Insight Magazine July/Aug/Sept by Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce

JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2022

In This Issue: PG 6-9 | BUSINESS GROWTH

PG 11 | MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT RATE INCREASE

PGS 12-13 | RIBBON CUTTINGS

PG 14 | LEADERSHIP HIGH DESERT 2022 GRADUATES

PG 17 | 7 JOB KILLER BILLS

PG 22 | CHAMBER CALENDAR

CHAMBER STAFF Mark Creffield, President/CEO Ruby Clark, Director of Member Relations Jenny Flores, Special Events & Graphics Coordinator Luis Urgilés, Director of Business Services Workforce Development Chelsea Sullivan, Internal Services Coordinator

CONTENTS 3

Chairman’s Message

Board of Directors/Business Councils

6-9

Business Growth

Thank You Ignite Sponsors

Mileage Reimbursement Rate Increase

12-13

Ribbon Cuttings

Leadership High Desert 2022 Graduates

New Chamber Investors

7 Job Killer Bills

Thank You State of the Chamber Sponsors

Chamber Calendar

Chairman’s Circle

Published by the Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce 15428 Civic Dr. #310, Victorville, CA 92392 Tel: (760) 245-6506 Fax: (760) 245-6505 e-mail: mark@ghdcc.com Visit us on-line at www.ghdcc.com MANUSCRIPTS: The editor welcomes articles for possible publication. The Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce assumes no responsibility for the care or return of any manuscripts. Articles are subject to editing and are included on an “as space permits” basis. ADVERTISING: Advertising will be accepted from outside sources at the current member/non-member rates. The Chamber reserves the right to refuse any advertisement and/or sponsorship. The printing of an advertisement and/or content does not constitute or confer an endorsement of a product, business or service. DISCLAIMER: All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in Insight Magazine. The Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce accepts no responsibility for damages arising directly or as a consequence of the use or publication of inaccurate information. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own, and are not necessarily shared by Insight Magazine, its staff, the Greater High Desert Chamber or advertisers. Editorial content is intended as general information, and not as specific legal or financial advice; for such, readers are advised to consult professionals in the appropriate field. The Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce assumes no liability resulting from advertising contained in this publication.

To all Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce members, I trust that this message finds you well, in good health and enjoying personal and professional success. The chamber is entering a new fiscal year and as with all milestones we have an opportunity to take stock, to celebrate and be grateful for our wins, and to identify those areas where we can renew our focus or set goals to improve. In the win column, President/CEO Mark Creffield and the chamber team have been recognized by CalCamber as a 2022 President’s Circle Award recipient. The Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce is one of only 14 chambers to have received this award. Per CalChamber: “Our top local chamber partners play leading roles as community problem solvers and the voice of business on public policy,” said Jennifer Johnson, CalChamber director of local chamber relations. “We commend them for all their hard work over the last year fighting on behalf of California business.” High praise and well-deserved recognition for our Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations to the chamber team and thank you to Director Shannon Shannon for leading an engaged and impactful Legislative Action Committee. Without your dedication and leadership this award would not have been possible. Continuing with things to be grateful for - our High Desert continues to show signs of growth and prosperity, despite economic uncertainty and challenges at the state and federal level. Look around and you’ll see new houses being built, businesses and commercial space being renovated and now hiring signs on sidewalks and in storefronts (we can help with that, by the way – shameless plug). New distribution centers have opened in Hesperia and Victorville, at the Southern California Logistics Airport, with more development still to come. There is no better time than the present to invest in yourself and your business. Let the chamber help market your new product or service, consider an event sponsorship to get your name in front of local decision makers, or attend a VMI or Coffee Break meeting to network and grow your business. In closing, I consider it a privilege to serve each of you as Chair of the Board of Directors. I am encouraged for the year ahead. We are fortunate to have a respected, well-led, and involved chamber that advocates with our local and state policymakers to champion for a strong pro-business climate. However, we are much more effective when we hear from you. We want to understand what is working and where you are experiencing challenges. This chamber is stronger and more capable with an involved and vocal membership. We are here to help, allow the chamber to magnify your voice for the benefit of all High Desert businesses. Please contact the chamber or me, directly. Let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you or help your business achieve greater success.

