FBA is pleased to announce that Downs Energy has become the newest family business to join our 10-year-old association. The company was founded in 1940 by Elvin Downs as Downs Oil and has evolved into a commercial fuel marketer serving Southern California. Now in its third generation of Downs family ownership, the Corona-based company strives to provide excellent compensation to its employees, exceptional value to its customers, and generous support to its partner charitable organizations. In other words, another great #FamilyBusiness. Welcome!
AB 2611, FBA’s sponsored bill to define a California-based family-owned business was approved by the Assembly Monday on a vote of 71-0 and referred to the Senate for further action. The bill is needed to create a standard definition of what a family business is. Currently, there are at least six definitions of small businesses across California codes, and creating a standard is essential when making economic development decisions such as tax policies, grant programs, and employee training incentives.
If approved by the Senate and signed into law by the Governor, California would be the first state in the nation to statutorily recognized a family-owned business in a way that decision-makers are able to consider the unique strengths and challenges of operating these businesses when considering future actions.
Our thanks to Assembly Member Tom Daly, D-Anaheim, for carrying the measure.
Great news! The Assembly Business and Professions Committee on April 5 unanimously passed AB 2611, FBA’s sponsored bill to create in statute a definition of a family-owned business. A uniform clear definition will provide many benefits, including that it would provide one definition that can be referenced by local municipalities that want to promote family-owned businesses within their local jurisdictions. You can read more about the bill here.
Thanks to the bill’s author, Assembly Member Tom Daly of Anaheim, committee Chair Marc Berman of Palo Alto, Vice Chair Heath Flora of Ripon, and the other committee members for voting for our measure.
The measure is now pending before the full Assembly.
FBA is pleased to announce that two new companies have joined California’s only organization working exclusively to promote family-owned businesses.
ISYS Solutions, Inc. provides onsite medical case, rush medical case, catastrophic medical case, and telephonic medical case management for worker’s compensation, insurance, and healthcare. The Brea-based company was founded over 20 years ago by Chris Loumakis, and his daughter, Alysha Loumakis-Calderon, is now President & COO; daughters Lyndsi and Lorika Loumakis are corporate vice presidents. The company is highly rated by its clients and the mission statement is “ISYS is an organization of people with big minds, big hearts, lots of spirit and good character. We work creatively and intensively to provide case management solutions and have a positive impact on those we serve.”
Headquartered in Pomona, Performance Engineered Products, Inc., is an industry-leading custom plastic injection molding manufacturer with a national market. The company employs over 100 and was founded in 1981. It is owned by Dennis Savalia, who immigrated to the U.S. from India in 1986 and began his first plastic injection molding business in 2007. The company’s core values are empowerment, discipline, equality, prosperity, and teamwork.Thanks to FBA Director and SoCal Chapter Chairman Al Garcia for bringing this new company to FBA.
FBA has joined a coalition opposing SB 1127 (Atkins), which fundamentally alters longstanding rules and timeframes for determining eligibility for workers’ compensation claims and, as drafted, would dramatically increase systemic friction and litigation. SB 1127 reduces the timeline for employers to make a decision about covering a claimed injury but it does not harmonize any of the other statutes and regulations that prevent employers from complying with the new timeline. The bill changes the rules for all claims – including public- and private-sector employers – but the provisions as they apply to public employers are especially challenging.
SB 1127 has three main provisions, all of which are problematic:
Reduces the timeframe allotted for employers to investigate claims
Imposes massive new penalties on employers
More than doubles duration of temporary disability for cancer presumption claims
In addition, SB 1127 does not provide sufficient time to investigate claims, it creates new penalties that make taxpayer funded presumption claims dangerous to investigate, and it more than doubles temporary disability benefits.
The Family Business Association of California is committed to helping our state’s 1.4 million family-owned businesses survive and prosper. To do this more effectively, a common agreement and understanding of what constitutes a family business is necessary. The Family Business Association is taking on this challenge by sponsoring AB 2611, introduced on February 18 by Assembly Member Tom Daly, D-Anaheim (left).
AB 2611 sets out, for the first time in state statute, a definition of a family-owned business. A statutory definition of a family-owned business is important for California because a family-owned businesses is distinct in many ways — both in terms of successes and challenges. AB 2611 sets out that, to be deemed a family-owned businesses in statute, the business must be privately held; strategic influence is exercised by family members; the business must demonstrate continuity across generations; have its headquarters located in California; and have been in business for no less than 10 years.
A uniform clear definition will provide many benefits including one that can be referenced across codes in California including Tax and Government codes and it provides one definition that can be referenced by local municipalities that want to promote family-owned businesses within their local jurisdictions.
Under AB 2611, the definition of a family-owned business is proposed to be added to the statues covering the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) program. The successful GO-Biz program offers a range of services to business owners including attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. Importantly, AB 2611 will let California lead the nation in a positive direction by being the first state to statutorily define a family-owned business so that decision makers are able to better understand the unique challenges of operating community-based businesses when considering future legislative and regulatory actions.
