s leadership aligns critical state resources and allows I-Bank to expand its portfolio to target and finance job creating small business projects.”

AB 1247 (Medina) transfers the California Small Business Loan Guarantee Program (SBLG) to the I-Bank which is located within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Expanding the I-Bank to include small business lending allows the state’s most critical community infrastructure financing program to increase small business lending by leveraging I-Bank’s resources and financing expertise. This move was supported by the small business community which has pushed for more small business financing options.

“Small businesses are the job creators in California,” said president of Small Business California, Scott Hauge. “Access to capital is a major issue for small businesses especially since the recession. Many small businesses can’t grow and add jobs without capital. The transfer of the loan guarantee program to the I-Bank is a big step in making capital more available to California small businesses.”

California's Small Business Loan Guarantee Program originated over forty years ago with the mandate of providing repayment guarantees to lenders of loans to small businesses having difficulty securing financing on their own.  The guarantees are issued by non-profit Financial Development Corporations.  Currently, there are eleven Financial Development Corporations servicing the state. The Financial Development Corporations partner with community banks to help small business owners finance their plans including expanding operations, purchasing new equipment and infusing businesses with working capital.  Guarantees may also be issued on loans for start-up costs.

In fiscal year 2012-13, the program issued guarantees totaling $71,615,382 and supported the creation or retention of 5,666 jobs, including: 

• $3,000,000 for Duke Empirical to build a medical device manufacturing clean room at their Santa Cruz manufacturing facility.
• $300,000 for Patz Materials & Technologies to increase manufacturing capacity at their Benicia production facility.
• $300,000 for Prather Ranch Meat Company to expand meat production and sales at their store in the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
• $275,000 for Ginger Chocolates to purchase new equipment and open a new location in midtown Sacramento.

The addition of small business lending into the I-Bank portfolio expands an already robust program. Currently I-Bank has financed over $32 billion in economic development and infrastructure projects, including:

• $68,940,000 State Water Resources Control Board Bonds to provide additional funds for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program.
• $44,510,000 in tax-exempt bonds to provide funding for capital projects for the San Francisco Ballet Association.
• $43,810,000 in tax-exempt bonds to finance the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
• $40,000,000 in tax-exempt bonds to finance the development and renovation of two school buildings, a social services center and supporting facilities for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles.

About the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank: I-Bank was created in 1994 to finance public infrastructure and private development that promote a healthy climate for jobs, contribute to a strong economy and improve the quality of life in California communities. The I-Bank is located within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and is governed by a five-member Board of Directors. The I-Bank has broad authority to issue tax-exempt and taxable revenue bonds, provide financing to public agencies, provide credit enhancements, acquire or lease facilities, and leverage State and Federal funds. Find more information at: http://www.ibank.ca.gov


Brook J. Taylor
Communications and Policy
California Governor's Office of 
Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)
1400 10th St.
Sacramento, California 95814
Office: 916-322-0667
Cell: 916-769-6487
Brook.Taylor@gov.ca.gov
www.business.ca.gov

E-Verify/Covered California/Legislative Ideas

Interesting development with the government shut down. E-Verify, which validates employee status was shut down when the government shut down. I don’t know how many of you use this but it is a real problem in Arizona and Utah as employers are required to use this before hiring. Not sure how they are going to deal with this.

Did anyone go to the Covered California website yesterday with the opening of Covered California. If so what do you think? Did anyone register for coverage?

It is time to start thinking of legislation Small Business California can introduce for legislative next session. Do you have any ideas. We are frequently contacted by legislators for legislation that will help small businesses. Send me your ideas.

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

"Always looking out for you"

Health Law Guide for Business

FYI – this is the release Health Law Guide for Business sent out this morning on the opening of Covered California. Please share with your partners as appropriate.          

                                          

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:     

October 1, 2013

CONTACT:

Carri Ziegler
carri@lucaspublicaffairs.com
916.492.2707 ext. 210 office
        

BUSINESS COMMUNITY APPLAUDS OPENING OF

CALIFORNIA’S HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE

Individual and small group coverage begins January 1, 2014

Today’s historic opening of California’s health insurance exchange provides the promise that individuals, small business owners and their employees will have access to affordable, quality health care coverage on January 1, 2014. Individuals can shop, compare and purchase coverage starting today. Small business can shop and compare today and will be able to purchase coverage in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) beginning in November.  Following are statements from Health Law Guide for Business Partners:

“The Affordable Care Act is a massive endeavor with the ultimate goal of getting as many people covered as possible. While the SHOP is important to small business, it is dwarfed by the individual market so it is understandable that Covered California needs to prioritize. Small business owners can go online or work with a broker to get quotes today, they can enroll in November and, like individuals, they will be covered beginning Jan. 1. 2014.” 