Mike Thrapp ICR Staffing Services, Inc. 2022-2023 Chair of the Board insight magazine | 3

BUSINESS COUNCILS ADELANTO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2022 - 2023 Mike Thrapp – Chair of the Board - ICR Staffing Services, Inc.

Executive Committee Matthew Carlos – Chair – Desert Community Bank James Janecka – Secretary/Treasurer – GEO Group, Inc. Director Manny Serrano – Jet Room, Inc.

Lisa Lamb - Chair Elect - Lewis Center for Educational Research Shannon Shannon – Vice Chair/Finance – SaddleRock Reverse Mortgage Martial Haprov – Immediate Past Chair – Mojave Desert AQMD

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022 - 2023 Clinton Alford – Farmers Insurance-Clinton Alford Agency Casey Armstrong – Armstrong Fairway Insurance Agency, Inc. William Brady – PRMG, Inc. Stacy DeVoll – DeVoll Rubber Mfg Group, Inc. Eddie Hernandez – Desert Valley Hospital/Medical Group Randi Hunt – Inland SoCal United Way

APPLE VALLEY Executive Committee Lisa Kiplinger Kennedy – Chair – Boisset Collection Jessica Borzilleri – Secretary/Treasurer – Kindred Hospice Director Carol Thomas Keefer – Liberty Utilities Sabrina Schneider – Off the Grid Brewery

HESPERIA Executive Committee James Needham – Chair – Affordable Technology, Inc. Niru Vangala – Secretary/Treasurer – Foremost Retirement Resort Director Jessica Carrillo – A Magic Moment Custom Cakes

Aaron Korn – Pacific Refrigerator Company Arsalee Morales - Apple Valley Communications Sarina Muhammad - Goodwill Career Resource Center Pat Orr – Individual Member Sharon Page – Sharon R. Page, Copywriter Dr. Kenisha L. Williams - TransFormNation Traning & Development, LLC.

VICTORVILLE Executive Committee Gwen Bedics – Chair/Treasurer – Alaska USA Business & Commerical Services Chris Lamoreaux – Secretary – Coldwell Banker Home Source Director Laura Andre – The Mall of Victor Valley Randall Castillo – Providence St. Mary Medical Center Karen Engelsen – Victor Valley College Yvonne Cox – Mojave Water Agency

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

#KeepingItRegional #CommunityIsOurBusiness insight magazine | 4

NOW HIRING? DO YOU NEED HELP FINDING QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES? THE GREATER HIGH DESERT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CAN HELP! OUR GOAL IS TO BUILD A STRONG WORKFORCE PLACEMENT PROGRAM IN OUR REGION.

WE WANT TO PARTNER WITH YOU, WHETHER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR EMPLOYEES OR EMPLOYMENT. CONTACT LUIS FOR YOUR HIRING NEEDS! (760) 245-6506 EXT. 102 | LUIS@GHDCC.COM

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS FOR YOUR REFERRALS! Bounce Realty Richard Bounce PRMG, Inc. William Brady Legal Shield Business Solutions Terry Fitch City of Victorville Mayor Debra Jones Assemblyman Thurston Smith, 33rd District Miriam Munoz Springhill Suites by Marriott Victorville Hesperia -

2022 High Desert Regional Open Golf Tournament

Friday September 30th

Wesley Quintanar

SaddleRock Reverse Mortgage Shannon Shannon

Save The Date! insight magazine | 5

SO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS AND BUSINESS IS GOOD. NOW HOW DO YOU MAKE IT BETTER? THE BEST BUSINESSES ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE, WHETHER THAT’S OFFERING BETTER PRODUCTS OR ADOPTING MORE EFFICIENT PROCESSES. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

You should always look for ways to improve your business, but there is such a thing as growing too soon or too quickly. Take American Apparel, for example, which opened nearly 300 stores just six years after its launch, then fell deeply in debt, filed for bankruptcy, and shut down its stores, becoming an online-only retailer. The lesson here? Before you invest too much time, energy and other resources into your business, make sure it’s the right time to grow. Here are some signs.

