Letter to the Editor 

Your article "Fight over SB 2 continues" (Sacramento Business Journal online news item, Dec. 16) describes an effort by anti-business groups to block a March 2004 referendum on repealing Senate Bill 2. Signed by Gov. Gray Davis several days before he was voted out of office, SB 2 mandates that employers provide healthcare coverage starting in 2006.

This overly complex and misguided legislation would cost California taxpayers and businesses an estimated $5.7 billion to $11.4 billion. That's why the anti-business lobby is so afraid to allow a referendum to take place. They know that if Californians are able to decide the issue on its merits, they will reject SB 2 out of hand.

Senate Bill 2 is an annoying parting shot from a tax-and-spend governor who was infamous for exactly this sort of growth-stagnating legislation. Indeed, repealing SB 2 would be a big step away from the Davis legacy and toward economic growth.

The anti-business lobby should step aside and allow the referendum to go forward.

Sally C. Pipes
Pacific Research Institute San Francisco