Government Affairs Council
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
February 14, 2008
gac meeting
Lori Lofstrom, Chair
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Government Affairs Council
AGENDA
One World Trade Center, Suite 370
Long Beach, California 90831
www.longbeachadvocacy.biz/gac.htm
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Presiding
Lori Lofstrom, Vice Chair of Public Policy
Partner, Holmes and Lofstrom, LLP
Call to Order and Roll Call
Introductions
Report from Officials
Chair’s Report - Lori Lofstrom
· Long Beach Chamber Continues to Hold Elected Officials Accountable to the Business Community
· Chamber Supports BNSF Project, Improves Traffic and Goods Movement
· Long Beach Chamber Supports City College Bond Measure
· Long Beach Chamber Supports Propositions 94 – 97
· Long Beach Chamber Supports Redistricting Reform Proposal
· Membership Update
President/CEO Report - Randy Gordon
· 5 Years Later: LongBeachAdvocacy.biz Still Helping Business Do Politics
· National Leaders Luncheon with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
· National Leaders Luncheon with United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
· School Board Recall Campaign Update
Consent Calendar
1. Approval of January 2008 GAC Minutes
Reports from Committees
· Committee on Homelessness: Chair — Mike Murray
Mike Murray will report on the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness process.
· Committee on Health Care: Chair – Chuck Pine
A quick report on ABX 11 and the Governor’s position on its viability
General Business
· AB 510 (Benoit) Small Business Family Scheduling Option of 2008 DISCUSSION
Executive Session
· AB 510 (Benoit) Small Business Family Scheduling Option of 2008 ACTION
Announcements
Adjourn
ADDRESSING THE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL
Elected Officials:
At the beginning of the Governmental Affairs Council (GAC) meeting, prior to the Council taking up the orders of the day, the GAC Chair will designate time to hear from governmental representatives and elected officials. No prior invitation or written notice is required.
Members of the Public Addressing the Council:
Members of the public have an opportunity to address the Governmental Affairs Council on agenda items, in accord with Chamber Policy, before or during discussion or consideration of the item, at the discretion of the GAC Chair. Individuals wishing to appear before the Council to address an agenda item, or make public comment, must provide written notice to the GAC Chair prior to the meeting, stating the subject and reason for the appearance.
The GAC Chair determines and announces any reasonable restrictions upon such presentations, including the total amount of time allocated for public comment on particular issues, and/or for each speaker. The GAC Chair decides whether to recognize individuals wishing to appear before GAC who have not submitted advance notice prior to the meeting as required by this section and announces that decision. Spokespersons for elected officials and governmental representatives are not subject to this rule.
Note Well: Anyone wishing to address the Council who needs any special accommodation should contact the Vice President for Public Policy at least 48 hours in advance of the GAC meeting so appropriate arrangements can be made.
Government Affairs Council
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
One World Trade Center, Suite 206
Phone: 562-983-1241
Fax: 562-436-7099
Email:
Morning refreshments graciously provided by,
Matt Kinley, Managing Partner, Tredway, Lumsdaine and Doyle, LLP
Log on to www.longbeachadvocacy.biz/gac.htm for more information. Please contact Steven Ly, Vice President for Public Policy at 562-983-1241 or via email at if you have any questions regarding the agenda or the meeting time and location.
CHAIR’S REPORT
Government Affairs Council
As of February 14, 2008
4
2006-2007 VOTING MEMBERS
1. Lori Lofstrom
2006-2007 gac Chair
Holmes & Lofstrom, LLP
2. Audrianne Adams Lee
HR NETwork, Inc.
3. Nancy Ahlswede
Apartment Association of California Southern Cities
4. Shelly Beard
McDermott and Bull
5. Becky Blair
Blair Commercial of Long Beach
6. blake christian
Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt
7. Diana Ceseñas
Construction Consultant Services
8. John Crochet
Investor
9. Charles Gale
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
10. Ladonna dicamillo
BNSF Railway
11. Michele Grubbs
Pacific Merchant Shipping
12. john howard
Chick-Fil-A
13. Matt Kinley (Immediate-Past GAC Chair)
Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle, LLP
14. Marty Kurner
Interior Office Solutions
15. Mike Murray
(former Chair of the Board)
Verizon
16. Dave Neary, pac chair
(former Chair of the Board)
WestLand Construction
17. Nancy Pfeffer
Network Public Affairs, LLC
18. Chuck Pine
CA Pine Insurance Services
19. Larry Rice
Seaside Printing Co., Inc
20. Dan Rosenfeld †
Long Beach Transit
21. Randy Terrell
Croshaw Printing and Direct Mail
22. Constance Turner
Southern California Edison
23. robert webb
Laserfiche
† = Denotes Ex-Officio/Non-Voting Member
12
CHAIR’S REPORT
Government Affairs Council
February 14, 2008
Long Beach Chamber Continues to Hold Elected Officials Accountable to the Business Community
The 2007 Vote Record: The 41 Potential Laws Tracked by the Long Beach Chamber and How Senator Alan Lowenthal and Assembly Member Betty Karnette Voted.
