Family Business Association of California

@Gavin Newsom last week "forcefully pushed back...on criticisms that California is becoming unfriendly for business." Respectfully, Governor, many FBA members could educate you on just how unfriendly it is. We can start with PAGA (the Private Attorney Generals Act) and CEQA and then go from there. Remember @Jerry Brown used to call CEQA reform "the Lord's work." We'd be happy to schedule a Zoom call! http://ow.ly/PAGn50D5Cvq

State officials often seem to often have a contemptuous attitude toward businesses and business owners in California, as Kelly Brothers points out in his recent Sacramento Business Journal op-ed. Brothers, a partner in FBA Regional Sponsor Genovese Burford & Brothers, recalls that powerful Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez posted an obscene tweet last spring about Elon Musk when he argued his Tesla factory shouldn't be shut down due to COVID-19. "Nine months later, Elon Musk i...s gone," Brothers writes. He is selling his personal real estate in the state. He is now a resident of the state of Texas...This year, Musk is likely paying billions in state tax. Next year, he will be a resident of another state." And he ends with a warning to family business owners who are fighting hard to keep businesses profitable in the Golden State: "The next time the state raises your taxes to make up for the underappreciated taxpayers who have left California, try not to use the language employed by Ms. Gonzalez. But no one would blame you if you did." Isn't it time our policy makers work to incentivize businesses instead of regulating and taxing them out of California? The full article is here. http://ow.ly/FOOF50CZOJp

FBA Executive Director Robert Rivinius recently wrote about the impact lawsuit abuse has on California family businesses. It's worth a read. http://ow.ly/pnfn50CWwJs

FBA is becoming a more influential voice for family businesses in California. The latest evidence is found in the American Tort Reform Association's Judicial Hellhole report, which found that California was the third-worst state for lawsuit abuse in the nation. Our very own chairman Ken Monroe was quoted about the impact of PAGA - the Private Attorneys General Act - on family businesses. His comments are on page 20. http://ow.ly/TmBd50CTvMm

Susan Savage, the owner of FBA Member Sacramento River Cats, will be the focus of a TV pilot that will soon be produced starring Felicity Huffman. Here's how Deadline describes the show: "A funny, surprising and occasionally heartbreaking half-hour about love, loss, family and Triple-A baseball, the project stars Huffman as the unlikely owner of a minor-league baseball team. After suddenly losing her husband and inheriting his beloved team, she is forced to navigate her new n...ormal with the help of her dysfunctional family, including her oldest son, a baseball devotee with Down syndrome, her work family and the Sacramento community at large. This is the story of a woman navigating grief, local politics and the business of sports and learning not just to adjust, but to thrive." And let's not forget that the River Cats are defending AAA minor league champions! You can read more here. http://ow.ly/74gV50CHmFG #FamilyBusiness #RiverCats

Family businesses do the job right. Case in point: FBA Member Teichert Construction, which built California's first "diverging diamond" interchange in Manteca. The design requires drivers to move to the opposite side of the road, which seems hopelessly counterintuitive but which traffic engineers believe will make traffic move more smoothly onto Highway 120. Teichert finished the $23.7 million project four months ahead of schedule. You can get the full story -- and a cool animation of how this works -- in the Modesto Bee. http://ow.ly/2OtM50CCeuX