By admin 
Supporters of a California bill targeting monopolies say a recent decision by a key state Senate committee to limit who can file lawsuits against businesses under the measure was a serious blow.
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But they argue that if Assembly Bill 1776 were to pass it would still represent a step forward in checking corporate abuse.
“As long as the bill continues to protect our small businesses, workers, and consumers, I’ll consider that a win,” said Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, the bill’s author, in a statement. “If we can get this across the finish line, then we have an opportunity to make California’s economy more competitive, more innovative, and more open to everyone — not just the most powerful corporations.”
The measure would update state law to say that companies can still be in violation of antitrust rules even if they don’t coordinate with other businesses to try and elbow out competition. That could include using targeted pricing to try to push out rivals or other techniques through so-called single firm conduct. Previously, the bill allowed anyone to bring a lawsuit as long as they could allege and prove that a business has “substantial market power.”
Giving people and companies the ability to sue could have opened up a wave of lawsuits against large businesses under the legislation. Now, only the attorney general and other public prosecutors will be able to file cases. The bill still has teeth, but much less than supporters wanted.
Lee Hepner, an attorney for the American Economic Liberties Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that targets corporate monopolies, said the committee’s decision was disappointing but that the measure was still worth fighting for.
“We have a unique opportunity to close a gap in the law that has denied consumers, workers and small businesses the ability to address harm,” he said.
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The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment about the change.
The decision to amend the bill was made by the Senate Appropriations Committee, a spokesperson for Aguiar-Curry said in an email. A spokesperson for state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, who chairs the committee, did not respond to a request for comment on the decision to change the measure.
The amendment was a major win for the California Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied hard to limit who could file a lawsuit. It devoted a seven-figure budget to defeating the bill. It is still opposed to the measure.
John Myers, a chamber spokesperson, said the bill too narrowly measures alleged violations and the “substantial market power” standard could lower the threshold for what is illegal.
“AB 1776, even in its new form, remains a bill CalChamber can’t support.”
The measure must pass the Legislature by Aug. 31. It is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate.
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