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Small businesses and disabled veteran business enterprises make up 98 percent of all California enterprises, employ over half of our workforce and are projected to create 99 percent of the state’s future jobs.
A recent study commissioned by the Procurement Division of the Department of General Services found that these firms produce about 50 percent more overall California economic impact for each dollar spent than large enterprises.
“Small businesses are the backbone of California’s economy and will be the force that drives our economic recovery – and I am proud to sign legislation that expands their ability to create jobs,” said Schwarzenegger. “Making small businesses and disabled veteran businesses eligible for more of the state’s $10 billion in annual contracts and billions more in federal stimulus dollars will help drive California down the road to economic recovery and create jobs at a time when we need them the most.”
Specifically, AB 31 expands an existing streamlined contracting process called the SB/DVBE Option to enhance small business (SB) and disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) participation in state contracts.
Current law allows state departments to contract directly with these firms for goods and services contracts or purchases between $5,000 and $100,000 and up to $147,000 for public works contracts. AB 31 increases the allowable thresholds in both areas to $250,000.
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He also signed two CalChamber-supported “job creator” bills.
“California is already feeling the weight of overly burdensome regulations, unique to California, passed by legislators when times were good,” said CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg. “Governor Schwarzenegger knows that given California’s current economic situation, allowing these ‘job killer’ bills to become law would have further negatively impacted our state’s competitiveness and job climate. The private sector will bring this economy back, which is why the Governor signed both of the ‘job creator’ bills.”
Since taking office Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed more than 90 percent of the “job killer” bills that have been sent to his desk.
During the 2009 session the following “job killer” bills were vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Costly workplace mandates
AB 943 (Mendoza; D-Artesia) Hampers Employment Decisions: Would have restricted the ability of businesses to use all legally available information in employment decisions, including consumer credit reports. Vetoed.
SB 789 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Increased Agricultural Costs: Undermined the process that now guarantees, through secret-ballot elections, a fair vote and the expression of agricultural employees’ true sentiments on the selection of a collective bargaining representative. This act will hurt California’s businesses by driving up costs, making employers less competitive in a global market. Vetoed on Sept. 2.
Economic development barriers
AB 1404 (De León; D-Los Angeles) Discourages Emission Reductions: Would have significantly increased business costs and threatened state jobs and businesses by severely limiting the amount of offsets California industries could have used to meet their greenhouse gas emission goals. Vetoed.
Inflated liability costs
AB 2 (De La Torre; D-South Gate) Health Insurance Litigation: Would have driven up the cost of health care premiums and increased the number of uninsured by establishing litigation as the only meaningful approach to resolving disputes over rescinding coverage. Vetoed.
AB 793 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Unreasonable New Liability for Employers: Imposed unfair and costly litigation burden on California employers by unreasonably expanding employer liability in workplace lawsuits far beyond the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Vetoed.
SB 242 (Yee; D-San Francisco/San Mateo) New Lawsuits Against Small Business — Could have resulted in new shakedown lawsuits against business establishments by making it a strict liability violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, subject to minimum damages of $4,000, if a business limits the use of a customer’s language, even if unintentionally. Vetoed.
Job creator bills
During the 2009 session the following “job creator” bills were signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger:
SB 827 (Wright; D-Inglewood), formerly SB 696 (Wright; D-Inglewood) Supports Construction of Vital Projects: Prevents the loss of thousands of jobs and keeps businesses in California by re-establishing the South Coast Air Quality Management District credit bank.
AB 333 (Fuentes; D-Sylmar) New Home Construction: Facilitates the smooth recovery of the housing market by extending the life of active tentative subdivision maps and parcel maps for a period of two years. AB 333 was signed by Governor on July 15.
In 2009, CalChamber identified 33 pieces of “job killing” legislation. At the end of the legislative session, only six were still active and sent to the governor.
In previous years, Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed CalChamber identified “job killer” bills that reached his desk as follows:
2008 – Nine of 10 “job killer” bills vetoed;
2007 – Twelve of 12 “job killer” bills vetoed;
2006 – Nine of 11 “job killer” bills vetoed
2005 – Seven of eight “job killer” bills vetoed;
2004 – Ten out of 10 “job killer” bills vetoed.
