California Assembly Approves Major Antitrust Reform Bill

(SACRAMENTO, CA) — Assembly Bill 1776 (AB 1776), the Competition and Opportunity in Markets for a Prosperous, Equitable and Transparent Economy (COMPETE) Act, passed the assembly floor on Wednesday, May 27, with a 44-17 vote. The bill now advances to the State Senate.

"California families and small businesses are facing the consequences of decades of shrinking competition across industries—from higher prices at the checkout counter to lower wages on payday. It's wrong that one percent of corporations can legally use their power to crush competition from the other 99 percent of businesses that ethically provide better products and services," said Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), the bill's author. "AB 1776 will take a small step toward providing the tools to address this imbalance in our economy. Our state's business associations may be captive to the one percent, but the California State Assembly isn't. We know we have a lot of work to do with our senate colleagues but today was a big win for Californians!"

AB 1776 seeks to modernize California's 119-year-old antitrust law to better address anti-competitive conduct by a dominant company in any given industry that harms consumers, workers, and small businesses. The bill preserves longstanding protections for legitimate business growth and success while targeting conduct that unfairly raises prices, suppresses wages, and limits economic opportunity. It would clarify that anti-competitive conduct by a single company violates California law and reaffirm that California courts may consider, but are not bound by, federal antitrust case law. AB 1776 codifies unanimous recommendations issued by the California Law Revision Commission following years of expert study and public input examining the impacts of increasing market concentration across industries.

By strengthening enforcement tools and clarifying state law, the COMPETE Act would align California with 45 other states that already recognize anti-competitive conduct by a single firm as illegal under state antitrust laws. Coalition members supporting AB 1776 have this to say about AB 1776 advancing to the state senate:

"We thank all the assemblymembers who supported the COMPETE Act. AB 1776 passing is further evidence that California is done allowing monopolists, oligopolists, and their apologists to stifle competition and innovation and harm consumers," said Robert Herrell, executive director, Consumer Federation of California. "We urge the State Senate to stand with consumers and small businesses and support AB 1776."

"At a time when the divide between Main Street businesses and large corporations has never been greater, small businesses want to see California antitrust law updated to reflect the needs of a modern economy and the needs of today's entrepreneurs. The COMPETE Act would help bolster an environment of fair competition because it gives small business owners, the workers they hire, and their local communities a fighting chance. We're glad to see policymakers are recognizing the importance of this legislation, and we hope to see AB 1776 become law soon," said Bianca Blomquist, California director, Small Business Majority.

"When multi-billion-dollar corporations operate as monopolies, they can use their market power to suppress wages and unilaterally raise prices on products, making everything less affordable for working people," said Lorena Gonzalez, president, California Federation of Labor Unions, representing 1,300 unions and 2.3 million union members. "AB 1776 will create new tools to go after monopolies and tackle their anti-competitive practices when a single corporation is rigging the system to raise prices, lower wages, and make it harder for workers to unionize."

"Teamsters California is proud to be a co-sponsor of Assembly Bill 1776. For far too long, Big Tech and greedy corporations have been taking advantage of a century old antitrust law to rig the system in their favor in an attempt to stifle competition and undercut good-paying union jobs. As the unified voice of 250,000 workers across California, we will not back down from this fight in Sacramento, we will continue to work tirelessly to deliver policies that put an end to companies profiting while workers' pay the price," said Peter Finn and Victor Mineros, co-chairs, Teamsters California.

"Consolidation and the lack of competition in the grocery industry enable employers to keep their workers' wages low, weaken workers' bargaining power, and prevent workers from unionizing," said Mark Ramos, president, UFCW Western States Council and UFCW Local 1428. "AB 1776 ensures that workers are protected while also lowering prices and reigniting innovation and small business growth in California. UFCW is proud to support this bill and encourages the California State Senate to do so as well."

"Wednesday's assembly floor vote is a win for every California small business, worker, and entrepreneur trying to compete in a modern economy. AB 1776 simply ensures that our laws keep pace with how markets actually work today, including the digital platforms and technologies that every business now depends on to reach customers and grow. California has always been the home of innovation, and this bill protects that legacy by making sure the next great idea gets a fair shot. We thank Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry for her leadership and look forward to the senate taking up this fight," said Samantha Gordon, chief advocacy officer, TechEquity.

"Wednesday, the assembly stood with families, workers, and small businesses, and against the corporate lobby spinning lies and spending huge sums to kill the COMPETE Act. This bill gives California the tools to hold megacorporations accountable, stopping them from using their dominant market power to crush small competitors, suppress wages, and drive-up prices. We thank Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry, our coalition partners, and every assemblymember who voted to put California families, workers and small businesses first. We'll keep fighting to see this bill through the senate and onto the governor's desk," said Teri Olle, vice president, Economic Security California Action.

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Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry represents California's 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake, Colusa, Napa, and Yolo Counties, and part of Sonoma County. She serves as the Assembly Majority Leader and Chair of the California Women’s Legislative Caucus.