Good Afternoon Folks,

Have you voted yet? By mail-in ballot? Drop-off? Or will you be making time to go to the polls sometime today? Personally, I either went this morning or I will wait in line this evening on the way home from work. As a primary, we get to vote on one of 21 candidates for Governor. Or one of the 9 Lieutenant Governor candidates. However, what is most interesting to me is what the effects of Proposition 50 will have on our state's congressional representatives. The idea of Prop 50 was to flip 5 congressional districts from Republican to Democrat party leanings. This was a voter reaction to counter the State of Texas's gerrymandering of its congressional districts to gain Republican congressional representation. The news outlets will have the primary topic of choice for days.

Last Thursday, May 28th, we held our General Membership Meeting Dinner at the Stockman’s Club of Imperial Valley, in Brawley. We connected with Tim Kelley, the President and CEO of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation (IVEDC), to lead the presentation on the resources and economic opportunities of the Imperial Valley. He spoke on the many federal economic zones and grants they have successfully garnered. Tom DuBose, DVBA Past President and Past Chairman of IVEDC, spoke of the proposed data center in Imperial County. It has been stated that over the next couple of decades, the state of California is going to need approximately 300 such centers to meet the demand for cloud storage and AI systems. He went through the economic benefits of this particular project and how it has plans to offset the environmental demands for energy and water. Many data center projects are being vilified by segments of the local communities. Some of these are protests having funding from outside sources, including international.

Steve Benson spoke of a project that is near and dear to his family. Sugar Valley is an ethanol production project. It is to produce higher-quality ethanol and a much lower carbon output as currently adopted by the state. The science in the mix of petroleum and ethanol is still in research and development. The family plan also includes the provision of housing, both single-family and multi-family, to not only support the families of skilled workers for Sugar Valley but also for other industries in the region.

The final presenter was Michael Imeson, who spoke on creating fuel for energy from biological waste, ag waste, and particularly manure. It is a proven source for methane, and the ability to capture carbon dioxide for commercial uses. Several gas companies are investing in renewable gas opportunities, including our own SoCalGas.

It is going to be difficult to top these presentations from Brawley. We hope it was informative to those who made the drive.

Please check out our partner’s Greater Palm Springs Business News Report from Friday.

Greater Palm Springs Business News

Best wishes,

James Brownyard

Executive Director

Mission Statement The DVBA is an association of building industry professionals, representing all levels of the construction industry and committed to ensuring that building of all types remain vibrant and strong in our region. We are dedicated to providing excellence in community development while protecting the natural beauty of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.



Vision Statement To be an industry sector leader and collaborative partner in the complex economic and regulatory environments of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.

Upcoming Events

Community Blood Drive Hosted by MSA Consulting, Inc.

MSA is Excited to Host a Community Blood Drive on Thursday, June 11th from 10:00-3:00 pm.

Every Donation has the potential to help save lives, and we are grateful to everyone who takes the time to participate.

Whether you are a first-time donor or a regular, your contribution can make a meaningful difference for patients in need.

To reserve a donation time, please scan the QR code in the flyer and select your preferred appointment slot.

WE appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you there!

UPCOMING EVENTS: SAVE THE DATE

Friday, August 21

14th Annual

Bowling Bash

Location:

Fantasy Family Bowling Center

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Registration Open!

Click here to register now

Want to see your business featured here? Contact vickie@thedvba.org

Latest Industry and Legislative News

Recent housing economic data point to ongoing affordability constraints, higher input costs, and elevated financing costs, even as some demand and remodeling indicators remain relatively resilient. However, the ongoing Iran conflict — with its global impact on oil prices — is the dominant macro factor for the overall economy.



👉 Read More

NAHB Urges Congress to Advance Housing Supply Reforms

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress today that increasing housing supply is essential to improve affordability and make housing more attainable.

👉 Read More

'No national market anymore': All real estate is local, again

Ongoing tech layoffs, “global instability,” and mortgage rates stuck stubbornly in the high sixes are leaving many Seattle home sellers and buyers on the sidelines this year.

👉 Read More

The Housing Market’s Latest Hurdles: Copper, Lumber, Diesel and Aluminum

Typical American homes use more than 400 pounds of copper—and that’s a problem when prices soar

👉 Read More

A chemical tank nearly exploded. Did California’s regulators miss the signs?

A tank at a Garden Grove aerospace plant came within a crack of exploding and forcing a toxic chemical cloud over 50,000 evacuated residents — here's what regulators knew before it happened.

👉 Read More

California overhauls carbon market — critics say it’s a giveaway to oil

California regulators overhauled the state's carbon market Friday, potentially steering billions in free pollution permits to oil companies over environmentalists' objections.



👉 Read More

California State Legislative Bills 
DVBA is Tracking

 These bills are Job or Housing Killers Provided by CalChamber

These bills have NOT made it out of the Appropriations Committees / Dead for the session:

Labor and Employment

• AB 1898 (Schultz; D-Glendale) Onerous Notice Requirement. Requires public and private employers of all sizes to issue a voluminous number of notices regarding even the most routine technologies and for those notices to include confidential and proprietary information. The bill also effectively gives all employees and independent contractors veto power over the employer deploying new technology.

• AB 2027 (Ward; D-San Diego) Creates Barriers to Technology Investment and Job Growth. Its sweeping provisions effectively prohibit creating or improving technology used in the workplace, impacting everything from simple scheduling tools to life-saving technology developments in health care.

• AB 2064 (Sharp-Collins; D-San Diego) Significantly Limits Ability to Consider Criminal History in Employment. Exposes California employers to costly litigation and liability by adding “criminal history” as a protected class under both the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act, stripping businesses of the ability to make reasonable hiring and customer-service decisions based on an individual’s past criminal conduct.

Product Regulation

• AB 2034 (Addis; D-Morro Bay) New Costly Regulatory Structure. Establishes extensive, state-specific regulatory structure regarding food additives that will significantly impact supply chains and increase food costs.

CEQA

• AB 2170 (Boerner; D-Encinitas) CEQA Expansion. Proposes to eliminate CEQA exemptions and ministerial review processes if certain types of projects are sited near “overburdened communities” and forces all environmental review documents to be translated into other languages, thereby exposing lead agencies and project applicants to new litigation liability.

• AB 2569 (Hart; D-Santa Barbara) CEQA Expansion. Significantly expands California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental impact report requirements, which will increase litigation exposure and costs for a permitting process that already causes some of the longest and most costly project delays in the country.

Food and Agriculture

• AB 2447 (Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) Infeasible Mandates on Nitrogen Fertilizer Application. Imposes scientifically unsupported, legislatively mandated deadlines on California farmers before the State’s own expert panel has finished determining what is even achievable — threatening thousands of agricultural jobs, driving up food costs for California families, and dismantling the very programs currently providing safe drinking water to affected communities.

Taxation

Assembly Appropriations postponed a hearing on a bill that will increase taxes significantly for international businesses, AB 1790 (Connolly; D-San Rafael). The bill remains eligible for a vote at a later time.

If adopted, AB 1790 would eliminate the water’s-edge election, forcing all taxpayers to file on a worldwide combined reporting basis. Requiring businesses to report revenues from international affiliates would subject income generated in foreign countries to taxes and risk retaliation by trading partners.

Make sure to check out the NAHB Membership Savings program for numerous discounts!

STAY CONNECTED