AB 32 CLIMATE CHANGE SESSION

More than eighty members from four major industry groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, California Building Industry Association, California Business Properties Association, and American Council of Engineering Companies of California met this week for a high level discussion and panel presentation on the implementation of AB 32, California’s 2006 Green House Gas (GHG) global warming solutions bill and its resulting impacts on industry.

Participants heard from a broad range of high level policymakers including Cal/EPA Secretary Linda Adams, Director of the office of Planning and Research Cynthia Bryant, the Executive Officer of the Air Resources Board James Goldstene, and two of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Deputy Legislative Secretaries Mike Prosio and John Moffatt. The group discussed with experts from private industry about how AB 32 is impacting CEQA and project planning, as well as a discussion about how the newly signed SB 375 will impact business. The room remained packed throughout the day, and we hope that means that the discussion topics and interaction were of high value to the participants.

Thank you to all of our speakers and attendees!
 

SIGN/VETO DEADLINE 2008

The deadline for signing or vetoing bills for the 2007-2008 Legislative Session hit this week. Of the 1,177 bill passed by the Legislature, Governor Schwarzenegger signed 763 bills and vetoed 414 bills.

Peter Detweiler, longtime consultant for the Senate Local Government Committee likes to keep track of interesting stats:

• Schwarzenegger just set a record for vetoing the highest percentage of bills in a single year, vetoing more than a third of the bills that reached him this year (35.17% in 2008).

• Schwarzenegger has consistently vetoed more than 25% of the bills that reached him.

• Schwarzenegger vetoed more bills in five years (1,433) than Reagan did in eight years (843).

• Schwarzenegger signed the lowest number of bills of any recent governor (729 in 2005).

• Deukmejian vetoed the most bills in a single year (436 in 1990).

• In his five years, Davis vetoed twice as many bills (1,098) as Brown did in eight years (528).

• In 1982, Brown vetoed just 30 bills, setting the record for the lowest number of vetoes.
 

GOVERNOR SIGNS LANDMARK ADA REFORM

Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a measure to reform and discourage abuse of our state’s ADA laws. SB 1608 (Corbett; D-San Leandro) promotes and increases compliance with state and federal civil rights laws and reduces unwarranted, unnecessary litigation that does not advance the goals of disability access.

The bill, strongly supported by statewide business groups including the CalChamber, California Business Properties Association, California Hotel and Lodging Association, and the California Restaurant Association, is designed to address two important ADA reform goals: Promote and increase compliance with state and federal civil rights laws providing for equal access for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations; and reduce unwarranted, unnecessary litigation that does not advance the goals of disability access.

The legislation is the culmination of a two-year collaborative effort involving countless hours of work, crafting reforms within an extremely complex body of law that appropriately balanced the interests of those impacted. The bill received unanimous support by both houses of the Legislature before being sent to the Governor.

SB 1608 arrives at a solution through a combination of the following key reform provisions:
• Clarifications in the law to help reduce unwarranted damages and attorneys’ fees.
• A new court procedure to encourage early resolution of disability access lawsuits.
• Incentivizing building owners to use state-certified access specialists to ensure compliance.
• Improved continuing education in disability access laws for building inspectors and architects including a requirement that all cities and counties have at least one Certified Access Special on staff.
• A new disability commission which will be tasked with evaluating and providing recommendations on further disability issues having an impact on the disability community and business.

One of the important reforms in SB 1608 is a provision clarifying that plaintiffs may recover damages only for a violation they personally encountered or that deterred access on a particular occasion, rather than for alleged violations that may exist at a place of business but did not cause a denial of access.

In addition, SB 1608 clarifies that a court can consider reasonable written settlement offers made and rejected in determining the amount of reasonable attorneys fees to be awarded at the end of a case, which is aimed at reducing unnecessary protraction of litigation by either party.
 

CBPA HIGH PRIORITY BILLS

In 2008, CBPA followed more than 500 bills that had a potential impact on our industry. Many of those bills do not make it through the process or are amended in a way that resolves our concerns. However, many bills, that would have a major impact on the way you do business, make it through the legislative process and are sent to the Governor. Here is an example of several of these bills – for a comprehensive list of high priority bills, click here.
 

SIGNATURE REQUESTS

Here are a few examples of high priority bills we supported or sponsored that have been signed by the Governor:

AB 1767 (Ma; D-San Francisco) Adds the act of vandalism by graffiti to the list of misdemeanor offenses that cannot be remedied through civil compromise. Status: Signed.

AB 2025 (Silva; R-Huntington Beach) Reforms the process by which abandoned property is dealt with in the commercial setting. Raises the threshold to trigger a public auction to $750 and creates a separate code section for commercial real estate. Status: Signed.

SB 691 (Calderon; D-Montebello) Creates statewide standards and penalties for law enforcement to crack down on metal theft. Places new requirements on recyclers and new/stiffer penalties for purchase of stolen materials. Status: Signed.

SB 1473 (Calderon; D-Montebello) Industry sponsored measure to clarify that the Building Standards Commission is the primary state agency responsible for proposing and adopting non-residential Green Building Codes. Also assesses a fee on construction to fund code-related development of educational materials and training programs. Status: Signed.
 

SB 375 – SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Only one high priority bill that we opposed was signed into law over our objections, SB 375 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Sustainable Community Plans.

