Capitol Corner Update
Legislative Session Recap: What’s Next for California’s Building Departments?
Capitol Corner Update
While the 2023-2024 Legislative Session has adjourned, it does not quite seem to be over.
Governor Gavin Newsom called for a Special Session to deal with gas prices and pass related legislation. This could have happened while all the legislators were still in town – but the California State Senate rebuffed the request and has now said they are waiting to determine whether the California State Assembly has the requisite votes to pass the legislation before setting a date for their return. Legislators are home in their district tending to constituent affairs and some are on the campaign trail making it an inopportune moment to be hauled back to Sacramento. It does seem inevitable – if not legally required – for them to meet again this year.
CALBO weighed in on a last-minute deal providing building standards for new and existing warehouses. AB 98 (J. Carrillo) went into print in the final days of session. This follows the Speaker of the Assembly and Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes announcing in January that they would shelve existing legislation and enter stakeholder discussions led by the Chair of the Assembly Local Government Committee. While the product of those negotiations is represented by AB 98, many in the Local Government, Business and Environmental Justice community felt as though they were left out of the discussions and had no other option but to oppose. This bill barely made it off the Senate Floor and was voted on with debate limited to 30-seconds on the Assembly Floor.
The Governor has until the end of the month to decide whether to sign or veto legislation.
He has signed AB 2114 (Irwin) allowing civil licensed engineers to perform visual inspections of balconies. After the legislature passed the requirement for regular inspections, Common Interest Developments have struggled to find qualified inspectors – so this legislation will help bring them into compliance before we enter a timeline for re-inspections. Due to the urgency clause, it is already in effect. This along with the CALBO requested ACR 201 (Alanis) declaring May as California Building Safety Month were the first of our priorities to be chaptered.
Springing into Action: CALBO’s Spotlight on Key Legislative Bills
Capitol Corner Update
Greetings CALBO Members,
Please allow me to introduce myself as the new Public Affairs Director, a resource to you all for public policy and CALBO’s governmental affairs. This opportunity affords me the ability to continue working on the issues of importance to the CALBO community.
I was most recently a Legislative Director in the California State Assembly, where I worked on a variety of state and regional policy issues, while serving as the primary aide advising the Assembly Member on policy positions. This experience will provide the ability to articulate the technical and crucial nature of your work to decisionmakers so that they understand our barriers to implementation for proposed legislation.
The CALBO Legislative Committee has come together and commenced our work for the year. We have looked at more than 2,000 measures that have been introduced this year and will be acted upon in the weeks ahead. As CALBO takes official positions on these items, you will be able to view them in real time here. I encourage you all to take advantage of the information that is available on our website.
The bills the Legislative Committee will be reviewing with high priority include:
Capitol Corner Update
What to Expect in Year 2 of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session
As the 2023 Holiday Season approaches, CALBO’s Legislative Team would like to wish our CALBO family a happy holiday season. We hope that you and your families enjoy the time together and look fondly at the previous year. 2023 was a successful year for CALBO’s advocacy efforts as around 11 of CALBO’s 25 bills we were tracking were signed into law. However, only about 4 of the bills signed into law will have a direct impact on CALBO members. Despite these successes, more work will need to be done next year as the remaining 14 bills may come back in early January and CALBO will have about a month to act on legislation to get any necessary changes in bills that are moving forward this legislative session.
This fall there were multiple changes in Sacramento that will impact CALBO’s advocacy efforts in 2024. The State Assembly has a new speaker Assemblymember Robert Rivas from California’s Central Coast. As a result of this leadership change, the Assembly Housing and Assembly Local Government Committee received new chairs of the respective committees. Assemblymember Chris Ward from San Diego has officially been tapped as the new chair of the Assembly Housing Committee while Assemblymember Juan Carrillo from the Palmdale area is the new chair of the Assembly Local Government Committee. On the Senate side, Senator Mike McGuire from the North Coast has become the new Pro Tempore of the Senate and may impact the makeup of the Senate Housing and Senate Governance and Finance Committee in the upcoming year. Nothing has been announced officially yet, but CALBO will be keeping an eye out for any leadership changes in our relevant committees.
