Business Licensing & Franchising

In an increasingly complicated fiscal landscape, cities are searching for ways to secure sufficient revenue to fund and manage programs and meet their constituents’ needs.
 
Maintaining an active Municipal Law practice since the firm’s inception, Best Best & Krieger LLP is a leader in advising cities on ways to secure maximum local business license and franchise revenues to which they are entitled under the law. 
 
We work extensively with our city clients to ensure that they impose, collect and maintain business license taxes and fees in compliance with applicable law. We regularly assist in setting tax/fee rates, processing exemptions, establishing collection policies and audit procedures, and in reviewing refund claims. Further, when a city proposes a business license tax increase, we can guide it through the local election process (often a necessary step under California’s Proposition 218).
 
BB&K has a large team of lawyers focused on areas of particular concern to city clients, which makes us well qualified to assist cities regarding nearly every type of local franchising. We have considerable experience advising clients on the increasingly complex relationship between local cable television franchises and telecommunications facilities relative to federal and state law. Our lawyers also regularly negotiate solid waste and recycling franchises and we have resolved numerous issues concerning the distribution and sale of gas, water, oil and electricity.
 
Overall, our extensive experience enables us to help cities get the most out of their local business licensing programs and franchises.