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Top Action Items
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June 21, 2010
Submit Your Letters
Now:
Help Stop Job-Killing Proposals
AB 482 – Credit Reports
This legislation
prohibits employers from using consumer credit reports for
employment purposes unless the information is “substantially job
related”. In small businesses, many employees perform a wide variety
of duties that may not be part of their normal daily routine and may
include access to cash, other assets, or confidential information.
By restricting access to this important information, AB 482 may
expose the business’ customers and employees to an increased risk.
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 810 - Single-Payer Healthcare Coverage
This legislation
creates a new government run, multi-billion dollar socialized
health care system built from a yet to be specified ‘premium
structure.’ The bill establishes a premium commission to impose
a premium for all employers, which is essentially a tax.
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 967 – Public
Contracts Preference
This legislation
provides bid preferences for bidders who commit that 90 percent
of the work will be performed by California employees. This will
reduce competition, resulting in less choice and higher prices.
Another potential result of this protectionism legislation is
retaliation from other states and international trade partners.
This practice creates a patchwork of reciprocity and retaliation
that makes it difficult for businesses to offer their goods and
services in
states other than California.
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 974 – Enterprise Zones
This legislation
would effectively gut the California Enterprise Zone (EZ)
program hiring tax credit. SB 974 proposes to create a “career
pathways” tax credit in an effort to bolster career technical
education efforts in this state. However, this new tax credit is
“paid for” by eliminating key provisions of California’s
successful Enterprise Zone Program.
Click here to submit your letter. |
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June 14, 2010
Submit Your Letters
Now:
Help Stop Job-Killing Proposals
SB 657 – Human
Trafficking
SB 657 would mandate
that “every retail seller and manufacturer doing business in this
state” develop, maintain, and implement a policy addressing the
eradication of slavery and human trafficking from their supply
chain. This legislation inappropriately makes California employers
responsible for the actions of businesses with which they have no
contractual relationship, are located in other countries, and could
be engaged in activities that may best be handled on a diplomatic
level.
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 885 – Gift Certificate Redemptions
SB 885 requires sellers of gift cards (i.e. retailers, restaurants,
entertainment venues and other service providers) to give cash back
to any customer who submits a gift certificate/gift card with a
balance under $20. This bill will increase costs and place an
additional burden cards when California already has the highest cash
back requirement in the nation
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 1121 – Agricultural Worker Overtime
SB 1121 would treat agricultural workers the same as regular workers
when it comes to overtime payment. Currently, agricultural workers
may work 10 hours per day and 6 days a week, before overtime payment
is required. Under this legislation, those limits would be reduced
to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per work for regular pay. Hours
worked beyond that would be on overtime payment.
Click here to submit your letter.
AB 2340 – Bereavement Leave
AB 2340 would mandate that every employer grant every employee up to
three days of unpaid bereavement leave per year upon the death of a
spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic
partner. This legislation could have unintended negative
consequences for reasonable well-intentioned employers. By making a
3-day bereavement leave mandatory in every situation, AB 2340
removes flexibility employers need to balance bereavement leave
requests with pressing leave requests by other employees for other
reasons, such as to care for a family member who is in trouble.
Click here to submit your letter.
AB 2187 – Employment: Payment of Wages
AB 2187 would create a new crime subject to punishment in jail and
monetary fines of a minimum of $1,000 up to $10,000 if an employer
“willfully fails” to pay within 90 days all wages due to an employee
who quits or is discharged. This new crime would be on top of
existing civil penalties. This legislation could make into criminals
employers with legitimate disputes over wage claims.
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 1304 – Employment Leave and Benefits
SB 1304 would mandate that private employers provide, per year, paid
leave time of up to 30 days for employees donating organs and up to
5 days for employees donating bone marrow. This paid leave time
would be in addition to any sick leave, vacation or other types of
paid leaves that employers already provide.
Click here to submit your letter. |
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May 26, 2010
Submit Your Letters
Now:
Help Stop Six Job-Killing Proposals To Be Considered This Week
SB 928 – Product
Notice
SB 928 would require a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of
designated consumer products to provide a notice that lists all
substances contained in those products and post that information on
a website. In essence, SB 928 creates a compliance requirement on
California businesses and create an impediment to success and growth
for many small businesses that are barely surviving already.
Click here to submit your letter.