-          Scott Hauge, President, Small Business California

“There are roughly 2.5 million uninsured Californians who work for small businesses, many of which are Hispanic owned. Whether small business owners and employees get enrolled through SHOP or the individual market, once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, many of those who were priced out of the market will have access to affordable, high-quality health care because they’ll have options for tax credits or subsidies – that’s what’s most important and that hasn’t changed.”

-          Mark Martinez, President, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce

“It’s the right call to take as much time as is necessary to get these marketplaces set up correctly. Health reform – like Medicare Part D – will not ultimately be judged on its first few days but on the years long project of transforming the nation’s health insurance and healthcare delivery systems.”

-          Micah Weinberg, PhD, Senior Policy Advisor, BAYAREA COUNCIL

###

Established in partnership with the Bay Area Council, California Chamber of Commerce, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, California Restaurant Association, California Small Business Development Centers, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Business Group on Health, Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Small Business California, Small Business Majority, Valley Industry & Commerce Association and The California Endowment, Health Law Guide for Business is a resource for employers, employees and the media , providing accurate easy-to-understand information about business-specific provisions of the health care law. To learn more visit www.healthlawguideforbusiness.org.

Shutdown/ Covered California Open for Business/ Employee Notification

As I am sure you have read, Congress failed to pass a budget and the result is a government shutdown of everything but essential services.  This has not happened in 17 years. It is estimated 800,000 employees will be furloughed. It is not clear how long this will last but I am sure we are all hoping it will not be for an extended period.

Clearly this will have an impact on our economy and to many small businesses around the country. SBA loans will not be processed, tourism will be negatively impacted and consumer demand will decrease due to the uncertainty.

What do you think?

Today is the day Covered California opens for business. While you can’t purchase coverage until January 1, 2014 in the individual market you can start enrolling today. You must enroll by December 15 for coverage January 1. It is not clear what will happen with SHOP, the small group market, but we do know the calculator won’t be ready for awhile. For the individual calculator go to www.coveredca.com

Today is also the day all businesses must notify their employees about Covered California. I have sent the forms provided by the Department of Labor in previous emails. There are no penalties if you don’t do this but I strongly recommend you get this out if you haven’t already done so.



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

ACA Individual Coverage/Sept. 24 ACA presentation in Marin/Seeking questions on ACA

I think you all know that Oct 1st, 2013 the Exchange [Covered California] will be up and running for coverage on an individual basis and for groups 2 to 50 [SHOP]. Coverage will be effective Jan 1st, 2014.
On the individual coverage there will be Open Enrollment from Oct 1st to March 31st. What you may not know that if you miss placing your individual coverage by March 31st you will not be able to get coverage until Open Enrollment begins Oct 1st, 2014 for 2015 coverage. There are some exceptions to this that being for marriage, divorce and Native Americans. You will however be able to choose between COBRA and the Exchange if you lose your employer based coverage.

Covered California has a new personal coverage calculator. Go to www.coveredca.com. You can get more information also about how Covered California works.

For those of you in the Marin area, I will be speaking on the Affordable Care Act [ACA] at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael September 24th with Congressman Jared Huffman from Covered California and Bonnie Preston from HHS. The program is from 8AM to 10AM.

--------------------------------------- 

I am working with Lucas Public Relations and the California Endowment Foundation in outreach to the California small business community on ACA. One of the things we thought would be helpful is to get as many questions as possible from the small business community. Could you please send me your questions? We will try to answer them and let you know when we just don’t know. It is our goal to then set up a FAQ after receipt of those questions.



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

Debt Ceiling/ ACA

On Thursday I am meeting with a  staff  member of Senator Barbara Boxer . The topic is the debt limit. The  current limit is $16.7 trillion. The  Treasury pays every Thursday $100 billion to investors and usually  investors immediately lend this back to the government in a process called rolling  over the debt. It is expected that cash will run out sometime mid October if the debt ceiling is not raised.

