GOVERNOR APPOINTS DEAN TO DISABILITY ACCESS COMMISSION

Michael Dean, from the respected firm Wendel Rosen Black & Dean , and longtime CBPA board member, has been appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the California Commission on Disability Access. The Commission was established by industry supported legislation (SB 1608) which was designed to promote and increase compliance with laws providing equal public access in places of business to individuals with disabilities while reducing unwarranted litigation.

Widely recognized for his expertise in real estate law, Dean co-authored the California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) "classic" Commercial Real Property Lease Practice in 1976. Since that time, he has written numerous articles on real property issues. He is widely recognized as an expert in real estate law focusing on land use and retail issues. Dean has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America each year since 1986.

We congratulate Dean for this prestigious appointment and thank him for years of service to our industry.

Click here for more information on this significant ADA reform.

LEGISLATURE COMES BACK

On Monday, the Legislature will be back for the final month of the 2009 Legislative Season. Below are a few bills we are tracking that are still moving through the process. If you have any questions or comments about any of these bills, our position, or if you would like to see a comprehensive list of bills we are tracking, please feel free to respond to this email.
 

BILLS WE SUPPORT

To see the bill text or analyses for any of these bills, simply point your browser to the Senate’s Bill Information Database.

AB 234 (Huffman - D) Requires the funds received under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are directed for energy related activities be administered by the state's energy and water agencies. Provides the activities should be used for promoting energy efficiency, water conservation, the development of renewable energy resources, environmental protection, and green job training. Position: Support.

AB 474 (Blumenfield - D) Authorizes the legislative body of any public agency to designate an area within which authorized city officials and free and willing property owners may enter into contractual assessments to finance the installation of water efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to real property. Position: Support.

AB 531 (Saldana - D) Delays the implementation of the state’s mandatory Energy Star benchmarking law and requires the Energy Commission to write implementing regulations. Position: Support.

AB 560 (Skinner - D) Requires that the standard contract or tariff for net energy metering be offered on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by customer-generators exceeds a specified percentage of an electric distribution utility or cooperative's peak demand. Position: Support.

AB 576 (Torres - D) Relates to vandalism and graffiti. Amends existing law which provides that in every case in which a victim has suffered economic loss as a result of the defendant's or the juvenile offender's conduct, the court is required to impose an order for restitution. Adds to the definition of victim a governmental entity that is responsible for repairing, replacing, or restoring public or privately owned property that has been defaced with graffiti or other inscribed material and that has sustained an economic loss. Position: Support.

AB 758 (Skinner - D) Requires the Energy Commission to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop a program to achieve greater energy savings in the state's existing residential and nonresidential buildings. Requires a new proceeding by the Public Utilities Commission to investigate the ability of electrical and gas corporations to provide customers energy efficiency financing options. Provides for no-cost energy audits. Position: Support.

AB 828 (Lieu - D) Requires the Buildings Standards Commission and other state agencies proposing green building standards to seek input from other agencies and specified groups. Requires any agency providing input to recommend whether the standard should be voluntary or mandatory. Authorizes the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop and adopt voluntary energy efficiency standards. Position: Support.

AB 1084 (Adams - R) Provides additional requirements for a city, county or city and county regarding the notification of a public meeting prior to enacting development mitigation fees. Requires notification of the public regarding the costs required to provide public facilities and services. Authorizes any person to request an audit to determine of the whether any such fee or charge exceeds the amount reasonably necessary to cover the cost of any facility or service. Requires an adjustment if the fee exceeds costs. Position: Support.

AB 1085 (Mendoza - D) Requires the State Air Resources Board to make available to the public each technical, theoretical, and empirical study, report, or similar document, on which the agency relies, related to, but not limited to, air emissions, public health impacts, and economic impacts before the comment period for any regulation proposed for adoption by the board. Position: Support.

ACR 77 (Swanson - D) Urges the State Air Resources Board to meet the statutory requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 by ensuring that its analysis of specified emission reduction measures include prescribed components. Position: Support.

SB 32 (Negrete McLeod - D) Requires an electrical corporation to file with the Public Utilities Commission a standard tariff for electricity purchased from an electric generation facility located within the service territory of, and developed to sell electricity to, the electric corporation. Requires the facility to have a specified effective capacity. Amends provisions regarding owners, payments by a market price referent, peak demand, expedited interconnection procedures, net metering, rate-payer funded incentives and contracts. Position: Support.

SB 261 (Dutton - R) Requires a retail urban water supplier to develop and implement an urban water conservation plan or achieve high-efficiency water use. Requires such supplier or other entities acting on the supplier's behalf, to submit reports regarding the water conservation goal. Amends the Agricultural Water Management Planning Act to require an agricultural water supplier to prepare and adopt a water management plan. Requires the supplier to submit copies of the plan to receive specified state funds. Position: Support.

