ZERO NET ENERGY/SOLAR MANDATE FOR RESIDENTIAL STOPPED
AB 2112 (Saldana; D-San Diego) “Zero Net Energy” for residential. A bill that would severely hinder residential development by requiring all new buildings to generate 50% of used power onsite using “sustainable” technology, was stopped this week by the Senate Transportation and Housing. The idea, which would be technically impossible for most large multi-residential projects and not very cost effective for most other types of residences, was “held” in committee due to a number of concerns about the bill’s impact.

ZERO NET ENERGY/SOLAR AND BEYOND FOR COMMERCIAL AMENDED
AB 1065 (Lieber; D-Mountain View) A bill that mandates all commercial and residential development use 50% less energy by 2020 and 80% less energy by 2030 was heavily amended in committee to address concerns of a broad range of groups, including BOMA California, CBPA, ICSC, NAIOP, CalChamber, CBIA and several others. Chief among the concerns are the impact the mandate would have on affordable housing and whether such quantum leaps in energy reduction were even technically possible. We are also very concerned that such a policy is a de facto solar mandate, which has many unresolved policy questions. In committee, the author committed to adjusting the bill to conform to the Title 24 regulatory process and to severely scale back the energy reduction mandate to more realistic levels. One lingering concern is the issue of “plug-load,” and whether or not tenant energy usage would count against the building’s overall load. We have long argued that a building owner/manager has very little to no ability to suppress tenant energy use and should not be held solely responsible for reducing non-Title 24 regulated energy. The bill is scheduled to be heard again next week, though amendments are still not available for review.

GREEN BUILDING/ENERGY MANDATE UPDATE
AB 35 (Ruskin; D-Palo Alto)
Mandates LEED Gold standard for new state building construction and tenant improvements. Position: Oppose. Status: Bill was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 888 (Lieu; D-Torrance)
Mandates LEED Gold standard for new commercial construction and tenant improvements. Position: Oppose. Status: Bill was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 1058 (Laird; D-Santa Cruz)
Mandates LEED Gold standard for new residential construction. Position: Oppose. Status: Bill was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 1065 (Lieber)
20/50/80% Energy Reduction Mandates on Commercial and Residential. Position: Pending. Status: Bill was significantly amended in Senate Transportation and Housing and we await new language.

AB 2030 (Lieu; D-Torrance)
Mandates Zero Net Energy for Commercial. Position: Oppose. Status: Bill died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2112 (Saldana; D-San Diego)
Mandates Zero Net Energy for Residential. Position: Oppose. Status: Bill died in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

AB 2144 (Smyth; R-Santa Clarita)
Authorize a voluntary local program to recognize “green” buildings that exceed standards set forth in the state building code. Position: Support. Status: Bill died in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

AB 2678 (Núñez; D-Los Angeles)
Directs the CEC to set up a program to address the need to help increase energy efficiency in pre-Title 24 buildings. Position: Support. Status: Moving to Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 2693 (Hancock)
Specifically allows locals to adopt third party green building certification programs (such as LEED) as local mandates supplanting Title 24. Position: Pending. Status: Bill was significantly amended in Senate Transportation and Housing and we await new language.

AB 2961 (Núñez; D-Los Angeles)
Sets green building and energy efficiency standards for state buildings based on a review of several national third party certification programs including Green Globes and LEED. Position: Support. Status: Bill died in the Senate Energy Committee.

SB 1473 (Calderon)
Green building regulatory process, which clarifies state agency responsibility for promulgating green codes and assesses a fee on development to implement. Position: Support. Status: Moving to Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

SB 1670 (Kehoe; D-San Diego)
Proposed $2 billion bond proposition to provide funds to increase the energy efficiency of qualified state-owned and long-term leased buildings. Position: Support. Status: Will be heard next week in Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

STATE BUDGET RHETORIC HEATING UP
Another state budget misses the Constitutional deadline for passage. Yawn. We have come to expect squabbling and disagreement throughout the Summer months in Sacramento as some folks in power try to spend as much of your hard earned cash as possible… and then borrow against your good credit to spend some more.

Assembly Democrats went on the offensive Wednesday accusing the Republicans in both houses of attempting to hold up the budget for issues completely unrelated to the budget (click here for the news release). Senate Republicans shot right back outlining dozens of examples of Democrat-backed issues and bills previously rejected by the Legislature or the Governor, which are also curiously unrelated to the budget.

A prime example used by the Republicans to show policy issues in the budget is the green buildings mandates that would codify LEED Silver into the state’s building code. This policy was pushed last year in three different measures (AB 35/AB 888/AB 1058; see above), which were all vetoed by the Governor last year. As well, this issue was part of the budget stalemate last Summer and was ultimately rejected as a budget item. This clearly is outside the budget process but keeps getting slipped into the process.

Earlier this week, Senator Bob Dutton (R-Inland Empire) sent a letter in response to a story published in the Los Angeles Times where Democrats accused Republican lawmakers of using the budget to rollback protections for California families. Click here for the letter.

Senator Dutton pointed out that in the Budget Conference Committee alone there are 73 different policy bills calling for “trailer bill language” that will be used to push forward the Democrats’ agenda without a policy hearing.

Its 103 degrees outside of the Capitol today… and its starting to boil on the inside.

CEQA/AB 32 RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES RELEASED
The Office of Planning and Research (OPR) pursuant to SB 97 has transmitted their recommendations of how the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and AB 32, California’s landmark climate change law, will interface in the future. The Technical Advisory called CEQA AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Addressing Climate Change through California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Review can be read by clicking the title.

The Advisory includes OPR's recommended approach for lead agencies performing climate change analyses for projects which generate Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG), as well as a list of technical resources and modeling tools for estimating GHG emissions, and examples of GHG reduction measures.

The Advisory is general in nature. Of particular interest, the Advisory indicates each lead agency will have to develop its own approach to evaluating GHG emissions. It does not propose a particular method for evaluating the GHG emissions generated by a project, nor does it recommend the use of a particular threshold of significance for evaluating a project's cumulative impacts due to GHG emissions.

The Advisory states that OPR hopes to deliver proposed CEQA Guidelines concerning the evaluation of climate change (guidelines it was directed to prepare by AB 97) as early as January 2009.

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN PRO-UNION STATUTE IN CALIFORNIA
As a result of today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Chamber of Commerce of the United States et al. v. Brown et al., states may no longer restrict employers’ rights to communicate with their employees about unionization. The decision will ripple through the legal system and likely result in the invalidation of similar legislation in other states.

The Court rejected California’s attempt to place the state’s thumb on the scale in the unionization debate. California Assembly Bill 1889 (Cedillo; D-Los Angeles), enacted in 2000 in response to union lobbying efforts, expressly prohibited employers from using state grant and program funds to “assist, promote, or deter union organizing.” The Court recognized that a state has a legitimate interest in ensuring that its funds are spent in accordance with the purposes for which they were appropriated. However, the Court found that the true purpose of AB 1889 was to silence employer speech about unions by subjecting employers to burdensome segregated accounting systems, onerous recordkeeping requirements, treble damages, private rights of actions and attorney’s fees. The law included significant pro-union exceptions to its spending ban, including allowing the use of state funds to circumvent secret-ballot elections by entering into voluntary recognition agreements (otherwise known as card-check or “neutrality” agreements) with a union.

