December Government Affairs Update
BOMA Government Affairs Committee Breakfast
Last month the BOMA Government Affairs Committee hosted Halla Razak, the City of San Diego’s Public Utilities Department Director, for an informational update on the City’s Pure Water program and the future of sustainable utilities in the City of San Diego. The Department's goals remain focused on water independence and sustainability by recycling and reusing water, producing renewal energy through cogeneration and a bio-solids facility expansion, and reducing water use and ocean discharge through continued education.
Pure Water continues to exceed the Department’s expectations with the completion of the programmatic environmental impact report, the completion of phase 1 pre-design, development of the cogeneration energy project, and the advancement of the final design.
When Pure Water is complete 1/3 of our water supply will be locally produced and 40 megawatts of energy will be produced by the expansion of the cogeneration and bio-solids facility, enough to power to supply energy to 29,600 homes! A 34% per person reduction in water use and an astounding 68% ocean discharge reduction are also anticipated. Pure Water is a truly remarkable project all San Diegans can be proud of.
Noteworthy Ballot Measures for the Commercial Real Estate Industry – Election Recap
The 2016 General Election was nothing if not memorable! In addition to the Presidential and Federal contests, local voters were faced with one of the longest ballots in recent history. The BOMA Government Affairs Committee closely followed many of the measures that would have a direct impact on the Commercial Real Estate and business communities in San Diego. As of the writing of this article, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters has nearly 400,000 ballots left to count, but we do not anticipate that those outstanding votes will have any impact the outcome of the measures below.
PASSED - Proposition 51 – Funding for K-12 school and community college facilities
Authorizes $9 billion in general obligation bonds: $3 billion for new construction and $3 billion for modernization of K-12 public school facilities; $1 billion for charter schools and vocational education facilities; and $2 billion for California Community Colleges facilities.
Supported by: BOMA Cal, CBPA, BIA, and California Chamber of Commerce
FAILED - Proposition 53 – Requires statewide voter approval of revenue bonds, also known as the Cortopassi Initiative
Requires statewide voter approval before any revenue bonds can be issued or sold by the state for projects that are financed, owned, operated, or managed by the state or any joint agency created by or including the state, if the bond amount exceeds $2 billion. Prohibits dividing projects into multiple separate projects to avoid statewide voter approval requirement.
Opposed by: BOMA Cal, CBPA, California Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Regional Chamber
PASSED - Proposition 54 – Legislative Review Process
Prohibits Legislature from passing any bill unless it has been in print and published on the internet for at least 72 hours before the vote, except in cases of public emergency. Requires the Legislature to make audiovisual recordings of all its proceedings, except closed session proceedings, and post them on the internet. Authorizes any person to record legislative proceedings by audio or video means, except closed session proceedings.
Supported by: BOMA Cal, CBPA, California Chamber of Commerce and San Diego Regional Chamber
PASSED - Proposition 57 – Felons convicted of non-violent crimes and juvenile trials
Allows parole consideration for persons convicted of nonviolent felonies upon completion of full prison term for primary offense, as defined. Authorizes Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior, or educational achievements. Requires Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to adopt regulations to implement new parole and sentence credit provisions and certify they enhance public safety. Provides juvenile court judges shall make determination, upon prosecutor motion, whether juveniles’ age 14 and older should be prosecuted and sentenced as adults.
Opposed by: BOMA Cal
FAILED - Measure A – SANDAG ½ Cent Sales Tax Increase
½ cent sales tax to raise $18 billion over 40 years to fund SANDAG’s San Diego Forward Regional Plan. The plan will allocate (in millions) $4,322 to local infrastructure projects, $178 for signal synchronization, $900 to road grade separation, $540 to active transportation, $2,000 to open space, $615 for highways, $1,940 for managed and HOV lanes and $7,507 for transit. This measure would require a 2/3rds majority for approval.
Supported by: BOMA San Diego, NAIOP San Diego, BIA, and the San Diego Regional Chamber
FAILED - Measure B – Lilac Hills Ranch Specific Plan Initiative
If approved by voters in November, this initiative will change the General Plan for 608 acres from Semi-Rural 4 (SR-4) with 1 dwelling unit per 4, 8, or 16 gross acres and Semi-Rural 10 (SR-10) with 1 dwelling unit per 10 or 20 gross acres to a project proposal that includes mixed use development of 1,746 residents and 90,000 square feet of commercial, retail, and parks. This measure would require a simple majority (50% +1) for approval.
Supported by: BIA and the San Diego Regional Chamber
PASSED - Proposition K – Candidate Elections, Mandatory Runoffs
This measure would eliminate the provision that a candidate can win office with a majority of votes in June primaries. This measure would require a November runoff for all elections for Mayor, Council, and City Attorney between the top two vote earners, regardless of one candidate receiving more than 50% of the primary vote.
Opposed by: BIA, San Diego Regional Chamber
PASSED - Proposition M – Article 34 San Diego Housing Commission Capacity Authority
If approved, this measure will increase the capacity for the SDHC to acquire, construct, or develop low-rent housing with the assistance of government financing from 10,500 (current capacity) to 38,000 units. This measure does not include a tax increase or financing mechanism.
Supported by: BOMA San Diego, BIA, San Diego Regional Chamber and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association