BEST WISHES TO THOSE IMPACTED BY THE FIRES

BOMA California wants to make sure our members and friends in Southern California impacted by the ongoing fires know our thoughts and prayers are with you. Here’s to a speedy recovery – we know you will come back stronger than ever!

2007 LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP

For those of you that may have missed it in last week’s alert, the 2007 legislative year has drawn to a close with the Governor signing 750 bills and vetoing 214. The commercial, industrial and retail real estate industry did very well this year with five bills signed that we supported and no significant bills signed that we opposed.  Click here for a wrap-up of BOMA California’s 2007 high-priority legislation.

JIM SILVA HONORED BY DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION

California Downtown Association has honored Assemblymember Jim Silva (R-Huntington Beach) as their Legislator of the Year 2007.

“I’ve made it a priority to improve the business climate in California, and working with community leaders such as the California Downtown Association and their affiliates has been a privilege,” Silva said.

Silva is a strong supporter of business issues in the Legislature; he also carried AB 1208, sponsored by CDA, which cleaned-up several code sections that have proved troublesome and hindered the establishment of Business Improvement Districts. AB 1208 was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in July 2007 - click here to read the measure.

“Business Improvement Districts are a key component to the statewide efforts to rejuvenate downtowns and Mr. Silva has helped make that task more attainable,” said Roland Peterson, Immediate Past President, California Downtown Association. “The California Downtown Association selected Assemblymember Silva as our 2007 legislator of the year because he understands the complexities and challenges faced by public and private entities working together to revitalize Downtowns across the state.”

Silva represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Anaheim, Cypress, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Stanton, Sunset Beach and Westminster.

Congratulations Assemblymember Silva! Click here to view his website.

HEALTH CARE SPECIAL SESSION UPDATE

The update is that there is not much activity. Democrats still want an 8% payroll tax. The Governor still wants to cover everyone and thinks the Lotto can pay for it. Unions are attacking the Governor and holding prayer vigils wherever he goes because… well who really knows their beef. In a related matter, a well-known Democrat-leaning website has posed the following question to their readers:

“What Will Be the Result of Organized Labor's Anti-Arnold Health Care Strategy?”

And here are the totally unscientific results from respondents:

17.1% think “the publicity against thin-skinned Governor will force him to compromise.”
14.2% think “his health care plan will be DOA but he'll still veto the Democratic plan.”
68.5% think “’The Fat Lady’ has sung on health care this year.”

Unscientific or not, this poll reflects the thoughts of many in and around the Capitol, and we tend to agree with the majority of opinion that there is very little likelihood that anything will happen on the health care front before the New Year.

There will be an Assembly Health Committee hearing on the Governor's proposal next Wednesday, October 31. A Senate hearing has not been set. Senator Perata has stated that the Assembly will have to send them a bill before he calls any of his members back. The Governor's proposal has not been introduced yet, so the Assembly hearing is strictly an informational.

PUC WANTS YOU “OFF THE GRID” BY 2030

The California Public Utilities Commission has adopted a decision that asks the state to require new commercial buildings to be “zero net energy” or self-sufficient and “off the energy grid” by 2030 and residences to do the same a full ten years earlier. Yes, you read that correctly. The CPUC wants your facilities to be self-sufficient by 2030. OK… after you have picked yourself up from the floor from either laughing or crying; just know that this decision still needs to go through the regulatory process via the Building Standards Commission, so don’t start installing windmills on top of your building just yet.

"Energy efficiency must become a way of life in California if we are to meet the growing energy demand in the state and combat global warming," said PUC Commissioner Dian M. Grueneich, who earlier stated that the goals are “ambitious but attainable.” Others have said the goals are fantasy and we are nowhere near the ability to have all new construction at zero net energy within the next 20 years.

In order to meet these goals, very expensive on-site generation of electricity (solar, fuel cell, wind, or some yet unknown technology) will have to be combined with stringent energy efficiency measures. And while the mass application of PV solar energy system technology is farther along than fuel cell technology, neither one of these technologies is cost-effective or easily implementable. With regards to PV energy system costs, the fact of the matter is that instead of going down in cost by 6%-8% per year (estimates used in the Capitol over the past 3 years); PV solar energy system costs have actually increased by 25% over the past 18 months. Even if solar technology was cost effective, most high-rise commercial buildings don’t have anywhere near enough roof-space to house the number of panels that would be needed to power a building, not to mention shading issues from neighboring buildings and local codes conflicts for roof arrays. Click here to read the PUC’s press release on the decision.

A similar proposal, AB 1065 (Lieber; D-Mountain View) was introduced in the Legislature this year and died due to its immense cost and impossible policy.

AB 32 ARB SCOPING PLAN WORKSHOPS

In more “ambitious but attainable” news, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) advanced the state's global warming fight on two fronts Thursday. By a unanimous vote, the board adopted strict standards for measuring the "carbon offsets" generated by well-managed forests. Separately, it started the regulatory wheels turning on a suite of new emissions-cutting schemes.