MEAL PERIOD LAWSUIT CRISIS NEEDS COMPLETE SOLUTION
The California Chamber of Commerce is continuing to urge lawmakers to insist on a comprehensive solution to the meal period litigation crisis. Read more about what the CalChamber is doing for California businesses on this issue by clicking here.

ACTION ALERT! ZERO NET ENERGY/SOLAR AND BEYOND FOR COMMERCIAL
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. The bill is set for hearing next week. Click here to send a note to your state representatives to oppose this measure.

ACTION ALERT! ZERO NET ENERGY/SOLAR MANDATE FOR RESIDENTIAL
AB 2112 (Saldana; D-San Diego) “Zero Net Energy” for residential, would severely hinder residential development by requiring all new buildings to generate 50% of used power onsite using “sustainable” technology. This is technically impossible for most residential building types. The bill is set for hearing next week. Click here to send a note to your state representatives to oppose this measure.

2008 INDUSTRY AWARDS
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
This week the 2008 Industry Awards were announced. The following individuals and organizations will be honored at an October 23rd banquet in Newport Beach:

Champion of the Industry Award Honorees
      Retail: Brian Smith, Regency Centers
      Industrial: John Hagestad, Sares-Regis Group
      Office: Steve Soboroff, Playa Vista

Ernie Hahn Memorial Award Honoree
      Building Owners and Managers Association
      California (BOMA California)

John Caldecott Award Honoree
      Kim Winston, Starbucks

Watch for more information about these awards and the event.

CA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT 2008 – SUCCESS!
This week, the annual California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) was held in Sacramento. Scores of industry representatives came to town to meet with legislators, Governor’s staff, and Constitutional Officers, to network, and to learn more about issues impacting commercial real estate in California. The event can best be summed-up in the following “thank you” message sent to more than seventy participants.

Industry Colleagues:

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the 2008 California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES). Interacting with the Legislature is like giving a speech to a parade, so your presence in Sacramento over the past two days is an essential part of the year-round advocacy effort that is needed to assure the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry has a place at the table and is effective at influencing public policy with an impact on our businesses.

You presence helps establish a connection between the Sacramento process and real live people providing jobs, services, and growing the economy. You helped educate legislators about issues impacting our industry, from sustainable building mandates to the impact of international trade. You fought on your own behalf against bills that would do great harm to the industry and supported a few that might actually provide some benefit.

One of the purposes of the CCRES is to present a unified front between all the sectors of our industry. For the most part, legislators and staff do not distinguish between the various types of projects within our industry – a shopping center and an office building is all commercial development to most folks under the gilded dome. So, combining/consolidating efforts under the CBPA umbrella of all the major industry associations (ICSC, BOMA, NAIOP, IREM, RILA, and CDA) and individual member companies, is an effective way to assure that we use that to our advantage and act as a cohesive whole, while taking the opportunity to explain the unique characteristics of each sector of the industry, which ultimately increases our effectiveness on the wide range of issues and bills.

Finally, we hope you had the chance to network with colleagues and meet some new ones and personally interact with legislators from your area and beyond. We know this relationship building will help us represent you and the industry better in the coming months – we hope you found it valuable, too.

On a housekeeping note, please pass along any relevant information you picked up while meeting with legislators, any follow-up we should do, and or any feedback you may have on the CCRES to help strengthen the event for next year. It is also recommended that you send just a quick “thank you note” to those offices you met with. Address information is below.

Respectfully,

The California Business Properties Team – Your everyday advocates in Sacramento

BOMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING SHOW
In today's market, optimizing building performance is a strategic imperative. As operating expenses increase, you must drive value in order to stay competitive. The BOMA International Conference and The Office Building Show is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships you need to achieve operational excellence and sustain your business through this challenging market cycle. The event is June 22 – 24, 2008. Click here for more information and registration materials.

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT
Next week, scores of high level professionals from our industry will descend upon the Capitol as part of the 2008 California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES). This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on Sacramento to meet with policymakers and network with colleagues from around the state. CCRES Delegates will meet with high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

HIGH PRIORITY ISSUES AND BILLS
CCRES Delegates will discuss many legislative and regulatory issues impacting the industry, including the status of AB 32 Greenhouse Gas Reduction regulations, and a sneak peak at data from the highly anticipated Commercial/Industrial/Retail Carbon Footprint Study commissioned by several professional groups.

In legislative meetings CCRES Delegates will focus on the following bills:

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: In Senate Judiciary Committee. POSITION: SUPPORT

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: Senate Transportation. POSITION: OPPOSE

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

SB 1608 (Corbett; D-San Leandro) ADA reform bill that both 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. Status: In Assembly. POSITION: SUPPORT.

SB 375 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Would all but stop commercial and residential development through imposing an impossible land use bureaucracy that mandates “transit oriented development,” even in areas with robust public transportation systems. Status: In Assembly Approps. POSITION: OPPOSE.

SB 974 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Imposes a “container tax” on all goods coming in and out of California ports. Status: Assembly Floor. POSITION: OPPOSE.

GOVERNOR PROCLAIMS DROUGHT
Following two straight years of below-average rainfall, very low snowmelt runoff and the largest court-ordered water transfer restrictions in state history, the Governor proclaimed a statewide drought and issued an executive order directing the Department of Water Resources to do the following:

• Facilitate water transfers to respond to emergency shortages across the state.
• Work with local water districts and agencies to improve local coordination.
• Help local water districts and agencies improve water efficiency and conservation.
• Coordinate with other state and federal agencies and departments to assist water suppliers, identify risks to water supply and help farmers suffering losses.

We have written about water many many times in the past few years and continue to warn that the shortfall is evident, the disaster is eminent. The state must take steps to manage our water in a comprehensive and efficient manner. Even though there are many impediments to fixing the problems, including a tangible shortage of facilities, the lack of effective conveyance, and problems with the Delta, the business community is prepared to work with the Governor and Legislators to fix this issue.

Click here for more information on the Governor’s drought proclamation.

WATER HERE, THERE, NOWHERE!
On Tuesday, Rex Hime, President & CEO of CBPA blogged about the politics of water in the Capitol (Click here to read the blog at the new Fox and Hounds Daily), then on Wednesday the Governor proclaims that the state is in a drought. Coincidence???

A CHALLENGE TO SLASH THE ENERGY USED FOR COOLING
UC Davis energy-efficiency experts have launched a novel program designed to slash electricity use by rooftop air conditioners in the western United States by more than 40 percent. The "Western Cooling Challenge," sponsored by the UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center, will be introduced at a Denver meeting of energy-conscious retail business leaders.

The challenge aims to accelerate the adoption of regionally appropriate cooling technologies for new and existing low-rise, nonresidential buildings (such as suburban retail and office buildings).

The Western Cooling Challenge is a program of activities designed to help cooling-unit manufacturers deliver better products, and help building owners install and use those products. The challenge includes voluntary, more demanding performance specifications for new rooftop cooling units, consultations with UC Davis experts for designers trying to meet those specifications, and a new certification of "Western Cooling Challenge compliant" to help building owners identify the new units in the marketplace.

