Chipping Away at CEQA Hurdles: Transportation Projects

CEQA lawsuits are the biggest impediment to the successful execution of LA County’s most necessary transportation infrastructure projects. AB 1905 (Greyson) proposes a “mend it not end it” solution. It is necessary to remove barriers to voter-approved projects that are in compliance with environmental needs and ensure faster construction at lower costs. AB 1905 will achieve California’s ambitious climate goals, while creating new jobs, increasing accessibility with transportation improvements, and improving the efficiency of moving commercial goods across the region. For these reasons, BizFed is in support of AB 1905 and the continuation of voter approved infrastructure projects.

Ending Anonymous & Duplicative Lawsuits

The misuse of CEQA for the purpose of racking up attorney fees poses a threat to LA County’s development initiatives and continues to increase costs of building safe transportation infrastructure and residential projects. AB 3027 (Chavez) includes reasonable guidelines that compensate lawsuit intervenors only when they prevail. This bill is necessary to block bad actors from draining California businesses and taking advantage of the CEQA process for their own benefit. To ensure that the CEQA system is free of bad actors and functions properly, BizFed is in support of AB 3027.

CEQA Abuse Directly Tied to LA’s Housing Crisis

Los Angeles County is facing an overwhelming housing crisis that BizFed continues to work diligently to alleviate. CEQA abuse is a barrier for housing developments required to lift many struggling families out of homelessness. SB 1340 (Glazer) will create an expedited process, via a 270 day window, for courts to decide whether or not a housing project is detrimental to the health of our citizens and the environment. This bill poses no limitations to the CEQA process or the ability to object potentially harmful projects. It simply improves the rate at which crucial residential projects are completed. BizFed supports SB 1340 and pushes for the reform of the CEQA process, which will support the increasing demand for housing development.

Warning:  Unnecessary Warnings Ahead!

AB 2379 (Bloom) will prohibit the sale of all clothing with 50% or more polyester content, unless it is attached a warning label that explains the presence of non-degradable microfibers that endanger marine environments. This bill not only conflicts with rules from the Federal Trade Commission, but is also unreasonable given that it will burden the 85% of retailers that rely on the sale of imported merchandise and disrupt an overwhelming number of California businesses. Additionally, passing this bill may result in lawsuits (similar to Prop 65) that will place a large burden on manufacturers and retailers, which doesn’t exist outside of the state. While this bill tries to promote environmental awareness, it ignores input from industry experts and overlooks business realities that may negatively impact our local and state economies. BizFed opposes AB 2379 due to its unreasonable expectations of clothing retailers and ill thought-out methodology.

LA County Considering Business Registration Fee – Share Your Feedback!

LA County is considering a new mandatory Business Registration Program that would apply to all businesses in the county and charge a $187 annual fee for each business registered here.  The County claims that the program will help them better serve businesses but BizFed members have concerns about what the benefits would be and the fee impact to small businesses.  BizFed will be participating in the stakeholder outreach and if you have any feedback you’d like to give directly to the county, please email them at businesslicense@ttc.lacounty.gov.

One Person’s Trash is Another’s Burden…

The state of California requires commercial forfeitures to be up for public auction starting at $750. This threshold is unnecessarily low and disincentivizes auctioneers from selling these properties, since the cost of holding auctions heavily outweigh the value of abandoned properties. It is necessary to make the auction process more cost-effective. AB 2173 (Santiago) proposes a more reasonable threshold of $10,000 in order to support the costs related to the typical auction process as well as storage and disposal costs.  BizFed is in support of AB 2173, which will ensure proper business settings required of the property forfeiture auction process.

Water Fees Everywhere!

SB 623 (Monning) intends to collect a state-wide water fee from households and businesses over a span of 15 years in order to generate $2 billion for a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. A statewide tax on water is not the solution to bringing safe and clean water to all communities across California. There are a number of underserved communities that already lack access to clean water – creating a tax will only further burden these communities and deepen existing financial inequalities across the state. The California Drinking Water Fund is a better long term fix to finance clean water, SB 623 is simply not an equitable approach. BizFed opposes SB 623 and the addition of a statewide water tax.

SUPPORT PROP 68, $4 billion water bond on June ballot

Climate change continues to severely impact our world and California must ensure that our citizens are safe against droughts, wildfires, and other climate related disasters. The Clean Water & Safe Parks Act aims to invest $4 billion to accommodate California’s most important water, park, and natural resource needs and protect our communities from uncertain times. Many communities, especially underserved communities, do not have clean water to drink or safe outdoor spaces for kids to take advantage of. Prop 68 will appear on the June statewide ballot measure and act as an insurance for our communities – we safeguard our state’s water sources and keep our neighborhood parks safe and clean. BizFed endorses Prop 68 — we must prepare our communities today for any environmental challenges in the future.

