Business owners attending the Chamber of Commerce
“Direct Line to Sacramento” breakfast got to see something
unusual. They saw Assemblyman John Laird stumped by a legislative
issue.
Business owners attending the Chamber of Commerce “Direct Line to Sacramento” breakfast got to see something unusual.
They saw Assemblyman John Laird stumped by a legislative issue.
Laird, who represents the 21st Assembly district – Morgan Hill and San Martin – and who is normally up to the minute on legislative activity, admitted that he knew nothing about new restrictions on hot air ballooning.
During the question and answer period at the community center, Jeanne Anson of Aero Station Consulting, a local ballooning company, complained that companies like hers now must buy insurance from only one source, reducing, she said, the chance of competitive bids, the result of “the Wiggins bill.”
“I’ve never heard of this,” Laird said, “but I will look into to it.”
He said he has seen other bills pass that benefited only one company and involved a good deal of money.
The Chamber’s intention in bringing the business community together with their state representative was not only to hear what was going on in Sacramento – a matter of interest to almost everyone lately – but to give Laird the chance to hear local concerns, said Alex Kennett, interim Chamber director.
The freshman Laird is active on several state budget committees, including the one negotiating directly with the governor.
Harkening back to the days of Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown (Jerry Brown’s father) 1959-1967, Laird said Brown’s policies emphasized good roads, clean water, health care and good, affordable higher education.
“They made it (California) a good place to invest which brought major economic development and turned the state into the fifth largest economy in the world,” Laird said.
He said significant changes are coming to workers compensation, which has put a heavy load on small business owners.
