Catalyst. Convener. Champion.
Chamber Connection SA NTA M A RIA VALLE Y CH A MB E R MO NTHLY NE WS LE T TE R | M ARCH 202 2
Legislative Session Off to a Fast Start
Ben Golombek, Executive Vice President, CalChamber Both houses of the State Legislature recently wrapped up their work on 2-year bills that had a January 31st deadline to pass their house of origin. The Chamber Advocacy team was focused on a number of significant bills that would impact both our members as well as the larger California economy. Through a lot of hard work and collaboration we were incredibly successful ahead of this legislative deadline, and I wanted to outline some of our recent wins: Bills Stopped The following job killer and oppose bills failed the recent house-of-origin deadline: • Job Killer – Defeated: AB 1400 (Kalra; D-San Jose): Would have penalized employers, eliminated individual choice, and resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on all Californians and California businesses, by creating a new single-payer government-run, multibillion-dollar health care system.
• Job Killer – Defeated: AB 995 (Lorena
Gonzalez; D-San Diego): Would have imposed new costs and would leave requirements on employers of all sizes, by expanding the number of paid sick days employers are required to provide, which is in addition to all of the recently enacted leave mandates (COVID-19 sick leave, Cal/OSHA emergency paid time off, California Family Rights Act leave,
workers’ compensation, etc.) that small employers throughout the state are already struggling with to implement and comply.
• Job Killer – Defeated: AB 1192 (Kalra; D-San Jose): Would have placed new onerous administrative burdens on employers by requiring them to publish extensive, private salary and benefit information on the Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s website. Public disclosure of completely lawful policies and conduct could give the false impression of wage disparity where none may exist and subjects employers to frivolous litigation and settlement demands.
• Cal Chamber Oppose – Defeated: AB
416 (Kalra; D-San Jose): Would have required any companies submitting bids for state procurement contracts involving a range of common goods, including wood, rubber, paper, and others, to adopt new internal policies regarding sourcing of materials for all contracts, not just state-related contracts, and provide potentially proprietary information regarding their supply chain to the state as part of the application process.
• Cal Chamber Oppose – Defeated: AB
854 (Lee; D-San Jose): Would have upended the Ellis Act and property rights by forcing rental property owners
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WHAT ' S INSIDE : M ARCH 2022 ISSUE
Monthly Featured Businesses p.2
Microbusiness Grants p. 6
Hispanic Business Committee p. 7
Continued - Legislative Session Off to a Fast Start Continued from p.1
to stay in business even when they can no longer afford to stay landlords, interferes with a family’s ability to move into their own property and creates an arbitrary 5-year restriction on an owner’s ability to move into their own property.
• Cal Chamber Oppose – Defeated: AB
1218 (McCarty; D-Sacramento): Would have imposed a “feebate” structure on manufacturers, which has the effect of increasing the cost of all vehicles in a manufacturer’s fleet, including the cost of light duty vehicles used by commercial and industrial businesses.
• Cal Chamber Oppose – Defeated: SB
582 (Stern; D-Canoga Park): Would have threatened substantial increases in the cost of goods and services of entities subject to cap-and-trade by doubling our 2030 carbon emissions reduction goals.
• Cal Chamber Oppose – Defeated:
SB 342 (Lena Gonzalez; D-Long Beach): Would have expanded board membership and imposed limitations on the types of appointees to the local air districts.
Legislature Passes 2 Job Killer, 1 Oppose Bill While we had a fantastic track record, a few bills that we opposed did manage to narrowly pass and will continue moving through the Legislative process, however there will be additional opportunities to work on these bills: • Job Killer: AB 1001 (Cristina Garcia; D-Los Angeles): Creates new highly subjective, non-quantifiable and litigation-bait standards in the California Environmental Quality Act (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.
• Job Killer: SB 213 (Cortese; D- San
Jose): 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.
• Oppose: AB 257 (Holden;
D-Pasadena): Undermines the existence of the franchise model by holding franchisors responsible for all conduct by individual franchisees. Establishes Fast Food Sector Council that would have unprecedented authority to write its own labor and employment laws for fast food restaurant employees, circumventing the California Legislature and other regulatory agencies’ position in establishing such laws.
