Business News
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- Written by: California Department of Food and Agriculture
The board advises the secretary on CDFA’s Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program, or FMIP, which ensures fertilizing materials are safe, effective and meet quality guarantees.
As part of the program, FMIP inspectors and investigators located throughout the state conduct routine sampling and inspections; respond to consumer complaints; and enforce laws and regulations that govern the manufacturing and distribution of fertilizing materials.
FMIP is funded by fertilizing materials license and product registration fees and mill assessments.
Vacancies are available for three board positions. The term of office for board members is three years. Members receive no compensation but are entitled to necessary travel expenses.
Board member applicants must hold a current fertilizing materials license or be a representative of a licensed firm.
Individuals interested in a board appointment must submit by August 31, 2020, a resume and a completed Prospective Member Appointment Questionnaire, or PMAQ, available on the CDFA website at http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/pdfs/PMAQ_Fertilizer_IAB.pdf .
Send resume and PMAQ via email to
For more information, contact Brittnie Sabalbro at 916-900-5022 or
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
With the U.S. insurance industry commanding $7 trillion in investible assets, the new Invest in Our Diverse Communities Initiative will identify investments managed or owned by diverse investment leaders to fund targeted projects with social benefits in the state.
The new initiative is part of the Department of Insurance’s California Organized Investment Network, or COIN, a nationally recognized model program created in 1996 to increase insurance industry capital in underserved, low-to-moderate, and rural communities throughout California.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inequality in wealth that continues to persist in communities across our state, which I believe the insurance industry can help to tackle through socially responsible investments,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “‘Invest in Our Diverse Communities’ will help insurance companies target their investments to diverse managers and firms who support environmentally sustainable programs and affordable housing projects for California to help improve our way of life and provide a stable home for those who need it.”
Commissioner Lara’s initiative will add COIN-qualified investment opportunities owned and managed by diverse firms to the Impact Investment Marketplace, an online “central clearinghouse” portal that the Department of Insurance launched in May 2019.
COIN-qualified investment opportunities address areas requiring immediate attention, such as health care, homelessness, and environmental sustainability. Investment opportunities also assist small businesses in underserved communities which, during the COVID-19 pandemic, will be needed now more than ever before.
In the past year, the COIN program has highlighted many new investment opportunities statewide to insurance companies, including funds which work to displace current and potential greenhouse gas emissions as well as to invest in renewable power assets such as solar and wind infrastructure that seek to deliver positive environmental and social impact.
Other COIN program investment opportunities focus on the development of permanent supportive housing to help alleviate homelessness in California or those which invest in platforms that improve the quality of life for Californians by increasing access to better education, health care, banking, financial services and credit, and improved environmental conditions.
COIN also works with certified Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, to help them source funding through insurance company direct investments and public bond offerings. COIN has long-standing relationships with some of the largest CDFIs in California.
COIN sources CDFI capital-raising initiatives and gauges initial interest from insurers for public offerings of CDFI securities. COIN also notifies insurers of potential investment opportunities in CDFIs and regularly meets with insurer investment staff to “matchmake” specific CDFIs to insurers’ investment portfolio strategies.
Commissioner Lara today announced his appointments to the COIN Advisory Board, which provides focus and guidance to the Commissioner and COIN Program to meet its mission. The newest members include the Board’s first ever representative with experience seeking investments that provide environmental benefits, a seat created on January 1, 2020 by Commissioner’s Lara’s sponsored Assembly Bill 1099 authored by State Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon, as well as other exceptional and diverse new members.
“It is crucial that we remain committed to socially responsible investing in our communities and in the environment and our COIN board members are an integral part in that,” said Commissioner Lara. “I am confident that our new members will bring fresh ideas and unique perspectives to help us further our goals of directing strategic funds to investments with a measurable impact in affordable housing, community development, renewable energy, and preservation of our natural resources.”
Doug Bystry, COIN Advisory Board Chair and President/CEO of Clearinghouse CDFI, stated, “I am extremely excited about Commissioner Lara’s move to increase diversity in directing insurance industry investments. This new initiative will bring new resources to underserved, distressed, low-income communities throughout California. We also welcome new members of the COIN Advisory Board, and look forward to their added expertise and input on community development investments.”