To understand what people really want, you have to find out what their real challenges are,” said Ramit Sethi, the author of the New York Times best seller, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” and founder of Growth Lab, a company that helps entrepreneurs build and grow online businesses. Figure out what made your current customers want to buy your product. This will help you pinpoint what you’re doing right, and what marketing strategies might be a waste of time. Mr. Sethi interviews tens of thousands of his own customers, who are also business owners, to find their pain points and advises them to do the same He asks the following questions: Tell us about your day. What are the best parts? What are the hardest parts? Have you bought something like this before? If you could wave a magic wand, what would success look like? If your company serves other businesses (known as B2B), ask about their business and revenue goals. You might conduct these interviews over the phone or via email. Choose a wide swath of customers: ones you interact with all the time and ones that only use your business once in a while. Either way, the interview process can help you figure out what’s working and what isn’t in your marketing.

Many entrepreneurs find initial success copying a competitor’s business model. If you want your business to grow however, you’ll have to set it apart and find your unique brand identity. Customer interviews can come in handy with this, too. Try it: Create an avatar for your target customer. Write a before and after description for him or her — that is, a quick bio of who they are before and after purchasing your product or using your business. You may have done this when you first launched, but it’s important to update this avatar as your business expands.

Affiliate marketing involves selling your product or service through a thirdparty who then gets a small cut of your profits. This may be especially useful for B2B companies, who can tap their existing customers to share these products with their own customers. This is a smart way to advertise and grow your reach with the help of like-minded companies, bloggers or influencers. (Of course, insight | 6 make sure these aren’t direct competitors.) you magazine want to insight magazine | 6

Even if you don’t have an online business, expanding your online brand presence is crucial to getting your product in front of more eyes, especially if your product sells directly to consumers. Some strategies you might consider:

Whether you share content via a blog, newsletter or Twitter account, posting regularly will help your followers stay interested and engaged with your brand. Use tools like Hootsuite and IFTTT to schedule posts and shares.

Whichever online platform you use to promote your business, make sure the content you post is consistent to your brand’s identity. For example, if your brand is about simplicity and minimalism, you probably don’t want to post something about the best Black Friday deals.

Generate buzz around your business with a giveaway or contest. For example, Lonely Planet uses Instagram to encourage users to tag their travel photos for a chance to be featured on the Lonely Planet page. This expands their reach to other audiences and gets users to advertise Lonely Planet at no cost to the brand.

Your product to the customer. Your is how quickly the basic, day-to-day functions of your business get done. Example: You sell a physical product on Etsy and handle all the tasks associated with your business on your own. You create the product, manage social media, ship everything out and respond to customer feedback. You could hire an assistant to ship products and manage social media, and your business now functions much faster. This doesn’t always mean hiring people, though. If your Wi-Fi is painfully slow, for example, switching Internet providers may insight magazine | 7 increase your functioning speed a lot.

is how long it takes to get the

Example: You have a financial consulting business. When you get a new client, you spend days emailing each other back and forth to schedule your consulting calls. Use an online scheduler like Calendy or Square to eliminate the back and forth. Your client can now get their sessions scheduled in one step. To increase this speed, focus on efficiency. Make a list of all the steps involved in processing a sale in your business, then see if there’s anything that can be eliminated or combined. is about leveraging the right timing to grow your business. Example: When gas prices were increasing in 2005, Mitsubishi took advantage of the timing and offered a year of free gas for new customers, given as a prepaid debit card. The cost of this incentive was minimal to them overall but increased their sales by 7.2 percent, reported Heinz marketing. Even better, it improved their brand perception. insight magazine | 7

If your current product or service is selling like hotcakes, it might be time to offer something brand new. You can add more products, higherpriced products, or upgrades and add-ons. You could also consider a monthly subscription model, similar to what Netflix or Dollar Shave Club does.” If you already have multiple products, you could also get existing customers to buy more from you. What are customers saying? What are the problems they need to solve? Some other areas you might want to research: Where your customers live, where they spend time online, and what they’re searching for. Use tools like Google Keywords, Google Trends, Quantcast and Market Samurai to help with this. Competitors that offer similar products. What does their growth look like? What do their customer testimonials tell you? Interviews and polls with your existing customers. What are their additional needs?

