SB 14 Would Help Small Businesses

NFIB State Director Annie Spilman says SB 14 would help small businesses by stopping local governments from imposing their own employment rules and regulations. The bill was introduced late Thursday by state Sen. Brandon Creighton (Montgomery).

"Small business owners don't have the time or the resources to navigate a confusing and contradictory patchwork of local ordinances that go above and beyond the state requires," Spilman said. "That's especially true now when employers are struggling to recover from the one-two punch of the pandemic and winter storm that brought commerce to a standstill.

"To help small businesses stabilize, rebuild and grow, the state must provide a consistent and uniform regulatory climate," Spilman said. "When cities overplay their regulatory hand by creating local ordinances that interfere with employers' ability to run their businesses, they cause imminent and irreparable harm to those businesses.

"That's why the San Antonio Court of Appeals just upheld the trial court's temporary injunction against San Antonio's mandatory paid sick leave ordinance, but we believe this is an issue that ought to be settled in the Legislature, not the courts," Spilman said. "Senator Creighton's bill gives legislators the opportunity to help small businesses get back on their feet."