The BOMA California Board of Directors held its first board meeting of 2018, hosted by BOMA GLA, and welcomed back returning leadership and welcomed some new board members. BOMA California is a federation of all eight metropolitan BOMA local associations and serves as the collective membership through its mission of “preserving and promoting the interest of California commercial real estate professionals through legislative and regulatory advocacy.” BOMA California is headquartered in Sacramento ...

At the board meeting, BOMA Cal leaders reviewed success in 2017 – including defeat of measure that would have dictated who building owners and managers can hire – and discussed policy issues related to energy, taxes, climate change, and repelling changes to Proposition 13. The board received a briefing on the political climate in Sacramento and learned about proposals contained in Governor Brown’s final budget proposal. The Board also set the direction for the policy staff in Sacramento as ...

Advocates in L.A. are pushing a plan to convert parking lots owned by the city into housing for the homeless.  The idea has been around for a long time, but only recently is gaining traction as state and local policies have driven the price of housing beyond the reach of many low-income people. Some advocates think shrinking the supply of parking will have an added “benefit” of getting more people out of their cars.  However, many believe that restricting parking and concentrating even more ...

The Building Standards Commission started 2018 with the issuance of the 2016 intervening code Supplements (blue pages). The Supplements become effective July 1, 2018 and PDF versions can be viewed on their website.  Click here for more info Information Bulletin 17-06 A commission meeting was held on December 12, 2017 to finalize certification of the Exterior Elevated Elements (EEE) building standards and to approve two Change Without Regulatory Effect packages regarding reprinting the Swimming Pool ...

Our good friend Loren Kay from the CalChamber shares good news about a recent court victory on a bill that we co-sponsored requiring agencies conduct rigorous economic impact analysis before considering regulations for adoption (SB 617 from 2011). “State agencies must take seriously the requirement to conduct a timely, accurate economic analysis of major regulations, according to a just-released opinion by the 5th District Court of Appeal.” “In a unanimous opinion upholding the trial court, ...

Legislative victories like the one above can only happen when we are working with allied groups that have excellent people in place.  The CalChamber is one of our key business group allies and we are pleased to share news that one of their most competent lobbyists has been elevated to run their advocacy shops. Jennifer Barrera, senior policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce, took over as senior vice president of policy and leader of the policy team on February 1. She will oversee ...

Campaign finance reports filed this week show Gavin Newsom with more cash on hands than all of his rivals – combined! The sitting Lt. Governor and former Mayor of San Francisco reported raising $4.6 million in the final six months of 2017, and combined with previously raised funds, he has $19.5 million cash on hand. Here is the list of the current candidates and how much cash they have on hand:   Gavin Newsom (D) – $19,522,301 John Chiang (D) – $8,990,384 Antonio Villaraigosa ...

Several CalChamber-tagged “Job Killer” bills that remained eligible for consideration this year failed to advance in the Assembly this month. Falling short of votes needed to pass an Assembly policy committee was a bill that would have reduced rental housing supply, AB 1506 (Bloom; D-Santa Monica). Held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee were an unfair scheduling mandate, AB 5 (Gonzalez Fletcher; D-San Diego and Kalra; D-San Jose), and a targeted tax on contractors, AB 43 (Thurmond; ...

Governor Brown yesterday delivered his sixteenth – and final – State of the State Speech setting a record for longevity that no other Governor has ever seen. From the Governor’s press release: “In his remarks, the Governor pointed to a number of far-reaching, bipartisan measures passed in recent years – from pension and workers’ compensation reform to the Water Bond, Rainy Day Fund and the Cap-and-Trade Program – that demonstrate some American governments can actually get things ...

Stating that he is “taking action to further California’s climate leadership,” Governor Brown signed an executive order to boost the supply of zero-emission vehicles and charging and refueling stations in California. The Governor also detailed the new plan for investing $1.25 billion in cap-and-trade auction proceeds to reduce carbon pollution and improve public health and the environment.  “This executive order aims to curb carbon pollution from cars and trucks and boost the number of zero-emission ...