November 28, 2006

2006 Vote Record: Fresno Chamber Holds State Legislators Accountable to Chamber- Supported and Opposed Legislation

A strong local economy is imperative to a healthy community. The Fresno Chamber is responsible for taking action on the issues that impact the vitality of our local economy, and therefore, impact the entire community. Advocating on behalf of the Fresno business community is a top priority for the Chamber. We inform and educate our local elected officials on how issues are affecting the business community. We also hold our elected officials accountable to their votes.

Each year, elected officials cast their votes on thousands of bills that have the potential of becoming laws. Some laws improve the ability for business to create more jobs and therefore strength our community. Many laws make doing business in California very difficult. In this report, you will find that the Chamber is holding our elected officials accountable to their voting record on issues during the 2006 calendar year.

2006 State Legislator Vote Record

The state voting record reveals how our State Assemblymembers and Senators voted. This vote record reflects the bills that made it to the Governor’s desk, giving equal chance to each legislator to vote in accord with the Chamber. The bills covered issues crucial to the business community, including, but not limited to: Air Quality, Government Mandated Wages, Healthcare, and Worker’s Compensation.

The Chamber works diligently throughout the legislative year to communicate via email, in person and via the written letter to our local elected officials on why and how we came to our positions. Our efforts included E-Alerts, which is a notice that is sent out to the Chamber’s membership asking them to sign letters explaining our position. Those letters were then sent in bulk to our local legislators so they understood how their vote would affect the entire business community. The Fresno Chamber also hosts an advocacy website, www.fresnochamberadvocacy.com, which always has up to date legislation information. While in addition, we actively visit their offices in Sacramento to communicate our high priority items.
 

What the "No Vote" May Actually Mean

There are times when a legislator is unwilling to vote on a potential law. In this case, a legislator may abstain from voting, which will hinder the bill from actually passing. Their abstention is shown as a "no vote" and does not count for or against them.
 

2006 State Vote Record In Depth

AB 32 (Nunez)

Air Pollution: Greenhouse Gases
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

 

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Oppose

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Support

 

AB 32 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to implement and enforce a cap to reduce the state’s global warming emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and to institute mandatory emissions reporting and tracking system to monitor compliance with the cap. This would require the state board to develop an arbitrary emissions baseline, and will be in charge of monitoring and regulating the sources and reducing emissions of gases that cause global warming.

AB 1835 (Lieber)
Minimum Wage Increase

 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Support

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Support

AB 1835 would increase the state minimum wage to $7.50 in 2007 and to $8 in 2008, giving California the highest minimum wage rate in the nation.

AB 1840 (J. Hornton)
Healthcare: Employer Coverage
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: No Vote

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Support

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

AB 1840 requires the Department of Health to transmit a report to the Legislature identifying all employers who are beneficiaries under various health programs which low-income persons are provided health care services. This bill is also known as the “list of shame.”

AB 1862 (Vargas)
Worker’s Compensation
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Support

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Support

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Support

Parra: Support

Villines: Support

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

AB 1862 would provide that first aid means any one time treatment and any follow up visits for the purpose of observation of minor industrial industries that do not otherwise require medical care.

AB 1884 (Chu)
Unemployment Compensation Benefits: Locked out workers
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: No Vote

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Oppose

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

AB 1884 allows an otherwise locked-out worker to receive unemployment compensation benefits even if the worker is locked out as a result of a trade dispute with the worker’s employer.

AB 2209 (Pavley)
Unemployment Compensation Benefits
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Support

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

AB 2209 provides that any agreement between an employer and an employee prohibiting the employee from either filing a claim for, or appealing a decision of denial or reduction in, unemployment compensation benefits is against public policy and is void. This would allow an otherwise eligible locked-out worker to receive unemployment compensation benefits if the worker’s employer is found to have engaged in any fraud.

AB 2330 (Arambula)
Small Business Advocate
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Support

Florez: No Vote

Poochigian: Support

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Support

Parra: Support

Villines: Support

Schwarzenegger: Support

 

AB 2330 requires the Office of Small Business Advocate to commission a study of the costs of state regulations on small businesses that is parallel to the study on the impact of regulatory costs on small firms conducted by the federal Small Business Administration.

AB 2987 (Nunez)
Telecommunications Competition
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Support

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Support

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Support

Parra: Oppose

Villines: Support

Schwarzenegger: Support

 

AB 2987 will establish a procedure for state-issued authorizations for the provision of cable service or video service that would be administered by the Department of Corporations. The department would be the sole franchising authority of state-issued authorizations to provide cable or video services. This bill would require any person who seeks to provide cable service or video service in this state to file an application with the department for a state-issued authorization.

SB 1220 (Migden)

Vaccines: Influenza
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Support

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Support

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Support

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

SB 1220 would require the department to establish a bulk purchasing program for influenza vaccine that will be available to smaller physician practices and would authorize the department to implement this program through an expansion of the program in the described provisions. This bill would require the program to cover its entire cost.

SB 1281 (Romero)
Public Contracts
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: No Vote

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Support

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

SB 1281 would prohibit a state agency from entering into a contract for the acquisition of goods or services with a contractor, as defined, who does not have and adhere to a written policy annually providing his or her full-time employees, as defined.

SB 1368 (Perata)
Electricity: Emission of Greenhouse Gases
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: No Vote

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Support

 

SB 1368 creates a greenhouse gas performance standard for baseload generation. This would require that nay new financial investment by a load serving entity for baseload generation that exceeds three years produce lifestyle GHG emissions equal to or less than the greenhouse gas emissions of a new combined-cycle natural gas power plant.

SB 1414 (Migden)
California Fair Share Health Care Act
 

Fresno Chamber Position: Oppose

Florez: Support

Poochigian: Oppose

Arambula: Support

Cogdill: Oppose

Parra: Oppose

Villines: Oppose

Schwarzenegger: Oppose

 

SB 1414 would require a private employer with more than 10,000 employees to devote 8% of its total wages paid towards employee health insurance costs. As of 5/26/06 this bill would only require non-profit employers to devote 6% and private employers 8%.

 

Contact Amy Huerta, the Chamber's Government Affairs Manager for more information at (559) 495-4818 or ahuerta@fresnochamber.com