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> 2008 Year in Review
January 2, 2009
Another Year of Fighting for You
The Redondo
Beach Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau continued to
serve as the voice for the business community and continued
to oppose legislative proposals and issues that negatively
impact the local businesses and the regional economy.
The Chamber,
through its Government Relations Council (GRC), continued to
play an active role at the local, state and federal levels
when representing the interests of businesses with
government. By taking a position on a proposed new law or
business related issue, it allowed for the business
community to have a seat at the table with area legislators
that they may not otherwise have.
“The Chamber had a successful 2008 for its members by making
sure its stakeholders had a seat at the table when
discussing issues that may have impacted their bottom line,”
stated Marna Smeltzer, President and CEO of the Chamber. “We
thank all of our members and volunteers who gave up valuable
time to make sure the Redondo Beach business community the
success that it is today,” continued Smeltzer.
The Chamber will continue to monitor, discuss and take
action on issues impacting the economic vitality of our
community in 2009.
The following accomplishments outline a member’s return on
investment in the Redondo Beach Chamber during the past
year:
• The Chamber tracked 20 potential new laws in 2008 that may
have had an impact on our business community.
• Help defeated a proposed law, which would have prevented a
rental car company from charging a tourism commission fee.
• Supported a proposed law, which creates stringent
standards for selling scrap-metal to a junk dealer and
allows for law enforcement to stop the theft of scrap metal
throughout Redondo Beach.
• Raised awareness about improving transportation throughout
the South Bay region such as reviewing the Long Range
Transportation Plan (LRTP).
• Supported the idea of a state budget savings account that
the Governor has proposed for excess revenues taken in by
the state each year that requires the state deposit excess
revenues into an account for budget crisis times.
• Supported a proposed employee break law that would have
provided a comprehensive solution when complying and
enforcing current meal period laws for employees.
• Joined Chambers of Commerce and employers statewide in
partnering with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen in
the MyVote Democracy At Work Project.
• Urged the City Council to take additional steps before
rendering a final decision on zoning changes that would have
an impact on the harbor area by uniting and informing the
business community.
• Published its positions on several of last year’s
Propositions in the February 2008 Primary Election, the June
2008 Statewide Election and November 2008 Presidential
Election. The Chamber served as a reference for the business
community on these important issues.
• Supported the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
• Successfully defeated the healthcare tax by opposing the
Governor’s proposal to fix California’s broken healthcare
system.
• Championed a chamber-supported school bond Measure C,
which allows for the update of the 100 year old high school,
new athletic facilities, state of the art turf fields, a
synthetic track replacing the dirt track and an aquatics
complex available to the entire community.
• Joined forces with the Green Line Coalition to improve
Southern California's transportation infrastructure by
facilitating an extension of the Metro Green Line to LAX.
• Opposed a measure which aimed to place limits on
legislator's terms in office, however did the complete
opposite – it would have extended the time the current
legislature’s time in office.
• Continued the fight against proposed legislation that
would have allowed for workers’ compensation increases.
• Opposed a federal piece of legislation that aimed to
unreasonably expand the American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
with negative consequences for business. The legislation
would have greatly expanded ADA’s scope and created
unnecessary lawsuits.
• The Chamber was an early supporter of the Proposition 11
that now allows the creation of a 14-person citizen’s
commission that would redraw new boundary lines for the
State Senate and Assembly districts that eliminates the
conflict of interest when redrawing the district boundaries.
• Continued to inform and call to action the business
community through eALERTS, email based messages asking for
support and input from the membership.
October 22, 2008
Another Year Of Fighting For You
By Marna Smeltzer
President and CEO
 In
2008, our Chamber helped stop many proposed laws that would
have added unreasonable costs to business. I would like to
take this time to thank the many individuals, businesses and
community members that supported the Chamber’s legislative
efforts. Many pro-business pieces of legislation were also
signed into law by the Governor that the Chamber worked very
hard to pass.
Proposed new
laws in 2008 the Chamber helped defeat:
AB 1 a
Healthcare Reform
The
Governor’s healthcare reform plan aimed to create a
government-run healthcare system for employees who do not
receive healthcare from their employers. The proposed law
attempted to fix a broken healthcare system almost
exclusively by creating a vast and expensive new healthcare
program funded partially by a costly payroll tax on
California employers and increased tobacco taxes. Adding to
the confusion and government control, the proposed new law
would also require voters to go to the polls this November
to approve the funding portion of the proposed healthcare
plan.
AB
2279 Medical Marijuana: Qualified Patients and Caregivers
AB 2279
would have undermined employers’ ability to provide a safe
workplace by forcing employers to hire workers who use
medical marijuana, which is illegal under federal law. AB
2279 would preclude an employer from establishing or
enforcing a policy to achieve or maintain a drug-free
workplace.
AB
2716 Employment: Paid Sick Days
The proposed sick leave law would have covered all
employees, so that part-time, seasonal and temporary workers
would earn paid sick days. The proposed law mandated,
without exception, that all employers provide paid sick
leave to an employee after seven days of work in a calendar
year to care for their own illness, or to provide to a sick
child, spouse, domestic partner or other relative.
California businesses continue to be burden with costly
mandates on employers. These mandates can cumulatively
result in lower wages, reducing available health insurance,
limiting training programs and – in the worst case scenario
– job loss or reduced work hours.
SB 974
Ports: Congestion Relief: Air Pollution Mitigation: Fee
SB 974
would have imposed a $400,000,000 per year tax on all
containerized cargo moving in or out of the ports of Long
Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland. A new tax on containerized
cargo impacts businesses in throughout the area, which in
turn gets passed onto the consumer. SB 974 attempted to use
the one-size-fits-all approach which would have not helped
our business community and would have raised the costs of
further goods movement to the ports in Long Beach and Los
Angeles.
Proposed new
laws in 2008 the Chamber helped pass:
AB 844
and SB 691 Junk Dealers and Recyclers: Nonferrous Material
AB 844
and SB 691 help to prevent the theft of various expensive
metals that costs businesses thousands of dollars to
replace. Some examples are utility lines disrupting service
to customers potentially costing businesses untold losses
and theft of materials from construction sites is causing
delays and pushing up costs of development. Manhole covers
have also been targeted by thieves, costing cities to
replace them at tax payer expense. AB 844 and SB 691 imposes
strict requirements that make it more difficult for thieves
to sell to recyclers and imposes even more strict penalties
for being caught.
AB
2321 Transportation Funding: County of Los Angeles
AB 2321
allows the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro) to propose a one half cent sales tax
measure to voters on the November 2008 ballot for much
needed transportation related improvements and projects.
Voters will now have the choice to improve transportation
related projects throughout the South Bay. The Green Line
Extension, a crucial part the overall transportation plan in
Los Angeles County, has been included in the Metro’s plan
for improved transportation projects throughout the area. By
funding the Green Line Extension, the extension will help to
alleviate traffic congestion, reduce air pollution, and
provide a convenient alternative to private automobile use
for individuals traveling to and from LAX.
SB
1608 Disabled Persons: Equal Access Rights: Civil Actions
SB 1608
was a bipartisan comprehensive reform measure designed to
address two important goals: 1) Promoting and increasing
compliance with state and federal civil rights laws
providing for equal access for individuals with disabilities
in public accommodations; and 2) Reducing unwarranted,
unnecessary litigation that does not advance the goals of
disability access. SB 1608 was supported by many interests
in the business community, consumer attorneys, and the
disability community.
Click here
to contact the Redondo Beach Chamber
for more
information
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