The 2022 Legislative year is already underway with the initial deadline to introduce new bills coming this Friday, February 18th. The Chamber team will be working hard on the 1,000+ bills that will be introduced to ensure that the State’s economic recovery from COVID is not deterred. Original article appeared at CapitolInsider. CalChamber.com; Reprinted with permission.
Chamber & City Spotlight Successful Local Businesses The City of Santa Maria and the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce continued their featured business partnership in February, recognizing two additional local businesses during a City Council meeting on February 15. This program recognizes businesses who have been in the community for a significant amount of time, employ large numbers of local residents, and/or provide unique and significant contributions to the quality of life in the community. For 2022, the partnership is focusing on manufacturing and women owned businesses, selecting one business in each category to be highlighted each month. Featured businesses receive a certificate from the City Council and are highlighted by the City and Chamber in various publications and media outreach efforts. 2
Businesses featured in February were: Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench Company Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench provides worldleading, innovative industrial ideas and sustainable turbomachinery solutions for renewable energy production, liquefied natural gas, chemical and petrochemical processes and hydrogen processes. The company was formed in 1975 and arrived in Santa Maria in 1981 with 50 employees and now employs 216 employees. Atlas Copco buys many products and services locally and estimates they contribute >$10 million annually to the Santa Maria economy. The majority of their customers are international who visit Santa Maria for factory testing of the equipment. They are currently pursuing GREEN business certification from the California
Randy Dirlam, Project Management & Packaging Manager and Dena Malloy, Engineering Manager, Atlas Copco-Mafi Trench receive a proclamation from Councilmember Etta Waterfield. Green Business Network. Employees teach at Allan Hancock and Cal Poly and the business supports local high school tours and programs to encourage young people seeking a career in manufacturing. They
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Working Hard on Your Behalf: Chamber Month in Review The Santa Maria Valley Chamber is a catalyst for business growth, a convener of leaders and influencers, and a champion for a stronger community. We continue to work hard to serve our members, local businesses, and the Santa Maria Valley community. Here’s a glimpse of what we’ve been doing lately.
Catalyst for Business Growth • • • • • •
The Economic Development Commission provided advice and community/market information to a broker working with prospective tenant interested in the old Costco center and surrounding properties. The Economic Development Commission provided support to several local small businesses on topics ranging from permits to start-up questions. The Visitors Bureau is providing marketing support to a number of local events and festivals which are planning to return to the community in 2022. Examples include the AirFest, BBQ Festival, and other similar events. The Visitors Bureau connected with the local disc golf association to pitch the Santa Maria Valley as a site to host large scale events/tournaments in the future. The Visitors Bureau began a discussion with organizers of a major hot air balloon and Wine festival about the potential to create a similar event in the Santa Maria Valley The Visitors Bureau participated with Visit California’s Gold Pass Co-op Program, hosting a familiarization visit for writers and influencers
The Economic Development Commission continues to facilitate the downtown revitalization project, supporting the City and developer team as they work complete a development agreement.
Convener of Leaders and Influencers • • •
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The Chamber’s Business/Government Roundtable met and received a briefing about legislative action in Congress. The Chamber’s Build Your Business (BYB) continues to meet each week to allow local businesses to expand their networks and build new and stronger connections with others in the community. The Chamber hosted another session in its FBLA Forum Series. The February program featured Naomi Altergott with World Financial Group. She introduced the students to investing ideas and shared tips on how they could get started as investors at their age. More than 100 students from local high schools participated in the session. The Chamber hosted a kick-off meeting for a new Santa Maria Connect steering committee. The group is looking to relaunch the young professionals group with a regional YP conference in the fall of 2022.
The Chamber partnered with the Home Builders Association to host a Housing Forum. Presenters shared insights into the changing landscape of housing laws and the realities of the current market for builders.
