from Damon R. Conklin, Director of Government Affairs, Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange
ENERGY COMMISSION RELEASES PROPOSED CHANGES
On Thursday, the California Energy Commission released its proposed changes for the 2022 Energy Code. It is a 548-page document and will impact all aspects of energy use in commercial buildings. Our industry has participated in many hours of meetings and hearing providing input and recommendations and fighting some very expensive ideas. This is a massive document with lots of technical changes. We are working to read and identify issues with the proposed changes to prepare for the first hearing that will begin soon. In the meantime, to give you a head start, we are providing a link to the document. We hope you will send to your own experts and consultants and provide feedback on issues of concern.
Express Terms 2022 Energy Code, Title 24 Parts 1 and 6
JOB KILLERS KILLED
We are pleased to report a number of CalChamber identified “Job Killers” have been stopped. The bills that missed the deadline to pass out of the policy committee are:
- AB 1295 (Muratsuchi; D-Torrance) Housing Development Ban: Would have removed local land use authority and exacerbated the housing crisis by prohibiting cities and counties from entering into a residential development agreement in Very High Fire Severity Zones, which would have stripped local communities of their land use authority and applied a one-size-fits all ban on development throughout large swaths of California.
- AB 1400 (Kalra; D-San Jose) Government-Run Health Care: Would have eliminated private insurance and choice-based health care by creating an exorbitantly expensive new state-run health care system that would have cost California more than $400 billion, which ultimately would have been funded by taxpayers, and delayed access to providers, diminished quality of health care, and eliminated jobs in California.
- SB 55 (Stern; D-Canoga Park) Housing Development Ban: Would have removed local land use authority by prohibiting any residential or commercial construction in either Very High Fire Severity Zones or State Responsibility Area, which would have effectively banned development activity in 1/3 of the state of California and exacerbated the existing housing crisis.
- SB 467 (Wiener; D-San Francisco) Oil and Gas Development Ban: Would have eliminated thousands of high-paying California jobs and required California to import even more foreign oil by shutting down approximately 95% of oil and gas production in California.
- SB 499 (Leyva; D-Chino) Housing Development Ban: Would have prohibited cities and counties from designating any land uses that have potential to adversely impact disadvantaged communities, even if any potential impacts could be mitigated. In doing so, the bill would have removed local land use authority, created new costly CEQA litigation and worsened the state’s housing crisis.
To see a list of all this year’s job killers, visit click here.
ACTIVITY AND BUSINESS TIER UPDATES
California Department of Public Health made updates to the Activity & Business Tiers Chart. Modifications impact gatherings, private events, indoor performances and more. Check here to see if your industry has been impacted.
REOPENING UPDATE
Los Angeles and San Francisco were among the counties that sailed into the least restrictive yellow reopening tier Tuesday, paving the way for amusement parks, stadiums, movie theaters, gyms and other businesses to operate at higher capacity, and bars and saunas to reopen indoors for the first time in months. With just two coronavirus-related deaths recorded Tuesday and record-low hospitalizations, California appears well on its way to fully reopening the economy by June 15.
RECALL UPDATE
Republican businessman and gubernatorial candidate John Cox, who lost to Newsom by 24 percentage points in 2018, rebranded himself on Twitter Monday as @BeastJohnCox. Today, he’s embarking on a bus tour that includes an event featuring a “1,000 pound live bear” and a stop at the French Laundry.
With a new poll from the California GOP showing that 45% of voters support the recall, 45% are against and 10% are undecided, Newsom appears to be making a concerted effort to appeal to voters of all stripes. He held his first anti-recall campaign event Tuesday alongside two firefighters’ unions — a profession held in high esteem by Democrats and Republicans.
DEMOCRATS UNIFY BEHIND NEWSOM
The animating force behind the California Democratic Party’s online convention over the weekend: Defend Newsom from the upcoming recall election. The all-star lineup included national party leaders such as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — but many of the remarks, including Newsom’s, were pre-recorded, making for an event that felt a bit “like watching maple syrup being tapped,” in the words of Capitol reporter Scott Lay. Still, the message was clear: Democrats want to present a united front to discourage party members from running in the recall as an alternative to Newsom. With polls showing lukewarm Latino support for Newsom, former GOP San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is ramping up outreach to Latino voters. Caitlyn Jenner is set to appear on Fox News this week for her first major interview after making headlines over the weekend for saying she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports. Meanwhile, Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt announced Friday he would run against Newsom as a Libertarian.
EVICTION MORATORIUM EXTENDED?
On Wednesday, a group of local-level elected officials, renters and tenant advocates called for an extension of the moratorium, either through legislative action or executive fiat, and a change to the elements of the law that still allow landlords to evict tenants for reasons other than failing to pay their rent. Changes tenant advocates are calling for would likely come from amendments to the budget, which needs to be passed by June 15. However, with two months left before that extension itself expires on June 30, there is no proposed legislation on giving renters more time before the moratorium ends, and lawmakers expressed uncertainty that there would be. “It remains to be seen if there’s appetite in Sacramento to extend the protections past June 30,” said David Chiu, a San Francisco Democrat who wrote the original eviction moratorium legislation.
GOVERNOR APPROVES $6.2B TAX CUT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
On April 29, Gov. Newsom signed a bill that offers small businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic a $6.2 billion tax cut over the next six years. Under this new law, businesses' forgiven federal PPP loans will not be counted as taxable income and costs for expenses paid for by PPP loans can now be deducted.
SHARE HOUSING PRIORITIES WITH STATEWIDE LEADERS
Join HCD on May 27 at 9 a.m. for a virtual listening session on efforts to update the CA Statewide Housing Plan. Participants are welcomed to share their thoughts and ideas on CA’s housing challenges and opportunities in a closing breakout session. Register now!
Best,
Damon R. Conklin
Director of Government Affairs
Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange
5370 Elvas Avenue ǀ Sacramento, CA 95819
Telephone: 916.442.8991 ǀ Cell: 916.290.3400
Email: dconklin@srbx.org ǀ www.srbx.org