Web Version [link removed] | Update Preferences [link removed] CBRT in the News Proposition 13 Works And Remains Popular. So Why Are Special Interests Attacking It?

By Rob Lapsley and Allan Zaremberg, Special to CalMatters

Backers of an initiative to eliminate Proposition 13’s protections for some groups finally acknowledged something we have known all along: the measure is fatally flawed, would be bad for California and would shortchange school districts contrary to the stated purpose of the initiative.

This admission came after they spent millions of dollars to place the “split-roll” measure on the November 2020 ballot.

Now, they’ve decided to scrap that measure, write a second draft, and attempt to qualify it for the 2020 ballot.

Read More [[link removed]] Business Climate and Job Creation U.S. Consumer Spending Slowed Sharply In August

U.S. consumer spending slowed more than expected in August, signaling a key pillar of the economy could be losing momentum as the global economy wobbles and trade tensions remain high.

Personal-consumption expenditures, or household spending, nudged up a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in August from July, the Commerce Department said Friday. The modest growth marked a sharp pullback from July, when spending rose 0.5%, and was the weakest performance since February.

Consumer spending is the driving force behind the U.S. economy, accounting for more than two-thirds of total economic output. With other sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing and business investment, buffeted by external headwinds, the slowdown in spending doesn’t bode well for third-quarter economic growth.

Read More [[link removed]] U.S. Inflation Decelerated In August

U.S. inflation slowed in August after a pickup in the previous month, as lower prices for energy, food and durable goods offset steady growth in services prices.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal-consumption-expenditures price index, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.03% last month from July, the Commerce Department said Friday, its smallest gain since January. The so-called core index, which strips out volatile food and energy components, rose 0.14% in August.

The sluggish gains last month kept inflation well below the Fed’s annual target of 2%. Compared with August 2018, the main index was up 1.44%—the same as in July—although core inflation stood at 1.77%, its highest level since January.

Friday’s figures contrast with other data showing that inflationary pressures are building in the U.S. after a very weak start to the year. The core consumer-price index, a separate inflation measure published by the Labor Department, rose 0.3% a month between June and August, the largest three-month increase since 2006.

Read More [[link removed]] Income Inequality In America Is The Highest It's Been Since Census Bureau Started Tracking It, Data Shows

Income inequality in the United States has hit its highest level since the Census Bureau started tracking it more than five decades ago, according to data released Thursday, even as the nation’s poverty and unemployment rates are at historic lows.

The gulf is starkest in wealthy regions along both coasts such as New York, Connecticut, California and Washington, D.C., as well as in areas with widespread poverty, such as Puerto Rico and Louisiana. Equality was highest in Utah, Alaska and Iowa.

And while the nation is in the midst of its longest economic expansion, nine states saw spikes in inequality from 2017 to 2018: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Texas and Virginia.

Read More [[link removed]] California Job Growth Was Healthy In August, But The Labor Force Is Shrinking

California’s record job expansion accelerated in August across broad sectors of the economy and unemployment remained low as the state weathered the challenges of slowing global growth.

Employers added 34,000 positions last month — the 114th month that payrolls grew and the longest expansion in state record-keeping, state officials reported. Since the post-recession turnaround began in February 2010, California has gained more than 3.3 million jobs, accounting for 15% of U.S. job growth — more than its share of the nation’s population.

California’s major stalwarts — business and professional services, health and education, and tourism — led the August advance. Government hiring was also strong, boosted in part by workers for the 2020 census.

Unemployment in August held steady at 4.1%, the same as in July and as in August 2018 — an indication that the state’s economy is close to full employment — with economists believing that most people who want jobs can get them. The U.S. jobless rate was 3.7%.

Read More [[link removed]] Anderson Report Predicts No Recession, But Rising California Unemployment

The UCLA Anderson Forecast predicted the national economy will slow, but not enter into a recession, according to an Anderson press release Wednesday.

The forecast predicted the growth of the national economy will slow to 0.4% in the second half of 2020 and then rebound in 2021 to 2.21%. According to the press release, senior economist David Shulman said the forecast is not quite predicting a recession, but it is pretty close.

The forecast also predicted the unemployment rate in California will rise to an average of 5.1% in the fourth quarter of 2020 due to the slow national growth rate and a weak housing market.

The forecast acknowledged that the economy is currently in flux due to a number of domestic and international factors, such as the United States’ trade war with China, President Donald Trump’s criticism of the chair of the Federal Reserve, and Brexit.