Champion for a Stronger Santa Maria Valley • • • •
The Chamber again partnered with the City Council to recognize the February Featured Businesses, Atlas Copco-Mafi Trench & Neuroboxing Santa Maria. Leadership Santa Maria Valley class of 2021 completed their legacy project, a new mural at the Jim May Park, visible along Highway 101. The class hosted a ribbon cutting and presented the project to the City’s Recreation and Parks Department. The Visitors Bureau connected area hotels with a local Rotary program to bring awareness to human trafficking in our community. The Chamber and Visitors Bureau facilitated two training sessions for restaurant and hotel staff who need to complete newly mandated Responsible Beverage Service certification training.
The Chamber and the SM Times added a profile about the Discovery Museum to their Local Business Spotlight Series. The video (and past entries) can be found at bit.ly/ SMVCCSpotlight. Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce | March 2022
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Chamber Membership Corner Chamber Board of Directors: 2021-2022 Executive Committee Chairman: Danny Deveraux, CalPortland Chairman-Elect: Sandra Dickerson, Your People Professionals Vice Chairman: Butch Lopez, V Lopez Jr. & Sons General Engineering Contractors Vice Chairman: Laurie Tamura, Urban Planning Concepts Past Chairman: Edgar Gascon, Hacienda Realty Board Members Mark Allen, Marian Regional Medical Center Dominick Barry, Quintron Systems, Inc. Paul Cook, CoastHills Credit Union Ron Cossa, Tolman & Wiker Insurance Donna Denham, Santa Maria Country Club Karen Fothergill, Andre, Morris & Buttery Angelica Gutierrez, L & G Farms Chris Hastert, Santa Maria Public Airport District Emily Kitts, Naughty Oak Brewing Company David LeRoy, Toyota of Santa Maria David Merlo, Glenn Burdette Tere Paredes, Maya Restaurant, Shannon Seifert, Santa Maria Valley YMCA Michelle Shipman, Searchlight Properties Max Tucker, Best Western Plus Big America Tim Williams, Astound Business Solutions
New Members: January 2022 The Santa Maria Valley Chamber is proud of the businesses that choose to affiliate with us and support our work in the community. We are excited to welcome the following new businesses as members and encourage the community to support Chamber member businesses whenever they have a choice. Details about these new members (and all members) can be found at SantaMaria.com/list.
Several New Chamber Members at February Chamber Mixer Investor
Member
Advance Auto Parts 1723 S. Broadway, Santa Maria (661) 427-8405 shop.advanceautoparts.com
FireGrill 371 Town Center East, Santa Maria (805) 354-0852 instagram.com/smfiregrill/
Corporate
Heritage Church 4799 S. Bradley Rd, Santa Maria (805) 934-2735 Heritageepc.org
Raising Cane’s 485 W. Betteravia Rd, Santa Maria (805) 609-2923 raisingcanes.com Premium A.T. Still University / Central Coast Physician Assistant Program and College for Healthy Communities 1075 E Betteravia Rd, Suite 201, Santa Maria (805) 621-7651 atsu.edu
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce is a catalyst for business growth, a convener of leaders and influencers, and a champion for a stronger Santa Maria Valley.
Movement for Life Physical Therapy – Santa Maria 2011 S. Broadway, Ste. N, Santa Maria (805) 440-9318 movementforlife.com
Learn more about the Chamber by visiting www.santamaria.com.
