Commentary
With a recession likely hitting California, now is the worst time for the Legislature to pass bills costly to state businesses. But that’s just what’s happening. Here are four of the worst bills currently on the 2023 Job Killer List of the California Chamber of Commerce.
Senate Bill 399 is by Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward). From the summary of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, “This bill would prohibit an employer from disciplining or threatening to discipline an employee who declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or participate in or receive communications from the employer regarding political or religious matters.”
This obviously is a violation of employers’ First Amendment rights to free speech. SB 399, for example, would ban an email sent out indicating a proposed new law would hurt the company’s business. In particular, it would ban any communication opposing unionization, because unions are political entities, especially nowadays when they have immense power over California politics. The bill would lead to a hornet’s swarm of litigation, raising costs for employers—and giving them another impetus, on top of the many already in existence, to leave the state….