Web Version [link removed] | Update Preferences [link removed] CBRT in the News Opponents Of 'Split Roll' Property Tax Ballot Measure Accuse California Attorney General Of Rigging The System

Backers of a California ballot measure to roll back Proposition 13 tax protections have started gathering voter signatures. And they’ve picked up a new advantage that has opponents crying foul.

They’re furious with the official title and summary issued by Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office for a November 2020 ballot proposal.

The initiative, known as the “Split Roll,” would raise $10 billion a year by taxing commercial properties based on their fair market value instead of their purchase price. The money would fund schools, community colleges and local governments.

The attorney general’s title and summary for an earlier version of this proposal mentioned the tax change before it stated where the money would go:

Read More [[link removed]] Business Climate and Job Creation U.S. Retail Sales Rebounded In October

Americans spent more on shopping in October while pulling back on nonessential items, suggesting consumers’ willingness to buy remained solid but more cautious.

Retail sales—purchases at stores, restaurants and online—rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in October from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said Friday, after a drop in August.

“Overall, this isn’t a really strong number, but it should do a lot to soothe the fear that consumers were going to struggle into year end,” said Calvin Schnure, senior economist at the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Growth in consumer spending—a driving factor in the decadelong U.S. economic expansion—contrasted with another drop in U.S. factory production. A report from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production fell 0.8% in October, the third decline in four months.

Read More [[link removed]] West Coast Imports Plunge As Tariffs Hit Consumer Goods

Seaborne imports into the largest U.S. gateway for trans-Pacific goods plummeted last month in the latest sign of volatility in supply chains from the U.S.-China trade war.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handled 120,077 fewer loaded inbound containers in October than a year ago, a 14.1% drop, according to figures released by the neighboring Southern California ports.

The Pacific ports together handle about 37% of U.S. seaborne container import volume, and are considered a bellwether of U.S. trade, particularly with Asia.

The decline in container volume followed the U.S. implementation of a new round of tariffs in September on more China-made products, including the first large swath of consumer goods to be slapped with levies. U.S. importers, including large retailers, had rushed goods into the country ahead of earlier rounds of threatened tariffs, and logistics operators say many of their retail customers now appear to be slowing their orders abroad as they burn off inventory.

Read More [[link removed]] Fewer Jobless Americans Tap Unemployment Benefits

Fewer jobless Americans are relying on unemployment insurance amid tighter state rules on obtaining the benefits and a strong job market.

The share of jobless people receiving unemployment benefits fell after the 2007-09 recession and has stagnated at a historically low level since. Last year, 28% of jobless people received benefits, down from 37% in 2000—a period of similarly low unemployment.

Among the main reasons, experts say: After the last recession ended, state legislatures passed policies reducing unemployment benefits and tightening eligibility requirements.

Ten states cut the duration of benefits, five adopted stricter work-search requirements and several trimmed the average weekly-benefit amount, according to the National Employment Law Project, or NELP, which advocates for low-wage workers.

Read More [[link removed]] Deal On U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Pact Takes Shape, Pelosi Says

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats were moving toward a deal with the Trump administration on a new trade accord with Canada and Mexico, but progressive members of her caucus are holding out for more protections for U.S. labor and stronger enforcement provisions.

“I do believe that if we can get this to the place it needs to be, which is imminent, that this can be a template for future trade agreements. A good template,” Mrs. Pelosi said.

When the caucus met later Thursday, moderate freshman Democrats, many facing tough races next year, pushed for approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. They said they rallied in force to show Mrs. Pelosi she would have the support to bring the measure to the House floor, even if it divided the caucus.

“We have to continue getting things done, even in this tough environment. Especially in this environment,” said Utah Rep. Ben McAdams, a Democrat representing a district carried by Republican President Trump.

Read More [[link removed]] Prices At The Pump Drive October Inflation Increase

Gasoline costs pushed up prices for U.S. consumer goods in October, while new tariffs on imports appeared to have little effect on what Americans paid for clothing and household furnishings.

The consumer-price index—which measures the costs of everyday goods and services from food to dental care—rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in October from the previous month, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Core prices, excluding often volatile food and energy categories, were up 0.2%.