The next COIN Advisory Board meeting will be held on Thursday, August 13. More details are available at www.insurance.ca.gov/COIN .
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
These new regulations will mandate insurance companies to recompute premium charges for policyholders to reflect reduced risk of loss consistent with Commissioner Lara’s April 13 and May 15, 2020 bulletins, and will result in savings for many policyholders as businesses continue to struggle financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“California’s business owners have been hit hard by COVID-19,” said Commissioner Lara. “Workers’ compensation premiums should reflect that many employees are performing less risky duties, and my Order will provide some financial relief for employers when they need it most.”
Under these emergency regulations, employers are permitted to reclassify an employee if the employee’s duties have changed to a clerical classification that has reduced risk than the employee’s previous classification.
This reclassification will reduce the employer’s premiums for employees who are a lower risk because they are now working from home even though they may not have previously done so.
This change would be retroactive to March 19, 2020, the first day of the governor’s statewide stay-at-home order, and conclude 60 days after the order is lifted.
"We applaud Commissioner Lara's efforts to meet the needs of California's small businesses as they continue to navigate the COVID-19 crisis," said Mark Herbert, Vice President, California for Small Business Majority. "These new rules will allow small business owners to correctly reclassify their workforce if their duties have changed, helping businesses keep more money in their pockets as they respond to a decline in revenue and adapt their business models. These rules will also ensure small businesses are better positioned for the long-term by protecting them from future increases in workers' compensation premiums due to COVID-19. This kind of smart action will ensure our state's job creators and innovators have the tools they need to succeed after this crisis."
These emergency regulations also exclude from premium calculations the payments made to an employee, including sick or family leave, while the employee is not performing duties of any kind for the employer.
Typically, these payments would be used as a basis for the employer’s workers’ compensation premium. This change will lower the employer’s rate by reducing the amount of payroll assessed, and the employer will not pay premium for paid workers who are otherwise being furloughed.
“These changes provide clarity to employers while helping to share any financial costs of work-related COVID-19 cases among all employers – not just those who found themselves at the center of the epidemic,” said Mitch Steiger, Legislative Advocate for the California Labor Federation, who is also a member of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Governing Board. “In doing so, both workers and employers most affected by this crisis can more quickly begin the process of recovery.”
This new regulation will also exclude claims related to a COVID-19 diagnosis from being included in future rate calculations so that employers are not penalized with higher rates due to COVID-19 claims.
Insurers will also be required to report injuries involving a diagnosis of COVID-19 which will allow the Commissioner’s statistical agent – the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Governing Board – to keep track of COVID-19 injuries, and will aid in the board’s future analyses of the workplace and market impacts.
The new regulations will go into effect on July 1, 2020.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
"As California businesses emerge from survival mode and embark on various stages of re-opening, now is the time to develop strategies that can help companies get the jumpstart they need and grow in innovative ways," said Treasurer Ma.
The first webinar, Strategy for Success: Quickly Re-imagining Your Business & Growth Strategy, will be Tuesday, June 23, at 1 p.m. and will provide actionable ways for businesses to reimagine their branding and growth strategy to maintain a viable market presence.
Attendees will learn steps to identify the "new important," explore different ways to deliver core benefits, find an alternative market position and prioritize growth strategies.
The second webinar, Idea Magnets: Attracting Ideas to Pivot & Restart, will be Tuesday, June 30, at 1 p.m.c and will focus on quick and easy steps business owners can take to dependably attract innovative ideas to help pivot and restart business.
Attendees will walk away with a list of big questions to generate ideas and methods to imagine new ways to deliver brand benefits, leverage current disruption to set the stage for breakthrough thinking, and to find future-oriented ideas in other business models.
"It is my pleasure to work with Treasurer Ma to help California small businesses not only jumpstart their businesses as they re-open, but to use the disruption to help them grow in innovative ways," said Mike Brown, who is also author of Idea Magnets: Seven Strategies to Cultivate and Attract Creative Business Leaders.
Both webinars are free. They will include downloadable guides to help put the strategies discussed in the webinars into action. At the end of each presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to get Brown’s expertise on their business challenges.
Registration is available at www.bit.ly/jumpstartCA .
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