Legislative Pep Talk for Small Firms

Personal contacts are still the best way to garner legislative support in Washington and Sacramento, three local legislators told a group of San Diego-area small-business owners Monday morning.

“It’s tougher to say no to someone you know,” said Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier (R-Encinitas).

Rather than sitting on the sidelines, small-business people should respond to “all those letters you get from legislators who are asking you to get involved,” said Assemblyman Larry Stirling, (R-San Diego), who added that personal contacts will lead to “someone to carry a bill for you.”

Owners of small businesses attending the morning session, given by the accounting firm of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, heard legislators report that both the federal and state governments are moving slowly on legislation that would lower skyrocketing liability insurance rates by placing limits on court-awarded monetary damages.

On Dec. 15, the state’s chambers of commerce are expected to be certified for successfully gathering enough signatures to place an initiative limiting court-awarded damages on the June state ballot. Initiative backers have argued that insurance rates can be lowered by limiting the size of court awards.