Last Thursday, CBPA held is Annual Membership Meeting in conjunction with its board meeting at the Strategic Issues Conference in Long Beach. At the meeting, the board approved revisions to the association's bylaws. The revisions include changes to CBPA’s membership categories. CBPA members will receive more information on the Annual Membership Meeting, bylaw revisions, and other association updates in our year-end report.

On Monday, CBPA along with its fellow co-chairs of the Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA), submitted their legal response to the lawsuit filed by the governor and legislature seeking to remove the measure from the November 2024 ballot.

If passed, TPA would restore the two-thirds vote requirement for local tax increases established with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. In addition to the recent lawsuit asking to remove TPA from the ballot, two constitutional amendments designed to make it easier to raise taxes passed the legislature this year (ACA 1 and ACA 13). This issue will remain a priority of our industry given the disastrous impacts it will have on commercial real estate and the state’s economy.

California’s state legislature aims to address the drastic increase in retail theft impacting our state with the creation of a new select committee to identify policy solutions. The bi-partisan Select Committee on Retail Theft will be chaired by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) and will provide a forum to engage impacted stakeholders, including large retailers, small businesses, criminal justice reform advocates, law enforcement, and representatives of workers and the public.

Retail theft is a top issue impacting the commercial real estate industry. We applaud the Assembly for their attempt to combat this major problem and we are pleased to partner with organizations including the California Retailers Association and CalChamber on their efforts to address this issue.

The spike in homelessness over recent years has far reaching consequences for California, including negative impacts on the commercial real estate industry. Governor Newsom is championing a March 2024 ballot initiative aimed at addressing mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness. The measure would issue a $6 billion bond to create much needed housing for people with mental illness.

At CBPA’s board of directors meeting last week, the board voted to support the governor’s ballot measure. Given the complexity of the issue, a multi-pronged solution will be needed. Our industry will continue to support policies focused on addressing this critical issue impacting not just our businesses, but our state as a whole.