HAPPY THANKSGIVING

CBPA would like to wish all of its member a very Happy Thanksgiving. California is a great state, we live in a wonderful country, despite the many challenges, and we really do have a lot to be thankful for. We hope you get to spend some quality time with loved ones. And please take the time to reflect about the men and women in uniform who are serving our country at this time.
 

STATE BUDGET IN CRISIS

Both Houses of the 2007-2008 California State Legislature met the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week to take one last shot at closing the gaping maw of a deficit that is more commonly referred to as the State Budget. Tuesday's debate featured Democrats accusing the GOP of playing politics with the budget, while the Republicans fired back that Democrats were proposing to fuel the fiscal crisis by raising taxes and not making deep-enough cuts. The proposal, which called for $8.1 billion in tax increases, $8.1 billion in budget cuts and about $800 million in other solutions, such as fund transfers, did not muster the needed votes. So, the budget mess is left for the 2009-2010 Legislature to deal with.
 

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE CLASS OF 2009 – 28 NEW LEGISLATORS

This year's crop of legislative newbies - 11 Republicans and 17 Democrats in all - come from a wide range of backgrounds. We have one sitting state Senator, one former Assemblyman and one former Senate Republican Leader. We have real estate brokers and business people, teachers and city council members. Click here to read the whole rundown of new legislators provided by Capitol Weekly.
 

AQMD GREENHOUSE GAS THRESHOLDS OF SIGNIFICANCE

As reported in the last week, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) was set to recommend that local interim thresholds for greenhouse gases (GHG) be established for all development projects in the district’s territory. This at a time when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) must have statewide threshold adopted within the next 13 months. After several meetings with Governing Board members and staff, their recommendation has been significantly altered. No longer are commercial projects included. A significant victory for our membership. AQMD staff instead will be recommending that the Governing Board only adopt interim GHG thresholds for projects where AQMD serves as Lead Agency, in most cases refineries and other energy producing facilities. CBPA will continue to advocate that local interim GHG thresholds should not be adopted given that CARB is close to announcing statewide thresholds.

 

CITY OF CARSON WAREHOUSE TAX

Last week the Carson City Council considered placing a Warehouse Tax on the ballot. The tax would have been based on the square footage for certain types of businesses, predominantly warehouses. The rate was $.25 per square foot, plus an additional amount for each person employed at the business. Along with the Warehouse tax, the Council considered placing two other revenue generating measures on the ballot – a Utility Users Tax and an Admissions Tax, which was targeted at raising revenue from the Home Depot Center which is located in Carson. CBPA participated in the effort to defeat the Warehouse Tax. The City Council voted down all three proposals. The City is expected to bring the Utility Users Tax proposal back before the Council in early December. CBPA will remain engaged in those conversations, paying special attention to defeating a Warehouse Tax should it be put back on the table.
 

CITY OF SUNNYVALE GREEN BUILDING WORKSHOP

The City of Sunnyvale City Council adopted a policy framework to implement requirements and incentives for sustainable development within the City. New rules and process will be developed, including an ordinance that includes a phased implementation of requirements and incentives for all development including residential, commercial and industrial construction, beginning in 2009. New standards will be based on the Build It Green rating system for residential construction; and the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for non-residential construction. This workshop is an opportunity to ask questions or state your concerns about such requirements before the ordinance is written and adopted:

December 3, 2008 at 9am
Sunnyvale City Hall
Council Chambers
456 W Olive Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA

Members of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry that are active in Sunnyvale are highly encouraged to participate. City policymakers and staff need our expertise to be able to write an ordinance that is cost effective and technologically feasible.
 

AB 32/SB 375 WISH LIST FOR SANTA

Dear Santa:

The commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry has been extremely good this year, even though the economy has been very rough on us. In addition to jobs, tax revenue, and beautiful facilities for people in the state to shop, work, and play, we have participated with good faith in the many legislative and regulatory plans to help reduce energy usage in our state. We build buildings that use half the electricity and emit half the greenhouse gas of the national average. Since we have been so good, we hope that in the New Year you will help us with just a few reforms:

* Allow projects within and consistent with a Sustainable Communities Plan or Alternative Planning Scenario to proceed under CEQA rules for non-residential projects under SB 375.

* If a project is consistent with a Sustainable Communities Plan or Alternative Planning Scenario under SB 375 and complies with Title 24 requirements, we hope that they are deemed not to have a significant impact on Greenhouse Gases under CEQA; such projects are compliant with AB 32 regulations.

* We wish for a voluntary credit program to provide market-based incentives for sectors not subject to mandatory reporting under AB 32, but subject to increased Title 24 Energy Efficiency mandates, to provide incentives for further reductions in GHG emissions through increased energy efficiency.

Finally, we hope that everyone will “just get along” in the New Year, and that the Attorney General and advocacy groups stop suing local agencies to enforce GHG reductions and policies until the AB 32 plan is finalized.

Sincerely,
CBPA

CORPORATE WATER FOOTPRINTING CONFERENCE

How can water management help companies and your properties save energy and costs? How does water reduction drive sustainability? These are two of the central questions being answered at the Corporate Water Footprinting event which is taking place December 2-3 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco.

Confirmed speakers include sustainability experts from Pepsi, Coke, ConAgra Foods, Nestle Waters, IBM, Cisco, Adobe, Intel, GE, Dean Foods, Steelcase, JP Morgan and more. Water management experts from The Global Water Challenge, Business for Social Responsibility, The Pacific Institute, and the World Resources Institute are also speaking.

BOMA California is supporting this event which entitles any member a discount of 20% to attend this event. Simply type “csrw20” into the discount code box when booking online or quote “csrw20” when booking by phone or fax. For more information, click here to visit the website.
 

WEEKLY ALERT ON HIATUS

Please note, the Weekly Alert will be on hiatus from now until the new year. But don’t worry, if anything major happens, we’ll be sure to let you know. We will return to our regular schedule on Friday, January 9, to bring you all the news, gossip, and inside-information from Sacramento. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or need information, please email Matthew Hargrove.
 

BOMA CALIFORNIA 2009 CALENDAR

JANUARY 2009

January 15—
BOMA CALIFORNIA BOARD MEETING
Renaissance Esmeralda, Indian Wells, CA
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Dinner Follows)

January 16-19 –
BOMA INTERNATIONAL WINTER BUSINESS MEETING
Renaissance Esmeralda, Indian Wells, CA

 

FEBRUARY 2009

February 26—
CBPA NEW LEGISLATOR LUNCHEON
Sacramento (Hyatt)

 

MARCH 2009

March TBD (Late March)—
BOMA/INDUSTRYWIDE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
TBD (in Southern California)

March 23-24—
BOMA INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL ISSUES CONFERENCE
Washington D.C.