The Long Beach Chamber’s Government Affairs Council (GAC) unanimously voted in early 2007 to track 41 potential laws (bills) that might impact Long Beach businesses. Each month, the GAC members reviewed and discussed the merits of all 41 bills.
The Long Beach Chamber’s official positions on each of the 41 bills have been available online at www.longbeachadvocacy.biz including summaries and explanations of why the Long Beach Chamber opposed and supported each of the 41 bills. The Long Beach Chamber lobbied tirelessly during the 2007 legislative session for our legislators to OPPOSE 30 bills and SUPPORT 11 bills.
“The Long Beach Chamber continues to hold our local legislators accountable to the business community by tracking their votes on important bills that impact the ability for business to create more jobs,” said Randy Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Chamber. Long Beach’s local legislators, State Senator Alan Lowenthal and Assembly Member Betty Karnette received letters on all 41 bills tracked by the Long Beach Chamber.
“The Chamber is ultimately responsible for tracking the issues that affect our membership and we take great pride in informing the business community about how our local legislators vote in Sacramento on these issues,” stated Matt Kinley, Chair of the Long Beach Chamber Board of Directors. “As always we will continue to advocate next year to our legislators to cease voting for anti-business and anti-jobs legislation,” continued Kinley.
The Long Beach Chamber leadership is committed to continue to meet with our legislators to develop the most economically and socially responsible legislation for our residents and business owners. This is even more critical with the local and economic challenges for the current year.
To reach the “percentage FOR pro-jobs legislation,” the Chamber tallied the number of times our legislators voted for the Chamber’s position and divided that total by the total number of potential new laws in which each legislator voted. A potential new law is not figured into the vote record percentage if a legislator, for whatever reason, did not vote or if the potential new laws died before the legislator had an opportunity to vote.
Log on to http://www.longbeachadvocacy.biz/jobkillers.html for more on the 2007 Vote Record.
Summary of Votes
FOR pro-jobs legislation / AGAINST jobs legislation / Percentage FOR pro-jobs legislationSenator Alan Lowenthal / 5 / 23 / 18%
Assemblymember Betty Karnette / 5 / 19 / 21%
Chamber Supports BNSF Project, Improves Traffic and Goods Movement
As one of the busiest ports in the world, the Long Beach Chamber supported moving forward with an environmental impact report (EIR) that will allow BNSF Railway to construct the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) near the Long Beach Port. The SCIG will establish a near-dock facility that will allow fewer trucks on the 710 Freeway while at the same time improving air quality in the region. Once the EIR is finished it will be available for public comment and is one of the final hurdles to start the project.
“BNSF Railway’s project is designed to improve goods movement within the port area and alleviate some of the trucks and traffic we all experience when traveling on the 710 freeway,” stated Randy Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Chamber. “The project also has implications of being green “ready” and lessening the impact on the surrounding environment,” Gordon continued.
The SCIG will utilize existing capacity in the Alameda Corridor while taking trucks off of the 710 freeway. According to reports by BNSF Railway, the ports’ cargo volume has tripled since 1995 and is expected to double again by 2015. The SCIG will attempt to meet the rising demands of cargo volume while keeping conscience of the impact on surrounding communities. BNSF Railway has been proactive in seeking community input, which it has received, and has adjusted the SCIG to conform to the request of many community members. Sound walls, new and cleaner trucks used in and around the near-dock facility and workforce-training programs are just some of the enhancements BNSF Railway has agreed to with help from the community.
The current status of the project consists of all public scope meetings have been held after the issuance of a notice of preparation for the EIR along with the required public review period. Once the EIR is released the public may comment on the report. The earliest the facility could open is in 2010.
Long Beach Chamber Supports City College Bond Measure
The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to support Measure E on the February 5th citywide ballot.