Click here for more information regarding the Western Cooling Efficiency Center.

BOMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING SHOW
In today's market, optimizing building performance is a strategic imperative. As operating expenses increase, you must drive value in order to stay competitive. The BOMA International Conference and The Office Building Show is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships you need to achieve operational excellence and sustain your business through this challenging market cycle. The event is June 22 – 24, 2008. Click here for more information and registration materials.

ASSEMBLY ATTEMPTS TO MANDATE LEED SILVER IN BUDGET
Lobbyists that want to mandate all buildings be built to the LEED Silver standard and their allies in the State Assembly are trying to sneakily accomplish through the State Budget process what they couldn’t through the legislative process. A proposal that would mandate that the Building Standards Commission adopt standards matching LEED Silver certification into Title 24 was quietly approved in an Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing.

This move would basically codify the trio of bills that were vetoed last year, each mandating LEED silver standards for state buildings, non-residential buildings, and residential buildings. AB 35 (Ruskin)/AB 888 (Lieu)/AB 1058 (Laird), respectively.

A similar attempt was made last year and was part of the reason the budget was at impasse for so long. Let’s hope the Senate Budget Committee rejects this overreach to mandate a private company’s standards supplant the most environmentally progressive building codes in the nation.

BILL TO SUPPLANT TITLE 24 SQUEAKS THROUGH ASSEMBLY
Speaking of aggressive green building advocates… AB 2939 (Hancock; D-Berkeley), a bill that will allow local jurisdictions to supplant the state building code, Title 24, with private “green” building standards, barely squeaked out of the Assembly on the last day possible. Several legislators rose to speak against the measure arguing that AB 2939 is unnecessary as local jurisdictions already have the ability to adopt building standards that are stricter than Title 24 based on topographic, geologic, or climactic conditions. They further argued that the bill would encourage adoption of building standards written by private entities whose process is not open to public input or scrutiny.

The Title 24 process has proven to be very successful, producing the most environmentally progressive state building code in the nation. Due to its adoption in 1978 and through regular updates on a two-year cycle, a new building in California uses approximately one-half the amount of energy and emits 50% less Greenhouse Gas than the national average.

As this bill has moved through the process we have offered amendments to remove the specific references to the private third party certification programs (LEED, Build It Green, Green Builder, Green Globes) which have been resisted by the author and sponsors. We will keep working on the bill as it moves through the Senate.

ZERO NET ENERGY FOR COMMERCIAL BILL DIES
AB 2030 (Lieu; D-Torrance), the bill that would mandate “Zero Net Energy” usage for all new commercial buildings by the year 2030, has been held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and is effectively dead for the year. The measure, pushed by environmental advocates that want to force massive use of solar energy before the technology is feasible or economical, would debilitate commercial development by requiring all new buildings generate 50% of used power onsite using “sustainable” technology. This mandate is technically impossible for most non-residential building types and was seen as a de facto building moratorium. A large coalition of business groups opposed the measure and worked hard to educate lawmakers to its severe negative impacts on the State.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT “REFORM” BILL DIES
SB 1165 (Kuehl; D-Santa Monica), the bill that would stymie economic and business growth by restricting environmental impact statements to a five-year lifetime, fell well short of the 21 votes needed to pass the Senate Floor. The bill would cause the delay of project permits and open the door to frivolous lawsuits, giving no-growth advocates another tool in their attempts to block projects. A large coalition of business groups opposed the measure and worked hard to educate lawmakers to its severe negative impacts on the State.

ZERO NET WATER FOR DEVELOPMENT BILL DIES
AB 2153 (Krekorian; D-Burbank), the bill that would mandate “Zero Net Water” usage for all new commercial and residential development, died on the Assembly Floor, falling well short of the 40 votes needed for passage. This mandate would stall residential and commercial development requiring unobtainable water conservation standards in an attempt to extract “mitigation” fees from developers and driving up the cost of homes and businesses. A large coalition of business groups and housing advocates opposed the measure and worked hard to educate lawmakers to its severe negative impacts on the State.

AB 32 WORKSHOPS
California’s landmark “Global Warming Solutions Act,” will change the way you do business. This paradigm-shifting edict is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, and has the potential to drastically impact our industry; how much it impacts your bottom line, however, is up to the actions we as an industry undertake now to shape its regulations. What comes out of the regulatory process, that is now underway, will impact our industry for the next generation. Here are some upcoming meetings related to AB 32 that you may be interested in attending:

June 16, 2008 – AB 32 Economic Analysis Stakeholder Workshop
This series of meetings is being held in order to provide interested stakeholders the opportunity to provide input concerning the economic analysis that will support the AB 32 Scoping Plan.
LOCATION: CAL/EPA Headquarters, Sacramento
Click here for more information.

June 16, 2008 – AB 32 Program Design Technical Stakeholder Work Group
This series of meetings is being held in order to provide interested stakeholders the opportunity to provide input concerning the economic analysis that will support the AB 32 Scoping Plan.
Location: CAL/EPA Headquarters, Sacramento
Click here for more information.

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT JUNE 10-11
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 10 and 11, 2008. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California's Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

BOMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING SHOW
In today's market, optimizing building performance is a strategic imperative. As operating expenses increase, you must drive value in order to stay competitive. The BOMA International Conference and The Office Building Show is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships you need to achieve operational excellence and sustain your business through this challenging market cycle. The event is June 22 – 24, 2008. Click here for more information and registration materials.

“JOB KILLER” LIST RELEASED BY THE CALCHAMBER
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) released its annual list of “job killer” legislative measures, calling attention to the negative impact the proposed measures would have on California’s competitiveness and job climate if they were to become law. The Job Killer list is a very effective advocacy tool as a vast majority of bills that have found their way on the list have either died in the process or been vetoed by the Governor.

The CalChamber is very good about consulting with members and allied groups to make sure the list is fully vetted by the business community and truly represents the “worst of the worst” bills. CBPA appreciated the opportunity for input and opposes all measures on the list.

Below is a link to the full list, and here are a few of the bills that have the greatest impact on our industry:

AB 1065 (Lieber; D-Mountain View) Construction Costs Increase. Substantially increases the cost of housing and development in California by implementing significant energy efficiency measures for all new residential and commercial buildings without regard for the additional costs that will be passed on to consumers.

AB 2030 (Lieu; D-Torrance) Construction Costs Increases. Substantially increases the cost of commercial development, interferes with the utilities’ ability to meet the AB 32 carbon cap mandates and drives up the cost of AB 32 compliance, ultimately leading to increased utility bills by mandating on-site energy generation and efficiency standards for all new commercial development.

AB 2046 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Construction Jobs Loss. Halts construction of housing, costs construction jobs and provides a disincentive to clean up ground water by inappropriately denying use of some groundwater resources as a stable water supply.

AB 2112 (Saldaña; D-San Diego) Construction Costs Increase. Substantially increases the cost of housing, interferes with the utilities’ ability to meet the AB 32 carbon cap mandates and drives up the cost of AB 32 compliance, ultimately leading to increased utility bills by mandating on-site energy generation and efficiency standards for all new residential buildings.

