2007 LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP

Described by many insiders as “lackluster,” the 2007 legislative session will be remembered more for one of the longest budget stalemates ever, than for groundbreaking policy. By February, legislators had introduced 2,760 separate bills. All of these bills were read by staff at BOMA California’s representatives in Sacramento, and more than 500 were identified that could potentially impact the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry.

The Governor closed-out the session on Sunday evening by signing or vetoing the last of the 964 bills sent to his desk; he signed 750 bills and vetoed 214. Now, without peeking, can you name five new laws that you simply can’t live without in 2008?

Although no major policy was signed a la last year’s AB 32 Greenhouse Gas measure, which is still reverberating throughout the nation, don’t for a minute think that there weren’t lots (and lots!) of “good” ideas introduced by leaders in Sacramento, that would have fundamentally changed the way you do business in the state.

Throughout the year, the working coalition of business and industry groups protecting your interests in the Capitol were hard at work identifying bills of interest, analyzing impacts, negotiating changes, writing positions letters, testifying in front of committee, communicating with members and the press, coordinating advocacy, and finally, where needed, making the case for a veto with Governor Schwarzenegger. All-in-all, we’d call the year a success. Many, many bad bills were either killed or “fixed” through amendments; and of those bad bills that actually made it to the Governor, we were successful in making the case against enactment. In fact, not a single bill targeted as “high priority” and opposed by BOMA California was signed into law – and all twelve bills labeled as “Job Killers” by close coalition partner, CalChamber, were vetoed, including several “green building” measures.

In addition to the “success through absence of action,” we also were able to move a few pieces of legislation that will benefit our industry by creating an appointment to the State Historical Building Safety Advisory Board and reforming the Business Improvement District law.

Click here for summary of actions on high priority bills: BOMA California 2007 Legislative Wrap-Up.

LEED MANDATE BILLS VETOED

Three bills we have followed very closely AB 888 (Lieu; D-Torrance), AB 1058 (Laird; D-Santa Cruz), and AB 35 (Ruskin; D-Palo Alto), which would have mandated LEED Gold standards in commercial, residential, and state buildings were vetoed by the Governor.

The Governor stated that he supports the goals of these bills (as do we), but did not agree with the policy of mandating standards written by a private entity with no public review as the best path to achieving the goal of greener buildings. In all three veto messages he states that “allowing private entities, such as proposed in this bill, to dictate California's building standards usurps the state's authority to develop and adopt those standards and could compromise the health and safety of Californians.”

Follow the links below to read Governor Schwarzenegger’s veto messages on these bills:

AB 35 (Ruskin; D-Palo Alto) LEED Mandate on State Buildings - Veto Message
AB 888 (Lieu; D-Torrance) LEED Mandate on Commercial Buildings - Veto Message
AB 1058 (Laird; D-Santa Cruz) LEED Mandate on Residential - Veto Message

As part of his veto messages the Governor directed state agencies to continue with the process started this year by the California Building Standards Commission to develop and work towards “the adoption of green building standards for residential, commercial, and public building construction for the 2010 code adoption process.”

BOMA California has been an active participant in this process and we look forward to contributing further as the standards develop, and as an industry, we will continue our efforts to reach out to the Legislature to encourage policies that provide reasonable incentives for buildings to become more energy efficient and sustainable.

Although our industry did not support the above bills because of issues related to the building codes process, that does not mean we don’t support the work of the USGBC – in fact we think that they, along with other entities such as The Green Building Initiative, provide important third-party certification programs for green buildings that have done much to advance sustainable buildings in California and nationwide.

MIXED-USE CONFERENCE

Mixed-use is quickly establishing itself as a distinct product type and a trend that is revolutionizing the real estate landscape. Combining the elements of residential, retail, office and entertainment, mixed-use projects are succeeding in both urban and suburban markets and on a global scale. This growth brings challenges as well as opportunities and a unique set of issues that are specific to mixed-use.

To understand mixed-use in today’s real estate market, ICSC, NAIOP, BOMA, ARDA, IREM and NMHC have joined together to host a conference in Las Vegas, Nov. 13-14 2007, that will be of interest to anyone involved in developing, designing, financing, leasing, managing and marketing a mixed-use project, as well as new and expanding retailers. Click here for more information on the conference.

BUILDING BENCHMARKING NOW LAW IN CALIFORNIA

The Governor has signed legislation, AB 1103 (Saldana; D-San Diego), that requires commercial building owners to get their properties benchmarked using the EPA Energy Star system, and to disclose the information as to a potential buyer, lessee of the entire building, or lender as part of the escrow process. The bill also requires utilities to provide the information in a “user friendly way” and we negotiated a “safe harbor” liability protection into the bill. Building owners seeking assistance with managing commercial facilities in a more energy efficient manner are encouraged to check out the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program by clicking here.

WATER EDUCATION MATERIALS AVAILABLE

Everybody agrees that our state is in a major crisis when it comes to water issues – levee safety, storage, conveyance, and supply. Water managers and environmental experts recognize that California¹s statewide water system is in crisis. The Governor and Legislature are conducting a Special Legislative Session aimed at placing Water Bond on the February 2008 ballot. The major disagreement boils down to the inclusion of off-stream storage or not. Without a legislative agreement, voters might be faced with two separate measures on the November 2008 ballot-- a Schwarzenegger-backed plan that emphasizes storage and a Perata plan that does not.

But despite intense media coverage and focus by the Governor and legislators, the public remains unaware of the state’s water problems. To help rectify that issue, the Association of California Water Agencies, a coalition of 450 public water agencies, is conducting a statewide public education program called, “California¹s Water: A Crisis We Can¹t Ignore.” Learn more about this program, and water issues in general, by clicking here.

STRATEGIC ISSUES CONFERENCE: GLOBAL WARMING AND THE BUSINESS OF REAL ESTATE

****PLEASE NOTE: Due to the popularity of this conference The Meritage is SOLD OUT of rooms on Nov. 1. However, there are a limited number of spaces available for the conference itself if you would still like to register.

Four major industry groups are combining forces to sponsor a high level discussion regarding the impacts of “global warming” policy on our industry. From AB 32 greenhouse gas regulations to the legislative focus on “green building” mandates, 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 we can proactively be at the table and positively influence policy.

Click here to see the Strategic Issues Conference Website.

Joint sponsors for this event include: California Business Properties Association (CBPA), California Building Industry Association (CBIA), Building Owners and Managers Association of California (BOMA California), and Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA),

The event will be held November 1-2, 2007, at the Meritage Resort in Napa Valley. A stellar line-up of policy and decision-makers from Industry, the Schwarzenegger Administration and Lt. Governor John Garamendi, as well as a respected member of the political press corps, is coalescing for the conference.

Don’t just react – be a leader – participate in this conference and shape important issues that will affect your businesses.

BOMA CALENDAR 2007/2008

November 1 & 2 – BOMA Cal/CBIA/CBPA Fall Joint Legislative Conference
BOMA Cal Annual Meeting
Napa Valley (Meritage Resort)

January 15 – BOMA Cal Board Meeting
Los Angeles
In conjunction with IREM/BOMA GLA Forecast Breakfast

March/April (date TBD) – BOMA Cal Board Meeting
Location TBD

June 10-11 – CA Commercial Real Estate Summit – BOMA Cal Board Meeting
Sacramento (Hyatt Regency)

October/November (date TBD) - BOMA Cal Annual Meeting/20th Anniversary Event
Location TBD