1. THE FIRST THING YOU'RE SELLING IS YOURSELF. 2. LISTEN MORE THAN YOU TALK. 3. KNOW WHO TO SELL TO. 4. KEEP IT SIMPLE. insight magazine | 8 insight magazine | 8

Before you go full force with this product, keep it simple. Start with a Minimum Viable Product (M.V.P.). This is a product that meets the bare minimum requirements to be launched. You don’t want to waste too much time building a complicated product that’s too hard to measure. Plus, you want to give your product room to grow, depending on customer feedback.

Upselling is getting your customers to buy add-on products, and crossselling is getting them to buy entirely separate products that might still benefit them in some way. Many businesses cross-sell and upsell on a checkout page or in a follow-up email. Either way, the idea is the same: Get your existing customers to keep buying from you. Be upfront about the cost and additional value. If they’re already spending money, customers will be curious why they should spend more. Be clear about how much more they’ll need to spend. Tell them exactly what they’re getting from the sale. Show social proof. Use testimonial videos or blurbs from customers. If you don’t have this, use numbers or data about your business — maybe you’d like them to join 5,000 other customers who purchased additional services from you. Consider timing. Decide on the best time to offer an upsell. This might be after your customer reaches a milestone related to their original sale, or when seasons change or on a specific holiday. For example, if you’re a personal stylist, you might offer past customers new services during the fall or spring season, when wardrobes need refreshing.

How do you know when it’s time to hire a team in the first place? Here are some good indicators: You are turning down opportunities because you don’t have bandwidth. You’re working overtime. You turn down opportunities because you lack certain specialized skills. You can quantify the value of a new hire (i.e. you’ll spend $30,000 a year but earn $100,000 more in new business). If you already have a team, it makes sense to expand when the current is at or near capacity.

You may already know the specific role you need to hire. If not, then make a list of all the work you do in your business. From there, pinpoint tasks on the list that are a repeatable process that someone else can do. You’ll see the job description come together. Hiring help will be most effective if these operations are already in place.

Of course, the goal of hiring a team is to make more money by focusing your efforts on the thing you’re best at while other people do everything else. When you grow and you hire people, your job changes. You now have to manage another person or a group of people. You have to manage personalities and conflict and group dynamics. Make sure this is a job you want to do and that you’re good at. Consider taking a basic managerial course to see if it’s something you would enjoy doing.

When pulling together your team, you want to make sure you have the best people for the job. Look at an overlap of skills fit, character fit and culture fit, Ms. de Leon suggested. “Having the right skills is only part of finding the right person for your team. They need to be able to fit into the culture you’re creating at your company.” Test new hires before bringing them on your team. If you’re looking for a detail-oriented person, give them a detailed task. If you’re looking for someone who works well under pressure, give them a task with a tight deadline. You can also suggest a trial run of 30 to 90 days to make sure both you and the potential new hire are happy. As for finding people, go beyond job boards and tap your network. “Some of the best hires I’ve had were from people I knew or from meeting in a community,” Ms. de Leon said. “It’s hard to judge people by their resumes alone.” When it comes time to interview potential hires, ask open-ended questions and leave enough time for them to talk. Of course, you’ll want to ask the obvious, general questions about past experience and greatest challenges. When you craft questions that are specific to the role and to your business, however, consider those three aforementioned traits: company culture, personal character and professional skills.

Kristin Wong is a freelance writer, journalist and author of "Get Money: Live the Life You Want, Not Just the Life You Can Afford." This is part of a series of guides for working women brought to you by The New York Times and Bumble Bizz, a professional networking app by Bumble. See the full series at nytimes.com/workingwomen. Full Article: https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/how-togrow-your-business