There are those that argue that this is an opportunity to cut government spending . One area mentioned is to cut spending on the Affordable Care Act. If the debt ceiling is not raised or if spending cannot be cut enough to pay the debt the US would go into default. A default would wreak havoc with the US economy and  would trigger a sharp increase in interest rates. What is your opinion on this issue? If there is a default do you know how it would impact you and your business? If you could talk to Senator Boxer on this what would you tell her?

Last week tax  guidance was  provided by the Department of Labor and IRS. It was a mind numbing piece but as best as I can tell through my research it will be difficult  if not impossible for employers to set up accounts  allowing individuals to purchase individual health  on a pretax basis. The exception is retirees.

In my last email I mentioned the requirement of the Affordable Care Act that employers notify in writing information  about the Exchange [Covered California].  It is not clear whether this can be by email and many have been saying it can’t. I am not sure this is accurate, but if anyone knows for sure please let me know.


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

Employer notification/ AB 769

On October 1 ,2013 all employers with $500,000 or more receipts are required to provide their employees  notices about the Exchange in their state. In California the Exchange is called  Covered California. Please see link to a piece I wrote in Fox and Hound. It includes the forms if you are providing health insurance to your employees and if you are not. Note you are required to provide this in writing so just providing the form technically does not meet the requirement.

It has been confirmed that there are no penalties at this time for not providing  form in writing to employeeEmployers Must be Alert to Section 1512 of Affordable Care Act - Fox and Hounds Daily
By Scott Hauge. President, Small Business California. Tuesday, August 27th, 2013. Although several provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been in ...See all stories on this topic » 
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AB 769  which would have eliminated the Net Operating Loss Carryback  is  officially dead. While it was held back by the author, Skinner,  we were nervous that this could have come up as a gut and amend. With session over this last concern has been addressed. Small Business California sent a letter of opposition with 28 associations cosigning

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I have received a call from the Wall Street Journal wanting to talk to California businesses regarding the minimum wage increase legislation that the governor is expected to sign. If you would be willing to speak with a reporter about this issue, please let me know.


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

Supporting Bills/CAMEO Webinar

B Cal sponsored or supported the following important bills this year:

SB 12 (Corbett) – Made in California – This bill would establish the public and private partnership in promoting California small businesses and the products they produce.  Awaiting Action by the Governor

AB 227 (Gatto) – Prop 65 – Display of warning info – Prohibits an enforcement action from being filed by a person in the public interest and prohibits recovery of certain payments or reimbursements if the notice to the alleged violation alleges a failure to provide a clear and reasonable warning for certain specified exposures including that the violator may not be liable due to a certain number of employees and, the alleged violator accomplishes specified actions. Requires certain information for any related action that is filed. Requires penalty adjustment.  Awaiting Action by the Governor

AB 285 (Brown) – Micro Enterprises and Economic Development – Enables the CA Workforce Investment Board to create guidelines to help local workforce investment boards implement entrepreneurial and self-employment training to micro-businesses that are trying to expand.  Awaiting Action by the Governor

AB 393 (Cooley) – Go-Biz Web site fee schedules – Signed by the Governor (Ch 124, Stat 2013)
 ---------------------------------

Please see information below about a webinar  by our friends at CAMEO. It will focus on the importance of self-employment and micro businesses  in job creation.

Mon, Sep. 16, 2013, 12:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time - Registration Link:https://cc.readytalk.com/r/lqbj25c8mjo3&eom

 Self-employment is THE labor market trend
In California corporations with more than 500 employees shed almost 300,00 jobs from 2003 to 2010, while during the same period,
companies with 1-4 employees created more than 700,00 jobs. It's the very small and independent workers who are creating the jobs. 



You know who the small businesses are, but who are these independent workers?

This session will present data supporting self-employment and local micro business trends, and describe strategies, tools and resources that are proven effective in creating businesses, jobs and sustained local economies, without huge investment.

 Bring your lunch, log on and discuss one of the most important labor market trends we are facing.





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

Updates/CAMEO Webinar

I have just learned that Ellen Widess has resigned as head of Cal OSHA. She was  a good friend of Small Business California. Her goal in her position was to have OSHA seen as a resource to small business and not a gotcha agency. She will be missed.