Read More [[link removed]] The CCPA Is Approaching: What Businesses Need to Know About The Consumer Privacy Law

The most comprehensive data privacy law in the United States, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), will take effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA is an expansive step in U.S. data privacy law, as it enumerates new consumer rights regarding collection and use of personal information, along with corresponding duties for businesses that trade in such information.

While the CCPA is a state law, its scope is sufficiently broad that it will apply to many businesses that may not currently consider themselves to be under the purview of California law. In addition, in the wake of the CCPA, at least a dozen other states have introduced their own comprehensive data privacy legislation, and there is heightened consideration and support for a federal law to address similar issues.

Below, we examine the contours of the CCPA to help you better understand the applicability and requirements of the new law. While portions of the CCPA remain subject to further clarification, the inevitable challenges of compliance, coupled with the growing appetite for stricter data privacy laws in the United States generally, mean that now is the time to ensure that your organization is prepared for the CCPA.

Read More [[link removed]] State's Poor Lawsuit Climate Ranking Largely Due To Meritless Litigation, PAGA And Prop. 65, CALA Director Says

The 2019 Lawsuit Climate Survey: Ranking the States, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), has ranked California 48th in the nation in a lawsuit climate survey, dropping two spots from a year ago.

“Most Californians are shocked when they learn about the crush of litigation facing small businesses in the state,” California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Executive Director Ken Barnes said in a statement. “However, defense attorneys encountered these challenges daily on behalf of the state's employers. I don't believe real data skews the results, but rather informs them to create a full picture of the damage being done to California's economy.”

The survey polled senior business executives with first-hand knowledge of litigation about the fairness and reasonableness of state court systems.

While California ranked poorly, Barnes believes there are sensible ways to get the legal system back on track.

Read More [[link removed]] Here's Why Americans Should Care About The Latino Economy In The U.S.

Latinos are increasingly becoming a significant part of the U.S. economy, said a study released Thursday. It also might save it.

California Lutheran University said the gross domestic product of U.S. Latinos was $2.3 trillion in 2017, up from $1.7 trillion in 2010. The study argues if the Latino portion of the U.S. population was its own country, it would have the third-highest growth rate among all global economies.

The report was released as part of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals convention taking place Thursday to Sunday in San Diego. A large part of its conclusion is that Latinos will be used to help a shrinking, and aging, workforce, as well as be a critical component of the American economy moving forward.

Read More [[link removed]] Facing The Hidden Economic Problem Of California's Recovery

California is in the midst of the longest economic recovery in economic history, 10 years of increased growth and counting. At last report California led the way with 26 percent of national job growth this past year. Unemployment levels for California and the nation were at all-time lows. Yet we are faced with social and economic impacts, again with California leading the way with statistics with which we have become all too familiar: record number of homelessness, decline in housing production and other indicators of economic stress, including a re-emergence of government and household, and student loan debt, and a continual portrayal of a declining middle class. So what gives and why the mixed messages?

The state's demographics continue to change with two thirds of the growth in population comes from those over 65 living longer, and our population growth in California in 2018 was the lowest in recent history. If there is lower working age population growth, by such a large amount, you would expect lower unemployment. So, our economic miracle of low unemployment is likely to be caused not by a robust economy but this historic demographic trend. Add to this the low labor force participation, simply stated, many people not looking for work, and we have something wrong with our recovery.

Read More [[link removed]] Energy and Climate Change Refinery Problems Send California Gas Prices Soaring

With the booming economy and busy freeways, getting from place to place in the Bay Area can be time-consuming. And with a recent spike in gas prices, it’s becoming more costly as well.

The Valero refinery in Benicia is having some kind of problem that’s causing it to cut production way back. But it’s one of three refineries in the state having difficulties. Those difficulties are having a profound effect on people’s pocket books.

The sudden rise in the price of gas at the Shell station in on North Main in Walnut Creek was causing Rachael Domingo to have a moment.

“And it’s probably, what, $4.29?” she said staring at the pump. “Listen, let’s talk about it! It’s a situation and it’s a problem!”

Read More [[link removed]] California Could Face Power Shortages If These Gas Plans Shut Down, Officials Say

It’s been nearly a decade since California ordered coastal power plants to stop using seawater for cooling, a process that kills fish and other marine life.

But now state officials may extend the life of several facilities that still suck billions of gallons from the ocean each day.

Staff at the California Public Utilities Commission recommended this month that four natural gas plants in Southern California, which are now required to shut down in 2020, be allowed to keep operating up to three additional years. Without the gas plants, PUC staff said, the state may face power shortfalls as soon as summer 2021 — specifically on hot days when energy demand remains high after the sun goes down and solar farms stop generating electricity.

