2010 California Legislative Victories
Tobacco and Alcohol Taxes
AB 89 (Torlakson) Tobacco Tax: Failed in the Assembly
AB 689 (C. Calderon) Tobacco Tax: Failed in the Assembly
AB 1019 (Beall) Alcohol Fee: Failed in the Assembly
AB 1694 (Beall) Alcohol Fee: Failed in the Assembly
ACA 22 (Torlakson) Tobacco Tax: Held in the Assembly G.O. Committee
SB 558 (DeSaulnier) Alcohol Fee: Failed in the Senate
SB 600 (Padilla) Tobacco Tax: Failed in the Senate
SB 1210 (Florez) Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax: Failed in the Senate
Anti-Grocery/Business Legislation
AB 68 (Brownley) Ban on Single-Use Carryout Bags: Failed in the Assembly
AB 87 (Davis) Ban on Single-Use Carryout Bags: Failed in the Assembly
AB 925 (Saldana) Ban on Single-Use Plastic Beverage Container Caps: Failed in the Assembly
AB 933 (Oropeza) Ban on ATM “Swipe Fees”: Vetoed by the Governor
AB 1405 (De Leon) Tax/Fee Increase related to “Climate Change”: Vetoed by the Governor
AB 1598 (Beall) Ban on Caffeinated Malt Beverages: Failed in the Assembly
AB 1604 (Nava) Oil Severance Tax / Gasoline Tax Increase: Failed in the Assembly
AB 1881 (Monning) Doubling of Penalties/Damages for Minimum Wage Claims: Vetoed by the Governor
AB 2187 (Arambula) Expanded Employer Liability/Penalties for Wage Disputes: Vetoed by the Governor
AB 2492 (Ammiano) Tax Increase on Commercial Property: Failed in the Assembly
SB 415 (Oropeza) Limitation on Local Alcohol Licenses: Vetoed by the Governor
SB 601 (Padilla) Limitation on Local Tobacco Licenses: Failed in the Senate
SB 1433 (Leno) Implemented Annual Increases to Air Pollution Penalties: Vetoed by the Governor
SB 933 (Oropeza) ATM “Swipe Fees”: Vetoed by the Governor
In what proved to be one of the hardest fought legislative battles of the year, the NMA was part of a significant coalition of businesses – both large and small –strongly opposing a proposed state law to bar stores and other retailers from charging fees for the use of debit cards.
As a result of the coalition’s efforts, the measure was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
State law already prohibits fees on the use of credit cards, and Senate Bill 933 proposed to place the same condition on debit cards and pre-paid gift cards.
Opponents of SB 933 argued that the bill would be harmful to small businesses by eliminating the fee on shoppers, but continuing to allow the issuers of ATM cards, such as VISA (the sponsor of the measure), to charge retailers when customers use them.
Retailers would have been forced to absorb the loss themselves, reject use of ATM cards or find some way to compensate, such as raising prices or requiring purchase of a minimum amount of goods, such as $10, before accepting a debit card.
Echoing the arguments of the NMA and other members of the opposition coalition, Governor Schwarzenegger, in his veto message, suggested that SB 933 would simply force retailers to raise prices to compensate for any loss, stating that “Instead of charging a customer who chooses to use a debit card, businesses would be forced to increase their prices to all customers, regardless of payment type.
The Governor went on to say that “The burden of paying these surcharges should fall on those who use debit cards and not those who choose to pay with another form of payment.”
Pro-Grocery/Business Legislation
SB 1608 (Corbett) ADA Reform: Signed by the Governor
This measure arrived at a solution through a combination of the following key reform provisions:
- Clarifications in the law to help reduce unwarranted damages and attorneys’ fees.
- A new disability commission which will be tasked with evaluating and providing recommendations on further disability issues having an impact on the disability community and business.
- Improved continuing education in disability access laws for building inspectors and architects.
- Incentivizing building owners to use state-certified access specialists to ensure compliance.
- A new court procedure to encourage early resolution of disability access lawsuits.
One of the important reforms in SB 1608 is a provision clarifying that plaintiffs may recover damages only for a violation they personally encountered or that deterred access on a particular occasion, rather than for alleged violations that may exist at a place of business but did not cause a denial of access.
In addition, SB 1608 clarifies that a court can consider reasonable written settlement offers made and rejected in determining the amount of reasonable attorneys fees to be awarded at the end of a case, which is aimed at reducing unnecessary protraction of litigation by either party.