As you know we are coming to the end of the legislative session. Two bills  that Small Business California supported have been decided. The good news is that SB 399 has  passed and sent to the Governor. This bill was the prompt payment of businesses that do  emergency work for the Department of General Services. Small Business California coordinated a letter of support by about 30 associations. It now goes to the Governor.

The bad news is that AB837 was  sent to the inactive file. This is the bill that would codify the Small Business Development Centers in California. We will continue to work on getting funding for the SBDCs to meet their match from the SBA.

----------------------------------------------------

Please see information below of a webinar  by our friends at CAMEO. It will focus on the importance of self employment and micro businesses  in job creation.

Join Claudia Viek, CEO of CAMEO (California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity), for a virtual brown bag lunch, with a short presentation and discussion of this crucial labor market trend.

Mon, Sept. 16, 2013, 12:00 PM PDT- Registration Link

Self-employment is THE labor market trend

In California corporations with more than 500 employees shed almost 300,00 jobs from 2003 to 2010, while during the same period, companies with 1-4 employees created more than 700,00 jobs. It's the very small and independent workers who are creating the jobs.  You know who the small businesses are, but who are these independent workers?

This session will present data supporting self employment and local micro business trends, and describe strategies, tools and resources that are proven effective in creating businesses, jobs and sustained local economies, without huge investment. 

Bring your lunch, log on and discuss one of the most important labor market trends we are facing.

      

Watch CAMEO Connects to see the power of locally-grown small-businesses.

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

Corporate Veil/ Unemployment

For those of you that have incorporated your business you probably did so in part  to protect your personal assets. Yesterday I received an email from an attorney who is putting on a seminar  on how to pierce the corporate veil. It is important to you as a small business to make sure you protect yourself. I strongly recommend you talk to your attorney about this. See below email I received.

If you are interested in this webinar September 12^th please let me know and I will give you additional information.

I  have written that the Governor wanted to introduce legislation  to eliminate the Unemployment debt to the Federal government[about $10 billion].As of earlier in the week  the Governor has decided not to introduce legislation this session. It will continue to be discussed after session and will reappear probably early next year as urgent legislation meaning it would take effect immediately .

Speaking of Unemployment the unemployment insurance charge will go up $21 per employee in 2014 and $21 per year  after that until debt to Federal government is paid off. The rate will cap at 6%.

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

Cyber Liability Calculator/CBS Radio

I have mentioned in past emails  the importance of taking steps to prevent a cyber breach. I found this calculator very interesting as it will tell you the cost should someone get records in your data base. Please see calculator below.  Note it does no include the cost t include You all  may want to consider cyber insurance but even if you don’t purchase it you should take steps to protect yourself

http://www.tech-404.com/calculator.html

-          How many employee records (past & present) do you have in your computer database?

-          Do you have EFT information in your computers for your employees’ pay checks?

-          How many customer files do you have?

-          How many credit card transactions have you run in the last month, year, etc?

-          Do you have a loyalty rewards program for your clients? (grocery store discount card, restaurant loyalty card, etc)  Those programs almost always require a Name, address, and phone number…which counts as “Personally Identifiable Information”.

The privacy and notification laws do not just apply to social security numbers. 

Here is another great website that shows up-to-date information on the latest reported incidents of cyber-crime against businesses: http://datalossdb.org//

You’ll notice on that list that just last week, the university of Mississippi medical center had a breach affecting over 2000 records in their database.  If you plug that number into the calculator, that is going to cost them over $330,000!!

I am still looking  for small businesses in the LA area that will talk to CBS radio in LA about how the Affordable Care Act will affect their business. They would like a business with less than 50 employees and will be interviewing small businesses October 3. If you  are interested in talking to them please let me know as soon as possible.

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

Cost of Owning a Car/ Affordable Care ACt/ Unemployment Insurance/ Join SB Cal

Bankrate has just put out a report of the cost of car ownership in all 50 states. The most expensive state was Georgia where car ownership is $4233  and the least expensive was Oregon at $2204 The average was $3201 and California was the second most expensive at $3966. For all states go to www.bankrate.com

Oct 1 Covered California will be up and begin  running. The Individual mandate will be effective Jan 1 2014. If you are not currently providing insurance are you going to do anything to help your employees find out what their options are? If you provide insurance are you going to do anything to help employees meet the requirements of coverage for dependents. I  think there is a role here for your insurance broker.  Has your broker kept you informed about the Affordable Care Act? I would appreciate your thoughts.