SB 279 (Hancock - D) Authorizes a community facilities district to finance and refinance the acquisition, installation, and improvement of energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy improvements to or on real property and in buildings. Authorizes a separate procedure for establishing a community facilities district where the district initially consists solely of territory proposed for annexation to the community facilities district in the future. Position: Support.

SB 283 (DeSaulnier - D) Gray water standards. Revises the date that the Department of Water Resources is required to adopt and submit regulations to establish a state version of a specified appendix of the Uniform Plumbing Code to provide design standards to safely plumb buildings with both potable and recycled water systems to the State Building Standards Commission. Requires the department to review and update the regulations. Position: Support.

SB 488 (Pavley - D) Relates to reporting requirements of electrical and gas corporation to the Public Utilities Commission on the comparative energy usage disclosure program and the reporting requirements of such program by local publicly owned electric utilities to the Energy Commission on the net energy savings that are currently being achieved and which could be achieved through expansion of the programs. Requires the commission to consider such reporting in developing energy efficiency savings and demand reduction targets. Position: Support.

BILLS WE OPPOSE

To see the bill text or analyses for any of these bills, simply point your browser to the Senate’s Bill Information Database.

AB 19 (Ruskin - D) Enacts the Carbon Labeling Act of 2009. Requires the State Air Resources Board to develop and implement a program for the assessment, verification, and standardized labeling of the carbon footprint of ALL consumer products sold in this state. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 226 (Ruskin - D) Relates to coastal development permitting. Allows the Coastal Commission to assess penalties and keep the monies to fund further enforcement activity. Creates a “headhunter” provision and will further stymie legitimate development. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 291 (Saldana - D) Removes the right of “due process” to property owners by prohibits the State Coastal Commission from filing as complete or acting upon an application for a coastal development permit for development on any property that is subject to, or is in common and contiguous ownership with any property that is subject to an existing violation case for which a violation notification has been sent, until the violation has been resolved. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 478 (Chesbro - D) Requires the State Integrated Waste Management Board to adopt rules and regulations relating to recycling and solid waste management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Subjects violators of these rules and regulations to civil and criminal penalties. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 479 (Chesbro - D) Mandatory Commercial Recycling. Requires the Integrated Waste Management Board to ensure a specified percentage of all solid waste generated is source reduced, recycled and composted, by providing unprecedented power to regulate businesses. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 568 (Lieu - D) Provides that if a person is convicted counterfeiting copyrighted materials such as DVD’s or name brand purses, then a nonresidential building or place used by that person for manufacturing, selling, or possessing for sale the counterfeit goods, including counterfeit of a registered mark or any recording or audiovisual work, the cover, box, jacket or label which does not disclose specified information shall be deemed a nuisance. Authorizes an action to abate and prevent the nuisance. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 660 (Torrico - D) Enacts a comprehensive program for the certification and regulation of sprinkler fitters. Prohibits a person from performing work on any fire suppression system, unless he or she possess a valid sprinkler fitter or limited scope sprinkler fitter certificate. Prohibits a person or entity from employing a person to perform work on a suppression system without such certificate or permit. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 846 (Torrico - D) Require the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Industrial Relations and the State Water Resources Control Board to increase the maximum and minimum amounts of civil and administrative penalties. Requires that a penalty be assessed at a minimum at a level that recovers any economic benefits derived by alleged violations. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 1373 (Skinner - D) “High Global Warming Potential” Gases – HVAC regulation. Enacts the California Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Innovation Review Act of 2009. Requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop and to conduct a study containing specified elements to assess the potential to optimize the efficiency of stationary cooling technology while significantly reducing the use and emission of high-global warming potential compounds in the stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning industry. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 1404 (De Leon - D) Limits the ability of building owners and developers to engage in market based programs to reduce greenhouse gasses. Requires the ARB to limit the use of certain compliance offsets to a certain percentage of the greenhouse gas emission reductions expected from market mechanisms during the compliance period. Imposes a fee. Position: OPPOSE.

AB 1405 (De Leon - D) Redirects fees paid by building owners and developers to mitigate carbon emissions to projects not related to such reductions. Establishes the Community Benefits Fund. Requires a specified percentage of revenues generated pursuant to the act include the above fees, to be deposited into the fund. Provides that fund moneys will mitigate health impacts and reduce greenhouse emissions in the most disadvantaged and impacted communities in the state. Position: OPPOSE.