AB 2138 – Product Management
AB 2138 would impose new and costly mandates on California’s
food service industry by prohibiting a food provider, as defined,
from distributing a disposable food service packaging or a
single-use carryout bag to a consumer unless the packaging or bag is
compostable or recyclable. AB 2138 also requires food providers to
“recover” the disposable food service packaging or single-use
carryout bags for composting or recycling at a rate of 25% or more.
Click here to submit your letter.
SB 1113 – Tax Administration: Determination
SB 1113 allows the Franchise Tax Board to sue corporate
taxpayers who have won an appeal with the Board of Equalization.
This bill imposes the burden of proof on the taxpayer, despite that
the taxpayer would essentially be the respondent in an FTB appeal to
superior court.
Click here to submit your letter.
AB 2230 – List Publicly Traded Companies
AB 2230 requires the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to compile a
report and post on the Internet, private information regarding
certain corporate taxpayers, such as the taxpayer’s taxable income,
tax expenditures, and effective tax rate, along with the taxpayer’s
name and address.
Click here to submit your letter.
AB 2171 – Tax Benefit Cost
AB 2171 requires that the cost of tax benefits be accounted for
annually within the state budget. This would place limitations on
tax benefits that would create uncertainty regarding long-term tax
planning, erecting a barrier for businesses to locate their
businesses here in California and further aggravating the employment
challenges we currently face.
Click here to submit your letter.
AB 2666 – Reporting Transparency
AB 2666 requires the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to compile a
report and post on the internet, the name and address of any
taxpayer receiving a business credit, along with other private
taxpayer information. The measure also requires that the report be
made available to the public in a searchable database. This will
make the names of the companies that receive business credits and
the amount of those benefits public.
Click here to submit your letter. |
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May 21, 2010
Submit Your
Letters: Oppose Four Anti-Job Creating Proposals
SB 920 – Telephone Directories
SB 920 would mandate an already offered opt-out program for
customers who do not wish to receive a telephone directory. State
law requires phones companies to make this information available.
Currently these printed alphabetical directories are the primary
source of telephone number information for consumers, especially for
those over 45 years of age and those with income under $25,000
annually. This legislation could harm local telephone companies and
threaten the future of membership directories published by any
business.
Click here to take action on this proposal.
AB 2187 – Payment of Wages
AB 2187 would create a new crime subject to punishment in jail
and monetary fines of a minimum of $1,000 up to $10,000 if an
employer “willfully fails” to pay within 90 days all wages due to an
employee who quits or is discharged. This new crime would be on top
of existing civil penalties. AB 2187 could hold employers criminally
responsible even if they have legitimate wage claim disputes.
Click here to take action on this proposal.
AB 2727 Applicant
Information – Criminal History
AB 2727 imposes a number of confusing and subjective new
standards and criteria that employers must meet and consider when
making employment decisions on the basis of an applicant’s prior
criminal convictions. This bill also unreasonably expands employer
liability by creating a new private
right of action and criminal penalties for violating these new
requirements. Current law already provides significant protections
to applicants with criminal conviction records.
Click here to take action on this proposal.
AB 2340 – Bereavement Leave Mandate
AB 2340 mandates that every employer grant every employee up to
three days of unpaid bereavement leave per year upon the death of a
spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic
partner. The bill further prohibits any adverse action against
employees for requesting and taking such leave and creates a private
right of action for violations of the bill’s provisions.
Click here to take action on this proposal. |
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May 6, 2010
Submit
Your Letters:
Take Action On Three Job-Creating Proposals
AB 2561 –
Consolidation of California Department of Energy
AB 2561 willl consolidate the state’s authority for energy policy
under a New California Department of Energy (CDOE), creating greater
accountability, with clear lines of leadership, responsibility and
authority for the development, implementation, and coordination of
the state’s energy policy. An overhaul of our state’s energy policy
will allow California to implement strategic policies that will
create new sources of green energy, maximize energy efficiency, and
keep energy costs down for California consumers and businesses
alike.
Click here to take action now!
AB 1771 – Expanding Small Business Opportunities
AB 1771 will create jobs by opening up new opportunities for small
businesses to do business with the state, and would help promote
fairness in state purchasing. This will allow small businesses to
bid on state contracts that are currently awarded to a state inmate
work program.
Click here to take action now!
