California Assemblywoman Carol Liu submitted AB 1829 to the Business and Professions Committee today. I was on the panel speaking in support, making roughly this statement. Other panelists, including Angie of California Labor Federation, cited the tax and fiscal advantages to keeping tax dollars within the U.S.
Among the opposition panel (pictured below) was industry-funded ITAA and AeA:
The opposition citied their own studies which find overall economic benefits to shipping jobs overseas, expressed concern that limiting state contracts to U.S. workers would result in "trade wars," and objected that the bill would be unconstitutional, since regulating international commerce is a federal issue. (Meanwhile ITAA members HP and IBM are accused of sweatshop conditions at their overseas facilities.)
ITAA's recent study, including video of their press release, links from their homepage at www.itaa.org. Their "findings":
The Bill passed committee.
Kim Berry
President, Programmers Guild
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AB 1829 (Liu) would require all state contractors and subcontractors for service contracts to sign, under penalty of perjury, that the contract would be performed solely by workers located with the United States. This bill would prohibit the use of state taxpayer funds from contracting with companies that send the work to other countries. Public agencies around the country have been contracting for jobs offshore. New Jersey, Nevada, Maryland, and the Carolinas have all discovered that taxpayer dollars are funding jobs in India and other developing countries.
State taxpayer dollars should be used to create good jobs and state revenue for California. More jobs means more people earn, consume, and pay taxes, stimulating our local economies. AB 1829 will also help small and medium-sized business compete for state contracts against big corporations who outsource jobs and bid for contracts with cheaper labor costs. At least 25 other states have introduced similar legislation. Follow AB 1829 at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ |
