The Central Valley feeds the world, moves goods across the country, powers critical industries, and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. From agriculture and food processing to manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and technology, the Valley’s success depends on businesses having the confidence to invest, grow, and create opportunity.

That is why lawmakers should carefully reconsider AB 1776, known as the COMPETE Act, as it moves through the California Senate.

The legislation recently passed the Assembly, but not without significant concerns from employers, business organizations, and job creators across the state. Those concerns deserve a closer look in the Senate, particularly from Central Valley lawmakers like Senator Anna Caballero, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and has long championed economic growth and opportunity in our region.

California is already facing serious affordability challenges. Families are paying more for housing, groceries, energy, healthcare, and transportation. Businesses are grappling with rising costs and increasing competition from other states eager to attract jobs and investment.

The last thing California needs is a policy that creates additional uncertainty for employers and potentially increases costs for consumers.

AB 1776 would make sweeping changes to California’s antitrust laws and move the state away from legal standards that have guided competition policy for decades. Supporters argue those changes are necessary to address concerns about market concentration and large corporations. Reasonable people can debate those concerns.

Bill Exposes Businesses to Greater Litigation Risk

But the question before lawmakers is not whether antitrust laws should be enforced. Existing laws already give regulators and courts the authority to investigate and challenge anticompetitive conduct when it occurs. Federal regulators are actively pursuing cases involving some of the largest companies in the world. The system is already working.

They are debating whether California should create a separate and largely untested framework that could expose businesses to greater litigation risk and legal uncertainty.

For the Central Valley, that is concerning.

Our economy depends on businesses making long-term investments in facilities, equipment, technology, and workers. Employers need predictable rules when deciding where to expand operations, open new locations, or invest in new products and services.

AB 1776 risks creating exactly the opposite environment. By moving away from established standards, the bill could invite years of litigation over how California’s new rules should be interpreted and applied. Businesses large and small would face greater uncertainty, increased legal costs, and more pressure to devote resources to courtrooms instead of growth.

AB 1776’s Costs: Higher Prices, Fewer Job Opportunities

Those costs do not simply disappear. They are often passed along through higher prices, reduced investment, and fewer opportunities for workers and consumers. And that should concern every Californian.

For decades, antitrust law has focused on protecting consumers by encouraging competition that delivers lower prices, better products, and greater choice. AB 1776 would move California away from that consumer-focused approach and toward a new standard that places greater emphasis on protecting competitors.

At a time when California is struggling with affordability, outmigration, and economic competitiveness, lawmakers should be asking a simple question: will this bill make life better for consumers?

Supporters of AB 1776 have yet to make that case.

The Central Valley needs policies that help keep costs down for families. California should not become an outlier by adopting a legal framework that risks increasing uncertainty throughout the economy.

As the Senate takes up AB 1776, Sen. Anna Caballero and her colleagues should focus on what matters most: protecting consumers, strengthening economic opportunity, and ensuring California remains a place where businesses choose to invest and grow.

AB 1776 falls short on all three counts.

About the Author

Clint Olivier is the president & CEO of the Central Valley Business Federation.

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