The U.S. placed duties on a range of Chinese imports in September as part of the continuing trade war—including clothing, tools, electronics and other consumer goods. But a 1.8% drop in apparel prices helped hold down overall core inflation in October.

Consumers generally aren’t shouldering the costs of those levies, said Josh Nye, senior economist at RBC. “Probably because of competitive pressures or other factors, businesses haven’t been able to pass along much of the tariff price increases they’re seeing [to consumers],” he said.

Read More [[link removed]] Pension Costs Feed Resistance To High School Taxes In California County, Study Finds

The unexpected defeat in 2016 of a school parcel tax in wealthy Marin County and the near-defeat of another in the county that same year prompted a trio of authors to look into what had turned many voters against them.

Their conclusion, in a report issued last week by the nonprofit Policy Analysis for California Education, was that the high cost of school employee pensions was very much on voters’ minds — a bad omen for other districts considering parcel taxes to supplement state funding for schools.

“State and local leaders should heed the lessons of increasing anti-tax sentiment in famously progressive Marin,” wrote Hannah Melnicoe, Cory Koedel and Arun Ramanathan in their report, “The Canary in the Gold Mine.” “Statewide and local leaders must prioritize the development of a statewide education funding solution that does not increase reliance on local taxation.”

Read More [[link removed]] California Truckers Sue Against Gig Economy Law

California truckers are challenging a law regarding gig economy drivers.

According to AP, the California Trucking Association filed the first lawsuit challenging a new labor law that seeks to give wage and benefit protections to gig economy drivers, which include rideshare drivers at companies like Uber and Lyft.

The organization is arguing that the legislation violates federal law and would deprive more than 70,000 independent truckers of their ability to work. The group cites that many would have to drop $150,000 investments in clean trucks and the right to set their own schedules in order for companies to comply with a law it says illegally infringes on interstate commerce.

The law will go into effect on Jan. 1, making it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, who are entitled to minimum wage and benefits such as workers compensation.

Read More [[link removed]] Pressure Grows For California Governor To Allow PG&E Takeover

For California Gov. Gavin Newsom, sitting back and watching PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy run its course is no longer an option.

The mayors of 22 cities are pressing him to turn the beleaguered power giant into a customer-owned cooperative. San Francisco, the city he once served as mayor, wants to take over the company’s local wires. On Wednesday, a board member of a statewide consumer group sent Newsom a proposal that would have the state run Pacific Gas & Electric like a massive municipal utility. And the former chief of California’s Public Utilities Commission joined a coalition of groups to similarly press him for public control.

“It is time for California to take over PG&E and stop letting profits stand in the way of a safe, clean energy future we all need and deserve,” the coalition, including former PUC President Loretta Lynch, said in its letter to Newsom on Thursday.

Read More [[link removed]] California To Overhaul Insurance Plan After Wildfires

Californians who lost their home insurance because of the threat of wildfires will be able to buy comprehensive policies next year through a state-mandated plan under an order issued Thursday by the state insurance commissioner.

Devastating wildfires have plagued the state in recent years, destroying thousands of homes. Those claims have cost insurance companies, who have responded by dropping fire insurance policies for many homeowners who live in fire-prone areas.

Most of those people turn to the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, an insurance pool mandated by state law that is required to issue policies to people who can't buy them through no fault of their own.

But FAIR Plan policies are often limited to fire damage, forcing homeowners to purchase separate plans to get coverage for things other than fires, like theft, water damage, falling objects and liability.

Read More [[link removed]] Long-Term Solutions For California Wildfire Prevention

Nobody knew how the fire started. It took hold in the dry chaparral and grasslands and quickly spread up the sides of the canyon. Propelled by winds gusting over 40 miles per hour and extremely dry air (humidity below 25 percent), the fire spread over the ridge and into the town below. Overwhelmed firefighters could not contain the blaze as it swept through the streets, immolating homes by the hundreds. Even brick homes with slate roofs were not spared. Before it finally was brought under control, 640 structures including 584 homes had been reduced to ashes. Over 4,000 people were left homeless.

