Chamber Fights ‘Job-Killing’ Legistation

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The California Chamber of Commerce on Monday targeted more than three dozen bills in the state Legislature as “job killers,” the highest total given that name in recent years.

The chamber annually identifies bills that it deems will harm economic growth in the state and then mounts a campaign to have the bills defeated in the Legislature or vetoed by the governor as job killers. In recent years, only a handful of such bills have been signed into law.

This year’s crop of 37, up from 27 in 2009 and 33 in 2008, includes bills that raise taxes on commercial property owners, impose a carbon tax and limit the right to do credit checks on potential hires.

“Not only do these bills send the wrong signal and create an uncertain environment for investment, but, if passed, they would create new costs that would harm our ability to recover and add new jobs,” said Allan Zaremberg, the chamber’s chief executive.

Of the 27 job killer bills named by the chamber in 2009, only six made it to the governor’s desk. He vetoed them all.