AB 2153 (Krekorian; D-Burbank) Construction Jobs Loss. Imposes an unconstitutional developer fee on new residential and commercial development that will be used to finance water conservation strategies in existing communities by requiring that all new development be water-demand neutral.

AB 2447 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Construction Job Loss. Severely limits residential and commercial development to a degree that it could virtually shut down any suburban development in certain areas of California by prohibiting the approval of development in fire-risk areas without a mitigating finding by the city or county.

AB 2678 (Nuñez; D-Los Angeles) Building Energy Audits. Threatens already-beleaguered existing housing and commercial real estate markets by establishing a process to adopt mandatory time of sale energy efficiency audits without any specificity on what would ultimately be required by the audits.

AB 2705 (Jones; D-Sacramento) Construction Jobs Loss
Potentially makes new housing less affordable, risks the loss of construction jobs and squeezes support for maintenance costs for parks and schools by expanding Mello Roos Fees to include financial support of transit services.

SB 375 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Limits Transportation Capacity. Thwarts the intent of voters who approved broad-based transportation bonds and limits increased transportation capacity in certain areas of the state by prioritizing transportation projects in areas identified as a preferred area for growth.

SB 1165 (Kuehl; D-Santa Monica) Construction Jobs Loss. Jeopardizes economic growth by restricting environmental impact statements to a five-year lifetime which will delay permitting of the project and open the door for frivolous lawsuits in an attempt to block the project.

CalChamber 2008 Job Killers.

GREEN BUILDING CODES MEASURE PASSES SENATE
SB 1473 (Calderon; D - Montebello) strongly supported by the business community passed the Senate Floor.

The bill clarifies that the Building Standards Commission is the primary state agency responsible for proposing and adopting non-residential Green Building Codes. Although the BSC has traditionally worked on commercial building codes, there has been pressure in recent years from the environmental community to shift that authority to the Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Integrated Waste Management Board. Additionally, SB 1473 assesses a small fee.

The bill also directs state agencies to prepare educational and training material to assist local building departments, design professionals and industry with the effective field application of these measures.

Lastly, in order to generate the necessary resources to perform these tasks, a special fund is created for use by the BSC with the revenue being generated via a permit valuation fee of $4 for every $100,000 dollars for residential and commercial construction permits. This fee has a direct nexus to our projects and will provide clarity to businesses and building officials to the rush of green building codes that are rapidly being adopted.

PROPERTY VANDAL
BILL PASSES ASSEMBLY
AB 1767 (Ma; D-San Francisco) unanimously passed the Assembly Floor. The measure adds the act of vandalism by graffiti to the list of misdemeanor offenses that cannot be remedied through civil compromise. Graffiti vandalism is a huge problem and a huge expense to local governments and private property owners in all areas of the state. This bill makes the act less attractive for potential graffiti vandals to perpetuate their destruction of public and private property and get away with just paying restitution or a small fine. If graffiti vandals in California know they will definitely have to serve time cleaning up graffiti, painting over "art" and tags, or performing some other local community service, they may not be so eager to commit the offense.

CBPA strongly supports this measure and will keep you posted on its progress.

AB 32 WORKSHOPS
AROUND THE STATE
AB 32, California’s landmark “Global Warming Solutions Act,” will change the way you do business. This paradigm-shifting edict is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, and has the potential to drastically impact our industry; how much it impacts your bottom line, however, is up to the actions we as an industry undertake now to shape its regulations. What comes out of the regulatory process, that is now underway, will impact our industry for the next generation. Here are some upcoming meeting related to AB 32 that you may be interested in attending:

May 27, 2008 – AB 32 Global Warming Environmental Justice Committee Meeting
Location: Cal/EPA HQ Building, Sacramento
Click here for more information.

June 16, 2008 – AB 32 Economic Analysis Stakeholder Workshop
This series of meetings is being held in order to provide interested stakeholders the opportunity to provide input concerning the economic analysis that will support the AB 32 Scoping Plan.
LOCATION: CAL/EPA Headquarters, Sacramento
Click here for more information.

June 16, 2008 – AB 32 Program Design Technical Stakeholder Work Group
This series of meetings is being held in order to provide interested stakeholders the opportunity to provide input concerning the economic analysis that will support the AB 32 Scoping Plan.
Location: CAL/EPA Headquarters, Sacramento
Click here for more information.

SF BAY AREA AIR REGULATORS APPROVE GLOBAL WARMING FEES
Speaking of AB 32, regulators in the San Francisco Bay area voted overwhelmingly to approve new rules that impose fees on businesses for emitting greenhouse gasses. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's board of directors voted 15-1 to charge companies 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Experts say the fees, which cover nine counties in the Bay Area, are the first of their kind in the country. The new rules are set to take effect July 1. Business groups are very concerned that such a fee will undercut the statewide goals of AB 32 by allowing and encouraging local jurisdictions to come up with their own greenhouse gas regulations which will lead to an uneven patchwork of regulation, enforcement, and fees. Click here to read more about the assessment.

GOVERNOR'S ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP AWARDS
The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award Program is the State of California’s highest environmental honor. The program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable, voluntary contributions in conserving California’s precious resources, protecting and enhancing our environment, building public-private partnerships and strengthening the State’s economy.

Competition is open to all California residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, professional and trade associations, communities, state and local government entities, tribes, and federal agencies operating in California.

The awards will be presented for voluntary achievements undertaken or completed in 2007 or culminated during 2007. Projects are deemed ineligible if they are the result of mitigation, litigation, or required by legislation.

If you know of any project that has focused on sustainability or energy efficiency, you should submit a nomination. And yes, you should nominate yourself! Click here for more information. Deadline is May 30, 2008.

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT JUNE 10-11
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 10 and 11, 2008. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California's Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

BOMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING SHOW
In today's market, optimizing building performance is a strategic imperative. As operating expenses increase, you must drive value in order to stay competitive. The BOMA International Conference and The Office Building Show is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships you need to achieve operational excellence and sustain your business through this challenging market cycle. The event is June 22 – 24, 2008. Click here for more information and registration materials.

HISTORY MADE AS NEW
SPEAKER SWORN-IN
Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) has been sworn-in as the first African American woman leader of either chamber of the California Legislature. As the new Speaker of the California State Assembly, Ms. Bass has narrowed her goals while holding the office to “budget, budget, budget.” We congratulate Ms. Bass on earning such a high achievement and look forward to working with her.

GOVERNOR RELEASES
REVISED BUDGET
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has submitted his revised 2008-09 state budget plan to the legislature. It is a budget that tries to address California’s $17.2 billion budget deficit. It’s a budget that is being roundly criticized from every conceivable angle. Although the Governor’s staff describes the spending plan as fully funding education under Proposition 98, not raising taxes and establishing a rainy day fund to address California's chronic budget problem, Democrats in the Legislature have described it as being “D.O.A.”.

Click here to read the Governor’s May Revise Press Release.

Click here to read the Senate pro Tem Democratic Response.

Click here to read the Assembly Republican’s Response.

Depending on which political insiders you speak to, this will either be the shortest budget impasse in history, since the problem is so bad there isn’t much to fight over; or it will be the longest budget impasse in history because the shortfall is so big there will be too much to fight over.