Energy regulators aren’t panicked, since there’s still time to make up for the expected shortfall.

Read More [[link removed]] Minnesota, New Mexico To Adopt California Vehicle Emissions Rules

Minnesota and New Mexico, in a rebuke to the Trump administration, plan to join 10 other states in adopting both of California’s tough rules on tailpipe emissions and zero-emission vehicles.

The announcements came a week after President Donald Trump said his administration would strip California of the legal ability to regulate vehicle emissions.

Minnesota and New Mexico would become the 11th and 12th states to adopt California’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate and the 14th and 15th states to adopt its tailpipe standards. Colorado said in August it would adopt the ZEV mandate.

On Friday, a group of 23 states, including Minnesota and New Mexico, sued to block the Trump administration from undoing California’s authority to set strict car pollution rules, one of the biggest U.S. battles over climate change.

The legal fight pits California, a Democratic-majority state that has become the U.S. environmental champion against a Republican president who wants to boost the economy by cutting regulation. The debate already is playing out ahead of the presidential election next year.

Read More [[link removed]] The World Is Investing Less In Clean Energy

Twenty years ago China had virtually no solar panels. Today the country has a quarter of the world’s total, according to the International Energy Agency. That includes a 1km “solar highway”—a road paved with panels capable of powering 800 homes—and a 250-acre solar farm shaped like two smiling pandas. The country plans to build a solar-power plant in space to capture the sun’s energy and beam it back to Earth. Investment on such a scale has made solar power cheaper: Chinese cities now pay less for it than for grid electricity. Other countries have accused China of dumping subsidised panels in their markets.

But the solar spending spree is slowing. Last year the Chinese government slashed investment subsidies. In April it said it would give priority to wind and solar projects that can generate power at the lowest prices. (China also has a third of the world’s wind turbines.) This has contributed to a fall of 60% in Chinese investment in renewable energy in the past two years (see chart). American clean-energy investment has also declined. In Europe, greenish countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands are spending less, especially on relatively expensive projects such as offshore wind. Spain, which unveiled a renewable-energy plan in December, has picked up some of the slack.

Read More [[link removed]] California Leads Lawsuit Against Rollback Of Endangered Species Protections

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has filed suit to block reduced enforcement of the federal Endangered Species Act, a regulatory rollback announced by the Trump administration a little more than a month ago.

The lawsuit, which was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that the changes undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are unlawful. Endangered species protections are bedrock environmental law, and California leaders warned that less protection will leave threatened species at risk of extinction. California is leading the suit along with Massachusetts and Maryland. Altogether, 17 states have signed on, along with New York City and the District of Columbia.

Becerra said that California is home to hundreds of endangered and threatened species and is responsible for preventing the bald eagle, California condor, grizzly bear, humpback whale and other iconic animals from going extinct. He said the stakes are rising “as we face the unprecedented threat of a climate emergency."

Read More [[link removed]] Trump Is Weaponizing The EPA Against California

President Donald Trump continues to make political war on California over the environment.

Last week the Trump administration went after the state for doing too much under the Clean Air Act. This week it's alleging that California isn't doing enough under the same law.

Only in Trump's world are both things possible. It feels more like political vendetta than fully formed policy, since last week's action made it harder for California to deal with smog and this week's could penalize California for its smog.

Neither action, it appears, is actually about addressing the climate crisis or even about cleaning the air, even though Trump often says he wants to have "the very cleanest air." It's about punishing a state that is currently challenging Trump's agenda on climate, immigration, health care and just about everything else.

Read More [[link removed]] E.P.A. Accuses California Of ‘Significant’ Air And Water Problems

The Trump administration on Thursday, pressing the president’s complaints about homelessness in California, demanded the state improve the way it deals with human waste, arsenic and lead in water as it escalated the administration’s war with the country’s most populous state.

In a letter to Gov. Gavin C. Newsom of California, Andrew Wheeler, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, accused the state of “deficiencies that have led to significant public health concerns” and issued a veiled threat that federal funding to the state could be at risk.

It is the latest in a series of aggressive actions that the Trump administration has taken against California since the state surprised the E.P.A. by signing a deal with four automakers that opposed a federal plan to roll back a national vehicle tailpipe pollution standard. President Trump has personally intervened to add urban California’s problem with homelessness to his litany of complaints.

Read More [[link removed]] Strategies For Smarter, Cleaner Buildings In California

California’s buildings are one of the largest remaining emitters of greenhouse gases. Building emissions come from appliances that combust gas, such as water heaters and furnaces, but are also from our refrigerators, air conditioners and other heavy-duty appliances that are either always on or use a lot of electricity.