I have written about the  Governor introducing legislation to eliminate California’s  debt to the Federal government for unemployment insurance  and to build a reserve for  unemployment  insurance.. It is getting close to the close of session and no legislation has been introduced. Small Business California will let you know but expect rates  to be raised and  the current cap to be  raised from around $7000 to $12000 in the coming years.

I hope you find these emails helpful. If you are not already a member of Small Business California I hope you will consider joining. Not only do we provide valuable information via these emails but we are constantly representing  you in Sacramento and Washington. We have made a difference. Lori Kammerer  our  director of governmental affairs  and I speak for you at numerous legislative committee meetings and we have developed great relationship with legislators and their staff. We also have developed great relationships with media around the state.

The cost is minimal. It is $150 for businesses with less than $1 million in receipts and $300 for those with receipts over $1 million. Please help us help you.

You can sign up online www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org   or we can invoice you if you respond by return email.

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

AB399/ Volunteers in Medicine

Thank   all the Associations that have signed onto our support letter for AB 399. This is the bill requiring prompt payment for emergency work for the Department of General Services.

See below the Associations that have signed on. Some of you may be asking yourself why did some of these associations sign on as it doesn’t affect them. The reason is because they understand we are all part of the small business community. When  issue affects one it effects all of us. They recognize that the next issue that comes up may affect them and not others.

Associations Signing 

Brand Source Pacific Rim

California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies (CALTEL)

California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO)

California Chapter of the American Fence Association

California Employers Association

California Fence Contractors' Association

California Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA)

California Metals Coalition

California Service Station and Automotive Repair Association (CSSARA)

Engineering Contractors' Association

Flasher Barricade Association

Fremont Chamber of Commerce

Livermore Chamber of Commerce

Marin Builders Association

Monterey County Business Council (MCBC)

Napa Chamber of Commerce

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association

Pacific Contractors Association (PCA)

Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors of California (PHCC)

Roofing Contractors Association of California (RCAC)

San Francisco Builders Exchange (SFBE)

San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations (SFCDMA)

San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance (SFLOMA)

San Francisco National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)

Small Business Advocates

Small Business California

Small Business Majority

Western Carwash Association

------------------------------

Most  of you know of all the volunteer work I do I am most proud of Volunteers in Medicine and Clinic by the  Bay in SF. I am pleased to tell you Volunteers In Medicine opened its 96^th free clinic in Montgomery County Indiana. See a list of all the clinics around the country.

For those of you in the Bay Area if you ever want to visit Clinic by the Bay please let me know. I would love to show off our clinic and our volunteers.

http://volunteersinmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fact-Sheet.pdf.

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

Employees Pretax Health Premiums/ Increase health cost 2012 to 2013

How many of you that are providing health insurance to your employees have a percentage the employee pays. If you require employees to pay part of the premium do you have a plan set up that allows employees to make these payments on a pretax basis.  I am trying to find out if this will be allowed  under the Affordable Care Act so it is important that I hear from you.

For the year 2011 to 2012 health insurance premiums went up 4%. A report will be coming out the next few days giving the increases for 2012 to 2013. If  you are providing group health insurance for your employees how much did your insurance go up for that year. Did you reduce your coverage or increase the amount employees pay for their group coverage.

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

Support for SB 399 and AB 1098

Lori Kammerer Small Business California  governmental affairs person wrote the following. We need your help.

Small Business California is working to make sure that two very good bills for small businesses will advance to the Governor’s desk this month and we need the help of all associations who represent small businesses.  If you are a member of an association, please forward this email to your contact and ask them to email their association’s logo to be added to the letterhead, along with about 25 statewide associations who represent small businesses. 

SB 399 authored by Senator Roderick D. Wright is a measure that would strengthen the Prompt Payment Act that would ensure small businesses who contract with the state are paid on time and that interest penalties would apply if payments to small businesses are delayed.  There have been many cases where small businesses will perform the work, invoice the Department of General Services and wait for months for payment.