Tracy Hernandez

Chipping Away at CEQA Hurdles: Transportation Projects

CEQA lawsuits are the biggest impediment to the successful execution of LA County’s most necessary transportation infrastructure projects. AB 1905 (Greyson) proposes a “mend it not end it” solution. It is necessary to remove barriers to voter-approved projects that are in compliance with environmental needs and ensure faster construction at lower costs. AB 1905 will achieve California’s ambitious climate goals, while creating new jobs, increasing accessibility with transportation improvements, and improving the efficiency of moving commercial goods across the region. For these reasons, BizFed is in support of AB 1905 and the continuation of voter approved infrastructure projects.

Ending Anonymous & Duplicative Lawsuits

The misuse of CEQA for the purpose of racking up attorney fees poses a threat to LA County’s development initiatives and continues to increase costs of building safe transportation infrastructure and residential projects. AB 3027 (Chavez) includes reasonable guidelines that compensate lawsuit intervenors only when they prevail. This bill is necessary to block bad actors from draining California businesses and taking advantage of the CEQA process for their own benefit. To ensure that the CEQA system is free of bad actors and functions properly, BizFed is in support of AB 3027.

CEQA Abuse Directly Tied to LA’s Housing Crisis

Los Angeles County is facing an overwhelming housing crisis that BizFed continues to work diligently to alleviate. CEQA abuse is a barrier for housing developments required to lift many struggling families out of homelessness. SB 1340 (Glazer) will create an expedited process, via a 270 day window, for courts to decide whether or not a housing project is detrimental to the health of our citizens and the environment. This bill poses no limitations to the CEQA process or the ability to object potentially harmful projects. It simply improves the rate at which crucial residential projects are completed. BizFed supports SB 1340 and pushes for the reform of the CEQA process, which will support the increasing demand for housing development.

Warning:  Unnecessary Warnings Ahead!

AB 2379 (Bloom) will prohibit the sale of all clothing with 50% or more polyester content, unless it is attached a warning label that explains the presence of non-degradable microfibers that endanger marine environments. This bill not only conflicts with rules from the Federal Trade Commission, but is also unreasonable given that it will burden the 85% of retailers that rely on the sale of imported merchandise and disrupt an overwhelming number of California businesses. Additionally, passing this bill may result in lawsuits (similar to Prop 65) that will place a large burden on manufacturers and retailers, which doesn’t exist outside of the state. While this bill tries to promote environmental awareness, it ignores input from industry experts and overlooks business realities that may negatively impact our local and state economies. BizFed opposes AB 2379 due to its unreasonable expectations of clothing retailers and ill thought-out methodology.

LA County Considering Business Registration Fee – Share Your Feedback!

LA County is considering a new mandatory Business Registration Program that would apply to all businesses in the county and charge a $187 annual fee for each business registered here.  The County claims that the program will help them better serve businesses but BizFed members have concerns about what the benefits would be and the fee impact to small businesses.  BizFed will be participating in the stakeholder outreach and if you have any feedback you’d like to give directly to the county, please email them at businesslicense@ttc.lacounty.gov.

One Person’s Trash is Another’s Burden…

The state of California requires commercial forfeitures to be up for public auction starting at $750. This threshold is unnecessarily low and disincentivizes auctioneers from selling these properties, since the cost of holding auctions heavily outweigh the value of abandoned properties. It is necessary to make the auction process more cost-effective. AB 2173 (Santiago) proposes a more reasonable threshold of $10,000 in order to support the costs related to the typical auction process as well as storage and disposal costs.  BizFed is in support of AB 2173, which will ensure proper business settings required of the property forfeiture auction process.

Water Fees Everywhere!

SB 623 (Monning) intends to collect a state-wide water fee from households and businesses over a span of 15 years in order to generate $2 billion for a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. A statewide tax on water is not the solution to bringing safe and clean water to all communities across California. There are a number of underserved communities that already lack access to clean water – creating a tax will only further burden these communities and deepen existing financial inequalities across the state. The California Drinking Water Fund is a better long term fix to finance clean water, SB 623 is simply not an equitable approach. BizFed opposes SB 623 and the addition of a statewide water tax.

SUPPORT PROP 68, $4 billion water bond on June ballot

Climate change continues to severely impact our world and California must ensure that our citizens are safe against droughts, wildfires, and other climate related disasters. The Clean Water & Safe Parks Act aims to invest $4 billion to accommodate California’s most important water, park, and natural resource needs and protect our communities from uncertain times. Many communities, especially underserved communities, do not have clean water to drink or safe outdoor spaces for kids to take advantage of. Prop 68 will appear on the June statewide ballot measure and act as an insurance for our communities – we safeguard our state’s water sources and keep our neighborhood parks safe and clean. BizFed endorses Prop 68 — we must prepare our communities today for any environmental challenges in the future.

Can you find yourself in BizFed’s 10th Anniversary Video?  You’ve been the key to our success!

Tracy Hernandez