FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2026
Contact: Ron Knox, Institute for Local Self-Reliance: [email protected]
Washington, DC – Ron Knox, senior researcher and policy advocate at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), made the following statement in response to today’s vote by the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC), which recommends significantly strengthening the state’s antitrust law.
“The legislation the CLRC recommended today is a major step toward correcting a gap in California’s Cartwright Act, which is currently one of only four state antitrust laws in the U.S. without a ban on illegal monopolization. If the legislative language the commission approved is introduced and adopted, the resulting law would be the strongest, most small-business- and worker-friendly antimonopoly statute in the country.
“Small business owners in California often find their businesses and livelihoods under the thumb of powerful, monopolistic corporations. Amazon alone uses its multi-market monopoly to fleece small sellers, dominate cloud computing, and exploit its workers. The legislation would help create a level playing field for small businesses and startups in California by ensuring the most powerful corporations and platforms in the state can’t use that power to unfairly tilt markets in their favor at the expense of their workers, trading partners, and rivals.
“As the Commission’s expert panel, staff, and multiple consumer, worker, and antimonopoly advocates explained, simply importing the language of the federal Sherman Act and the decades of pro-monopoly court precedents attached to it would handcuff California enforcers and leave the state’s consumers, small businesses, and workers exposed to monopoly abuse. The Commission voted to avoid the pitfalls of federal law and instead recommended that California enforcers and judges police the state’s economy using its own law.
“I commend the Commission and its staff for their diligent, thoughtful study of the state’s antitrust law, and their foresight in recommending that lawmakers add this stronger single firm conduct language to the Cartwright Act. I look forward to supporting our partners on the ground in California to ensure this important legislation is introduced and passed into law.”
In 2022, California lawmakers tasked the CLRC with studying the state’s antitrust law and recommending ways to update and strengthen its statute. Over the past three years, ILSR worked alongside a California-based coalition of antimonopoly advocates to encourage the Commission’s work and advocate for stronger laws against monopoly abuses, anti-competitive mergers, and other corporate wrongdoing. ILSR’s work in California has included providing public and written comments in support of stronger antitrust laws and helping to author a report, led by Economic Security California Action, detailing the steps needed to modernize and strengthen the Cartwright Act.
Today’s vote was the first by the CLRC finalizing its legislative recommendations. The Commission is expected to vote on language for a future California-specific merger law in the coming weeks.
Ron Knox joined fellow advocates to demonstrate how the state can bolster its antitrust laws to benefit California citizens.
Ron Knox’s advocacy and analysis have helped allies push California towards crucial reforms to its antitrust law, the Cartwright Act.
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ILSR's state-by-state guide to antitrust laws, and how those laws work to enable competition and level the playing field.