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MAY 18,
2025
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HOUR 1 |
"Citizens Against
Lawsuit Abuse (CALA)" with Victor Gomez |
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HOUR 1 |
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"Citizens Against
Lawsuit Abuse (CALA)" with Victor Gomez |
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About CALA
https://californiacala.org/
Citizens Against Lawsuit
Abuse (CALA) is a nonpartisan grassroots
movement of concerned citizens and
businesses who are fighting against lawsuit
abuse in California. CALA serves as a
watchdog to challenge the abuse of our civil
justice system, and engages the public and
the media to deliver the message that
lawsuit abuse is alive and well in
California — and that all Californians are
paying the price. |
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About our Guest: Victor
Gomez, Executive Director CALA
Victor Gómez is a Northern California
native with a wealth of experience in local, State &
Federal politics both in the Monterey Bay Area and in
the greater Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay area. Born
and raised in Hollister, CA. he is the former Mayor of
his hometown and recently completed his second term as a
City Councilmember.
As a son of a Mayor & Sheriff, Victor has always held a
passion for politics, community and public service.
After immigrating to Hollister from Guadalajára, Jalisco,
México, his parents and older siblings lived in
farmworker housing in San Benito County. After years of
hard work, they were able to purchase a home in a
low-income development in west Hollister where Victor
was raised. He attended local elementary schools and San
Benito High School.
After obtaining his degree in Aviation and becoming a
private pilot, Victor and his wife purchased a franchise
restaurant which they owned and operated for nearly ten
years. In 2008, in the midst of running his business,
Gómez ran for and won a seat on the Hollister City
Council. At the age of 31, Gómez became one of the
youngest Mayor's to serve the City of Hollister. Since
then, he served eight years on the San Benito County
Transportation Authority, Hollister Airport Land Use
Commission, Gang Prevention Policy Board, Association of
Monterey Bay Area Governments, Hollister Redevelopment
Agency, and served as President of the League of
California Cities Monterey Bay Chapter advocating for
sound policies for municipal government at the state
level. Victor also puts in many volunteer hours as he
serves as a board member of the San Benito County
Chamber of Commerce, Board member for Goodwill Silicon
Valley and Board member for news outlet San Jose
Spotlight.
Victor served as Deputy Chief of Staff for San José City
Councilmember Johnny Khamis and Chief of Staff for San
José Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco. He also served as
Director of Public Policy for The Silicon Valley
Organization (formerly the Silicon Valley Chamber of
Commerce).
During his free time, Victor enjoys flying and traveling
with his family. He lives in Hollister with his wife,
three daughters and two dogs, Jack and Gigi.
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CALA Issues:
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Private Attorney General Act – The
“Sue your boss” law
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Abuse Of The Americans With Disabilities Act
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Abusive Proposition 65 Lawsuits
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Attorney General Activism
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Class Action Abuse
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Access To Healthcare
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Jury Service
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Plaintiff’s Attorney on the Legislature
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Threat To Taxpayers, Jobs, and The Economy
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Third
Party Litigation Funding (TPLF)
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Up for discussion:
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What is lawsuit abuse
and why is it an issue that residents should care
about? It costs small businesses a lot of money and
that goes straight to the cost passed on to
consumers or they go out of business
Do you have any
examples of how small businesses might be impacted
by lawsuit abuse?
Why hasn’t the
legislature done anything to solve the issue of
lawsuit abuse?
Are there any
pending pieces of legislation that would help or
hurt small business owners facing lawsuit abuse? SB
84 is in Senate approps this week.
What steps should
legislators take to address the issue of lawsuit
abuse? ADA and a curing period, SB 84, changes to
private attorney general act (sue your boss act),
prop 65 chemical list should be limited and
streamlined, 3rd party litigation funding - they
raise money through investors who will see a return
on a class action suit (gambling through law firms
and lawsuits).
How
can small business owners or concerned citizens
learn more about lawsuit abuse and get involved in
the fight?
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HOUR 2
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"Big,
Beautiful Bill Should REIN in Regulation" |
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with Phil
Kerpen |
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Big, Beautiful Bill Should REIN in Regulation
By Phil Kerpen April 30, 2025
https://www.americancommitment.org/big-beautiful-bill-should-rein-in-regulation/
https://cagle.com/columnist/phil-kerpen/2025/04/30/big-beautiful-bill-should-rein-in-regulation
The single most important pro-growth policy change in the
“Big, Beautiful Bill” may not be in the tax title House Ways
and Means has been working on but in the work of the House
Judiciary Committee, which has included a version of a bill
called the REINS Act in its section of the bill.
Federal regulation now nearly rivals taxation as a burden on
the US economy, with a total burden north of $3 trillion per
year. Recent Democratic administrations have stretched
decades-old laws to within inches of their breaking points
to impose vast costs, with Biden setting a new world record
of about $47,000 per family in new regulatory costs during
his four year term. Much of that has already been reversed
by President Trump – but absent a legislative fix, it can
snap back into place, and more, as soon as a Democrat is
back in the White House.
The REINS Act would stop the swinging of this exorbitant
regulatory pendulum by fixing the Congressional Review Act’s
fundamental design flaw. Right now, even if Congress votes
to overturn a harmful regulation, a sitting president can
veto it and keep the rule in place. This fix flips the
default.
Going forward, any regulation with a budgetary impact would
require affirmative approval from both the House and Senate
before it could take effect. The language is similar to the
note that Tea Party activist Lloyd Rogers handed to
then-Congressman Geoff Davis back in 2010, when the REINS
Act was invented.
Congress is more than capable of approving stupid
regulations, of course, but this system would put a critical
check on the process and would likely stop most of the worst
and most destructive regulations. At a minimum, when bad
rules and regulations do pass, voters would know who to hold
responsible on election day.
This is precisely the legislative process the Constitution
describes – regulations significant enough to have an impact
on the federal budget would be treated like laws, and would
require majority approval of the House and Senate and a
presidential signature or a veto-override before they could
take effect.
This would unleash economic growth and likely slash the
federal deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next
decade, according to research from Heritage Foundation.
Democrats will be hard-pressed to argue that deficit
reduction on that order of magnitude is not germane to a
budget reconciliation package, which will procedurally
protect it from filibuster.
I asked President Donald Trump about the REINS concept in
2015, when I surveyed the presidential field on the issue.
“I will sign the REINS Act should it reach my desk as
President and more importantly I will work hard to get it
passed,” Trump responded. “The monstrosity that is the
Federal Government with its pages and pages of rules and
regulations has been a disaster for the American economy and
job growth. The REINS Act is one major step toward getting
our government under control.”
And, I would add, keeping it under control after President
Trump has left office.
REINS has passed the House many times but never the Senate.
Including it in this year’s reconciliation package is a
brilliant move by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim
Jordan to get it over the line. It deserves the strong
support of every member of Congress who is up to the job of
actually voting on major regulations. And anybody not up to
that job should probably seek other employment.
Mr. Kerpen is president of American Commitment and Unleash
Prosperity. |
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