The regulations that are being written will impact the way you do business. The ARB is leading the effort to develop regulations on implementation of the state’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, commonly referred to by its legislative bill number, AB 32.

The ARB has developed a workshop schedule which we are providing below in hopes of getting people from our industry interested and involved in the process. BOMA and other business groups are there to engage on behalf of industry, but we are usually outnumbered 3-1 by environmentalists, no-growthers, chicken-littles, and others that understand the importance of this process in achieving their ultimate policy goals.

On November 30, 2007, ARB will hold a public workshop to explain the Scoping Plan process and schedule, and to initiate a discussion about the structure of the Scoping Plan such as how commitments should be designed, cost-effectiveness methodologies, and other basic elements of the Plan. This workshop will be held at the South Coast Air Quality Management District offices in Diamond Bar and will be webcast.

On December 14, 2007, ARB will hold a Sector-Based Workshop. Staff will provide an overview of the sectors responsible for the largest percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, and provide an overview of the staff's current thinking about potential emission reduction measures for the Scoping Plan. This workshop will be held at the Cal/EPA Headquarters Building in Sacramento and will be webcast.

In mid-January 2008, ARB will hold a Tools Workshop to discuss the various mechanisms that are available to achieve the 2020 emission reduction targets, including direct regulations, markets, voluntary actions, and incentives. The location for this workshop has not yet been finalized.

In late-March 2008, ARB plans to hold a Scenario Workshop to explore different emission reduction strategies. The staff will present different combinations of potential emission reduction measures and discuss preliminary analyses of the scenarios.

In October 2008, ARB staff plans to release its proposed Scoping Plan.

In November 2008, the ARB is scheduled to consider the Scoping Plan.

Click here for more information about these ARB workshops.

STATE WATER PLAN UPDATE

CBPA representatives have been named to the State Water Plan Update Advisory Board and we have been actively representing the industry as this important document takes shape at a series of public and private meetings. More than 150 people attended the first California Water Plan Plenary Session on Monday and Tuesday in Sacramento. On Day 1, participants discussed sustainability, water quality, climate change, water planning scenarios and incorporation of flood management into the overall Water Plan. On Day 2, small groups provided advice on how to incorporate Day 1topics into the resource management strategies used for water planning. Click here for more information regarding the State Water Plan Update.

USING LEED THE “RIGHT WAY”

The sustainable design movement has gained immense popularity in commercial and institutional real estate nationwide. According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the green building market is expected to exceed $12 billion in 2007, with approximately 3 percent of new commercial developments in the United States pursuing LEED certification.

Clearly, commercial properties are being influenced by sustainable design principles. But sometimes projects may not be as holistically green as they could be. That's because motivations for incorporating green strategies vary. Motivations may include one, some or all of the following: reduce long-term operating costs, attract tenants, provide a more comfortable and productive environment for employees, be a good environmental steward, reduce the time required to get a building permit (e.g., Chicago's Green Permit program), or obtain the public relations benefits that LEED certification may bring.

Some detractors claim that LEED is nothing more than a marketing ploy. However, many more people believe that LEED is an important third-party certification for green buildings and that most owners genuinely wish to do the right thing within the constraints of their values and budgets. Facility executives should consider the apparent gaps between marketing, social and environmental issues and smart business. Click here to read the full article.

WATER EDUCATION MATERIALS AVAILABLE

Water managers and environmental experts recognize that California¹s statewide water system is in crisis. But despite intense media coverage and focus by the governor and legislators, the public remains unaware of the state’s water problems. That’s why the Association of California Water Agencies, a coalition of 450 public water agencies, is conducting a statewide public education program, “California¹s Water: A Crisis We Can¹t Ignore.” Learn more about this program by clicking here.

THE GREENING OF CALIFORNIA BUSINESSES

November 8-9 the California Manufacturers and Technology Association with the Industrial Environmental Association will be hosting a conference on “The Greening of California Businesses” in San Diego.

Some of the many issues that will be discussed at this conference are: global climate change, new water quality and conservation mandates, managing the supply chain, cutting waste and managing use of food chemicals. For more information on speakers, topics and conference details, please click on the link below. Click here for more information about the conference.

STRATEGIC ISSUES CONFERENCE 2007 ***SOLD OUT***

The Strategic Issues Conference 2007 scheduled for next week is SOLD OUT! The response from industry reflected in the broad-range and high-level of attendees is indicative of how important the issue of Global Warming will be on our businesses. Thank you for your support of this important event! Click here to see the Strategic Issues Conference Website.

WEEKLY ALERT ON HIATUS

Please note, the Weekly Alert will be on hiatus next Friday, November 2, due to attendance at the Strategic Issues Conference. But don’t worry, we will return the next week to bring you all the news, gossip, and inside-information from Sacramento.

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