August 21, 2020

VICA continues to fight for the business community and Valley residents as we face uncertain times.
In This Issue

"We're working on new criteria, more prescriptive criteria, more dynamic criteria, as it relates to our health order statewide, as it relates to reopening business sectors in the state."

- Governor Gavin Newsom

Media Mentions

Coronavirus-triggered Indoor Ban Angers Valley Salons, But Only a Few are Moving Outside
 Los Angeles Daily News
August 17

L.A. Council Votes to Mull Supporting Closure of Natural Gas Storage Facility
MyNewsL.A.
August 15

 
Members 
__________________

VICA Thanks Our Renewing Members 

Hollywood Burbank Airport
(1991)

Port of Los Angeles
(2013)


The Week Ahead

Sacramento Virtual Advocacy Day
Tuesday, August 25
All Day
Online Video Conference
RSVP Closed

VICA After Dark with Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell
Thursday, August 27
4 to 6 p.m.
Online Video Conference
Click here to RSVP

7th Annual Congressional Breakfast Home Edition
Friday, August 28
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Online Video Conference
Click here to RSVP

______________________
Save the Date

Aviation Committee
Sponsored by Aeroplex / Aerolease
Wednesday, September 2
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Online Video Conference
Click here to RSVP

Sports, Entertainment, Tourism and Hospitality Committee
Thursday, September 3
8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Online Video Conference
Click here to RSVP

Transportation Committee
Sponsored by The Garland
Tuesday, September 8
8:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Online Video Conference
Click here to RSVP

Healthcare Committee
Sponsored by Mission Community Hospital
Thursday, September 10
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Online Video Conference
Click here to RSVP


Hot Issues 

Public Safety
Cal Fire warned all California residents to "be ready to go" amid fire season as over 300 wildfires threaten structures and evacuations of residents.

Public Health
New COVID-19 cases are declining across the United States, but the Trump administration has warned that this downturn could change quickly if Americans are not adhering to safety guidelines.

Economy
U.S. jobless claims rise to 1.1 million after two weeks of declines, a sign that the economy is still struggling. In response, President Trump has signed an executive order to provide $300/week in federal unemployment aid to Americans. 

Blackouts
Rolling blackouts threaten parts of California, raising concerns over the state's main power grid managers. The decreasing use of fossil-fuels and turning towards renewable energy over the years have made the state unprepared for backup sources of energy fuel.

Business
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will be issuing new guidelines for reopening businesses and altering the stay-at-home order in the coming weeks.

Transportation
A California appellate court granted an emergency stay on Thursday for Uber and Lyft, following warnings that an earlier court decision could lead to a shut off of rideshare services. This gives the companies more time to comply with the California Superior Court Judge's recent decision to require the reclassification of drivers as employees.

Education
UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, and Michigan State are among the universities suspending in-person classes as hundreds of students test positive for COVID-19 after the first few weeks of classes.

Burst of Activity in the State Legislature
As the California Legislature heads towards its final week of the 2020 legislative session, VICA continues to actively advocate for issues impacting the San Fernando Valley during these difficult times. During marathon sessions in both the State Assembly and State Senate, many bills were heard in the Appropriations committees of both Houses. 

VICA was pleased bills which would have hurt businesses failed to pass out of committee. Bills such as AB 398 (Chu), which proposed a head tax on businesses, and AB 345 (Muratsuchi), which would have heavily disrupted California's vital energy supply. However, VICA is disappointed that the Legislature declined to move forward with desperately-needed bills such as SB 902 (Wiener) and SB 995 (Atkins), which could have sped up housing construction in California. VICA is also disappointed that the Legislature did not move forward with SB 1410 (Caballero), a potential solution to the issue of rent which would have provided financial relief to both tenants and property owners.