Movement for Life Physical Therapy – Orcutt 4869 Bradley Road, Ste. 114, Orcutt (805) 938-5320 movementforlife.com
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Jason Francia – Realtor Santa Maria, CA (805) 260-5272 Touching Hearts in Home Care 1145 E. Clark Ave, Ste C-1, Orcutt (805) 354-5020 West Wave Neurodiagnostics 937 E. Main St., Ste. 107, Santa Maria (805) 357-5272
Renewing Members: January 2022 The Santa Maria Valley salutes these businesses for their continued success and affiliation with the Chamber. We appreciate their partnership as we work to create jobs, boost our local economy, and build a community of which we can all be proud. We strongly encourage everyone to support these businesses and reward their ongoing contributions to our community! 52 Years: Rancho Maria Golf Club
10 Years: McGaughey Financial Services
51 Years: The Y
9 Years: SA Recycling
42 Years: Industrial Medical Group of Santa Maria Valley Magner Maloney Funeral Home & Crematory Santa Maria Association of Realtors Santa Maria Elks Lodge #1538 Toyota of Santa Maria
8 Years: Care Net Pregnancy & Resource Center Edward Jones - Office of Jeremy Rich Financial Advisor EngineTech Machine, LLC
27 Years: Altrusa International of Santa Maria, CA 26 Years: Got You Covered 25 Years: Babe Farms Inc. Momentum WORK, Inc. 22 Years: David Alford, O.D. Wilshire Health & Community Services
7 Years: AMF Media Group First 5 Santa Barbara County 6 Years: Geneva Financial, LLC Orcutt Children's Arts Foundation SCS Engineers 5 Years: Eddie San Jose - Envoy Mortgage Lowe's Orcutt Community Theater
4 Years: Barbara Wilson - Sound on Sound Dunkin' Donuts Luttrell Staffing Group Neuroboxing Santa Maria Rockin' Jump - The Ultimate Trampoline Park Santa Maria Properties, Inc. Talley Farms Fresh Harvest 3 Years: Arrow Plumbing Drain & Repair Services Cubanissimo Cuban Coffee House & Cafe Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. Jim Bray Landkammer Consulting 2 Years: Pacific Petroleum California Inc. 1 Years: California MENTOR | Santa Maria FHA JR Bookkeeping Rob Rijnen Photography Weddings by Roberta Central Coast
19 Years: Ultrex Business Solutions 16 Years: Benedetti & Associates 15 Years: American Self Storage Valley Art Gallery 14 Years: Smith Mechanical Electrical Plumbing 13 Years: Fix Auto Santa Maria 12 Years: Flower Carriage by Ms. Cardel 11 Years: Santa Maria Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM
Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce | March 2022
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Continued - Successful Local Businesses offer up to 8 internships per year and have a paid relocation program for employees to encourage them to move to Santa Maria.
"tough-love" approach, to help with muscle rigidity, voice, balance, coordination and so much more.
Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench Company is very grateful for the City of Santa Maria's support of our company over the years. Though an economic downturn put a planned expansion on the shelf in 2014, local leadership still desires to obtain funding and build a new factory in Santa Maria! They hope to resume working with the City in the next 4 years as we prepare new arguments to our owners highlighting the benefits of a new $40 million factory in Santa Maria for Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench Company LLC.
Neuroboxing started in 2017 with 2 fighters and 3 classes a week in a small space in Santa Maria. Over the years, through outreach, speaking engagements and working with local doctors, the program has grown to 25-30 fighters and 6 classes a week, in a beautiful gym space located at Marian Hospital's Health and Wellness Center. In 2019, Neuroboxing transitioned to become a non-profit, enabling them to provide more community events and opportunities to those living with neurological conditions.
Neuroboxing Santa Maria Neuroboxing Santa Maria is a non-contact boxing and functional exercise program that enables people with certain neurological conditions, like Parkinson's Disease, to fight back by providing a lifestyle fitness program designed to combat the symptoms of neurological conditions many people experience and to improve their quality of life. Neuroboxing Santa Maria provides a fun, encouraging environment through a
With Covid, Neuroboxing had to make several adjustments. Classes were fully moved online in March of 2020, and continued that way for about 3 months, when we were safely able to re-open with the use of physical distancing, PPE, extra cleaning protocols and temperature monitoring.
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the local community and doctors in the area to provide service and education to the entire Central Coast. April is a Certified Personal Training who also holds certifications in Neuroboxing, Rock Steady Boxing, Box N' Burn levels 1, 2 & 3, Senior Fitness, PWR! Moves and Urban Pole Walking.