Assembly Bill 1098 authored by Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva requires that the Governor’s Small Business Administration commission a study to determine the effects of regulations on small businesses. There are two sources of data on the cost of regulatory compliance on businesses, including federal the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the state Office of Small Business Advocates (OSBA).  For the past 10 years, the federal SBA has conducted a peer reviewed study that analyses the cost of federal government regulations on different sizes of businesses.  This research shows that small businesses continue to bear a disproportionate size of the federal regulatory burden.  On a per employee basis for small businesses who employ 20 or less employees, it costs approximately $10,585, or 36% more for small businesses to comply with federal regulations than larger businesses.

The letters for SB 399 and AB 1098 are in the links below.  We have until next Wednesday, August 21^st COB to complete our association letters and distribute them to the all Assembly and Senate members.  Thank You!

AB399 - http://smallbusinesscalifornia.org/SB%20399%20Wright%20Multi%20Association%20Support%20081513.doc

1098 - http://smallbusinesscalifornia.org/AB%201098%20-%20support%20-%20SB%20Cal.pdf

I received a call  today from a major media outlet in Southern California regarding the Affordable Care Act. If you would be willing to talk to them about how the Affordable Care Act  will affect your company  or even if you are not sure how it will affect you please let me know. Tell me what your business does, how many employees and where you are located.

If you are not in Southern California but would be willing to talk to the media let me know that also. I get a lot of calls from the media  around the state and they are always looking for small businesses to talk to.

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

ACA Out of Pocket Change

Yesterday there was an announcement that the Affordable Care Act was going to hold off the implementation of the out of pocket limits. This hit the news wires and the sparks really flew. I have spent a lot of time today to find out exactly what was happening and find it is not the big deal it appeared to be. First it did not apply to individual policies and second I have found it will not apply to the Small Business Health Option Plan in California[SHOP].

Please see email from Micah  at the Bay Area Council along with a link to New Republic.

The second email is from Leesa Tori at Covered California confirming it will have no impact on SHOP. My guess is that will also have little to no effect outside Covered California. What is interesting is this announcement was originally made in February and very few people knew about it until  yesterday.

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

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Scott,Looking into this further, I’m not sure that it’s even applicable.  Here’s a good summary.  This is much more limited than it’s being made out to be in the press and I’m not sure it would even potentially apply to the SHOP.

“Employers told the administration that coordinating records from the different plans was difficult, so the administration gave them some leeway. Employers who already have such arrangements—and only employers who already have such arrangements—can have one extra year to put new accounting systems in place. During that time, the $6,350 limit will apply to “major medical”—doctor visits, hospitalizations, and so on—but not prescriptions, dental, or vision.” 

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114297/obamacare-consumer-protection-delay-and-conservative-overreaction

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) |

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From: Leesa Tori [mailto:leesa.tori@thetorigroup.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 11:32 AM
To: Scott Hauge
Subject: Re: SHOP

Hi Scott, we do not intend to change our benefit designs and  I think it’s business as usual for us with no change.  Hope you are well!  Thank you.  L.

Legislature/ACA

Many of you have asked what are the timelines for bills in the 2013 session. Many bills  that are still pending are on suspense in the appropriation committees of the Senate and the Assembly, Many will stall there or become a two year bill meaning they will be brought back and start over in 2014.

• All bills must get to the Assembly or Senate floor by the deadline August 30.
• If they get to the respective floors they must pass by September 13.
• If passed it goes to the Governor and he must sign or veto by October 13.

As you know Small Business California is working with the California Endowment Foundation to get information out about the Affordable Care Act to small businesses I have sent numerous emails out about ACA but would like to have you send any questions you may have about it. Please let me know.

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

California Commission for Disabled Access

You all know I am on the California Commission for Disabled Access. We are looking to redesign our website. How could we be more helpful to you? Could you take a few minutes to go over our website and give me comments before our next meeting August 15.

The Commission now gets a copy of all demand  and claims letters in California made on businesses for  disability access. In the website you will see the top 10 areas demands and claims are being made. You will see it starts in parking lots and travels to the entrance and through the business

 CCDA WEBSITE

www.ccda.ca.gov

I look forward to your comments.

