• The League of Women Voters is holding three forums in September regarding the 2014 election; all of them will be held at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway in Santa Maria. The first forum will be for Santa Maria City Council candidates on Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon. The next forum will be for school board candidates for both Santa Maria-Bonita and Santa Maria Joint Union High school districts from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 24. All candidates have been invited to participate. The third forum will debate the pros and cons of Measure P on Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be two speakers in favor and two against. At all the forums, League of Women Voters members will hand out blank cards so audience members can write questions for the candidates and speakers to answer. The forums are free, and the public is invited to attend. The League is a national, non-partisan organization dedicated to the informed and active participation of citizens in government.
• Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB 1522) into law on Sept. 10. The bill, authored by Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) provides paid sick days to millions of Californians—roughly 40 percent of the state’s workforce, according to the governor’s office—who don’t currently have the benefit. AB 522 requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work 30 or more days within a year of starting employment, and employees will earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. “Whether you’re a dishwasher in San Diego or a store clerk in Oakland, this bill frees you of having to choose between your family’s health and your job,” Brown said in a press release. “Make no mistake, California is putting its workers first.” The bill doesn’t apply to contract laborers or in-home support services workers. John Kabateck, director of the California branch of the National Federation of Independent Business, released a statement saying the bill imposes even more mandates on small business. “Our small business owners, who make up more than 99 percent of the employer community in California, already face an increase in minimum wage, among the highest taxes, and more regulations than any other state. This will only serve to eliminate any plans small employers have to grow and expand their businesses,” Kabateck said in the statement. “Depending on the future rate of inflation, the passage of AB 1522 could result in more than 180,000 jobs being lost in California over a 10-year period and a reduction in real output of $29.6 billion.” His statements were made in reference to a study conducted by the National Federal of Independent Business’s Research Foundation.