California has spent decades making our appliances more efficient through robust energy efficiency programs and other projects. But at a recent hearing at the California Energy Commission, lead Commissioner Andrew McAllister suggested a new vision for reducing the greenhouse gas pollution coming from our homes and buildings: What if the electrified devices in our home could talk to the electric grid?

The electric grid is capable of automatically communicating with our devices to slightly modify their schedule. If the devices themselves were “smart” it would help this two-way communication. If the device could respond, it could adjust to take full advantage of the electric grid to optimize the amount of carbon emissions reductions. Renewable energy generation is never constant, and slight adjustments are always needed to take advantage of renewables’ production; if the devices in buildings could automatically respond to grid conditions, we could maximize the number of renewables on our grid.

Read More [[link removed]] Workforce Development Push To Require More High School Math In California Would Exempt Some Students

Seeking to ease concerns that a proposal to require four years of high school math for freshman admissions would make it harder for certain students to attend California State University, senior administrators of the 23-campus system are proposing to exempt some students from the requirement and help schools expand their course offerings.

The proposal, which will be presented to the board for a vote in November and would go into effect in 2026, would require students to take an additional math or quantitative reasoning course, such as computer science or an extra science lab. The proposal has sparked opposition from groups who say many school districts lack the teachers to offer sufficient courses, and that those districts are disproportionately attended by black, Latino and low-income students.

Read More [[link removed]] How Much Would It Cost To Adequately Fund Schools In California

California school districts need to significantly increase their education spending to ensure that students have adequate resources and support to provide the state’s content standards and meet its academic goals. Based on 2016-17 numbers, funding schools adequately to meet these goals would have required a 38 percent increase in spending, or $25.6 billion. That would mean an average increase of $4,686 per student in that year, although the amount would vary by school district.

That’s the conclusion of a study conducted by the American Institutes for Research for Getting Down to Facts, a project that was published in 2018 by Stanford University and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE).

For more on how the study was done, go to “What Does It Cost to Educate California’s Students? A Professional Judgment Approach.”

To come up with a definition for adequate funding, the researchers from the American Institutes for Research asked two panels of expert K-12 educators to determine the staffing, programs and other resources students would need to meet the academic and content standards set by the State Board of Education.

Read More [[link removed]] School Boards Group Committed To Tax Plan Despite Legislative Setback

Efforts to set ambitious targets for more K-12 funding and to ask voters to pass a higher income tax on the wealthy failed to make it out of the Legislature this month. But their backers are vowing to regroup and move forward in 2020.

Having failed to interest legislators in placing its $15 billion Full and Fair Funding initiative on next November’s ballot, the California School Boards Association says it and its partners will collect signatures and do it themselves. The initiative would increase funding for K-12, early education and community colleges by raising income taxes on corporations and individuals earning more than $1 million. The school boards association’s directors reaffirmed that decision over the weekend, said Troy Flint, senior director of communications.

“Since the judiciary and Legislature have declined to provide the resources needed for student success, the next step is an electoral remedy,” Flint said in a statement. “We’re confident that California voters will demonstrate their support for public schools, and we look forward to proving that at the ballot box.”

Read More [[link removed]] Poverty Levels In Schools Key Determinant Of Achievement Gaps, Not Racial Or Ethnic Compositions, Study Finds

While racial and ethnic segregation in the nation’s schools is strongly correlated with gaps in academic achievement, the income level of students’ families in a school rather than its racial or ethnic composition account for those gaps, according to a new study.

The study, based on massive amounts of data from schools attended by nearly all of the nation’s black and Hispanic students, was conducted by Sean Reardon, a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, and other researchers from Stanford, Pennsylvania State University and St. John’s University in New York City.

Achievement gaps among black, Hispanic and white students, the study found, is “completely accounted for” by the poverty level of students in a school, as measured by the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals.

Read More [[link removed]] Infrastructure and Housing Southern California Home Prices Were Flat And Sales Fell In August

The Southern California median home price was flat in August, while sales dipped from a year earlier as buyers struggled to afford sky-high housing costs.

The six-county region’s median price clocked in at $535,000 last month, unchanged from August 2018, according to a report released Wednesday from real estate data provider CoreLogic. Meanwhile, buyers purchased 1.2% fewer homes than a year earlier.

