"Trade and commerce, if they were not made of India rubber, would never manage to bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting in their way..." Henry David Thoreau 1849

Not much has changed for business in over 150 years since Thoreau made that statement. Business people still try to avoid legislatively constructed obstacles while providing goods and services to the public. However, businesses are also concerned with their communities. All business people believe their businesses will do well if the community does well.

Small businesses make up 90% of California’s businesses, employ more than half of all Californians and roughly one-third are minority owned.

Small business is the engine of California’s economy.

Small businesses across the state are threatened by the increasing cost of doing business. California ranks sixth as the most costly place to do business.

Recent studies indicate that doing business in California costs 32% more than in all other states; and that regulatory costs are 105% higher in California than other Western states.

That’s why the Small Business Action Committee works on an array of issues to help businesses directly and to help the business environment at large.

In addition to reaching out with our website, SBAC advocates on issues in Sacramento and conducts Issue Advocacy education efforts on many issues in various areas of the state.

Here are some of the Issues SBAC has highlighted:

Taxation

Regulatory Reform

Workers Compensation Reform

Affordable and Renewable energy and energy efficiency

Reducing  Crime

Protecting consumers from Identity theft

Improving Vocational Education Opportunities

Strengthening and Improving Public Education

Reducing hurdles to economic growth

Supporting Job Creation

Opposing job killing measures

Small Business Heroes

The Small Business Action Committee recognizes leaders who stand up for small business. We call them our Small Business Heroes.

There are thousands of Californians working each day to expand their small businesses and to improve their communities or to stimulate change through their political leadership.  SBAC considers all of them heroes, and we respect them all by honoring the few who we honor personally.

Here are some of the Small Business Heroes that we recognize and celebrate:

Larry McCarthy---The former president of the California Taxpayers Association. Larry was a champion for business taxpayers. He wanted to make sure that taxes were used wisely and opportunity was created for businesses to grow. Transportation was an important issue for Larry. He worked hard to pass Proposition 42 that would dedicate sales taxes on gasoline for transportation purposes. Unfortunately, Larry passed away in 2007.

Betty Jo Toccoli---President of the Small Business Action Committee. Betty Jo has built a small business advocacy group from the ground up. She leads the annual Small Business Day Awards Ceremony in Sacramento each year. She is a leader in helping small business take advantage of the technological age. She was a prime mover in seeing AB 2330 become law, which studied the effects of regulations on small business.

Rod Wright---Former assemblyman. Rod Wright authored a number of bills on issues of concern to small business. He sponsored AB 835 to help small businesses secure government contracts. His AB 1068 provided safeguards against identity theft. He also wrote a number of energy related bills.

Gary Jeandron---Member of the Palm Springs Unified School District and former Palm Springs Police Chief. Gary speaks out for independence for local school districts from Sacramento mandates. He believes the mandates prevent local districts from meeting local needs. As police chief, he used innovative techniques and technology to protect downtown businesses and their customers.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger---The governor certainly deserves a place in our list of Small Business Heroes for his actions in confronting the workers compensation crisis. Small business was being crushed by the mandatory workers comp insurance costs until the governor worked out a deal with the legislature to pass the workers comp reform legislation easing the burden on business.