insight magazine | 9 insight magazine | 9

PRESENTED BY

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HESPERIA

MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT RATE INCREASES ON JULY 1 On June 9, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced an increase in the standard mileage rate for the second half of 2022. Although this rate usually changes annually in January, this year’s sharp increase in gas prices prompted the mid-year change. “The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in fuel prices,” explained IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in the press release. “We are aware a number of unusual factors have come into play involving fuel costs, and we are taking this special step to help taxpayers, businesses and others who use this rate.” Effective July 1, 2022, and through the end of the year, the standard mileage rate for business travel will be 62.5 cents per mile, which is a four-cent increase from the 58.5 cent rate that was announced in late 2021. Additionally, the rate for medical and moving purposes will be 22 cents, up four cents from the first half of 2022. The rate for miles driven in service of charitable organizations will remain at 14 cents per mile. The optional standard mileage rate is used to compute the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use in lieu of tracking actual costs. It’s based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs, such as gas and oil. The charitable rate is set by law. Under California Labor Code section 2802, employers must fully reimburse employees for all expenses actually and necessarily incurred — which includes reimbursing employees for required use of their personal vehicle. While using the IRS mileage reimbursement rate is optional, many employers typically choose to do so — and both the California courts and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement have stated that, absent evidence to the contrary, using the IRS mileage rate will generally satisfy an employer’s obligation to reimburse for business-related personal vehicle expenses. Employers who use the IRS mileage rate to reimburse employees for business mileage should be ready to apply the higher rate beginning July 1, 2022, and ensure that their expense reimbursement policies are updated to reflect the increased mileage rate. Bianca N. Saad, Vice President, Labor and Employment – Content, Training and Advice, CalChamber

Article Courtesey of HR Watchdog presented by CalChamber https://hrwatchdog.calchamber.com/2022/06/mileage-reimbursement-rate-increases-on-july-1/ insight magazine | 11

RIBBON CUTTINGS

Blended Canna

Caring Circuit Institute, LLC.

Crumbl Cookies - Apple Valley

Guiding Light Foster Family Agency

Hesperia Ace Hardware, LLC.

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Hill Top Salon

Hot Commodity Bar

The Gym - Apple Valley

P7 Apparel Wear

Victor Valley Animal Protective League

GROUND BREAKING

Eagle Villas 55+ Senior Apartments Hesperia

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Congratulations Graduates

DIANA Q. AMAYA

ANDREA BELL

CHRISTOPHER BRYAN GIN MICHELL LEE GOMEZ

KYLER BRAY

FREDY ANIBAL BONILLA

KIM HALLMARK

SYDNIE HARRIS

KAREN ENGELSEN

MARTIAL DAVID HAPROV TIERANIE HAWKINS

JODI MCEACHERON KRISTI MENDOZA, AU.D. CARLOS G. MONTERREY

DALE LEE II

BARB LORD

AMBAR MARTINEZ PALACIOS

SHAH NAWAZ

DAVID NGUYEN

AMI POPINEAU

KINDA SALLOUM

CASSANDRA SEARCY

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JISELA CORONA

CHRISTINE D. RIGHTNAR CANDICE ROCHE

KEVIN P. SMILEN

AUSTIN RAY RUIZ

CLINT SUMMERS

APPLICATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP HIGH DESERT 2023 WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER.

LAW CORP

insight magazine | 15

760-316-4341

greinerlawcorp.com

Apple Valley Medical and Financial Services (760) 247-7990 21735 US HWY 18 Apple Valley, CA 92307 http://www.avmfs.net Financial & Investment Services

Green Trucking Solutions (888) 328-3898 14816 Valley Blvd. Fontana, CA 92335 http://www.hubgts.com Transportation

Keystone Industrial Medicine (909) 521-8818 17310 Bear Valley Rd., Ste 101 Victorville, CA 92395 http://keystone.com Healthcare

Bunker Bookkeeping (442) 888-5032 Casey Bunker Victorville, CA 92394 https://bunkerbookkeeping.com Accountants

Guiding Light Forster Family Agency (760) 978-6208 15367 Bonanza Rd., Ste. A & B Victorville, CA 92392 http://www.guidinglightffa.org/ Foster and Adoption Agency

Cinran Electrical Solutions Inc. (310) 467-7643 13600 Pawnee Rd., Ste 4 Apple Valley, CA 92308 http://www.cinran.com Solar Energy Equipment & Systems Dealers

H Pro Events LLC (626) 780-2775 Jose Huitron Hesperia, CA 92345 http://Hproevents.net Audio Visual Services