WORST OF THE WORST LEGISLATIVE BILLS
Today marks the First House Policy Committee Deadline in the California State Legislature. To commemorate this special day we have pared down the list of 400 bills we are working on to the ten (or so) worst bills that are still alive. Enjoy!

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

SB 375 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) Would all but stop commercial and residential development through imposing an impossible land use scheme.

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 kill businesses.

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

Click here to look up bills and read the text.

GOVERNOR'S ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP AWARDS
The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award Program is the State of California’s highest environmental honor. The program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable, voluntary contributions in conserving California’s precious resources, protecting and enhancing our environment, building public-private partnerships and strengthening the State’s economy.

Competition is open to all California residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, professional and trade associations, communities, state and local government entities, tribes, and federal agencies operating in California.

The awards will be presented for voluntary achievements undertaken or completed in 2007 or culminated during 2007. Projects are deemed ineligible if they are the result of mitigation, litigation, or required by legislation.

If you know of any project that has focused on sustainability or energy efficiency, you should submit a nomination. And yes, you should nominate yourself!

Click here for more information. Deadline is May 30, 2008.

FEDERAL TAX “EXTENDERS” PASSAGE URGED
A large and diverse coalition of business, labor, and nonprofit organizations (including real estate groups such as BOMA International, ICSC, and NAIOP) have banded together to urge Congress to approve legislation to extend a set of tax provisions that either expired at the end of 2007 or will at the end of this year.

Among the proposed tax extenders are provisions for leasehold improvement depreciation and brownfields remediation. The extenders also include a one-year extension of the deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. The legislation would provide for another one-year “patch” to the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

S. 2886 would retroactively extend both commercial real estate provisions to the beginning of 2008 through 2009. Among other things the bill would:

• Extend the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction for five years (through December 31, 2013).
• Extend for one year (through 2008) the special 15-year cost recovery period for certain leasehold and qualified restaurant improvements. Absent an extension of this provision, the cost recovery period for these facilities would be 39 years.
• Extend for one year (through 2008) the provision that allows for the expensing of costs associated with cleaning up brownfield sites.
• Extend the 30% investment tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property and the 10% investment tax credit for microturbines for six years (through the end of 2014).
• Increase the $500 per half kilowatt of capacity cap for qualified fuel cells to $1,500 per half kilowatt of capacity.
• Provide a new 10% investment tax credit for combined heat and power systems.

SMALL BUSINESS LOANS FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) wants to expand a pilot program under which the state’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) offer no-interest loans to small businesses to buy energy-efficient equipment. It is reported that Southern California Edison (SCE), for example, may propose raising the cap for loans to small businesses from $50,000 to $100,000 and increasing the payback timetable to 10 years for loans to institutional customers such as cities and schools. The goal is to help small businesses buy new equipment that is so efficient that the energy savings will cover the monthly loan payments. In an October opinion, the CPUC told the IOUs to create or continue on-bill financing pilot programs for small businesses and to work on plans for institutional and residential customers.

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT JUNE 10-11
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 10 and 11, 2008. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California's Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

BOMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING SHOW
In today's market, optimizing building performance is a strategic imperative. As operating expenses increase, you must drive value in order to stay competitive. The BOMA International Conference and The Office Building Show is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships you need to achieve operational excellence and sustain your business through this challenging market cycle. The event is June 22 – 24, 2008. Click here for more information and registration materials.

SPEAKER-ELECT BASS
OUTLINES AGENDA
Incoming-Speaker of the Assembly, Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), has announced the main issues she plans as her focus when she is handed the gavel at her swearing-in ceremony next week on May 13:

• Balance the state budget.
• Produce $300 million to $500 million annually for foster care programs, via a ballot initiative.
• Create a blue-ribbon commission to Restructure California's tax system.

We applaud the Incoming-Speaker’s policy focus and look forward to working with her. Click here to read more.

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES HISTORIC LAND CONSERVATION DEAL
The Governor announced a historic agreement between Tejon Ranch landowners and conservation and environmental groups that will permanently preserve up to 90 percent of the expansive 270,000 acre ranch, which is the largest ever privately-conserved parcel of land.

Aside from being home to the California condor and countless other plant and animal species, the Tejon ranch includes four of the state’s most important ecological regions: the Sierra Nevada, the Mojave Desert, the Coastal Range and the San Joaquin Valley. With 30,000 acres set aside for the development of smart-growth and sustainable communities, this agreement also allows its landowners to develop enough of the ranch to create thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in tax revenue and exciting places for people to live.

Since taking office, the Governor and some of California’s largest land owners have committed to building California’s conservation legacy. In addition to the Tejon Ranch agreement, since 2004, the Governor and major land owners have:

• Designated 40,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve as a California Natural Landmark. Last month, 40,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve became the first landmark to be designated through the California Natural Landmarks program. In 2006, the Governor signed AB 2900 by Assemblymember George Plescia (R-San Diego) to create this voluntary program. The goal of the program is to help preserve the ecological and geographical characteristics of California while helping protect history and natural heritage.
  
  
• Finalized the 82,000 acre Hearst Ranch conservation plan. In February 2005, the Governor announced that the Hearst Corporation, American Land Conservancy and California Rangeland Trust partnering with the state had closed escrow on a conservation plan for Hearst Ranch. The plan preserved 128 square miles of pristine rangeland and is one of the most significant coastal land gifts ever made to the State of California.
  
  
• Created the Ocean Action Plan to effectively protect and manage California’s ocean and coastal resources. In October 2004, the Governor introduced the Ocean Action Plan, which sets forth a vision and a framework for protecting and restoring California's coast and coastal waters. A key component of the Ocean Action Plan, the California Ocean Protection Council, was created by Governor Schwarzenegger when he signed the California Ocean Protection Act in 2004. The council oversees and coordinates statewide policy for the protection and management of California’s ocean and coastal resources.
  
  
• Established the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, protecting 25 million acres of important and pristine California territory. In September 2004, the Governor signed legislation to establish the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy funds environmental preservation while providing support for economic sustainability and is comprised of 25 million acres, all or part of 22 counties, 20 incorporated cities, 40 special districts and 212 communities.

CBPA applauds the action taken by Tejon Ranch and is proud of the vision one of its members has shown in addressing the future of California.

ARCHITECTS COMPARE THREE GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released a study of three green building rating systems (Green Globes, SBTool 07, and LEED NC 2.2), which outline their effectiveness in supporting the AIA’s goals of sustainability.

The full report offers analysis on each system’s strengths, as well as areas for improvement that will help achieve the AIA and industry wide goal of carbon neutral buildings by 2030. The key takeaway is that there needs to be more stringent requirements for reduced energy consumption and carbon reduction, along with greater building operational efficiency. Here are some of the key findings from the report:

• Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes: The system offers a broad based evaluation of projects in both the design process and environmental criteria. When used to certify a project, more stringent and specific requirements in the areas of energy reduction and operational performance are needed, as these are the two areas that most influence carbon production.
  
  
• U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED NC 2.2 system: This is a good example of a rating system which provides a measurement of environmental achievement. Continued developments in life cycle assessment, requirements for renewable energy or carbon reduction targets for certified projects will continue to make this system an effective resource for architects.
  