AB 1804 – Employment Training Fund
AB 1804 protects and maximizes the amount of training dollars that
stay in the Employment Training Fund (ETF). AB 1804 specifically
eliminates the provision that allows for the diversion of ETF
dollars to the Department of Social Services (DSS). As one of the
State’s only discretionary economic development resources, the
Employment Training Panel (ETP) has been an essential tool in
addressing the staggering 12.5% unemployment rate, to create new job
opportunities and most importantly to help with the retention of
jobs.
Click here to take action now! |
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April 30, 2010
Submit
Your Letter:
Urge
Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer To Oppose The New
Federal Agency Charged With Imposing More Regulations On Businesses
The U.S. Senate is
debating Senate bill S. 3217 which aims to reform the nation’s
financial system. However, included in this legislation is the
creation of a new federal agency the proposed Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection that would place new burdens on businesses that
have nothing to do with the financial crisis.
This bureau would have
the authority to regulate most financial services and products. In
its current form, S. 3217 fails to achieve the meaningful financial
regulatory reform necessary for vibrant capital markets that is
needed to fuel long-term economic growth and job creation.
Click here to take action now! |
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April 29, 2010
Submit
Your Letters:
Take Action On Four Job-Killing Proposals
AB 1604 – Oil Tax
AB 1604 will create an oil severance tax in California. This
proposal will burden Californians with higher fuel costs, increase
dependence on imported oil and destroy thousands of California jobs.
California consumers are facing tough times, with the worst economic
recession since the 1930’s. Hundreds of thousands of people have
lost their jobs and their homes. This is not the time to create
further burdens on families by increasing energy costs through AB
1604.
Click here to take action now!
AB 2492 – Property Tax Changes
AB 2492 would remove Proposition 13 protections from business
property owners by imposing a “split roll” property tax that targets
our state’s employers for a significant increase in property taxes
and onerous new tax burdens. This is a "guilty until proven
innocent" approach, requiring taxpayers to prove every three years
that they did NOT undergo a change-in-ownership that would trigger
reassessment. AB 2492 would also result in a tremendous paperwork
and tracking burden for both companies and assessors.
Click here to take action now!
SB 1474 – Labor Representation for Agriculture Workers
SB 1474 would undermine the present legal guarantee for
secret-ballot elections for union representation in agriculture.
SB 1474 would strip California farm workers of their right to
decide whether they want union representation in a secret-ballot
election exclusively. It would replace private ballots with an
unprotected process that will not ensure workers privacy or
safeguard them from coercion. This process is nothing more than
a “card check” scheme where union representatives provide
employees with a card for their signature stating they want the
union to be their representative.
Click here to take action now!
SB 1304 – Employment Leave and Benefit Changes
SB 1304 would mandate that private employers provide, per year, paid
leave time of up to 30 days for employees donating organs and up to
5 days for employees donating bone marrow. This paid leave time
would be in addition to any sick leave, vacation or other types of
paid leaves that employers already provide.
Creating a new paid leave mandate removes flexibility employers need
to balance overlapping leave requests by different employees for a
variety of important reasons and can be especially challenging for
small businesses with limited staff.
Click here to take action now! |
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April 22, 2010
Action Needed:
Submit Your Letters To Oppose Three Job Killing Proposals
SB 967 – Public
Contracts
SB 967 proposes to award
companies a preference if 90 percent of the employees that “perform
work on the contract” are California residents. What is considered
“work on the contract”? Is an employee that performs an internal
audit on the contract an employee that is working on the contract?
Such ambiguity is open to interpretation and therefore subject to
litigation that may negate the economic benefits to the contractor.
SB 967 (Correa) will
limit choice and drive up prices for consumers and for the
state. It will create a net loss of jobs in related industries,
retaliation by our trading partners, and violates provisions of
the World Trade Organization, as well as, bilateral free trade
agreements.
Click here to take action now!
SB 1121 –
Agricultural Worker Overtime
SB 1121 would treat
agricultural workers the same as regular workers when it comes
to overtime payment. Currently, agricultural workers may work 10
hours per day and 6 days a week, before overtime payment is
required. Under this legislation, those limits would be reduced
to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per work for regular pay. Hours
worked beyond that would be on overtime payment.
Click here to take action now!
SB 1231 – Supply
Chain Labor
SB 1231 would
require entities that contract with the state to certify that
slave labor was not utilized in “all raw materials in the supply
chain used to produce or manufacture the goods procured.”
Additionally, the bill requires similar certification for
building materials costing more than $20,000 for public works
projects. Although the goals of the sponsors are well-intended,
this legislation places on California employers some
expectations that may be infeasible to comply with.