Although the Capitol is quieter this time of year, CALBO has been working on preparing for the upcoming year. CALBO’s Legislative Committee met in September to wrap up the year and begin discussing potential amendments for 2-year bills of concern that may come back next year. Additionally, staff has been hard at work building relationships with legislative staff to discuss policy issues impacting building departments and housing in the state. Finally, CALBO has been actively attending ICC Chapter meetings this fall so our building departments can be prepared for the upcoming changes in state law that will impact local jurisdictions on January 1st.
Capitol Corner Update
July 2023
As the first year of the 2023-2024
Legislative Session warms up like the summer heat in California,
CALBO’s Legislative Team has been hard at work in
Sacramento. CALBO started this year with around 25
High Priority bills, but CALBO now has around 10 bills remaining
this year. Although this year has been positive,
more work is required before the legislature wraps up its first
year of this legislative session in
September. Currently, the legislature is at recess
until August 14th. Before we cover a few remaining
high priority bills, let’s recap the recent membership events
CALBO’s Legislative Team has hosted this spring and summer.
The Return of Leadership and Advocacy Day
After a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, CALBO hosted its first Leadership and Advocacy Day (LAD) in Sacramento this May. The event was well-attended as CALBO members met with legislative staff and elected officials to discuss who CALBO is and what some of our high-priority bills are this year. Attendees participated in over 50 meetings with legislators and their staff, learned about the California Legislative Process, and got an understanding about the major pieces of legislation impacting CALBO members. LAD is an important effort for CALBO’s government relations efforts as elected officials can hear from you, their voters about issues of importance in the built environment. CALBO met with not only representatives of the respective building departments in attendance, but also members of relevant policy committees to CALBO’s legislative efforts. This was the first time CALBO got a taste of the “swing space” or the new building that legislative staff is working in as the Capitol is under renovation for the next several years. Additionally, some attendees had their first experience talking with legislative staff, who are some of the most important people in the legislature as they provide background to their bosses on policy issues and recommend how to vote on specific bills. CALBO looks forward to continuing this annual tradition next year for our members. Keep your eyes out for registration and event details later this year so YOU can participate in this important event in May 2024.
CALBO Legislative Webinars: Spring and Summer 2023
Capitol Corner Update
CALBO’s 2023 Legislative Package
As California transitions from the
wet and cold winter to the welcome sights of longer, warmer
spring days, the California State Legislature is continuing to
heat up its efforts for the first year of the 2023-2024
Legislative Session. 2023 brings Sacramento 37 newly
elected officials and the fast-moving first year of California’s
two-year session. The legislature introduced just
under 3,000 bills this year. At the end of March, CALBO finalized
its 2023 Legislative Bill Package, where the CALBO Legislative
Committee has officially deemed 21 bills as a high priority, with
13 of the bills having an official position that CALBO’s Advocacy
Team is actively working on in Sacramento. CALBO members have the
opportunity to participate in these efforts through CALBO’s
Leadership and Advocacy Day, which will occur on May 17th in
Sacramento, you can register for this free member
event here. Below are some
highlights of the busy spring and the major bills CALBO is
continuing to give a voice to our members on in the
legislature.
Events and New Resources for Members
The CALBO Legislative Team is proud to announce a new webinar series highlighting the major bills CALBO is working on in the California State Legislature. Throughout the legislative session, CALBO’s Legislative Team will host 3 free webinars to update the membership on our ongoing government affairs efforts. CALBO hosted its first legislative webinar on April 13th, which highlighted the major bills impacting local building departments currently moving through the legislative process. The event was well attended with just under 100 members participating in the webinar. If you missed the presentation, you can download a PDF version of the presentation at CALBO’s new Legislative Presentations page on our website which can be found here. CALBO will be hosting another webinar this summer to update members on the fate of our high priority bills this year. The final webinar is planned for the fall after Governor Newsom signs legislation. The goal of the final webinar is to provide information about the new laws and how they will impact your jurisdiction during the upcoming year. Please keep your eyes out for the email announcing the dates later this year.
Bills and Committee Hearings
Every March through May is a busy time in Sacramento, as committee hearings occur daily to review and give input on the bills introduced by elected officials. CALBO is actively going to the swing space or capitol to voice member thoughts and concerns for bills impacting public safety. Here are some highlights of the major bills that CALBO has been actively working on in Sacramento so far.