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

Affordable Care Act [ACA]/Minimum Wage

I have been trying for months to find out if there is any way an employer can provide a defined contribution to an employee so that the employee can purchase individual health insurance.  My difficulty may be that the IRS has not come out with those regulations.

There are some companies  that are promoting that  this is possible to do with a health reimbursement account [HRA]. Some are even telling employers with 2 to 50  to drop their group coverage and  set up an HRA. Beware of such claims. Do not drop your coverage until you know if this is best for your company.

Speaking of ACA the definition of full-time employees is 30  hours. If you are providing group health insurance keep this in mind as there are participation requirements for group coverage. Many  small businesses set a higher number of hours  and under the new rules would have to include people working  30 hours or more in their group coverage. The participation requirement under the Small Business Health Option Plan is 70% of full-time employees.

AB 10 is working its way through the legislature. This would increase the minimum wage to $8.25 in 2014, $8.75 in 2015, $9.25 in 2016, $9.50 in 2017 and $10 in 2018. The cost of living increase has been taken out of the bill.

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

Affordable Care Act website/ ACA and start up businesses/ My assistant

The White House has put out  a link to answer questions by business owners on the Affordable Care Act, This could be very helpful in your understanding your options.

Here is a resource worth checking out

http://www.inc.com/jana-kasperkevic/white-house-website-obama-health-care-businesses.html

Here is the direct healthcare link:

http://business.usa.gov/healthcare

One of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act will be people who want to start  their own businesses in the past may be  afraid to leave their current job because they will lose their health insurance. With the Affordable Care Act  people will not have to worry about pre existing conditions and because the subsidies are geared to income may be eligible for subsidies.

Do you think this will increase the ranks of the self employed?

Many of  you  have worked with Rusilah A who has been my  assistant the last couple of years. She will be leaving Friday to going  to nursing school. Her replacement is  Lourdes  Ramos. Her email is Lramos@cal-insure.com and phone number is 415-680-2110.  I hope  you all will wish Rusilah well and welcome Lourdes.

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

Small Business Health Options Program

Yesterday the Small Business Health Options plan was rolled out by Covered California by Peter Lee Executive Director of Covered California.

This is designed for small businesses with 2 to 50 employees and acts as a purchasing pool for small businesses health insurance.

The rates were generally lower based on an employee of 40 years old. The problem is that it is hard to tell what the cost will be at different ages.

It will however be the only way small businesses can obtain tax credits if they have less than 25 employees with an average income below $50000.

The real benefit of SHOP is that employees will be given choice of plans to choose from which usually involves additional cost to employers. It also will standardize coverage making it easier for employers to compare different plans.

The SHOP will be available for enrollment Oct 1 and coverage will take effect January 1st, 2014. Peter Lee indicated that the rates and Bronze Gold and Platinum plans would not be available until Oct 1 as they need to be reviewed by the Department of Insurance and Department of Managed Care.

If you are providing health coverage for your employees are you going to look into the SHOP when your coverage renews?

If you would like additional information on SHOP please  let me know by email.

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

Loss Prevention/ Michael Lujan

On Tuesday I attended a meeting with Christine Baker head of the Department of Industrial Relations, Ellen Widess the head of Cal OSHA and a number of representatives of insurance companies. The topic was Loss Control/ Prevention and our discussion centered around work place injuries of employees.  The goal of the meeting was to figure out how the state can partner with insurance carriers and business associations to provide information to employers about how to integrate loss control in their business practices.

I am writing to you to get your thoughts.

What do you do in this area?

Do you have a written Injury and Illness Program,IIPP,which is a requirement of all businesses?

Do you have regularly scheduled safety meetings and discuss your  IIPP.

Are you aware of the cost to you of workplace injuries?

Do you use the resources of your insurance carrier in this area? Have you had an insurance carrier come out  and walk through your business? Did you find it useful?

Have been audited by OSHA?

Do you think your business has a culture of safety?

 

What is the best way to provide information to your business on loss prevention? Is it written materials, webinars, internet etc.  Are there topics you are particularly interested in. Would you use this information?

I would greatly appreciate your responses.

Big surprise yesterday. Michael Lujan the head of the Small Business Health Option Plan,SHOP  resigned yesterday from Covered California effective August 9. Michael was great to work with and a real friend to small business. Thank you Michael and all the best to you. We will miss you..

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