The Chamber doesn't take positions at random. Our advocacy priorities are approved by our Board of Directors and shaped by two things: what our members tell us they need, and how a decision will affect the local business community. When a bill, a budget, or a ballot measure lands in one of those priority areas, we weigh in.

This year, that meant taking positions on five state bills, four ballot measures, and three budget decisions that affect local businesses. With September 30th behind us, the Governor's deadline to sign or veto bills, we now know how this session landed. Below, you'll find the positions we took, how they turned out, and what they mean for businesses here in Santa Cruz County. After that, we'll walk through where the Chamber stands on the measures you'll see on your ballot this November.

Signed Into Law: Two Wins for Local Business

AB 1941 cracks down on organized metal theft. The Chamber supported AB 1941, and the Governor signed it on September 30th. It creates misdemeanor and felony penalties for people who repeatedly steal or traffic metal stripped from telecom lines. Just down the road, The City of  Salinas has been fighting copper thieves who leave whole streets dark. A dark block hurts foot traffic and safety, and a cut line can take a business's phones and internet down with it. This law gives law enforcement better tools to go after the organized rings behind it.

SB 690 reins in website tracking lawsuits. If your business has a website, this one's for you. A 1967 privacy law has been used to file more than 4,000 lawsuits over everyday tools like analytics and tracking pixels, usually with no claim that anyone was harmed. Small businesses and nonprofits have been hit with demand letters asking them to settle just to make it go away.

This is happening right here at home. Santa Cruz's own Socksmith Design was hit with one of these lawsuits and chose to fight it. As company president Sean Jimenez shared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, that's cost them $25,000 up front plus $3,000 to $5,000 every month for more than a year.

The Chamber supported SB 690, and it was signed by Governor Newsom on September 30th. Starting January 1st, 2027, only the Attorney General, not private lawyers, can sue over these tools under the law's "pen register" section, and that covers suits already filed in the prior two years. The challenging part: the bill was narrowed along the way. Wiretapping claims can still be filed, and demand letters will still show up. If you get one, call your attorney before you pay anything.

Wins You Won't See in the Headlines

Some of the best advocacy outcomes are the bills that never become law, and the budget dollars that stay where they belong.

AB 2564 stopped. We opposed this "surveillance pricing" bill, which business groups warned would make it harder for small retailers to offer discounts and promotions. It died on the Assembly floor in the final hours of session.

AB 1582 stopped. We opposed AB 1582, which would have made it harder for UC campuses to contract with outside providers for services. Our local UC campus supports more than 18,000 jobs in our region, and plenty of local businesses do work on that campus. The bill died in committee when session ended.

Child care got real investment. Santa Cruz County is one of the most expensive places in the country for child care. Center-based infant care ran about $24,800 a year in the latest federal data, and a 2023 analysis found the county could meet only about a quarter of the demand for infant and toddler care. We pushed Sacramento to treat this as the workforce issue it is, and the 2026-27 budget funds 22,700 new slots statewide, prioritizing children under three.

UC's budget grew. The Chamber joined our local university partners in Sacramento this spring to protect the University of California's budget. It wasn't just protected. It grew by $533 million, about 11%, including restoring last year's cuts. When one of our biggest economic engines is on solid footing, so are the businesses around it.

One to Get Ready For: AI in Hiring and Firing

Not every outcome went our way. We took an "oppose unless amended" position on SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act, and the Governor signed it. It's narrower than last year's vetoed version, with no advance notice requirement and no AI tool inventory, but it takes effect July 1st, 2027:

- A person has to make the call. You can't rely only on an automated system to discipline or fire someone. A human has to review it and back it up with other evidence.
- Workers have to be told. Employees get written notice afterward if a system was used, and can ask to see their data.
- Violations cost $500 each.

This isn't just a big-company issue. If your 15-person restaurant or retail shop uses scheduling, timekeeping, or HR software that flags or scores employees, ask your vendor how it works and put a human review step in writing now.

On Your November Ballot: Where the Chamber Stands

Voters get the final word on November 3rd. Here's where the Chamber stands on four measures, and why they matter here at home.

Yes on Proposition 45: Faster review for housing and infrastructure. Prop 45 puts a 365-day deadline on environmental review for essential projects like housing, roads, schools, broadband, and wildfire prevention, and gives courts 270 days to rule on lawsuits. In a county where housing costs are one of the biggest reasons employers can't hire and keep good people, and where so many of our neighborhoods sit in wildfire country, getting to "yes" faster on the right projects matters.

No on Proposition 44: Clinic spending mandates. Prop 44 would require community clinics serving low-income patients to spend 90% of revenue on patient care, with penalties opponents estimate could top $1.7 billion statewide in the first year. Here, clinics like Santa Cruz Community Health are where many working families, including a lot of our local employees, get their care. Penalties that force cuts, right as federal health funding shrinks, would hit our workforce directly.

Yes on Measure D: Keeping our coastline in local hands. Since 1986, county voters have had the final say on onshore facilities for offshore oil and gas. Measure D extends that to seabed mining. Our economy runs on the Monterey Bay: the Boardwalk, the wharf, the harbor's fishing fleet, the surf breaks that bring visitors from all over the world. Measure D keeps decisions about our shoreline with the people who live and work here, and it builds on the Chamber's opposition earlier this year to the federal plan for new offshore oil and gas leasing.

Yes on Measure E: Protecting critical county services. The Chamber signed the official rebuttal to the argument against Measure E, a half-cent county sales tax for five years starting April 2027, expected to raise about $27 million a year. Federal cuts are expected to pull about $200 million a year in health care and food assistance out of Santa Cruz County, and the Board of Supervisors has prioritized emergency medical services, mental health and substance use treatment, food access, and homelessness response. No one here takes taxes lightly. But slower ambulance response and a stretched safety net are felt by every business. A temporary measure that keeps these services standing protects the stability we all depend on.

Your Voice Makes Ours Louder

None of this happened by accident. It happened because Santa Cruz County businesses showed up and told us how they feel. We heard it from businesses in our monthly industry-specific roundtables, and from emails and conversations with our members throughout the year.  And the work keeps going: Congress will set final federal workforce training numbers by December 11th, and we'll continue weighing in on that front.

What now?

- Vote by November 3rd. Ballots are arriving now.
- Tell us what's hitting your business. That's how our advocacy priorities get set.
- Mark your 2027 calendar. SB 690 takes effect January 1st, and SB 947 on July 1st.

The Chamber is here to be a catalyst, a convener, and a champion for Santa Cruz County businesses, and to make sure this community has a seat at the table wherever these decisions get made.

If you’re looking to learn more about the best way to stay involved in legislation and regulatory decisions that may impact your business, join us on November 4th for our Advocacy 101 Luncheon with Peter Kellison from Clear Advocacy. With more than four decades of experience in California politics and government, Peter brings a rare, ground-level understanding of how credibility and influence are built in the Capitol, and how the best advocacy often starts long before an issue becomes urgent. Whether you're new to public policy or looking to sharpen your organization's approach, you'll leave with the knowledge and confidence to engage effectively, at the right time, in the right way.