“The Chamber believes that Long Beach City College is one of the premier community colleges in our state and it deserves a continued investment by our community,” stated Randy Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Chamber. “Measure E allows the college to make much needed building upgrades without subjecting taxpayers to another rate increase,” continued Gordon.
Measure E is a local facilities bond measure that is designed to repair and renovate deteriorated Long Beach Community College (LBCC) facilities. All money generated by Measure E will stay within the Long Beach Community College District and benefit its facilities and students.
Measure E will not raise tax rates. Instead taxpayers are asked to extend the length of a previous bond measure. Measure E would help generate an additional $440 million for capital expenditures and would also allow LBCC to qualify for $64 million in state matching funds that would otherwise go to other communities.
Long Beach Chamber Supports Propositions 94 – 97
Propositions Give Our State Over $9 Billion – Without Raising Taxes
The Long Beach Chamber Board of Directors voted to support Propositions 94 through 97, the Indian Gaming Initiatives. These propositions will appear on the February 5th statewide ballot.
“The Chamber feels that the compacts were negotiated in good faith and in the current state of California’s budget, the additional revenues would help offset potential tax and fee hikes,” stated Matt Kinley, Chairman of the Long Beach Chamber Board of Directors. “With the money being allocated to the state’s General Fund, the Chamber feels that the extra funding can be applied to essential services like public safety and education,” continued Kinley
The Indian Gaming Initiatives are agreements negotiated by Governor Schwarzenegger, the State Legislature and the following four Indian tribes Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, and Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
These new agreement would require the four tribes to pay over $200 million the first year with revenues increasing significantly in future years. Over the next two decades, the state can expect over $9 billion in revenues.
Long Beach Chamber Supports Redistricting Reform Proposal
The Long Beach Chamber voted to support the “California Voters FIRST Act”, an initiative that would take redistricting out of the hands of career politicians in Sacramento. Common Cause, a non-partisan non-profit organization, is the author of this proposal. The initiative will appear on the November 2008 general election ballot pending the required number of signatures that need to be collected.
“Redistricting reform is the single most important component of true political reform in California,” stated Lori Lofstrom, Chair of the Long Beach Chamber Government Affairs Council. “Without redistricting reform, our politicians will continue to lead this state into even higher deficits and deeper trouble,” continued Lofstrom.
The initiative would take the redistricting process out of the hands of Sacramento politicians and instead would be placed with a 14-member “citizen’s commission”. The commission would be made up of 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans and 4 others. The process would be open and public. The commission would hold hearings to receive public input. This would effectively end the closed-door political deals by legislators to draw districts that protect themselves.
The Long Beach Chamber, in voting to support this measure, became one of the first chambers to lead the fight for state redistricting reform
PRESIDENT/CEO’S REPORT
Government Affairs Council
February 14, 2008
5 Years Later: LongBeachAdvocacy.biz Still Helping Business Do Politics
This web site celebrates its fifth year in 2008. Since its introduction on February 3, 2003 the site has reached over 250,000 visitors and has collected over 1000 letters in support and opposition to issues impacting the Long Beach business community. The Long Beach Chamber’s advocacy web site serves as the model in the chamber of commerce industry and it is also the first local chamber of commerce web site of its kind in the world.
We are proud of our advocacy web site and the services that it provides to our business community. We will continue to serve our members via the web site by providing much needed information to impact public policy decisions.
LongBeachAdvocacy.biz is designed to interconnect all functions of the Chamber’s award-winning government affairs program and communicate directly with the regional, state, national and global business community. In late 2003, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives noted that the Long Beach Chamber’s advocacy web site, “is considered a first in the chamber world. But it certainly won't be the last. It’s by far the most effective means…for communicating with legislative and regulatory bodies.” The Western Association of Chamber Executives representing chambers of commerce throughout the 14-western United States awarded the advocacy Web site the prestigious “Best New Program of 2004” award.
Since the introduction of our advocacy web site five years ago, we have done a better job of instantly educating our members on issues that impact them directly. In today’s world of instant communication we are proud of the fact that we are far ahead of the curve in utilizing the internet to increase the power of our message.
The goal of LongBeachAdvocacy.biz is simple. It coexists with users committing the Chamber government affairs staff to be responsive to feedback; It provides advertising opportunities for Chamber members; It is content driven, updating on a daily basis, and; it empowers the Chamber to find new ways to effectively communicate the importance of involvement in public policy development.
The Chamber is committed to representing the interests of business with government. LongBeachAdvocacy.biz is a value-added membership benefit allowing the Long Beach business community to play an active and immediate role in issues impacting the economic vitality of the region.