The Southwest California Legislative Council Enters Its Seventh Year of Advocacy
Are you familiar with what your Southwest California Legislative Council does on behalf of Valley businesses?
The Southwest California Legislative Council is a coalition of the Temecula Valley, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore and Wildomar Chambers of Commerce. The mission of the SWCLC is to provide a basis for the four chambers to act on local, state and federal government issues to secure a favorable and profitable business climate for the region. That means as a member of the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, you are partnered with other business owners across the region to advocate on behalf of local business interests.
The Chamber feels it is critical to have the business voice of Southwest California heard in Sacramento and the council has been filling that role for the past seven years. As you may have noticed in our last report, our representatives in Sacramento voted 100% with this Council’s recommendations on business issues for the past three years.
Our Strategic Initiatives for 2012 include: Job Creation & Business Retention, Budget & Tax reform and Environmental Reform. Last year the Council took positions opposing 20 separate bills in Sacramento, of which 18 did not pass. Only 2 of these bills we considered ‘business unfriendly’ were passed and signed by the Governor. Similarly we voiced our support for 10 bills we felt could aid the business community. Sadly 9 of those also failed and only 1 passed. It’s tough to get a good business bill through our legislature, which is why effective lobbying against bad bills becomes so important – first do no harm.
This year we have already published positions on 8 bills that would have an impact on our local business climate or community well-being. We supported SB 659 (Padilla), which would have allowed a 45 day extension to allow our city redevelopment agencies to wind down after the December Supreme Court decision supporting their dissolution. That bill has failed but we continue to support SB 654 (Steinberg) that will allow our cities to continue using RDA funds earmarked for low and moderate income housing needs to be used for that purpose.
We also supported Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries bill AB 157, the Safe, Clean and Reliable drinking water act of 2012, which sought to reduce the scope and cost of the proposed $11 billion water bond scheduled to appear on our November ballot. The bill failed to proceed but even now Democratic leaders are seeking ways to do the same thing Jeffries bill targeted. Had Jeffries been a Democrat, his bill would likely have ended up part of the solution to the problem.
The Council has also taken positions supporting two bills dealing with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The first, AB 890 (Olsen), would allow cities to address certain public safety roadway improvements without cumbersome environmental review. The second, SB 973 (Vargas) attempts to limit CEQA encroachment into local events of limited duration – like fireworks shows, events at wineries and farmer’s markets. Both bills will have an impact on the ability of local municipalities to define use issues within their own boundaries, as well as the ability of businesses to comply with ever more far-reaching regulations.
Legislative Council meetings are held the 3rd Monday of each month at noon at the Realtor building at 26529 Jefferson Avenue. Meetings often feature lively discussion and debate on the issues before us, including spirited input from our Legislators or their representatives. If you have a information about bills that would be beneficial or harmful to your business or industry segment, we encourage you to join us at our meetings. You can also forward information regarding the bill to gad@swcaladvocacy.com for consideration by the Council.
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