This new law attempts to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mandating regional planning. SB 375, sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the League of Conservation Voters, took more than two years to wend its way through the legislative process. Until late in the process it has faced stiff and unified opposition from a large business and local government coalition that included both residential and commercial developers. However, late amendments to the bill, included some provisions that induced the homebuilders to remove their opposition and brought them into support of the measure. Almost all other business groups, including CBPA, the CalChamber, Manufacturer’s, Grocer’s, Retailers, and many transportation groups remained opposed.

At the core of the bill is a fundamental disagreement on land use planning. However, specific issues identified include impacts on transportation projects and funding, unequal CEQA benefits depending on project type, the need to remove litigation “hooks,” and the need for the bill to provide a “safe harbor” from AB 32 induces lawsuits. In the Governor’s “signature message” he asked Senator Steinberg to address some of these issues next year. We look forward to working with Mr. Steinberg to make this policy successful.

Click here to read what the Governor says about SB 375 and see the signing ceremony.
 

VETO REQUEST

CBPA requested vetoes on the following measures. All were vetoed:

AB 2447 (Jones; D-Sacramento) mandates that a county legislative body deny any development project requiring a tentative tract or parcel map proposed within a State Responsibility Area or a high fire severity zone. Status: VETO requested

AB 2939 (Hancock; D-Berkeley) Authorizes local jurisdictions to supplant Title 24, the state building code, with private building standards such as LEED. Status: VETO requested.

SB 974 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) imposes a “container tax” on all goods coming in and out of California ports. Status: VETO requested
 

BILLS THAT DIED

Below are examples of some bad bills we helped stop or fix before reaching the Governor’s Desk:

AB 1065 (Lieber; D-Mountain View) Severely impedes commercial and residential development by requiring all new buildings use 50% less energy by 2020 and 80% less energy by 2030. This is technically impossible for most building types. Status: Dead

AB 2030 (Lieu; D-Torrance) “Zero Net Energy” for commercial. Would debilitate commercial development by requiring all new buildings generate 50% of power onsite using “sustainable” technology. This is technically impossible for most building types. Status: Dead.

AB 2046 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Would essentially halt residential and commercial development by fundamentally altering water planning by obligating new development water assessments be done to drinking water standards. Status: Amended to address major concerns. Opposition removed.

AB 2112 (Saldana; D-San Diego) “Zero Net Energy” for residential. Would severely hinder residential development by requiring all new buildings generate 50% of power onsite using “sustainable” technology. This is technically impossible for most building types. Status: Dead.

AB 2153 (Krekorian; D-Burbank) “Zero Net Water” for development. Would stall residential and commercial development requiring unobtainable water conservation standards. Status: Dead.

AB 2514 (Eng; D-Monterey Park) severely complicates commercial and residential development by applying the “Sacred Sites” process to any development where non-native American human bones are found. Status: In Senate.

AB 2558 (Feuer; D-Lost Angeles) Allows for a “climate change mitigation fee” which undermines the AB 32 process and adds another layer of taxation that will severely harm businesses. Status: Dead.

AB 2616 (DeVore; R-Irvine) Overturns the Pruneyard case and erodes private property rights by mandating that large retailers allow protestors and signature collectors to stand at the entrances and exits of their facilities. Such a statute would easily be applied to other types of properties and would most likely be interpreted to encompass all forms of speech, including protests and labor organizing. Status: Dead.

AB 2678 (Nunez; D-Los Angeles) Hurts the existing housing and commercial real estate markets by requiring that before a building is sold the current owner conduct an energy audit and make some as yet to be determined upgrades to the energy efficiency. Many buildings will simply not be sold, as homeowners and small businesses will not be able to make such investments during escrow. Status: Dead.

AB 2973 (Blakeslee; R-San Luis Obispo) Mandates that a structural engineer consultant report building structural information to local officials and denies the right for a building owner to redress grievances in court. Status: In Senate. Dead.

SB 445 (Torlakson; D-Antioch) Allows for a “climate change mitigation fee” which undermines the AB 32 process and adds another layer of taxation that will hurt businesses. Status: Dead.

SB 1165 (Kuehl; D-Santa Monica) Restricting environmental impact statements to a five-year lifetime, which would cause the delay of project permits and encourage frivolous lawsuits, giving no-growth advocates another tool to block projects. Status: Dead.
 

2008 INDUSTRY AWARDS GALA

The Industry Awards Dinner is scheduled for October 23, 2008 at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. This event is not to be missed as it is a chance to recognize the unwavering leadership of individuals and companies dedicated to our industry. Click here for more information about the honorees and for sponsorship information.
 

2008 CALENDAR

October 2--
STRATEGIC ISSUES CONFERENCE 2008 – CLIMATE CHANGE
Sacramento

(t)October 16--
BOMA SACRAMENTO--BOMA CALIFORNIA 20th ANNIV. LUNCH
Sacramento

October 23 —
COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL/RETAIL REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY AWARDS DINNER
The Island Hotel, Newport Beach, CA
5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

October 24 —
BOMA CA BOARD MEETING & ELECTION OF 2009 OFFICERS
Newport Beach (The Irvine Company)
10:00 a.m. -- 3:00 p.m.