Click here to take action now! |
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April 19, 2010
Action Needed:
Urge U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer To Exempt Auto
Dealers From Regulations Imposed By New Federal Agency
Your local car dealers need your help
to protect them from undue regulation they could be subjected to
under a Senate bill to create a Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection, which would have the authority to regulate most
financial services and products.
Auto dealers are already
subjected to regulations by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal
Trade Commission and state consumer protection agencies. An
amendment being offered by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan) would
exempt this industry from these additional regulations. Sign the
attached letter urging your support for this amendment.
Click here to take action now! |
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April 16, 2010
Submit
Your Letter:
Urge Support Of Job Creation & Retention Program
The
Enterprise Zone program has proven to be a valuable tool for
businesses to receive tax credits and other incentives. Funding for
this program is being threatened and we need the state Legislature
to continue this program, which has helped to create new jobs, grow
existing businesses and allowed California to compete with other
states in attracting outside investors.
Submit your letter now
to urge state Legislators to continue funding the Enterprise Zone
program.
The Enterprise Zone program was designed to help revitalize
struggling communities, bolster local economies and help the
vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our communities get a hand
up, not a hand out. The Program provides much needed tax incentives
for businesses to hire more local workers and to help prevent
layoffs.
Click here to take action now! |
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March 11, 2010
Action Needed:
Urge Congressmen Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa To Vote Against
Healthcare Legislation
A
key vote on federal healthcare legislation could take place next
week among members of the US House of Representatives and we need to
urge our Congressmen Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa to vote against
this “job killer” bill.
The last time a bill was
before them, they both voted in support. We can’t allow this
legislation to move forward because it will increase health care
costs, create new burdens on businesses, greatly increase the
government’s involvement in the health sector, and raise taxes on
individuals and small businesses.
It’s time for Congress
to look for new ways to reform our healthcare system rather than
saddle businesses with higher costs.
Click here to take action now! |
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February 17, 2010
Action Needed: Stop The
Legislature From
Preventing Job Creation
Two state issues
need your attention because they will increase taxes on local
businesses, hurt the overall economy and will prevent businesses
in the Fresno region from creating jobs.
SB 810 Single-Payer Healthcare Coverage is proposed
legislation that would create a government-run healthcare system
in California.
This legislation, similar to a bill introduced last year that
failed to make it out of committee, would drive out competition
among private insurance companies, lead to more tax increases
and burden businesses with additional costs while hurting the
state’s overall economy.
Click here to take action now!
Independent Contractor Withholding is a budget proposal
that would require businesses to withhold 3 percent of payments
to independent contractors such as builders, painters, real
estate agents, attorneys and computer programmers. This
proposal, which is similar to legislation vetoed by the Governor
last year, will affect all companies, agencies and non-profits
that do business with independent contractors by taxing them and
killing jobs at a time when the state should be looking for ways
to create jobs and ease some of regulations placed on
businesses.
Click here to take action now! |
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December 21, 2009
2009 Report Cards: Fresno Chamber Holds Elected Officials Accountable
The Chamber works closely with elected officials as
part of our commitment to advocate on behalf of our members,
business and to promote the economic vitality of our community.
We monitor their positions on issues ranging from fee
increases and zoning to revitalization of downtown and public
safety. And, just like we do for our State and Federal elected officials,
we track the vote records of our city council members.
Below are the report cards for the elected officials at the
local, state and federal levels of government who represent Fresno.
Click here to
download the 2009 City Council Report Card.
Click here to download
the 2009 State Report Card.
Click here to
download the 2009 Federal Report Card. |
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November 13, 2009
Action Needed:
Express Your Disappointment With
Congressmen Costa And Cardoza's Support of Healthcare Legislation

Congressmen Jim
Costa and Dennis Cardoza chose to support H.R. 3962, The
Affordable Health Care for America Act, which does little to
reform the current healthcare system and instead will increase
costs for local business owners and further damage our local
economy.
We need to let our
elected representatives know how disappointed we are that they chose
to support this “job killer legislation”. We need our Congressmen to
vote in support of business not against it. Our representatives
showed more allegiance to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi rather
than their constituents back home.
Click to send Congressman Costa a letter.