  
• International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment’s SBTool 07: SBTool 07 is a toolkit for designing a rating system. If used as a rating system providing certification, SBTool 07 would be stronger if there was an increase in the number of “required” items vs. those that are simply “encouraged” and required project documentation. Specific requirements in the areas of energy reduction and operational performance would supply any rating system approach that comes out of SBTool 07 with performance-based requirements necessary for reaching carbon reduction goals.

Click here to read more about AIA’s Green Building Rating System’s Report.

GOVERNOR'S ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP AWARDS
The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award Program is the State of California’s highest environmental honor. The program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable, voluntary contributions in conserving California’s precious resources, protecting and enhancing our environment, building public-private partnerships and strengthening the State’s economy.

Competition is open to all California residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, professional and trade associations, communities, state and local government entities, tribes, and federal agencies operating in California.

The awards will be presented for voluntary achievements undertaken or completed in 2007 or culminated during 2007. Projects are deemed ineligible if they are the result of mitigation, litigation, or required by legislation.

If you know of any project that has focused on sustainablility or energy efficiency, you should submit a nomination. And yes, you should nominate yourself!

Click here for more information.

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT JUNE 10-11
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 10 and 11, 2008. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California's Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

BOMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING SHOW
In today's market, optimizing building performance is a strategic imperative. As operating expenses increase, you must drive value in order to stay competitive. The BOMA International Conference and The Office Building Show is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships you need to achieve operational excellence and sustain your business through this challenging market cycle. The event is June 22 – 24, 2008. More information and registration materials can be found here.

AB 2616 WOULD ERODE PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS
In an attempt to expand areas where “signature gatherers” can ply their trade, a state Assemblymember has introduced a sweeping new measure that would undo 30 years of case law protecting the private property rights of businesses to control their front doors.

AB 2616 (DeVore; R-Irvine) specifies that “apron” and “perimeter” areas of retail establishments would be considered “public areas” which means that in addition to signature gatherers, protestors, picketers, solicitors, and anyone else looking for an audience would have the right to stand on business’ property with no recourse for the owner.

Since 1979 the courts have held that shopping centers have replaced the traditional public forum or town square. Current case law provides that certain individuals may come onto shopping center property to express their first amendment rights of free speech provided there is no interference with the shopping center's business. Current law also provides that time, place, and manner rules may be imposed upon such persons. A retail establishment, big or small, is not considered a public forum or town square and a single property owner or tenant should not have to engage in establishing rules and enforcing them when there are other alternatives.

When the bill was initially heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, the sweeping changes were soundly rejected. However, in a successful attempt to move the bill, at the last moment, the author verbally amended the bill to apply only to “big box” retail, which enticed enough committee members to change their vote and pass the bill.

CBPA believes this is an unconstitutional effort that puts all business property owners at risk to lose the ability to control who may or may not be on their property. Unfortunately this is a slippery-slope that begins with the entrance to large retailers and next gets applied to the large office complexes. This is a core issue for all property owners that will be vigorously opposed.

BIPARTISAN ADA REFORM MOVES FORWARD
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, passed two Senate policy committees this week. Showing the broad bi-partisan support the measure has garnered, in two days the bill was heard and moved through the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, without a single dissenting vote.

SB 1608 is coauthored by Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), Senate pro Tem-elect Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), Senator Tom Harman (R-Orange), Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley), Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), Assemblymember Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita), and Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis).

The reform measure 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.

BOMA California along with a long list of business groups support these important reforms and will actively work to move the legislation forward and seek the Governor’s signature.

Click here to see the SB 1608 business coalition letter.

GRAFITTI VANDAL BILL PASSES COMMITTEE
AB 1767 (Ma), which adds the act of vandalism by graffiti to the list of misdemeanor offenses that cannot be remedied through civil compromise, passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee on a unanimous vote. Graffiti vandalism is a huge problem and a huge expense to local governments and private property owners in all areas of the state. This bill makes the act less attractive for potential graffiti vandals to perpetuate their destruction of public and private property and get away with just paying restitution or a small fine. If graffiti vandals in California know they will definitely have to serve time cleaning up graffiti, painting over "art" and tags, or performing some other local community service, they may not be so eager to commit the offense.

BOMA California strongly supports this measure and will keep you posted on its progress.

GREEN LEASES TOOLKIT
The California Sustainability Alliance just launched a Green Leases Toolkit designed to help owners and tenants of commercial real estate overcome barriers to greening leased office space. The toolkit is designed to assist tenants and landlords with the greening of leasehold sites by incorporating specific tools and work flow into the leasing process, such as: educating their organizations, developing their own green leasing policies and requirements, communicating policies and requirements to the market, measuring and comparing the green attributes of different buildings, and developing specific lease language. Click here to read more about the Green Leases Toolkit.

SF ANNOUNCES STRINGENT GREENHOUSE GAS ORDINANCE
A new ordinance in San Francisco has been proposed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi (with support of the Mayor’s office) would attempt to substantially reduce the greenhouse gas emissions allowed for city government agencies beginning in 2012, and be more stringent than the state’s AB 32 requirements. Under his proposed law, city departments would be required to meet the reduction targets, and to issue action plans annually with specific recommendations on how to reduce emissions in both department operations and in private sector emissions sources regulated by that department.

This is another example of a growing trend in California where policymakers and jurisdictions are attempting to “outgreen” one another. Through AB 32, California has the strongest greenhouse gas reduction emissions law in the nation and before those regulations are even put in place, the law is being undercut by entities trying to go “above and beyond.” We contend that a “patchwork quilt” of greenhouse gas emissions regulations across the state is not going to have the overall positive impact that one understandable, predictable, and enforceable regulatory structure will have.

L.A. PASSES GREEN BUILDING ORDINANCE FOR LARGE COMMERCIAL
In another example of the phenomenon above, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance requiring large commercial and residential builders, with more than 50,000 square feet of floor space, to meet LEED standards. Critics have pointed out that there are many issues implementing such a standard and are concerned that by mandating a private program there is no public review process of the building standards. Unlike statewide building standards that go through a rigorous technical and economical review, by adopting a private program the city of Los Angeles has forgone the use of that process. Click here to read a story on the proposal.

PROPOSED GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS – FEEDBACK NEEDED
LAST CHANCE! In an effort to reduce green house gas emissions and promote sustainable buildings, the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) is currently conducting an annual building code adoption cycle that includes a new California Green Building Standards Code (CGBSC). The CGBSC is scheduled for adoption sometime this summer. When published, the CGBSC will contain green building standards for single family homes, schools, health facilities, and commercial buildings (commercial also includes industrial and retail real estate). Developed as a framework upon which to be built and refined further, the standards will initially be voluntary, however, it is the intent of the BSC to develop mandatory green building standards in subsequent code adoption cycles.

Your analysis and feedback is needed on the proposed changes for non-residential properties. Click here to read the proposed changes for California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11, Title 24 -- Commercial, Industrial, and Retail Real Estate.