Does this sound like the “new normal?” Maybe so, but this description is of the Berkeley fire of 1923. In its time, with barely 4 million people living in California, the Berkeley fire was a catastrophe on par with the fires we see today.

When evaluating what happened in nearly a century since this fire, two stories emerge. The story coming from California’s politicians emphasizes climate change. From former Governor Jerry Brown: “In less than five years, even the worst skeptics will be believers.” From current Governor Gavin Newsom, speaking on the threat of wildfires in the state: “If anyone is wondering if climate change is real, come to California.”

Read More [[link removed]] Energy and Climate Change Exxon's Climate Trial Is Over In New York. But The Legal War Is Just Beginning

When New York’s climate change lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. went on trial last month in a Manhattan courtroom, the energy giant’s lead lawyer took great pains to emphasize that the state’s allegations weren’t really about climate change.

After all, Theodore Wells said, Exxon was accused of hatching a cynical scheme to mislead investors. The case was about an alleged securities fraud intended to mask the impact of global warming on Exxon’s finances, not a grand reckoning of its responsibility for the man-made phenomenon.

The reason the claims are so narrow is that New York couldn’t find enough evidence to support allegations that Exxon hid its knowledge of global warming. But in the end, that may not matter: Regardless of who wins, there are states, municipalities and environmental groups suing or planning to sue Exxon and other energy companies for being the main perpetrators of a looming planetary catastrophe.

Read More [[link removed]] California Says San Diego County Could Undermine State's Landmark Plan To Rein In Greenhouse Gases

The stakes are rising in a legal battle over whether San Diego County will be able to approve thousands of new housing units in wildfire-prone areas far from urban job centers using carbon offsets.

The Sierra Club spearheaded the legal challenge last year with support from a host of environmental groups, such as the Center of Biological Diversity, as well as the San Diego-based Climate Action Campaign and Cleveland National Forest Foundation.

While county governments across the state came out early this month in support of San Diego County’s offset plan, Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office simultaneously blasted the idea — saying it could undercut California’s internationally lauded strategy to reduce planet-warming emissions.

Legal scholars watching the case said the court’s decision, which could come as soon as the spring, has the potential to set a major precedent impacting California’s fight against climate change.

Read More [[link removed]] California Cities Consider ‘Banning Natural Gas Stoves’ To Combat Climate Change

At least 13 towns and cities across California are considering new zoning restrictions that would require all electric appliances; effectively banning natural gas stoves and ovens in kitchens and potentially restaurants.

“Fix global warming or cook dinner on a gas stove? That’s the choice for people in 13 cities and one county in California that have enacted new zoning codes encouraging or requiring all-electric new construction,” reports USA Today.

“The codes, most of them passed since June, are meant to keep builders from running natural gas lines to new homes and apartments, with an eye toward creating fewer legacy gas hookups as the nation shifts to carbon-neutral energy sources,” adds the website.

Read More [[link removed]] Fearing for Its Future, a Big Utility Pushes ‘Renewable Gas,’ Urges Cities To Reject Electrification

In the small town of Duarte, California, early this year, the state's largest natural gas utility made what has become its standard pitch to city councils: If you care about climate change, stick with gas—because it, too, can be a renewable source of power.

Robert Cruz of the Southern California Gas Company urged the City Council to pass a resolution opposing any state regulation mandating "electrification" in buildings.

No such state rule has been proposed, but several cities have passed partial bans on gas-burning appliances in buildings, the company's core market. And state legislators have introduced zero-emission building policies that SoCalGas is worried might lead to this same prohibition all over California as the state works toward its zero-emissions goal.

Read More [[link removed]] Decades of California Regulations, Mismanagement Mean Fires, Blackouts Here To Stay

The utility that serves more than 5 million electrical customers in one of the world’s most technologically advanced areas is now faced again and again with a no-win decision: risk starting catastrophic deadly wildfires, or turn off the lights and immiserate millions of paying customers.

Pacific Gas & Electric is in bankruptcy, facing $30 billion in liabilities, billions more in needed upgrades to its system and an uncertain path to safely providing reliable power to a vast portion of California.

How that came to be is a story not of a single villain but of systemic failure by the utility’s management, the regulators who oversee it and the politicians who let it all happen. It’s a story of climate change, a housing crisis and an aging power system that, like much of the U.S. infrastructure, has fallen into disrepair.