Click to send Congressman Cardoza a letter. |
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November 10, 2009
Action Needed:
Urge Senators Boxer And Feinstein To
Oppose Healthcare Bill

This weekend, the House of
Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for
America Act, legislation aimed at reforming the healthcare
system. But H.R. 3962 is not the answer we need. This
legislation will increase health care costs, create new burdens
on businesses, greatly increase the government’s involvement in
the health sector, and raise taxes on individuals and small
businesses. The Wall Street Journal recently called it “the
worst bill ever.”
Unfortunately, two of our Valley Congressmen voted to support
this “job killer” legislation that will harm our local economy
and make it even more difficult for local business owners to
survive in these tough economic times.
The Fresno Chamber is
disappointed that Congressmen Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza voted
in favor of H.R. 3962.
The Fresno Chamber commends Congressmen Devin Nunes and George
Radanovich for doing the right thing and voting against this
legislation.
H.R. 3962 made its way through the House we must
now encourage our Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to
make the right decision and oppose the Senate version of the legislation. We need
true reform of our healthcare system and this legislation is not
the answer.
Click here to take action and submit your letter!
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October 13, 2009
Action Needed:
Urge Congress To Extend The Homebuyer
Tax Credit
The
$8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit is set to expire by November
30, 2009 and we need your help urging Congress to extend the credit.
This tax credit has
helped to improve the Valley’s housing market by allowing more
people to move into the housing market.
Local home developers
and construction companies have seen the benefits this tax credit
has provided.
Please help the local
housing market by signing a letter asking our Congressmen and
Senators to extend this valuable tax credit.
Click here to take action and submit your letter!
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September 21, 2009
Submit Your Letter:
Urge The Governor To
Continue Discussions On Water Legislation
The
Legislature was on the verge of crafting important legislation to
ensure a comprehensive solution to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
crisis when the legislative session came to an end. Now the only way
to ensure legislation will be enacted before the end of the year is
for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to call an extraordinary session
of the Legislature to continue their water discussions.
We need the Legislature to approve a final package this year that
will ensure the restoration of the Delta and include a bond to pay
for new water storage projects.
Click here to
submit your letter asking the Governor to keep the momentum going on
water reform!
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September 14, 2009
Submit Your Letter:
Two Important Federal
Issues Need Your Action Today!
As Congress begins the fall
session, they are undertaking one of history's largest legislative
agendas.
Consumer Finance
One
issue up for debate is H.R. 3126, the Consumer Financial Protection
Agency (CFPA) Act, legislation that would dramatically reshape
consumer finance.
This bill, said to be a response to the financial crisis, is set to
be another government takeover of American business.
While there were certainly excesses in the financial services
industry that hurt many Americans, the one-size-fits-all approach to
consumer finance required by this bill is the wrong answer.
And it's not just financial companies that will be regulated. Small
business will also suffer under this bill.
Click here to take action on H.R. 3126.
Healthcare
In
addition, healthcare reform continues to dominate the legislative
agenda.
However, the Fresno Chamber believes the current healthcare
proposals are not realistic. The current proposals will increase
costs for business by punishing them with even more penalties and
taxes for not providing health insurance coverage and creating a
system that will force out the private sector in favor of a
government-run healthcare plan.
Your voice must be heard! Let our Congressional delegation and our
US Senators know that you want a healthcare solution that is
affordable and provides adequate coverage.
Click here to take action on healthcare reform.
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September 3, 2009
Action Needed:
Two Important Issues Impacting Fresno's Local Economy
1. Urge Our Senators
To Oppose Cap and Trade Bill
When your Senators return from summer vacation next week, health
care isn't the only contentious issue they'll have to address.
They will also consider the so-called "Cap-and-Trade" bill - a
deeply flawed measure that will create a new energy tax on every
household in America.
The House of Representatives has already passed this bill, although
very narrowly, before they recessed for the summer. We must make our
voices heard as the debate now shifts to the United States Senate.
This tax will do little or nothing to actually reduce global
greenhouse gases - but it will raise energy prices, balloon the
EPA's bureaucracy, and threaten American jobs.
Instead of passing this deeply flawed bill, the Senate should start
from scratch and focus on helping - and not destroying - American
jobs and our economy, by promoting new energies and technologies.
Click here to submit your letter to Feinstein and Boxer.
2.
Ease the Burden of California's Fiscal Crisis
This last summer the State Controller began issuing IOUs to pay
California's bills as a result of our on-going budget crisis. Since
July 2, the state has dispensed 101,930 IOUs. These IOUs total an
equivalent of $389 million in vital payments that is effectively
being denied to service providers, non-profit organizations, and
taxpayers!