Since the intent is that these codes eventually become mandatory, it is very important that members of our industry read these regulations and identify issues that the BSC should consider. BOMA California will again compile industry comments and provide written and verbal testimony. Please send any and all comments by replying to this email or sending directly to Matthew Hargrove. Comments are due to CBPA by no later than Tuesday, May 6.

NO MORE GAS-GUZZLERS FOR HOUSE MEMBERS
In a symbolic effort to show leadership on lowering dependency on foreign oil, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, using public funds for transportation, are going to be required to lease cars that emit low levels of greenhouse gases. However, some Congress members are not keen on giving up their American made cars for Priuses, so the list of acceptable cars is expected to be expanded to include domestic models such as the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. Congress hopes that the new rules will force lawmakers to serve as better examples, because everyone knows that once more young people see Congress members driving a hybrid it will become “cool” and all the kids will want to do it. Like for sure dude!

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT JUNE 10-11
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 10 and 11, 2008. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California's Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

BIPARTISAN ADA REFORM AGREEMENT REACHED
Statewide business groups led by the CalChamber, California Business Properties Association, California Hotel and Lodging Association, and the California Restaurant Association, have been working for months with a broad group of legislators, consumer attorneys, and the disability rights community to craft a bipartisan comprehensive reform measure designed to address two important ADA reform goals: 1) Promote and increase compliance with state and federal civil rights laws providing for equal access for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations; and 2) Reduce unwarranted, unnecessary litigation that does not advance the goals of disability access.

SB 1608 is coauthored by Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), Senate pro Tem-elect Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), Senator Tom Harman (R-Orange), Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley), Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), Assemblymember Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita), and Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis).

The measure addresses the important goals of increased disability access compliance and reduced unwarranted litigation through the following major bill provisions:

1. California Disability Access Commission – Creates an independent state commission on disability access in the state of California which will serve as an advisory body and information center on disability access issues with membership composed of representatives of the disability rights community and business community.

2. Increased Education and Awareness – Establishes minimum continuing education requirements for building inspectors and architects on disability access laws. Additionally, demands for money issued by attorneys under the disability access laws must be accompanied by an advisory statement available in multiple languages on building owner/tenant obligations, as well as an explanation of the recipient’s legal options.

3. Promotes Use of State-Certified Disability Access Specialists – Seeks to improve compliance by encouraging existing building owners to voluntarily utilize certified access specialists (CASp), individuals who have passed state-established experience, education, and testing standards in disability access requirements. The CASp program was established by 2003 legislation SB 262 (Kuehl), and the Division of State Architect oversees it. Under SB 1608 new construction and new tenant improvements impacting access must be inspected by building inspectors who are also CASps.

4. Court Procedure Encouraging Compliance – Establishes a court procedure, available only for defendants who have demonstrated diligence in complying with disability access laws by hiring a CASp. Such defendants, if sued because of an alleged construction-related accessibility violation, may request a temporary stay to litigation and a conference in which the judge and the parties must meet early to evaluate the case and explore whether the alleged violations can be addressed, including the possibility of settlement.

One of the significant, ongoing state problems to which SB 1608 responds is a small but widely destructive, atypical group of plaintiffs and lawyers using the disability laws and court system to systematically extract monetary settlements from businesses rather than to seek access. All too often, the result has been businesses closing their doors for good, which is not the purpose of the access laws.

BOMA California along with a long list of business groups support these important reforms and will actively work to move the legislation forward and seek the Governor’s signature.

Click here to see the SB 1608 business coalition letter.

GRAFITTI VANDAL BILL IN COMMITTEE
AB 1767 (Ma), which adds the act of vandalism by graffiti to the list of misdemeanor offenses that cannot be remedied through civil compromise, will be heard in the Assembly next week. Graffiti vandalism is a huge problem and a huge expense to local governments and private property owners in all areas of the state. This bill makes the act less attractive for potential graffiti vandals to perpetuate their destruction of public and private property and get away with just paying restitution or a small fine. If graffiti vandals in California know they will definitely have to serve time cleaning up graffiti, painting over "art" and tags, or performing some other local community service, they may not be so eager to commit the offense.

The cost of graffiti vandalism varies considerably. Scratched glass plate windows can cost thousands to replace and are a huge burden on small businesses. Costs for dealing with such damage can range from $300-$500 a year (not including staff time to clean graffiti) in buildings not tagged often, to upwards of $3,000-$5,000 a year for those buildings in dense neighborhoods, near mass transit stops, or in areas with active street gangs. Buildings that have 24/7 onsite management are also far less likely to spend a lot of money on graffiti removal than those buildings with no one on the premises after hours, as having security present deters vandals from striking those premises. What this means, is that graffiti vandalism hurts the small business community and small property owners far more often and far more seriously than their larger business counterparts who have more resources to protect their assets.

BOMA California strongly supports this measure and we will keep you posted on its progress.

IT KEEPS GROWING AND GROWING…STATE DEFICIT
TOPS $10B
The Governor announced in a speech this week that the state budget deficit will be “probably more than $10 billion” in the next fiscal year. When last year’s budget was signed, the deficit was predicted to be around $3 billion. The Governor blamed budget formulas that lock in spending increases and a downturn in the economy related to problems in the housing market. Although he didn’t mention the fact that state budget spending has increased by more than 25% in the past five years he did state, "this is why we have to make all kinds of cuts across the board, if it is in education, law enforcement, health care, all those different things, because we cannot spend what we don't have.”

Even in the face of a sagging economy and huge deficits, the Legislature continues to move bills that would further saddle state employers and businesses with fees and mandates that would not only slow the recovery, but enact long-term policy measures that would permanently hurt the economy.

AB 32 GREEN BUILDING
SUBGROUP WORKSHOP
BOMA California staff will represent our industry at the Governor’s Green Building Climate Action Team Subgroup (GB CAT) workshop on April 29, to review Green Building recommended inputs being considered for the California Air Resources Board (ARB) AB 32 scoping plan. This meeting continues the review process which includes potential measures, goals and implementation approaches for achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions from new and existing public and commercial buildings, schools, and residences.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Section 38500 of the California Health and Safety Code; AB 32) requires that ARB develop a Scoping Plan by January 1, 2009, that identifies emission reduction measures, compliance mechanisms and evaluates costs and benefits. This is one of several workshops being held to collect input on this plan.

AB 32 ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS WORKSHOP
The Climate Action Team (CAT) Subgroup on Electricity and Natural Gas, in conjunction with Air Resources Board (ARB) staff, invite you to participate in a public workshop to discuss greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures pertaining to the electricity and natural gas sectors. The GHG reduction measures presented in this workshop are proposed for possible inclusion in the AB 32 Scoping Plan, and include energy efficiency, renewables, combined heat and power, and other forms of distributed generation. Although we will be represented at this workshop companies and organizations from industry are encouraged to attend. Entities that have “good” ideas on how to regulate your business should show up in droves. The more people from industry that can participate to provide context and information, the better. To view the formal workshop notice and get meeting logistical information, click here.