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The program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning. The data will be displayed in NTIA’s national broadband map, a tool that will inform policymakers' efforts and provide consumers with improved information on the broadband Internet services available to them.
“Broadband will bring many benefits to the nation, such as job creation and innovation, but these benefits have been delayed by the lack of comprehensive, reliable data on the availability of broadband service,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “This program addresses an important need and will provide a valuable tool in bringing broadband and jobs to more Americans.”
NTIA received applications representing all 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia to participate in the program, meaning that all governments that were eligible to apply for grants did so, whether directly or through a designated entity.
The agency is currently reviewing the remaining 52 applications and expects to continue announcing awards on a rolling basis throughout the fall.
A summary of the four awards announced today is as follows:
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is awarded approximately $1.8 million; the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) is awarded approximately $1.3 million; the Rural Economic Development Center, Inc. (e-NC Authority) is awarded approximately $1.6 million; and the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI) is awarded approximately $1.2 million to collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband across the states of California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont, respectively. This activity is to be conducted on a semi-annual basis between 2009 and 2011, with initial data coming available in November 2009 to inform broadband policy efforts. Awardees are to present the data in a clear and accessible format to the public, government, and the research community.
The CPUC is also awarded $500,000 for the cost of broadband planning activities in California over four years, bringing its grant award total to approximately $2.3 million. In addition, the e-NC Authority is awarded approximately $435,000 for the cost of broadband planning activities in North Carolina over five years, bringing its grant award total to over $2 million.
"The four award recipients submitted well-formed proposals that are both fiscally prudent and serve as a model for others," Strickling added. "We are committed to making the program succeed nationwide and will continue to provide guidance to applicants where necessary to help them improve their proposed projects."
NTIA noted that the four award recipients submitted grant applications that met or exceeded program requirements in all areas. For example:
Data collection: While all four recipients plan to collect data directly from broadband providers, each also described plans to collect or utilize data from other sources. Examples include wireless propagation models, speed tests, online and field surveys, and drive testing. Recipients also plan to use existing datasets that were developed for other purposes but are valuable for broadband mapping, including orthophotography, parcel maps, and E911 datasets.
Verification: The recipients will use multiple verification methods, and each also plans to use independent verifiers to conduct data verification work.
Collaboration: Recipients demonstrated that the relevant state agencies are committed to the success of the project and plan to be actively engaged in its leadership. Each recipient is collaborating with other state partners, resulting in plans that are unique to each state’s needs and capabilities. In addition, while current Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and/or broadband resources vary by state, recipients described how their projects will integrate and leverage existing capacity.
The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA).
The program will provide grants to assist states or their designees in gathering and verifying state-specific data on the availability, speed, location, and technology type of broadband services. The data they collect and compile will also be used to develop publicly available state-wide broadband maps and to inform the comprehensive, interactive, and searchable national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to create and make publicly available by February 17, 2011.
The national broadband map will publicly display the geographic areas where broadband service is available; the technology used to provide the service; the speeds of the service; and broadband service availability at public schools, libraries, hospitals, colleges, universities, and public buildings.
The national map will also be searchable by address and show the broadband providers offering service in the corresponding census block or street segment.
Awardees are required to contribute at least 20 percent non-federal matching funds toward project costs.
In addition, while the BDIA mandates that each state may designate only one eligible entity to receive funds under the program, each state's applicant will be carefully evaluated and must meet the standards described in NTIA's Notice of Funds Availability for this program in order to receive funding.
U.S. Department of Commerce's NTIA serves as the executive branch agency principally responsible for advising the President on communications and information policy. For more information about the NTIA, visit www.ntia.doc.gov .
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Workers, regardless of employment status, can increase their skills in Microsoft, Adobe, QuickBooks, FileMaker and many more applications from the list of online training courses.
Individuals with no technology experience can take advantage of classroom assisted training to learn the introductory practices of using a computer.
Businesses seeking to enhance their use of QuickBooks accounting software can receive professional consulting on software setup and instruction on transaction entry.
Confidential consulting is also available for businesses hoping to better understand their current financial position and revenue projections.
These technology lab services are offered at no charge to individuals and businesses in Lake County.
To register for lab use – contact Seth DeSimone, technology program director, at 707-262-3408 or email
The Lake One-Stop is located at 55 First St., Lakeport.