FOREWORD
2008 Legislative Wrap-Up
By Rex S. Hime
More than 1,000 bills were
identified by the California Business Properties
Association as having a potential
impact on the commercial, industrial and retail real estate industry
in the recently concluded legislative session. Issues ranging from
taxes and feed to healthcare and
land-use were among those that
demanded the Legislature’s attention, though environmental issues
driven by California’s historic law to roll-back greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels have all but overwhelmed the legislative process.
Our industry saw success in several areas. We were able to
pass laws that crack down on graffiti vandals and those that steal
metal from our properties. We also were able to pass some long-sought Americans with Disabilities Act reform.
One legislator made an attempt to revive the ill-conceived
notion of a split-roll property tax. We quickly sprang into action
to oppose that bill and it didn’t make it through its first com-mitteeAnother legislator attempted to overturn the Pruneyard
decision to expand the ability of protestors to stand directly in
front of the doors of retailers within malls. We were able to also
stop that one before reaching the Governor.
We were also able to defeat bills that would have: mandated
LEED Gold certification on all construction projects; mandated
“zero net energy” for all buildings by 2030; mandated a cumbersome new process for dealing with bones found at construction
sites; allowed local governments to supplant state building codes
with private standards; and new taxes at the state’s ports.
One of the most significant pieces of legislation Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed is a measure to reform and discourage
abuse of our state’s ADA laws. Senate Bill 1608 (Corbett, D-San
Leandro) promotes and increases compliance with state and
federal civil rights laws and reduces unwarranted and unnecessary litigation that does not advance the goals of disability access. SB 1608 arrives at a solution through a combination of key
provisions: clarifications in the law to help reduce unwarranted
damages and attorneys’ fees; a new court procedure to encourage early resolution of disability access lawsuits; incentivizing
building owners to use state-certified access specialists to ensure
compliance; improved continuing education in disability access
laws for building inspectors and architects, including a requirement that all cities and counties have at least one certified ac-
cess special on staff; and a new commission that will be tasked
with evaluating and providing recommendations on issues that
impact the disabled community and businesses.
One of the important reforms in SB 1608 is a provision specifying that plaintiffs may recover damages only for a violation
they personally encountered or that deterred access on a particular occasion, rather than for alleged violations that may exist
at a place of business but did not cause a denial of access. In
addition, SB 1608 clarifies that a court can consider reasonable
written settlement offers made and rejected in determining the
amount of reasonable attorneys fees to be awarded at the end of
a case, aimed at reducing unnecessary protraction of litigation
by either party.
One high priority bill that CBPA opposed was signed into
law over strenuous industry objections. SB 375 (Steinberg, D-Sacramento) mandates a new type of regional planning called
Sustainable Community Plans. This new law attempts to lower
greenhouse gas emissions by mandating regional planning.
Sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council and
the League of Conservation Voters, SB 375 took more than
two years to wend its way through the legislative process. At
the core of the bill is a fundamental disagreement on land-use planning. However, specific issues include impacts on
transportation projects, unequal CEQA benefits depending
on project type, the need to remove litigation “hooks,” and
the necessity for the bill to provide a “safe harbor” from AB
32 induced lawsuits. In the Governor’s “signature message,”
he asked Sen. Steinberg to address some of these issues next
year. We look forward to working with Mr. Steinberg to make
this policy successful. Implementation of SB 375 is already
starting. We ask that members of our industry get involved
in these local planning processes. CBPA serves as the legislative and regulatory advocate for individual companies as well
as several professional organizations including the International Council of Shopping Centers, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties California chapters,
Institute of Real Estate Management, Building Owners and
Managers Association of California, California Downtown Association, Retail Industry Leaders Association and CCIM of
Northern California, making CBPA the recognized voice of
the commercial, industrial and retail real estate industry in
California representing more than 11,000 companies. For
more information visit www.cbpa.com.
Rex S. Hime is president and CEO of Sacramento-based California Business Properties
Association. He can be reached at 916-443-4676, Rexhime@cbpa.com.