Read More [[link removed]] California Will Still Require Rooftop Solar Panels On New Homes--At Least For Now

State officials declined Wednesday to approve a program that would allow new homes to be built in Sacramento without rooftop solar panels — handing at least a temporary victory to clean energy advocates, who said the program would cripple California’s first-in-the-nation home solar mandate.

The California Energy Commission postponed a decision on a controversial proposal from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District after hearing from dozens of solar industry representatives, environmental activists and utility ratepayers. Under SMUD’s proposal, home builders would be allowed to take credit for electricity produced at existing solar farms, rather than installing solar panels on new single-family homes and low-rise multifamily buildings.

Building industry officials urged approval of the program, saying it would help keep California’s already-high housing prices from rising even further.

Read More [[link removed]] Workforce Development New Apprenticeships Officer Fast-Track To California IT Jobs With Salaries Up To $100,000

A new apprenticeship program aimed at filling vacant information technology jobs in California state government offers a chance for many public employees to boost their pay, according to SEIU Local 1000.

Some office administrators could increase their wages by 30 percent to 50 percent by moving to an IT position, said Sarah McGinn, who works on Local 1000’s apprenticeship programs.

“It’s a promising occupation,” McGinn said.

The union is coordinating the apprenticeship program along with seven state agencies and departments through a half-million dollar grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, she said.

Read More [[link removed]] California Workforce Programs To Be Honored At the 2019 California Economic Summit

Three California public-private partnership workforce development programs will be highlighted at the California Economic Summit in Fresno on November 7 as winners of the 2019 Partnerships for Industry & Education (PIE) Contest.

The PIE Contest rewards employer-education partnership programs that are making progress in preparing California workers with skills they need to succeed in their region. The Walt Disney Company supported the Contest this year as the marquee sponsor.

“At Disney, we’ve always believed that education and training are the keys to opportunity, they open doors and create new possibilities,” said Jayne Parker, senior executive vice president and chief human resources officer for The Walt Disney Company.

Nominees for the contest were partnerships between an employer (public or private) and a California educational institution (K-12, higher education, public and/or private) with a proven ability to demonstrate specific success outcomes. Nearly 100 programs were nominated this year.

Read More [[link removed]] Infrastructure and Housing California Housing Shortage: Will Money From Tech Companies Make A Difference?

Apple, Facebook and Google have committed billions to helping California solve its housing shortage. Unfortunately, as one New York Times writer argues, the money will make little difference because of the high cost to build in the state, and other issues.

“The biggest question is the one California has long wrestled with: how to get much-needed housing built when local governments and homeowners do everything they can to prevent it,” he writes.

Q: Will the money pledged by the tech companies make any difference in California’s housing crisis?

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates

NO: The money pledged is targeted for affordable housing. While creating housing at the lower end will help those on limited incomes and is needed in our communities, there is an equal if not greater need for the rest of the working population. Since the housing crisis is felt in all sectors of housing, particularly in market-rate housing, the corporate money will not achieve this.

Read More [[link removed]] After Applauding Its Pledge, Scott Wiener Rips Apple For Lack of Housing Advocacy

In a talk on California's housing efforts Wednesday afternoon, the author of the state's most far-reaching housing legislation singled out Apple for a lack of leadership during the state's housing crisis.

"Apple has been silent in advocating for housing reform," California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-S.F.) said at Bisnow's NorCal Multifamily Conference. "And Apple is in Cupertino, which is one of the worst actor cities in the state of California."

The Cupertino company's $2.5B commitment to the housing crisis announced earlier this month followed $1B pledges by Facebook last month and Google in June. Through its commitment, Apple will mostly invest in affordable housing construction and financing assistance for first-time homebuyers, among other channels.

Read More [[link removed]] Governor Newsom Convenes Meeting to Confront Housing Crisis

Governor Gavin Newsom today convened top executives from major California employers for a roundtable discussion on the important role the private sector must play in addressing the state’s housing affordability crisis. The Governor called on these businesses to go even further in funding affordable housing for the community, and in supporting projects that create new housing opportunities for Californians of all income levels.

