Punishing Innovation: California Legislators’ Anti-Tech Voting

An in depth report of bills passed by the CA legislature that are harmful to high-tech business in California, compiled by Cathy Baker and Sonia Arrison of the Pacific Research Institute. The executive summary:

The technology sector is an important part of California’s economy, creating jobs and innovative new products for the benefit of the entire state. The technology bust, lingering effects of the energy crisis, and general economic downturn have taken a toll on the industry in the last few years.

One would expect the California legislature to enact policies that aid recovery and growth. Instead, California has pursued a negative legislative environment for technology businesses, further exacerbating the industry’s downturn. One way to discourage poor policymaking is to encourage discussion of past mistakes and shed light on which actors in the legislature are most involved in making them.

This report examines the 10 worst bills affecting the technology sector that were introduced in the 2001-2002 legislative session. The bills were chosen on the level of impact they would have on the productivity of the technology sector from an economic perspective, and second, by how technology-specific they were.

And here are the "10 Bills Most Harmful To Technology Businesses in California:"

1. AB749: Workers’ Compensation
2. SB40: Unemployment Insurance
3. AB2845: Ergonomic Standards
4. SB1523: CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Recycling Fees and Program
5. SB1661: Paid “Family” Leave Program
6. AB2065: Tax Omnibus
7. SB20: Displaced Janitors
8. AB2297: Online Privacy and Disclosure Act of 2002
9. AB2989: Mandated Severance Pay
10. SB147: Employee Monitoring