GOVERNOR APPOINTMENTS TO BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has announced the appointment of James Barthman and Richard Sierra to the California Building Standards Commission. Mr. Sierra has worked at the Laborers’ International Union Local 783 since 1977 and will fill the “organized labor” slot on the commission.
Mr. Barthman has served on the Commission since 2000 and fills one of three “public member” slots. He was the Chief Building Official for the City of Oakland from 1975-1990 and has also served as the President of the California Building Officials (CALBO).
We applaud the Governor for appointing representatives to the Building Standards Commission that have a deep background and knowledge of construction in California and strongly support these appointments, both of which require Senate confirmation.
FINANCING AND LOAN PROGRAM BILLS GARNERS SUPPORT
Two measures pertaining to “Energy Efficiency” that have already been identified who have received positive analysis from some of our industry experts, come from the Senator who also chairs the Senate Select Committee on Energy Efficiency, Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles):
SB 998 (de Leon; D-Los Angeles) would require the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to authorize an electrical corporation to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program for eligible energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.
SB 1130 (de Leon; D-Los Angeles) creates the statewide Building the Economy Through Energy Retrofits (BETER) program, to make energy efficiency upgrades cost-effective for commercial property owners by pooling risk to offer low cost loans. This bill is sponsored by State Controller John Chiang.
The goal of these bills is to create innovative financing tools that don’t rely on taxpayer dollars and that help leverage private capital investment to stimulate more energy efficiency retrofit projects. We look forward to working with Senator de Leon and Controller Chiang on these measures.
BILLS BILLS AND MORE BILLS!
We are still wading through the hundreds of bills that were introduced in by the Bill Introduction Deadline last week. Here are some interesting bills from the Assembly. More to follow next week. Please send any thoughts, comments, analyses you have on these bills by replying to this email. Our Legislative Committees will be meeting over the next three weeks to set positions and prioritize bills. Your input is importan
| AB 1570 | (Perea; D-Fresno) California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): record of proceedings. This bill would require the lead agency, at the request of a project applicant, to prepare a record of proceedings concurrently with the preparation and certification of an EIR. | |
| AB 1598 | (Buchanan; D-San Ramon) Public contracts: public works: installation. | |
| Requires prevailing wage be paid for any contract using public monies in the installation and disassembly of freestanding and affixed modular office systems. Because this bill would expand the definition of a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws. | ||
| AB 1627 | (Dickinson; D-Sacramento) Environmental quality: building standards: vehicle miles traveled. Requires the Energy Commission to prescribe building design and construction standards that reduce “vehicle miles traveled.” The bill would prohibit a local building department from issuing a building permit for a residential or nonresidential building unless the department confirms that the building plan complies with those standards. |
| AB 1666 | (Olsen; R-Modesto) Automated external defibrillators (AED). | |
| This bill would extend current training requirements and liability protections for building owners who install AED’s to January 1, 2018. | ||
| AB 1711 | (Galgiani; D-Tracy) Energy resources: energy savings program. | |
| This bill tries to reduce burdensome laws and regulations impacting real estate by specifying that an unreasonable or unnecessary affect on the home purchasing process or the ability of individuals to rent housing includes an act or requirement in the assessment, rating, or improvement of a residential building that results in certain costs or delays the close of escrow. | ||
| AB 1959 | (Williams; D-Santa Barbara) Building standards: green building standards: toxic air contaminants. Require the California Building Standards Commission to consider adopting building standards for toxic air contaminants as a part of the mandatory minimum green building standards (CALGreen). | ||||||||
| AB 2014 | (Ammiano D) Property taxation: change in ownership: legal entities: task force. This bill sets up a task force to review commercial real estat “change of ownership” rules under 1978’s Proposition 13. Task force includes a wide range of individuals, but does not include anyone from the commercial real estate industry.
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| AB 2131 | (Olsen; R-Modesto) Local government: investments. | ||||
| Would authorize local governments to aggregate investment funds in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds. | |||||
| AB 2485 | (Hueso; D-Chula Vista) Retail facilites at roadside rest areas. | |
| Summary: Would authorize the Department of Transportation to enter into agreements for the operation of roadside rest areas by private entities in conjunction with the development of a retail establishment. | ||
| AB 2577 | (Galgiani; D-Tracy) Environmental quality: public comments. | |
| This bill would specify that a lead CEQA agency does not have a duty to consider, evaluate, or respond to comments received after the expiration of the public review period. | ||
CARRIED INTEREST INTRODUCED AGAIN IN CONGRESS
This week House Ways & Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) introduced the “Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2012.”
“There is absolutely no reason why income earned for managing other people’s money shouldn’t be taxed in the same way as income earned teaching or working in a factory,” said Representative Levin in a press release. “This loophole for years has unfairly enabled some of the highest-paid individuals in the country to sharply reduce their tax bills and it is time to close it once and for all.”
Supporters of the legislation describe it as eliminating a loophole used by Wall Street private equity and hedge fund managers to avoid taxes. However, the proposed partnership tax law change would disproportionately impact the real estate industry since real estate partnerships comprise over 46 percent of all partnerships and many use a carried interest component in structuring development ventures. Although this particular bill has not yet been fully analyzed, the past efforts would have more than doubled the tax rate on real estate partnership carried interest, from 15 percent to nearly 35 percent.
The commercial real estate industry has vociferously opposed attempts to change carried interest in the past and we continue to think this is a bad idea. Reducing incentives for entrepreneurs to undertake the risks inherent in development would have a pronounced negative impact on the real estate industry, and would lessen the flow of investment capital to the real estate industry.