“Addressing the housing affordability crisis requires all sectors – business, philanthropy and government – to step up and collaborate on solutions that make significant contributions toward housing production,” said Governor Newsom. “No single approach will solve this problem. It requires a coordinated effort with difficult conversations and leading-edge solutions to make a meaningful impact. The companies I met with today get the urgency of the problem and are leaning in to do more.”

Governor Newsom met with over a dozen executives today, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Pinterest Co-Founder and CEO Benjamin Silbermann, Minted Founder and CEO Marian Naficy, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, Blue Shield of California President and CEO Paul Markovich, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz, Facebook CFO David Wehner, Sequoia Capital Partner and Chairman Michael Moritz, Splunk President of Worldwide Field Operations Susan St. Ledger, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors Chris Larsen, Tanium Co-Founder and CEO Orion Hindawi, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Western Digital CEO Steve Milligan, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan and SV Angel Founder and Co-Managing Partner Ron Conway, as well as leaders from community-based organizations such as the San Francisco Foundation, Tipping Point Community, All Home, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Destination Home and the SF Housing Accelerator Fund.

Read More [[link removed]] As Oakland Allows Luxury Development, Advocates Question ‘Trickle-Down Housing’

In the wake of a Nov. 5 City Council meeting during which the City of Oakland denied the East 12th Street Coalition’s (E12SC) appeal to stop UrbanCore from building a luxury housing tower on public land next to Lake Merritt, housing justice advocates are questioning the city’s ongoing plans to construct far more market-rate units than affordable ones.

“We are advocating for maximizing affordable housing on this precious piece of public land and Mayor Libby Schaaf and half the City Council is ensuring that a luxury tower will be put in our community,” said Dunya Alwan, a member of E12SC and a neighbor to the site. She says the luxury tower would contribute to “trickle-down gentrification” in her neighborhood, which she describes as “the single remaining working-class community by the lake.”

Her statements came after Schaaf gave a final vote to deny E12SC’s appeal, clearing the way for UrbanCore’s luxury housing tower. Schaaf’s vote was necessary as a tie-breaker as Council President Rebecca Kaplan and councilmembers Nikki Fortunato Bas, Noel Gallo and Sheng Thao voted to approve the appeal, while Council Members Larry Reid, Lynette Gibson-McElhaney, Loren Taylor, and Dan Kalb voted to deny the appeal.

Read More [[link removed]] Editorial and Opinion Local Governments Are In Distress

California’s economy has been booming for most of this decade and has generated a cornucopia of tax revenues for state and local governments.

The state has benefited most, because it collects income taxes. Californians’ taxable incomes have been soaring, especially for those atop the economic ladder, whose tax rates also have been increased.

The state has shared much of its multibillion-dollar windfall with schools, as required by the California constitution, increasing per-pupil spending about 50% in recent years.

Nevertheless, many school districts are in financial distress due to declining enrollment, unsustainable, irresponsible salary increases and, finally, state-mandated increases in payments to the California State Teachers Retirement System to offset its unfunded pension liabilities.

Read More [[link removed]] Climate Change Prevention Is Losing To Sprawl In San Diego County

Urban sprawl is testing California’s commitment to fighting climate change.

Over the last decade, state leaders have passed laws prodding local governments to plan housing and transportation projects so people don’t have to drive as much, thus cutting the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. Reducing the need to drive has other benefits, too, including cutting unhealthy smog and easing traffic congestion.

On paper, cities and counties are supposed to building more dense, walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly communities close to existing jobs and services. In practice, local governments continue to rubber-stamp far-flung housing developments that will inevitably lead to more driving, more congestion and more planet-warming emissions.

Now, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and environmental groups are trying to make it harder for cities and counties to skirt the law. Becerra recently joined a lawsuit seeking to block San Diego County from letting developers buy credits from carbon-reduction projects anywhere in the world to offset the greenhouse gas emissions created by new housing developments far from city centers. Becerra wants developers to adopt measures that reduce driving and vehicle emissions here in the communities where their projects are built, rather than allowing them to pay to reduce emissions in other states or countries.

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