The President's Column

by Steve Weitekamp

September 2015

Chairman Longo’s Executive Committee gathered, in the middle of the peak season, for a brief retreat last month. This is the fourth straight year that the Chairman has decided to call for an Executive Committee meeting during the summer. The retreat is an opportunity for committee members to meet for a weekend, roll up their sleeves and look at big-picture items related to our Association and our industry. One of the items reviewed at the meeting and in a subsequent conference call was a CMSA Branding Initiative, with the goal of reviewing all aspects of our image presentation in advance of our 100th anniversary.

Chapter leadership is a critical element in the strength of the Association. In August, a meeting was held with Southern California Chapter Presidents for the annual leadership orientation. As always, it is exciting to be a part of this group’s spirit of enthusiasm and support for the coming chapter year. Hopefully, all members will take advantage of the opportunity to attend a chapter meeting and/or event.
Work on legislative issues continues to be a priority as the 2015 California legislative session comes to a close. Aug. 28 marked the final deadline for all bills to be passed by fiscal committees.  Bills that are still alive go into the final two weeks of the legislative year with the goal of passing through both the Senate and Assembly before adjournment on Sept. 11.

As we reviewed the large quantity of bills currently in the legislature, we were struck by those that address independent contractor issues and the focus on “misclassification of employees.” It’s clear that this issue will continue to be an area of concern for our industry.  As a result, CMSA is planning to conduct independent contractor seminars in both Northern California and Southern California in mid-November.

Since last year, your Association has been working to address concerns related to AB 1897 that became law in 2015. You may recall that CMSA sent out a “Liability on Client Employers” Member Alert in response to this legislative action. The good news is that our advocacy efforts have resulted in favorable language being added to a current Assembly bill, AB 1509, that has passed through the legislature and is sitting on the Governor’s desk, awaiting his signature.

You should have received an email that included a draft letter asking Governor Brown to sign this legislation. If you have yet to send your letter of support, we encourage you to do so today.

September 2015 - CMSA Communicator