PROPOSED GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS – FEEDBACK NEEDED
In an effort to reduce green house gas emissions and promote sustainable buildings, the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) is currently conducting an annual building code adoption cycle that includes a new California Green Building Standards Code (CGBSC). The CGBSC is scheduled for adoption sometime this summer. When published, the CGBSC will contain green building standards for single family homes, schools, health facilities, and commercial buildings (commercial also includes industrial and retail real estate). Developed as a framework upon which to be built and refined further, the standards will initially be voluntary, however, it is the intent of the BSC to develop mandatory green building standards in subsequent code adoption cycles.

Your analysis and feedback is needed on the proposed changes for non-residential properties. Click here to read the proposed changes for California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11, Title 24 -- Commercial, Industrial, and Retail Real Estate.

Since the intent is that these codes eventually become mandatory, it is very important that members of our industry read these regulations and identify issues that the BSC should consider. BOMA California will again compile industry comments and provide written and verbal testimony. Please send any and all comments by replying to this email or sending directly to Matthew Hargrove. Comments are due to CBPA by no later than Tuesday, May 6.

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT JUNE 10-11
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 10 and 11, 2008. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California's Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislators. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

MAJOR LEGISLATIVE DEADLINE
Today marks one of the busiest legislative deadlines in the California legislative process, the First House Policy Deadline (Fiscal). All bills that have a cost impact, which is most of them, must be through their first policy committee or they are “dead.” This means that the thousands and thousands of bills that have been introduced since January are discussed and voted on publicly. The reality, however, is that this deadline is not the policy filter it once was and most bills, especially those authored by someone in the majority party, move along regardless of concerns expressed. To illustrate, here is a direct quote from the dais at a hearing yesterday; “I think this bill needs a lot of amendments and is not ‘ripe’ to move along, but I will vote for it today because I support the author’s intent.” Look for a comprehensive report next week -- we need some time for the dust to settle to catch up with all the recent action.

AUTHOR PULLS BILL EXAMINING ‘SPLIT ROLL’ TAX
Strong opposition from the business community stopped the author of a split roll property tax “study” bill from pursuing a committee hearing. Leaders in the California State Legislature are seriously considering reviving the thoroughly discredited notion of dumping the protections provided in Proposition 13 and attempting to impose a split-roll property tax that would choke California businesses. A large business coalition argued that an objective examination of Proposition 13 shows that property taxes in California are one of the most reliable and stable funding sources and penalizing non-residential properties by taxing them at a less predictable and higher rate would be detrimental to the state’s economy.

Although this bill was defeated, the split roll threat remains as several influential legislators continue to advocate the issue as part of the fix to California's budget mess. California Business Properties Association (CBPA) along with the CalChamber, CA Taxpayers Assn, the Small Business Action Committee, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn have created a coalition to fight this ill-advised proposal wherever it appears.

ABANDONED COMMERCIAL PROPERTY BILL PASSES ASSEMBLY
AB 2025 (R-Silva; Huntington Beach) which revises the process by which abandoned property that is left behind in a commercial setting is disposed of, unanimously passed the Assembly Floor. BOMA California is the sponsor of this bill. Current law provides a process for a building owner to hold a public auction to dispose of abandoned property deemed to be worth more than $300 and treats residential personal property in the same manner as non-residential commercial property, even though the residential setting is very different from the business setting and has very different scenarios under which property is left behind. This bill would raise the threshold to trigger a public auction in the commercial setting to the monthly rent or square footage of the leased space.

AB 32 ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS WORKSHOP
The Climate Action Team (CAT) Subgroup on Electricity and Natural Gas, in conjunction with Air Resources Board (ARB) staff, invite you to participate in a public workshop to discuss greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures pertaining to the electricity and natural gas sectors. The GHG reduction measures presented in this workshop are proposed for possible inclusion in the AB 32 Scoping Plan, and include energy efficiency, renewables, combined heat and power, and other forms of distributed generation. Although we will be represented at this workshop, companies and organizations from industry are encouraged to attend. Entities that have “good” ideas on how to regulate your business should show up in droves. The more people from industry that can participate to provide context and information, the better. Click here to view the formal workshop notice and get meeting logistical information.

SENATE REPUBLICAN
LEADERSHIP ANNOUNCED
Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill (R-Fresno) officially took his new position this week, and announced members of the Senate Republican Caucus Leadership Team, stating that his Caucus will “benefit from the knowledge, experience, and dedication of the following Republican Senators:”

Senator George Runner (Antelope Valley) – Caucus Chair
Senator Tom Harman (Huntington Beach) – Caucus Whip
Senator Mark Wyland (Carlsbad) – Assistant Leader
Senator Jim Battin (La Quinta) – Vice Chair Rules
Senator Dave Cox (Fair Oaks) – Vice Chair Appropriations
Senator Bob Dutton (Rancho Cucamonga) – Vice Chair Budget
Senator Roy Ashburn (Bakersfield) – Vice Chair Revenue and Taxation

BOMA California congratulates Senator Cogdill for ascending to this important post and look forward to continuing to work with him and his team to advocate issues of importance to the business community and economy of California.

OUTGOING REPUBLICAN LEADER’S BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT
Outgoing Senate Republican Leader Dave Ackerman (R- Tustin), when asked by a reporter to name his biggest accomplishment, quipped: “Trying to stop as much bad business legislation as we could.” Although the answer was meant to deflect self-aggrandizement by the typically relaxed and humble Ackerman, there is much truth to the comment, and we thank Mr. Ackerman for all the “bad business legislation” he was able to stop under very trying circumstances. Throughout Ackerman’s tenure in the Legislature he was known as a principled politician, skilled negotiator, and “old school” gentleman. We wish him the best as his term winds-down and look forward to working with him in his next endeavor.

GREEN STANDARDS
LEGISLATIVE MANDATES
Advocates of one specific third party building standard or another continue to be active in the California Legislature trying to codify their favorite standard. We continue to argue that the State should remain “certification neutral” and not dampen competition and innovation by adopting a specific program, but instead should focus efforts on the regulatory process and assure that the statewide green building codes currently being adopted are cost-effective and feasible. AB 888 (Lieu; D-Torrance) from 2007 which was vetoed last year and AB 2393 (Hancock; D-Berkeley) from the current year both propose to supplant state building codes and bypass the public review process by mandating the state adopt standards such as LEED or Build It Green.

PROPOSED GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS – FEEDBACK NEEDED
In an effort to reduce green house gas emissions and promote sustainable buildings, the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) is currently conducting an annual building code adoption cycle that includes a new California Green Building Standards Code (CGBSC). The CGBSC is scheduled for adoption sometime this summer. When published, the CGBSC will contain green building standards for single family homes, schools, health facilities, and commercial buildings (commercial also includes industrial and retail real estate). Developed as a framework upon which to be built and refined further, the standards will initially be voluntary, however, it is the intent of the BSC to develop mandatory green building standards in subsequent code adoption cycles.

Your analysis and feedback is needed on the proposed changes for non-residential properties. Click here to read the proposed changes for California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11, Title 24 -- Commercial, Industrial, and Retail Real Estate.

Since the intent is that these codes eventually become mandatory, it is very important that members of our industry read these regulations and identify issues that the BSC should consider. BOMA California will again compile industry comments and provide written and verbal testimony. Please send any and all comments by replying to this email or sending directly to Matthew Hargrove. Comments are due to CBPA by no later than Tuesday, May 6.