Independent Contractor Compliance Blog - by Collabrus™

SACRAMENTO-In November, Governor Schwarzenegger called back the lame duck lawmakers to fix the budget crisis for California.  As you may have guessed, nothing was accomplished, so now he has called a special session of the new legislators to work on the problem.  What’s on the table?

Governor Schwarzenegger said, “Without immediate action our state is headed for a fiscal disaster and that is why with more than two dozen new legislators sworn in today I am wasting no time in calling a fiscal emergency special session.  We must act now to address the current year revenue shortfall of $11.2 billion and we must implement an economic stimulus package to help retain and create jobs, keep Californians in their homes and fix the state’s Unemployment Insurance Fund.”

Specifically, the governor includes the following labor law and tax points in his plan:

• Provide overtime exemptions and allow more flexible work schedules to increase productivity to keep jobs in California.
• Clarify meal and rest periods to save businesses in litigation costs and create less confusion from meal break violations.
• An increase in contributions into the Unemployment Insurance Fund, combined with a small reduction in UI benefits in order to maintain the fund’s solvency.
• A bipartisan “Commission on the 21st Century Economy” to re-examine and modernize California’s revenue laws.

It’s always alert-time when politicians want to “re-examine and modernize” revenue laws during a time of government budget shortfalls.  The Republicans are still resisting tax increases, favoring instead a cutback in government services.  However, the Democrats now have three more seats in the State Assembly than the last session, so their solution to the budget of raising taxes may have a better chance to pass.

I’ll keep an eye on this and report any changes in the future.