Everything That Solution Providers Care Should About In Local Politics - And Why!

By Dave Sobel, The Business Of Tech Podcast

We’ve had what has felt like an incredibly tumultuous time in the US. 83% of registered voters said, “it really matters who wins the presidential election”, and as such, a record turnout, with the highest voter turnout since 1900. While it may seem like the national-level politics is all that was discussed, there are several local laws that solutions providers care about.

Proposition 22 passed in California, which is focused on “App-based drivers” and defined them as contractors. This bill is very focused on Uber, Lyft, and Door Dash style drivers. It does set a new earnings floor, limits hours, and provides healthcare subsidies to anyone working an average of 25 hours a week per quarter. Expect to see more of this in other states, particularly as these companies pushed very hard to pass this.

California voters also passed Proposition 24, which is privacy focused. It’s a revamp of the California Consumer Protection Act, and consumers now will be able to ask businesses to not share their personal data. Minors now have additional protections, and businesses that suffer breaches due to lax security no longer can avoid fines by fixing holes within 30 days.

In San Francisco, voters approved a measure to tax companies that pay their top-earning employee (usually the CEO), at least 100 times the median salary of their San Francisco workers, and to overhaul business taxes in the city on big tech companies to pay more, and small businesses to likely pay less.

In Florida, the minimum wage was increased to $15.

Massachusetts passed a right to repair law, which will require car manufacturers to let mechanics and owners access a vehicle's repair data. In particular, this also details the wireless transmission of that data.

Portland, Maine voted to ban facial recognition, and private citizens get a payout of $1,000 if they are unlawfully surveilled by police or city agencies.

In Michigan, voters passed Proposal 2, which amends the state constitution to provide electronic data and communications the same protections from unreasonable search and seizure as the homes and papers of Michigan residents receive. The Proposal also requires a search warrant to access a person’s electronic data or electronic communications, under the same conditions required for the government to obtain a search warrant for physical home and property. This is a first of its kind limitation.

In Denver, voters have opted-out of a law prohibiting the use of tax dollars to build a municipal internet. These kinds of laws have forced monopolies and duopolies in many cities and rural areas, and in Denver, they said no. A referendum in Chicago came back powerfully – 90% of voters believe internet access should be a public utility.

So, why do we care?

Let’s start here with a key insight. Most of the details you care about are LOCAL politics, not federal. We’ll dig in deeper on local next. At the federal level, a coherent, coordinated response to the pandemic will help all Americans, because the best path to economic growth is controlling the virus. Additionally, there will be moves around technology to be prepared for, as the ongoing “techlash” causes review laws that helped establish the internet.

But let’s dive into some of those state and local issues.

California law as it relates to technology is far-reaching. In Kaseya’s 2020 MSP Benchmark, 71% of MSPs are either not very informed or completely uninformed about California’s laws. With so much of the U.S. population, economy, and technology landscape based around California, this is surprising and appalling. Do you think you don’t deal with Californians? The systems you use do, and they operate in a way that ensures compliance with CCPA.

So, you care about the revisions to the law that not only expands the protections, but creates an agency to enforce the law, investigate violations, and assess penalties. I’m not a lawyer – you get yours on the phone, and also start getting educated on this.

Uber and Lyft’s work to redefine workers will continue to affect the landscape for employment. As a small provider, you may even WANT some of these protections for your employees, because it allows you to scale up and down more easily if you can leverage technology platforms for labor. For me, there’s value in finding solutions to benefits, particularly because they are difficult to provide for some small providers. Concerned about keeping talent? Not having to compete on these benefits would be a big boon for you.

Now let’s talk right to repair. I’ve covered this in editorials before, so if you missed that, I encourage you to revisit it. The concept is simple – do consumers have the ability to repair and modify their own consumer electronic devices, rather than the manufacturer require that consumers use only their services.

If you do any hardware repair of any kind, you care – do you need to be authorized? Many industries are dealing with this – car repair, farm, and medical equipment, as well as consumer tech and business technology. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, HTC, and Asus all want to control access to repair. Massachusetts voters said no. That is good news for those who want to ensure access to repair devices is available. If you’re in the services business… you probably care to be tracking this, and in the US, this is generally playing out in state houses, not at the federal level.

Next up on my focus list is broadband connectivity. On the podcast, I’ve highlighted over and over how the major carriers are lagging the world in 5G, how the move to working remotely during the pandemic has exposed how many households and communities do not have broadband access, and how Black households are being underserved with 10% lower levels of broadband penetration when compared with White households.

Here’s another way to consider that – your market is being limited so that large carriers can be more profitable.

Think about it this. If good connectivity was available to anyone, you would be able to serve any business and any community. Right now, there are customer needs you can’t solve because of this limitation.

And in Denver and Chicago, voters agree. There’s an opportunity here to help local governments – also known as small businesses! – develop and deploy municipal connectivity. To do that, you care about how politics plays out…. And some savvy providers are going to take this on to partner with local governments and expand the market.

Politics is a dirty word, despite it meaning the activities associated with the governance of an area. That’s also known as leadership and is citizenship. Leading on issues where you can make a difference in your community is good for business and standing for something matters. It’s a differentiator, it’s great marketing, and it’s the right thing to do.

About The Author

Dave Sobel is the host of The Business Of Tech and a leading expert in the delivery of technology services with broad experience in both technology and business. He owned and operated an IT Solution Provider and MSP for over a decade, both acquiring other organizations and eventually being acquired.