Due to popular demand the 2017 Strategic Issues Conference will be moving back to its traditional Host City, Napa!  The event will be held on Thursday, December 7 and through Lunch on Friday, December 8, The Strategic Issues Conference is A BIG DEAL this year!  Co-Hosted by ten of the most highly regarded business groups in Sacramento, the conference will focus on the elections and politics that we can expect in 2018.  It’s a gubernatorial election year and there are some big propositions that ...

The California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog at Seyforth and Shaw have a good wrap-up of some of the major new laws impacting employers signed into law by Governor Brown.  If you hire employees or contractors, you should be aware of your new obligations under the law. The blog covers the following issue: * Salary Inquiry Ban. * Ban-the-Box: Prior Conviction History of Applicants. * New Parent Leave Act and Parental Leave DFEH Mediation Pilot Program. * Retaliation: Expanding the Labor Commissioner’s ...

 A measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins law has been submitted for title and summary to the Attorney General and is not in the process of gathering signatures.  Passage of this proposition would allow municipalities to enact rent control measures for millions of apartments currently exempt from such policy. Our industry is worried that such a move would have a chilling effect on development of multifamily apartments across the state and will exacerbate the affordable housing shortage.  ...

Next year you will help choose the next Governor of the State of California.  Although the election is more than a year away, four Democrats are already vying for the position. The candidates include current Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and current State Treasurer John Chiang, as well as former Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, and former Speaker of the Assembly and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. In their first “debate” in a question regarding taxes, two of the candidate ...

Next Wednesday the statewide excise tax on gasoline will jump by 12 cents per gallon to a total of 41.7 cents per gallon.  Diesel will increase by 20 cents per gallon to 36 cents and the sales tax will increase to 13 percent, up from 9 percent.  Add to that, local taxes. The increase will coincide with retailers switching from Summer blend gasoline to the cheaper Winter blend, so the full increase may be mitigated. Much of the funding is dedicated to new roads and infrastructure however many in ...

Sunday was the final night for the Governor to sign or veto bills on his desk.  In 2017 the Legislature sent 977 bills to his desk.  He signed 88% of the bills (859) and vetoed 12% (118). Last year, Governor Brown vetoed 159 out of 1059 bills, for a 15% veto rate.  To put this year’s actions in context (lowest year to highest year of vetoes): Between 2011 and 2016, Governor Brown vetoed between 10.7% and 15% of the bills Between 2004 and 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed between 22.3% and ...

This is the most important category of bills to look at.  Our industry opposed these measures, yet they were signed into law.  These are the bills that are most likely to have a negative impact on your operations: AB 168 (Eggman D) Employers: salary information. (OPPOSE) AB 1180 (Holden D) Los Angeles County Flood Control District: taxes. (OPPOSE) AB 1701 (Thurmond D) Labor-related wage liabilities. (OPPOSE) SB 2 (Atkins D) Building Homes and Jobs Act. (OPPOSE) SB 63 (Jackson D) Unlawful employment ...

Here are some bills signed by the Governor.  Our industry was in support of all these measures:  AB 72 (Santiago D) Housing. (SUPPORT) AB 73 (Chiu D) Planning and zoning: housing sustainability districts. (SUPPORT) AB 246 (Santiago D) Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement ACT (SUPPORT) AB 879 (Grayson D) Planning and zoning: housing element. (SUPPORT) AB 1223 (Caballero D) Construction contract payments: Internet Web site posting. (SUPPORT) AB 1284 (Dababneh D) California Financing ...

Finally, here are some bills vetoed by the Governor that we were happy he did not sign into law, as we opposed most of them: AB 248 (Reyes D) Hazardous waste: facilities: permits. (OPPOSE) AB 890 (Medina D) Land use: planning and zoning: initiatives. (OPPOSE) AB 978 (Limón D) Employment safety: injury and illness prevention program. (OPPOSE) AB 1179 (Kalra D) Hazardous waste facilities: inspections. (OPPOSE) AB 1239 (Holden D) Building standards: electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (NEUTRAL) SB ...

TEN major groups have come together to host an event you don’t want to miss!  California Business Properties Association (CBPA), the American Council for Engineering Companies (ACEC), the Building Owners and Managers of California (BOMA CAL), the California Alliance for Jobs (CAJ), the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), the California Business Roundtable (CBRT), the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA), the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), ...