SB 14 (Simitian - D) Will make electricity more expensive by devising the requirement for retail sellers of electricity to meet and exceed a specified percentage of their procurement targets from renewable energy resources. Requires an accounting system to verify compliance by retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities to comply with the renewables portfolio standards program. Relates to Public Utility Commission and Independent System Operator responsibilities under the program. Relates to thermal energy facilities certification. Requires reports. Position: OPPOSE.

SB 25 (Padilla - D) Establishes statewide mandatory commercial recycling. Requires a jurisdiction, when revising the source reduction and recycling element of its integrated waste management plan, to divert a higher percentage of solid waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting. Requires that the Integrated Waste Management Board adopt rules and provide grants contingent on increased solid waste disposal fees. Requires businesses generating a specified quantity of solid waste per week to arrange for recycling service. Position: OPPOSE.

SB 104 (Oropeza - D) Increases the costs on building owners and developers by adding a large number of new substances/gasses to the Global Warming Solution Act of 2006. Includes in the definition of greenhouse gas under the Act nitrogen trifluoride, and any other gas designated as a greenhouse gas by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Position: OPPOSE.

SB 406 (DeSaulnier - D) Increases fees and surcharges and changes the membership of the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council. Requires the council work with other entities to facilitate the implementation of regional blueprint plans. Authorizes the council to develop recommendations regarding plans, growth, and infrastructure funding. Authorizes specified entities to impose surcharges on motor vehicle registrations for funding regional plans to reduce the use of motor vehicles and to meet a greenhouse gas emissions target. Position: OPPOSE.

SB 722 (Steinberg - D) Would make it more difficult and expensive for building owners and developers to participate in certain market based programs to buy and sell credits to reduce greenhouse gasses. Imposes state-specific rules regarding carbon credit trading programs that would not be aligned with national or international programs. Position: OPPOSE.

SB 375 REGIONAL TARGET MEETING

The California Air Resources Board’s (ARB) Regional Targets Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 2009. This meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Sacramento and will be available on webcast. If your company is interested in the way that land use will be impacted by the statewide mandate to reduce greenhouse gasses, this is an important proceeding to follow. Click here for more information.
 

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE MEETS IN OC TO DISCUSS WATER

The Assembly Select Committee on Regional Approaches to Addressing the State's Water Crisis, is holding its first committee meeting in Orange County. You are encouraged to attend:

HEARING:
Friday, August 21, 2009
9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. (including lunch)

LOCATION:
OCWD / MWDOC Board Room
18700 Ward Street
Fountain Valley, California 92708

Panelists will include:

Darcy Burke, Director of Public Affairs, Municipal Water District of Orange County
Lucy Dunn, President, Orange County Business Council
Paul Jones, General Manager, Irvine Ranch Water District
Jeff Kightlinger, CEO, Metropolitan Water District
Scott Maloni, Vice President, Poseidon Resources
Michael Markus, General Manager, Orange County Water District
Michael Motherway, President, DXV Water Technologies
Steve Sheldon, President, Orange County Water District
Robert Wade, Director of Legislation, California Landscape Contractors Association

GREENHOUSE GAS CEQA GUIDELINES UNDERWAY

The Natural Resources Agency received recommended amendments to the CEQA Guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. Public hearings on the Proposed Guideline Amendments are scheduled for August 18, 2009 in Sacramento and on August 20, 2009 in Los Angeles. Written comments will be accepted until 5:00pm on August 20, 2009. Click here for more information on how to participate.
 

NORCAL CITY MANAGERS LUNCHEON

On Thursday, October 29, NAIOP is co-sponsoring the City Managers Luncheon with Lambda Alpha International at the Dante Club in Sacramento. Eight City Managers are currently scheduled to appear and more are expected. This event will be moderated by our own Rex Hime. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Click here to see the flyer for information.
 

2009 STRATEGIC ISSUES CONFERENCE

Please join us on Nov. 5-6, as several major industry groups combine forces to sponsor a high level discussion regarding “Climate Change” policy and its impact on business in California. From AB 32 greenhouse gas regulations to the legislative and regulatory focus on land use, this conference promises to deliver the most up to date thinking about the politics driving these policies and will offer strategic discussion to set the course on how industry can proactively be at the table and positively influence policy. Click here for registration and discounted room rates. Please contact Melissa Martinez or click here for more information. 
 

BOMA CALIFORNIA 2009 CALENDAR

NOVEMBER 2009

November 5—
BOMA CA BOARD MEETING & ELECTION OF 2010 OFFICERS
Meritage Hotel, Napa, CA
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

 November 5-6—
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE STRATEGIC ISSUES CONFERENCE
Meritage Hotel, Napa, CA