While state law requires the public to accept these registered
warrants (IOUs) the state is not required to accept such securities
as payment. This is a double standard that harms those hardworking
taxpayers and contracted businesses caught in the middle.
AB 1506 requires the state to accept its own IOUs as payment for
state taxes and fees. This is a fair allowance in order to permit
citizens to make necessary payments to the state, such as DMV
registration, tax payments, and school tuition.
For example, with this bill if you are a business with state
contracts and you receive an IOU for $50,000 from the state, and you
also owe the state $50,000 in payroll taxes, you would be able to
send the IOU to the Franchise Tax Board as payment for your tax
obligation.
Click here to submit your letter on AB 1506.
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August 24, 2009
Take Action:
Support
Senator Chuck Poochigian's Appointment To
The 5th District Court Of Appeal
Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he is appointing former
Fresno-area State Senator Chuck Poochigian to the 5th District Court
of Appeal.
But his appointment is
not a done deal and must still be confirmed by the Commission on
Judicial Appointments.
We need your help in
urging the commission to confirm Senator Chuck Poochigian, who is a
long-time friend to the Fresno Chamber and the Fresno business
community.
Click here to take action!
Pictured right:
Fresno Chamber
Government Affairs Council Chair Ruth Evans
representing the Fresno business community with then State Senator
Chuck Poochigian in the State Capitol.
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August 18, 2009
Fresno Chamber Releases Position On
Federal Healthcare Reforms
The United States
has the world’s best health care system, but it is being priced out
of reach for more and more American citizens and companies.
Companies struggle to find health care plans that provide adequate
coverage and are still affordable, and worry about what will come
next year.
Click here to take action on
healthcare reform.
The Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce recognizes that most
health care coverage is provided by employers. To make it easier for
employers and their employees to afford the health care coverage
they need, we support legislative action to:
1. Retain viable employer-sponsored health care. Employers
provide voluntary health insurance to over 177 million. ERISA allows
many of them the flexibility to provide uniform benefits to their
employees. ERISA is the backbone of employer-provided coverage and
must be preserved.
2. Reform the
delivery system including payment and reimbursement reform to reduce
costs while increasing quality and outcomes including:
- Implementation of
comprehensive strategies to boost health information technology,
wellness, prevention, disease management, and coordination of care.
- Create a more vibrant
private health insurance market for individuals and small
businesses.
- Hold down soaring
health care costs due to the explosive growth in medical liability
awards and insurance costs through specialized health courts.
- Encourage more
Americans to purchase health insurance by enacting refundable tax
credits for that purpose.
- Encourage more
Americans to save for medical expenses tax-free by expanding Health
Saving Accounts and allowing those with Flexible Spending Accounts
to roll over unused balances to pay for future medical expenses.
The Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce does not support
legislative action that would:
1. Create a Government-run (Public) plan: A government-run
plan would be an unfair competitor, with the government acting as
both a team owner and the referee. Government programs shift costs
to the private sector. The Lewin Group estimates 130 million people
would move from private to public insurance. This could lead to a
government-controlled single-payer system.
2. Create Employer
Mandates: Punishing employers who cannot afford to provide
health insurance coverage, including requirements to pay or play, is
not the answer. Employer mandates, by their nature limit flexibility
and innovation - the cornerstones of American health care.
3. Create Minimum
Required Coverage Level: Proposing a huge Federal Employee
Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)-like minimum coverage package will
bankrupt employers and workers. Cadillac, gold-plated coverage like
this will not appeal to the young. The minimum level of coverage
should be more akin to a high-deductible health plan with coverage
of preventative services.
4. Impose additional
tax burdens individuals or businesses: The implementation of
new taxes and fees for businesses and/or individuals that cannot
afford health insurance would be dramatically counterproductive.
Further, the taxation of health benefits will lead to a reduction in
benefits offered by employers and will lead to higher taxes for many
individuals and businesses. |
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August 7, 2009
Take
Action:
These Three Most Important Issues Demand Your Involvement
The
Fresno Chamber is active representing the interests of the Fresno
business community at all levels of government. Our success depends
on your involvement. So, we need your help.
Click on each proposed law listed below to submit your letter.
Click here to submit your letter on AB 2
Click here to submit your letter on AB 943
Click here to submit your letter on SB 227 |
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