Marabou, Creative Concepts in Education (760) 810-0583 Dr. Fran Williams Apple Valley, CA 92307 https://maraboucreativeconcepts.weebly. com/ Education

David J. Greiner Law Corp, APC (760) 316-4341 17330 Bear Valley Rd., Ste 102 Victorville, CA 92395 http://www.greinerlawcorp.com Attorneys

Hesperia Ace Hardware, LLC. (760) 948-0983 17200 Main St. Hesperia, CA 92345 hesperiaacehardware@gmail.com Retail Store

Disabled American Veterans Bill Kinnard Chapter 92 (760) 241-9647 14209 Luna Road Victorville, CA 92392 http://www.dav92highdesert.com Community Organization/ Nonprofit

High Desert Marines (661) 433-9240 PO BOX 3180 Victorville, CA 92393 http://highdesertmarines.com Community Organizations/ Nonprofit

Dixon Pest Control (760) 381-8800 13829 Park Ave., Ste 100 Victorville, CA 92392 http://www.dixonpestcontrol.com Pest Control Dynasty Realty (442) 229-1066 17130 Sequoia St., Ste 201 Hesperia, CA 92345 IG BrandiBringsMeHome Relator (Lic # 01490520) Express Employment Professional (760) 953-6574 15550 Main St. C-12 Hesperia, CA 92345 http://Expresspros.com/hesperiaca Employment Services First Institute Training & Mgt, (FITM) (909) 829-1643 14755 Foothill Blvd., Suite GHI Fontana, CA 92335 http://www.fitmnow.com Education/ Employment Services

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Hill Top Salon (818) 392-9810 8125 Ave., Ste 4 Hesperia, CA 92345 https://www.facebook.com/ Hilltopsalon1 Beauty Salons/ Spas Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites (760) 244-7674 9750 Keypointe Ave. Hesperia, CA 92345 https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/ hotels/us/en/hesperia/ Hotels/ Motels Hot Commodity Body Bar (760) 997-9770 18387 US HWY 18, Ste. 1 Apple Valley, CA 92307 http://www.hotcommoditybodybar.net Day Spa Integrity Payments (760) 449-0140 Tari Blalock Hesperia, CA 92345 http://www.integritypayments.com Credit Card Processing

Paradise Family Realty, Inc. (760) 900-9425 14285 Amargosa Rd., Ste 200 Victorville, CA 92392 http://paradisefamilyrealty.com Property Management/ Real Estate Services Primerica (760) 885-9651 721 Nevada St., Ste 301 Redlands, CA 92373 - Resides in Apple Valley http://www.primerica.com/soniablodgett Financial & Investment Services R & R Group (760) 900-4303 Tish Ramirez Apple Valley, CA 92308 https://www.facebook.com/RRgroup4you Real Estate Services Southern California Media (626) 820-2226 Maggie Rodriguez Victorville, CA 92392 http://www.southerncaliforniamedia.com Marketing/ Media The Gym (760) 646-9148 20240 Outer Hwy 18 Apple Valley, CA 92307 https://the-gym.com/apple-valley Fitness Center THRIVE Group (760) 475-9350 13261 Spring Valley Parkway #101 Victorville, CA 92395 https://www.facebook.com/ThrivegroupRE Real Estate Services Thundar Lightning & Peace (760) 475-4325 Samantha Moreno Apple Valley, CA 92307 http://thundarlp.org Veteran’s Assistance