Several VICA supported bills are now in the final stretch and are awaiting approval on the floors of both Legislative Houses. VICA urges you to send letters supporting the following bills:
  • SB 1085 (Skinner) would expand Density Bonus Law in order to help stimulate more housing construction.
  • AB 323 (Rubio) would extend AB 5 exemptions for newspapers and news websites in order to ensure local journalism can continue providing critical information to Valley businesses and residents.
  • AB 1845 (L. Rivas) would create a Governor's Office to End Homelessness in order to centralize state efforts to address the housing and homelessness crises.
Some bills that VICA opposes have also passed their respective committees and will be heard next week. VICA urges you to ask the Legislature to oppose these bills:
  • SB 977 (Monning) would strain access to health care by creating burdensome regulations on health care mergers and affiliations.
  • SB 1159 (Hill) would create an onerous rebuttable presumption that any employee testing positive for COVID-19 must receive workers' compensation.
  • AB 3216 (Kalra) would impose a statewide right of recall on the hospitality, aviation and event services industries, tying the hands of many California employers.

Senator Bob Hertzberg inducts the 2020 Board of Directors

VICA's 2021 Board of Directors nomination and selection process is underway, and we want your nominations! 

Board members must be able to attend regular board meetings and be prepared to vote on a wide variety of public policy issues. Board members must also attend regular committee meetings and VICA events. Additional responsibilities may include calling or writing lawmakers, attending press conferences, testifying, authoring editorials, interacting with top opinion leaders and more. 

For more information on the 2021 Board of Directors guidelines, click here.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating on the board in 2021, please click on the nomination form below and submit to Jessica@vica.com. If you don't want to serve on the board, but are interested in serving as a committee chair, please let us know that on the nomination form. Applications are due by Friday, September 18.

City Council Wants to Shut Down Natural Gas Facilities and Cause More Blackouts
This week, the Los Angeles City Council discussed a proposal to close down the Playa Del Rey natural gas storage facility, which has been amended and sent back to committee. VICA President, Stuart Waldman provided comments urging the City Council not to move forward with the motion at a time when the Los Angeles region is experiencing a major heat wave and blackouts. All energy sources are needed to meet household demands across the City, as many continue to work remotely to help fight the spread of COVID-19 and as families face the demands of school beginning remotely. Closing down any of the city's natural gas facilities would lead to more blackouts, disrupting Angelenos from connecting online and conducting their daily tasks.

VICA's Harmon Ballin Community Service Award annually honors an active VICA member who has made an outstanding contribution to our community through their long-term community service activities. A nominee is someone who: 
  1. Has been an active VICA member and is actively engaged in the organization currently.
     
  2. Has significant and long-term involvement in philanthropic and community/public serve organizations or a significant record in that area.
     
  3. Is a role model as a community leader

All Nominee forms must be submitted via email to Cathy@vica.com by Friday, September 18, 2020.
Welcome VICA's New Legislative Affairs Associate
 Meet VICA's Legislative Affairs Associate, Kayla Koerting!

Kayla is a recent graduate of USC, where she received her B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Law.  As a Southern California native, she is passionate about protecting the natural beauty and economic success of our state. With a love for learning and legislation, Kayla is excited to be part of the VICA team!

Fun Facts:
Kayla has spent 33 weeks abroad in the last three years. During her free time, she loves going to the beach to spot harbor seals and going to the San Diego Zoo!

You can reach Kayla at kayla@vica.com 
Presented by:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27
4 to 6 PM
via Remo Video Conference

Mitch O'Farrell
Los Angeles City Councilmember

Relax, mix and mingle with other VICA members and other prominent business leaders in the Valley in Virtual VICA After Dark!
Co-sponsored by:

Committee Meetings
Government Affairs (8/19)
Sponsored by Dolphin Group and Rodriguez Strategies
  • The committee recommended to support Proposition 14 - the Stem Cell Research Bond Initiative.
  • The committee recommended to oppose Proposition 18 - the Primary Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment.
  • The committee recommended to support Proposition 19 - the Property Tax Transfers, Exemptions, and Revenue for Wildfire Agencies and Counties Amendment.
  • The committee recommended to support Proposition 22 - the App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative.
  • The committee recommended to support Proposition 25 - the Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Referendum
  • The committee recommended to support Measure RR - the Los Angeles Unified School District Facilities Bond Measure.

Member Messages:
Get Your Message in VICA Weekly!
VICA members can promote their business, events and news in VICA Weekly. Member messages are available for $50 per week or $175 for four weeks. Messages are text-based and may not contain more than 70 words. A logo may be added for an additional $5 per week. For more information or to schedule your member message, contact cathy@vica.com or 
call (818) 817-0545.