AgdaPkt 2008-07-21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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'SB 375 Negotiations' Continued from Page 1... 9A Page 2 In recent weeks, however, negotiations on SB 375 have been very productive. Sen. Steinberg has personally led the negotiations and has invited several critical parties to the table, including developers, local agencies, environmentalists and housing advocates to review the bill and negotiate a conceptual framework. league shiff is optimistic that deal points and even some language will be available to be shared by the end of the month. Some of the ideas being discussed are: · Mandatory Growth Designations to be Removed. Sen. Steinberg has committed to striking the provision that required transportation funds to be allocated according to a specified development pattern. (This was one of the League's biggest issues with the bill). Information related to environmental resources would still be gathered and considered as part of the planning process. · GHG Goal Set Through Collaborative Process. Regional targets for reduced carbon from cars and light trucks would be set through a collaborative process between the State Air Resources Board (ARB), the regional transportation planning agency, and local governments. ARB would not be charged with oversight authority over plan details. · New CEQA. To the extent that a specific project is consistent with a regional plan to reduce greenhouse gases, it would be entitled to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) benefits that would minimize the need to study the cumulative, altemative and growth-inducing analysis of GHG emissions and other the cumulative and growth inducing of impacts related to regional traffic. Project specific impacts, however, would still need to be including within the environmental review. · Eight- Year RHNA; More Coordinated Regional Planning. The timellne for the Regional Housing Needs Assessment could be extended to eight years to align with two cycles of the regional transportation plan in order to assure that the same assumptions are used for distributing housing numbers and transportation dollars. These represent significant improvements to the bill. It appears that a framework is emerging that can address the needs of all the stakeholders (with the caveat, of course, that nothing has been finalized). League staff estimates that bill language that reflects these concepts should start circulating within the next two to three weeks, subject to the agreement of all of those who are at the table. League Advises Cities Delay Taking a Position The League is aware that several cities may have been contacted recently by a coalition of opponents. The League is maintaining its oppose-unless-amended position and is prepared to follow through with that position if negotiations break down. Negotiations have been productive enough that league staff recommends that cities whic,", are thinking about taking a position on 58 375 consider delaying that decision until new language is printed. 'Paid SIck Leave SIll' Continued from Page L. The bill mandates that all California employers - including public employers - provide paid sick leave for any employee who works seven or more days in a calendar year. The days shall accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for e~ry 30 hours worked. The bill does not apply to employees in the construction industry covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) if the agreement expressly waives the requirements of the article in clear and unambiguous terms. In other words, if a city's current CBA does not have any of the mandated language to exempt the local agency, the city must adhere to the bill or to comply, or it must change its current CBA. The author has identified more than 6 million workers who have not provided paid sick leave; however, the author has not cited a single city or county as a culprit or as an abuser of the current system. local agencies have some of the most stringent rules covering paid sick leave. 2