The data come after the sluggish housing market perked up slightly in July, with sales rising for the first time in 12 months. Analysts attributed that uptick to a sustained drop in mortgage rates. Last week, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage actually rose the most since October, but at 3.73% was still about a percentage point lower than a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

Read More [[link removed]] Neighbors Line A San Francisco Sidewalk With Boulders To Block Homeless Camp

At first, no one claimed to know how 24 boulders lining sidewalks to crowd out homeless camps in a San Francisco neighborhood appeared recently, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

But now some residents say they collected $2,000 to buy and place the boulders to deter homeless people — whom they accuse of selling drugs, setting fires and starting fights — from setting up tents on the sidewalk, KGO reported.

“Since the rocks, it has helped,” said neighbor Ernesto Jerez, KTVU reported.But Eric Mills, who is homeless, says the rocks aren’t going to drive homeless camps away forever, KGO reported.

“I think they’re cool to look at but it’s not going to solve the problem for what they put them here for,” Mills said, according to KGO.

Read More [[link removed]] Who's In Charge Of California's Housing Crisis?

In the past week, both President Trump and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson visited California to examine its housing crisis. Meanwhile, the state legislature passed a statewide rent control bill and officials in Sacramento are bullying cities to change their zoning laws. A veritable tug of war has emerged between state and local governments, with Washington eager to weigh in. Not only is there a housing crisis, but also a crisis of authority: Who is in charge here?

Though there is a debate over both the causes and solutions, there is little argument that the urban areas of California and elsewhere in the nation face a housing problem. In California, it is largely a result of economic growth because a booming job market, especially in high-tech areas, has attracted more workers than can be housed. The San Francisco Bay Area has added 676,000 jobs and only 176,000 housing units in the last eight years. Estimates suggest that the state needs to add as many as 3.5 million new homes, which Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to see built by 2025. In his first months in office, however, new housing starts have gone down and not up.

Read More [[link removed]] FPPC Investigating Another California High Speed Rail Official

Another California High Speed Rail official is being investigated by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

On Monday, September 23, 2019, the FPPC notified State Assemblyman Jim Patterson that they will open an investigation to address his conflict of interest concerns.

Assemblyman Patterson had sent a letter to the FPPC dated September 4, 2019, asking the commission to launch an investigation into Rail Authority Board Member Ernesto Camacho.

In a statement sent Tuesday by his office, Assemblyman Patterson says Camacho’s Southern California based company, Pacifica Consulting, Inc. stands to benefit from his decisions on the board.

“It is becoming clear there is a group of High Speed Rail insiders – contractors, a board member, and consultants – who have access to billions of dollars of public money and are passing it around to each other,” said Assemblyman Patterson.

Read More [[link removed]] Editorial and Opinion Is There A California Tipping Point?

Circa of America got its start more than a half-century ago, during San Francisco’s Hippie heyday, when Ronaldo Cianciarulo began making and selling leather belts out of his van in the city’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

During several changes of ownership and names, it continued to make belts in a factory in San Francisco’s Bayview District, the largest manufacturing facility remaining in the city.

However, earlier this month, Circa announced that it was closing its plant, laying off 92 employees and moving its headquarters to Atlanta.

“Due to changing economic conditions in the city and globally as well as a shifting customer base, Circa of America has made the business decision to move,” a Circa spokeswoman told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Circa had reached its tipping point, when the disadvantages of operating in San Francisco outweighed the advantages.

Read More [[link removed]] California's Ambitious Climate Policies Are Fueling Our Booming Economy--And Trump Won't Stop Us

Climate Week, happening now in New York City, shines a light on what we do every day in California: protect our people and our planet.

On the cutting edge and leading edge of the clean energy future, with some of the most ambitious climate policies anywhere in the nation, we are proving again and again that safeguarding our planet for the next generation does not have to come at the expense of economic prosperity.

California does not wait for permission to take action to protect our climate.

Recognizing the extraordinary threat posed by smog to our cities and valleys, California set our own air quality standards years before the federal government. We first issued regulations to require vehicle emissions control technology in 1961, and we issued the first tailpipe emissions standards in the nation in 1966.

Read More [[link removed]] California's Pension Debt Cannot Be Ignored

A decade ago, at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request, I supervised a graduate student team that performed a comprehensive analysis of public pensions in California.

The goal was to calculate California’s pension debt, the difference between assets and liabilities.

The team’s conclusions: the unfunded liability was over $500 billion—seven times the number officially reported. That was in 2008.

The student team recommended several actions to lawmakers and pension managers. Almost all were ignored.

Over time, it has become clear that the students’ analysis was spot on. Public pension debt doubled to more than $1.052 trillion in 2017, the last year of complete data.

Read More [[link removed]] California Business Roundtable 1301 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 916.553.4093 | [[link removed]] Web Version [link removed] | Update Preferences [link removed] | Unsubscribe [link removed]