Neuroboxing’s founder, April Sargeant, is also the President of the Central Coast Parkinson's Association which works with
Chamber Connecting Microbusinesses with Grants The Chamber has partnered with the Santa Barbara Foundation in assisting the County in the distribution of the Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program funding. Applications will open on March 7, 2022. Grants of up to $2,500, funded by the State of California, are available to eligible microbusinesses. To be eligible, microbusinesses must have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, earned $50,000 or less in 2019, have less than 5 full-time employees, have been open and operating since December 2019, and did not receive a grant from the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. In particular, this outreach seeks to identify microbusinesses that face systemic barriers to accessing capital, including but not limited to, businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans,
April Sargeant, Owner, Neuroboxing Santa Maria with City Council Member Etta Waterfield
individuals without documentation, individuals with limited English proficiency, and business owners located in low-wealth and rural, communities. A total of $500,000 in grant funding is available in Santa Barbara County. Grant funds may be used to cover the purchase of new equipment, investment in working capital, application for, or renewal of, a local permit, payment of COVID-19 business debt, or costs from COVID-19 related health and safety restrictions or business interruptions. If you know a microbusiness operator that may be eligible, please contact the Chamber so we can assist them with the application process. Completed applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis.
Interested in seeing your business name displayed on one of our next issues? Join the Chamber today by calling Membership Manager Cara Martinez at 925-2403, ext. 852 or email cara@santamaria.com.
Get free support for your business with the Chamber's Get Your Business Online program! Getting started with building your online presence can seem intimidating and overwhelming, which is why the Chamber here to help! With our "Get Your Business Online" program, we'll do an intake assessment of your current online presence and walk you through small, manageable steps that work best for your business to grow your online presence. Learn more and schedule your free intake assessment at http://santamaria.com/get-yourbusiness-online.
Leadership Santa Maria Valley – Class of 2021 Completes Their Legacy Project!
Leadership Santa Maria Valley (LSMV) is a community leadership development program designed to expand the community’s civic leadership. Through a ten-month program of monthly, daylong workshops and seminars, participants engage in discussions with experts and key decision-makers in areas of vital concern to the Santa Maria Valley. Spending time together in a small class atmosphere, individuals have an unprecedented opportunity to examine social and economic changes, and their impact on the Santa Maria Valley. It is also a prime opportunity
to network and build relationships with other existing and emerging community leaders. Each leadership class creates a legacy project that gives back to or beautifies the community is some way. The LSMV Class of 2021 recently completed their legacy project and celebrated with a ribbon cutting. The class raised funds and worked with the City of Santa Maria’s Recreation and Parks Department to create a mural wall located in Jim May Park. One side of the
wall faces Highway 101 and features Santa Maria’s history and culture in agriculture. The other side of the wall, facing the park, has a mural of the bluffs above the Santa Maria Riverbed. The Chamber congratulates the members of the 2021 class and thanks the contributing project sponsors: Marian Regional Medical Center, Tozer Seeds America, CoastHills Credit Union, Santa Maria Town Center, Andre, Morris & Buttery, Native Sons Wholesale Nursery, Butch Lopez, and Diane Alleman-Stevens.
Chamber Launches Hispanic Business Committee existing programming more accessible and inclusionary
• Assist the Chamber with marketing and outreach within the Hispanic business community
• Identifying Hispanic business leaders to serve as part of all Chamber leadership groups (e.g. board, ambassadors, Business/Government Roundtable, etc.)
The Chamber’s overriding purpose is to create a community in which all businesses can thrive, resulting in increased economic opportunities and vitality in our community. As part of our commitment to that ideal, the Chamber is committed to working with businesses, including those operated by or primarily serving the local Hispanic community.
Recently, the Chamber convened a group of Hispanic business leaders to guide our work in engaging with, and providing support to, Hispanic businesses. Some of the initiatives that this group will support include • Developing unique programming
Individuals who wish to get involved with the Hispanic Business Committee are invited to contact Chamber CEO Glenn Morris at glenn@santamaria.com.
• Advising the Chamber on ways to make
Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce | March 2022
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Stay Connected with the Santa Maria Valley Chamber
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Chamber Connection is the official monthly publication of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce. For questions about this publication or to be added to our monthly mailing distribution list, email molly@santamaria.com.
Join the Chamber for a trip to Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast! Join us for an unforgettable trip to Southern Italy! Discover and explore Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast with Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce! Join us November 1, 2022 to November 9, 2022 for an unforgettable 8-day trip, where you'll experience everything Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast have to offer! Learn more and book your trip today by visiting santamaria.com/chambertravel-2022.
Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau 614 S. Broadway, Santa Maria | (805) 925-2403 | santamaria.com | info@santamaria.com 8