Click here to read more about this issue from Mr. Levin.
BILLS TO ADDRESS REDEVELOPMENT ELIMINATION ISSUES
Three bills have been introduced containing technical fixes to AB1X 26, the bill that eliminated redevelopment agencies. This information comes from our friends at the California Redevelopment Agencies Association:
Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) introduced AB 1585 to help address some of the problems that have emerged with implementation of AB 1X 26. Its provisions include an urgency clause and the LMIHF related provisions in SB 654 (Steinberg). AB 1585 also expands the definition of “enforceable obligation” to include any loans between the agency and the host city or county within two years of the date of creation of the redevelopment agency or within two years of the date of the creation of a project area if the loan is specific to that project area. Other loans may be also be deemed enforceable obligations provided that the oversight board makes a finding that the loan was for legitimate redevelopment purposes. There are other provisions clarifying the functions of successor agencies and oversight boards.
SB 654 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento) modifies provisions relating to the transfer of Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Funds (LMIHF) and responsibilities associated with dissolved redevelopment agencies. SB 654’s provisions modify the scope of the term “enforceable obligation” and require that any unencumbered amounts on deposit in the LMIHF of a dissolved redevelopment agency be transferred to specified entities. We Support SB 654.
Senator Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) introduced SB 986 to ensure bond proceeds are expended on the projects for which they were issued. The bill is pending in the Senate and so far no action has occurred. SB 986 provides that all bond proceeds that were generated by a former redevelopment agency shall be deemed to be encumbered and prohibits a successor agency from sending these proceeds to the county auditor-controller. The bill requires that these bond proceeds must be used by the successor agency for the purposes for which the bonds were sold pursuant to an enforceable obligation that was entered into either by the former agency or its successor agency by December 14, 2014.
AB 1585, SB 654, and SB 986 are steps in the right direction to address the many concerns raised by CRA members, host jurisdictions, and others. Please keep your state legislators informed of these fixes and ask for their support.
BUSINESS, LABOR, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUPPORT SB 1130
The L.A. Times was at the press conference announcing the BETER program. Click here to read the story and see a quote from our very own Rex Hime.
ON BILL FINANCING AND LOAN PROGRAM BILL GARNERS SUPPORT
Two measures pertaining to “Energy Efficiency” that have already been identified received positive analysis from some of our industry experts come from a Senator who also chairs the Senate Select Committee on Energy Efficiency, Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles):
SB 998 (de Leon; D-Los Angeles) would require the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to authorize an electrical corporation to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program for eligible energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.
SB 1130 (de Leon; D-Los Angeles) creates the statewide Building the Economy Through Energy Retrofits (BETER) program, to make energy efficiency upgrades cost-effective for commercial property owners by pooling risk to offer low cost loans. This bill is sponsored by State Controller John Chiang.
The goal of these bills is to create innovative financing tools that don’t rely on taxpayer dollars and that help leverage private capital investment to stimulate more energy efficiency retrofit projects. We look forward to working with Senator de Leon and Controller Chiang on these measures.
SO MANY GOOD GREEN IDEAS
Many of the bills introduced this year are once again focused on greenhouse gases, energy efficiency, and/or green buildings, in one way or another. The word “green” currently appears in 42 separate pieces of legislation. Forty-eight (48) bills pertain to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). Sixty-two (62) bills have the word “Green” in them. And seventy-six (76) measures use the term “energy efficiency.” Again, we will read all of these measures and identify “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” and hope that you will help us push forward the good ones, fix the bad ones, and stop the latter category.
BILL INTRODUCTION DEADLINE TODAY
Today is a major milestone in the 2012 Legislative Session. Bill Introduction Deadline. Hundreds of bills will be submitted just yesterday and today. Your staff in Sacramento is already deep into the task of reading this mountain of legislation in order to identify policy items that will impact your business. Last year more than 2,600 legislative measures went through the process and we followed almost 500 of them!
GREEN CALIFORNIA SUMMIT
The 2012 Green California Summit & Expo, the largest annual event focused on green policy, practice and technology, comes to the Sacramento Convention Center on April 26 & 27. Now in its sixth year, the Summit will feature 150 companies offering green products and services, as well as keynote speakers, educational sessions, a special full-day green curriculum workshop, leadership awards, and networking opportunities.
BOMA California is a sponsor of this is event. As such you receive a 20% discount when you register by using the code “BOMA”. Click here to register, or call Cindy Dangberg at 626-577-5700.
DIRECT ASSESSMENT FEES MAY BE OVERESTIMATED
Commercial properties in certain areas of California are billed for direct assessment fees (sewer/
water) on their property tax bill. These direct assessments are calculated by the building’s square footage and type of use – not actual usage – and these estimated fees are oftentimes incorrect.
There are companies out there that can help you ascertain if you have been overcharged and help you recover that money. As an example, Capitol Recovery Advisors will audit your past payments for up to the last three years to determine if you are owed a refund. If they can’t recover a refund, there is no charge. To see if your area qualifies and/or to begin the process please click here for more information.
CA EMPLOYERS PAYING HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT TAXES
The CalChamber reports that since January 1, California employers have been paying higher taxes because the state has not repaid money it borrowed from the federal government to pay unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
Unless Congress takes action, which it is not expected to do, the higher tax will remain in effect through 2012 and then increase each year the state has an outstanding loan balance. California’s UI Trust Fund has been insolvent since 2009. By the end of 2012, the UI Fund deficit is projected to reach $10.7 billion, according to the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Employers will lose 0.3% of their federal tax credit, partially offset by the end of a 0.2% surcharge in July 2011.
Click here for more information.
