California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 48

Introduced by Assembly Member Allen

April 18, 2013

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 48—Relative to Start a Small Business Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 48, as introduced, Allen. Start a Small Business Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of May 2013 as Start a Small Business Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, On May 1, 2012, Governor Brown issued a
proclamation reaffirming the state’s commitment to helping
California’s small businesses thrive; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the most innovative and
competitive firms in the world, placing the state consistently among
the top-10 economies; and

WHEREAS, The vast majority of these businesses employ 500
or fewer workers; and

WHEREAS, Small businesses embody the entrepreneurial spirit
that has driven the economy of our state where over half of our
private-sector workforce is employed by small businesses; and

WHEREAS, Three and one-half million California small
businesses account for 99 percent of the state’s employers and
employ 52 percent of the workforce; and

WHEREAS, California received 50 percent of all venture capital
financing in the United States in 2011, by far the most of any state
in the United States; and

WHEREAS, California is the number one state for agriculture
revenues, with $34.8 billion in revenue representing 12.3 percent
of the United States total; and

WHEREAS, California’s 2,324 biomedical companies employ
267,000 people, which accounts for $115 billion in annual
revenues, more than the annual Gross State Product of 18 other
states; and

WHEREAS, Manufacturers in California account for 11.7
percent of the total output in the state, employing almost 9 percent
of the workforce, where total output from manufacturing was
$229.9 billion in 2011, significantly more than any other state; and

WHEREAS, California has more Fortune 500 companies than
any other state, 53 in total; and

WHEREAS, California policymakers should keep a simple
focus on the number one issue facing the state: economic recovery
and job creation; and

WHEREAS, The simple threat of litigation, rather than the actual
adjudication of a lawsuit, under the California Environmental
Quality Act, can be all that is required to create uncertainty for
various projects; and

WHEREAS, Policymakers need to take approaches that
recognize and encourage California’s leadership and innovation
in the environmental arena rather than to rely on more taxes and
fees; and

WHEREAS, Policymakers need to be smarter about how money
is spent on education in order to better align the workforce and
college readiness, ensure career technical education is high quality
and aligned with academic standards, and promote state and private
investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
education; and

WHEREAS, It is critical that California’s electricity generation
keeps pace with its growing population and increasing demand as
maintaining and expanding the state’s energy infrastructure is vital
to the economic growth of California; and

WHEREAS, California ranked 47th for the fairness of its
litigation environment in 2012 and has consistently placed among
the bottom six states over the last decade, which is a significant
consideration when a company decides where to locate; and

WHEREAS, California businesses are already strapped with
the highest tax rates in the nation; and

WHEREAS, California, like 19 other states, is struggling with
the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund insolvency, and the best
way for California to combat rising unemployment and improve
the health of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is to improve
the business climate; and

WHEREAS, In September 2012, the Governor signed a workers’
compensation reform package negotiated by employers and labor;
and

WHEREAS, Workers’ compensation costs for California
employers must decrease to be more competitive with the costs
paid by employers in other states; and

WHEREAS, The Governor, in his proclamation last year,
reaffirmed our commitment to California’s small businesses to
thrive and prosper and that supporting small-scale private-sector
job creators is among our most promising strategies to enhance
California’s human capital, expand job opportunities, and increase
our competitive advantage in the global marketplace; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims the month of
May 2013 as Start a Small Business Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature adds its support to the Governor’s
efforts in promoting small businesses and making California a
more friendly business climate; and be it further

Resolved, That California’s policymakers can act to relieve the
uncertainty of doing business in this state, by keeping taxes low,
fair, stable, and predictable, by reducing the regulatory and
litigation costs of operating a business, by reducing the cost and
improving the certainty and stability of investing in new equipment
and technology, by investing in public and private works that
provide the backbone for economic growth, and by ensuring the
availability of high quality skilled employees; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.