News from Jerome E. Horton

Member, 3^rd District State Board of Equalization

On-The-Job Training Opportunities Expansion by Horton and Anderson

On May 15 Board of Equalization Member Jerome Horton has sponsored Senate Bill 1211, authored by Senator Joel Anderson, to repurpose a portion of the $235.1 million in tax credits that go unused annually to provide companies like SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, and the builders of the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood with “On The Job” tax incentives.

California recently earned the title of being the 5th largest economy in the world, despite the fact that California has the highest taxes, cost of living, under-employment, poverty, and homelessness in the nation.  However, many are cautiously optimistic and believe that California is headed for a recession, and now is the time to develop a more advanced workforce, build more affordable housing, and reprioritize our tax codes.  If not, other states and countries are poised to strip us of our title.

According to a California Lutheran University analysis, “for the past 25 years, the number of households and people moving out of California to other states has been greater than those moving into California from other states.”  As middle-income jobs and California retirees leave, the state is quickly becoming a playground for the wealthy, with an increase in millionaires, and foreign employees, flocking to California.  In the midst of this transition, affordable housing, open space, and clean air are being replaced with expensive entertainment venues, restaurants, and high-priced apartment-style living units that many of us cannot afford.  The good news is this has increased the value of homes in traditional minority communities which, in part, contributes to gentrification in California and a statewide increase in property values.  Horton and Anderson believe their legislation will help!

“In order for California’s middle-income earners to survive, California must fully fund education and encourage investments in innovation and technology training in the trades, sciences, and programing,” said Horton. “If not, workers from all over the world will continue to take California’s high-paying jobs.”

One of the programs contributing to this influx of foreign workers to California is the H-B1 program which allows workers in professional job categories who wish to apply to work in the U.S. for a short period to apply for a visa to the U.S. for the purpose of employment.  According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (UNCIS), the agency issues 140,000 permanent immigrant visas each year for aliens who apply to immigrate permanently to the U.S. based on their much-needed job skills.

To make California workers more competitive, Board Member Horton and Senator Anderson are working in a bipartisan way to increase on-the-job training. “We both believe all Californians deserve a path to prosperity. A Democrat and a Republican have joined forces behind SB 1211 because it will help workers gain skills they need to find quality careers and help employers hire and train the skilled workers they need to grow and expand their business,” said Senator Anderson.

The legislation will allow a credit against a business’ income tax in an amount equal to the lesser of 50% of the wages paid to an apprentice in the taxable year or $2,500 for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2024.  The annual credit is granted for up to three years per apprentice and shall apply to no more than ten apprentices in a taxable year.  SB 1211 passed out of the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance and now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

If you are interested in weighing in on this legislation, you can call the Senate Committee on Appropriations at (916) 651-4101 to support SB 1211 (Anderson) to increase businesses’ ability to provide training and access to well-paid careers for displaced and low-skilled workers.

Your Cable Bill Will Increase

Op-Ed on June 4

If Senate Bill 822 (Weiner) passes in its current form, your cable rates will increase.

States around the country are rushing to restore the net neutrality rules developed under President Obama and rolled back by the Trump Administration.  However as they say, “the devil is in the details.”

Senator Weiner’s legislation, SB 822, would restore internet connection safeguards for Californians that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reversed at your expense by shifting the cost from wealthy internet providers to consumers.  This is particularly concerning because it hurts those who can least afford an increase in their cable bills, expands the current wealth inequity, and impedes access to technology.

The original goal of “net neutrality” was that internet service providers and governments would treat all data on the internet equally and not discriminate or charge differently based on the user, services, website, application, or device – in other words, it would provide an open internet.

However, one of the bill’s provisions would ban popular free data offers, like streaming movies and music that do not count against data plans. These free data plans, also known as zero-rated plans, are discounts used by millions of consumers to stream popular online content like video or music.  Data shows that this act disproportionately hurts poor to middle-income earners who have a significantly higher reliance their smartphone as their only form of internet access.

These consumers will get hit with higher monthly costs when they exceed their data caps, or they’ll have to throttle their own internet use. The problem is that consumers rely on their internet access to get jobs and healthcare information and whether consumers pay an extra $10, $15, or $20 per month, it’s not affordable for many low-income people. This amounts to a regressive tax, which wasn’t in the Obama net neutrality rules.

So, who does benefit?  If you scratch the surface of the net neutrality issue, you’ll see that it’s also a business-to-business issue. The bill appears to be written to favor very large “edge providers” – massive internet companies who generate so much traffic that infrastructure needs to be built around them, thus giving them a free ride (at our expense) when it comes to funding their equally massive infrastructure needs. That will shift all the costs onto ordinary consumers.

On the positive side, budding entrepreneurs and small businesses with limited financial resources would still be allowed to build an online presence for little to no additional cost, and local governments would be authorized to service and protect their residents. With the right amendments, and political will, we can protect the little guys and the consumer.

Net-neutrality is necessary, but not at the expense of poor to middle-income earners as this goes beyond the Obama net neutrality policy and hurts California consumers in the process. Remember one of the greatest tricks the devil ever played was convincing the people he does not exist.  Believe in the devil or not, we need to amend this bill and protect consumers and small businesses before the cost of living goes to hell.  Individually our voice has meaning; collectively it has power. Consider calling your legislator today to get their perspective – because “silence grants consent.”