SACRAMENTO — The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) today commended Assembly Speaker Karen Bass for her creation of a task force to quickly find strategies to spur the state’s economic recovery.
“With a budget solution agreed upon, there is no time to lose in enacting specific changes to send a genuine message nationally that California is going to be a better place to do business and hire workers,” said CJAC President John H. Sullivan.
Sullivan said he earlier sent Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez, who will lead the Assembly Stimulus, Economic Recovery, and Jobs (SERJ) Task Force, information on four statutory changes in the civil litigation area that would help send a national signal that California wants to treat businesses fairly.
“To say business planners across the country have been getting an opposite message is a vast understatement,” he said.
He called attention to a February 17 Wall Street Journal editorial, “The Decline of California,” which included a claim that “It’s no surprise that most CEOs we talk to, many of whom live in California, say they’d be foolish to build another plant in the state.”
“We are dealing with a perception that needs to be turned around,” Sullivan said. “The Journal also reported separately that several states are running paid campaigns to lure California businesses and employees out of the state.”
The Civil Justice Association earlier offered lawmakers four suggestions that if enacted would signal a strong step toward curing California’s anti-business reputation in the legal arena. These include improving the state’s unbalanced class action law, encouraging mediation and arbitration, removing penalties on defendants hoping to appeal decisions, and bringing realistic clarity to employee meal and rest break rules.
Sullivan said those not familiar with California litigation won’t see the proposals as splashy, but that they will, however, be recognized nationally by business decision-makers. These are the people who, in preparing for economic recovery, will decide how many personnel and facilities to add or retain in California, if any, and how much to develop in a different state.
One of CJAC’s recommendations, the class action proposal, is the subject of a bill (AB 298) introduced on Tuesday by Assemblyman Van Tran, who is the Assembly Judiciary committee’s vice chair.
Two op-eds on the subject by Sullivan can be found on the CJAC Blog.
Contact: John H. Sullivan
(916) 443-4900