7 JOB KILLER BILLS PASS TO SECOND HOUSE Seven California Chamber of Commerce job killer proposals have moved on to the second house, passing a key legislative deadline on May 27 that required nontax-related bills to pass out of the house in which they were introduced. The following seven bills passed the house of origin deadline on Friday: Labor and Employment AB 2183 (Stone; D-Scotts Valley) Forced Unionization Process for Agricultural Employees. Limits an employee’s ability to independently and privately vote for unionization in the workplace, by essentially eliminating a secret ballot election and replacing it with the submission of representation cards signed by over 50% of the employees, which leaves employees susceptible to coercion and manipulation by labor organizations. Also, unfairly limits an employer’s ability to challenge the cards submitted by forcing employers to post an unreasonable bond, and then limits an employee’s ability to decertify a union, by forcing them to go through the ballot election process instead of submission of representation cards. Also includes an unnecessary presumption of retaliation that is effectively unlimited in scope because it would apply for the duration of an election campaign, which could last for a year or more. AB 2188 (Quirk; D-Hayward) Limits Employers’ Ability to Keep Workplace Drug-Free. Risks workplace safety by promoting marijuana use to a protected class under California’s discrimination law, on par with national origin or religion. Also effectively prohibits pre-employment drug testing, harming employers’ ability to keep their workplace safe and drug free. In addition, would prohibit use of traditional marijuana tests, such as urine and hair testing, and compel employers to utilize saliva-based testing. SB 1044 (Durazo; D-Los Angeles) State of Emergency. Allows employees to leave work or refuse to show up to work if employee feels unsafe regardless of existing health and safety standards or whether employer has provided health and safety protections and subjects employers to costly PAGA lawsuits if they dispute the employee’s decision or need to have another employee take over any job duties. SB 1162 (Limón; D-Goleta) Publication of Pay Data. Encourages litigation against employers based on the publication of broad, unreliable data collected by the state. Undermines employers’ ability to hire, imposes burdensome administrative and record keeping requirements, and subjects employers to a private right of action and penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). CEQA AB 1001 (Garcia, Cristina; D-Los Angeles) Expands CEQA and Hurts Housing. Creates new highly subjective, non-quantifiable and litigation-bait standards in CEQA that will threaten California’s economic recovery and ability to construct much needed housing. It also removes local government discretion regarding how to analyze and mitigate proposed project impacts, thereby making projects more expensive, harder to build and more likely to be thrown into courts by NIMBY opposition. AB 2840 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Warehouse and Logistics Project Ban. Circumvents the California Environmental Quality Act, creates an unprecedented ban on warehouses and logistics use projects irrespective of whether there are any project impacts, usurps local authority over land use decisions, exacerbates supply chain problems, and forces union labor for proposed private projects that are not banned. Workers’ Compensation SB 213 (Cortese; D-San Jose) Workers’ Compensation Presumption. Expands Costly Presumption of Injury. Significantly increases workers’ compensation costs for public and private hospitals by presuming certain diseases and injuries are caused by the workplace and establishes an extremely concerning precedent for expanding presumptions into the private sector. Article courtesey of CalChamber Advocacy, https://advocacy.calchamber.com/2022/05/31/7-job-killer-bills-pass-to-second-house/?utm_campaign=Story%20Ideas%20June%202022%20(1)&utm_source=Acoustic&utm_medium=Email&spMailingID=71719398&spUserID=NTE1NjQ3NzE3NjU2S0&spJobID=2245319083&spReportId=MjI0NTMxOTA4MwS2 insight magazine | 17

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CHAMBER CALENDAR

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

State of the County at Valley Morning Insight Reservations Required Victorville Conference Center 7:30am

Valley Morning Insight - Reservations Required Victorville Conference Center 7:30am

Coffee Break Update - Reservations Required Via Zoom 9:00am

Coffee Break Percy Bakker Community Center 7:00am

Ambassador Recruitment Mixer - Reservations Required Spring Valley Lake 5:00pm

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Coffee Break Update - Rerservations Required Via Zoom 9:00am

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2022 - 2023

Chairman’s Circle PLATINUM MEMBERS

GOLD MEMBERS Apple Valley Communications

ICR Staffing Services, Inc.

City of Hesperia

PRMG, Inc.

City of Victorville / SCLA

SaddleRock Reverse Mortgage

Excelsior Charter Schools

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The Law Offices of Caldwell, Kennedy, & Porter

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Providence St. Mary Medical Center

Armstrong Fairway Insurance Agency Inc.

Options For Youth

AVC Tech Services, Inc.

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TO BECOME A CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE MEMBER CONTACT MARK CREFFIELD (760) 245-6506 | mark@ghdcc.com

insight magazine | 23

15428 Civic Dr. #310, Victorville, CA 92392

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Insight Magazine July/Aug/Sept

Articles inside

7 Job Killer Bills

New Chamber Investors

Mileage Reimbursement Rate Increase