I recently woke up at O’ Dark Thirty to catch the 6 AM flight to Sacramento to spend a day at the California Apartment Association (CAA) Board of Directors Meeting. The first order of business was the California Association Political Action Committee. I am pleased to report that CAA now is in the top 10 political funds in the state of California. Unfortunately, viagra the liberal unions out spend the combination of other 9.
While CAA has made a mark in Sacramento by being an educator of apartment owners and of the legislature, tadalafil it is very difficult to go up against the unions. With the union’s vast amounts of money, case they can buy legislators and control politics in Sacramento.
Case in point, there is a group attempting to pass an initiative entitled “Pay Check Protection Act.” It’s very simple, currently when an employee joins the union, which of course is mandatory in certain industries; they are required to pay dues for the union political action committee. This is required even if the employee is not aligned politically with the liberal policies of the union overlords. In fact, most teachers that have been surveyed do not agree with the liberal policies of the union political overlords. The paycheck Protection Act could allow employees to elect out of the mandatory PAC dues and reduce the political power of the unions.
To digress for a second, when Jerry Brown was Governor 20 years ago, he signed a bill that required any new initiative to be on the very next scheduled ballot. So now, this “Pay Check Protection Act” is about to be qualified and it should be on the June, 2012 ballot. Historically, the June primaries draw a more conservative crowd as the liberal voting population tends to vote more often in the November election. When the unions got wind of the “Pay Check Protection Act”, they got Governor Jerry Brown to sign a one sentence bill which pushes all initiatives to the November ballot instead of the June ballot. This one sentence bill went through the legislature in less than 30 days and was on the Governor’s desk. It’s very rare for a bill to move so fast through the legislature. So, apparently the legislature is really concerned about the union’s PAC money because it funds all of their campaigns.
But wait, “There’s more!” To make matters worse, the unions are funding a direct attack at Prop 13. As you know Prop 13 protects your property taxes from going up more that 2% per year. However, the unions want to attack commercial properties and possibly apartment buildings saying that commercial and apartment building real estate should be reassessed every year. This will price out a lot of retail and commercial business across the state. This will have a detrimental impact on the employment across the State of California. We used to think that retail couldn’t move but, with the internet of course now it can. So, if this initiative gets placed on the ballot, it will not be on the June ballot but on the November ballot as per the one sentence bill that Governor Gerry Brown signed. Just another example of union shenanigans affecting us in Sacramento!
It was really beneficial to talk other apartment owners and manager throughout the state to learn what they are up against. One problem in San Francisco is that relocation fees have been increased to $5,100 for each adult and $3,500 for each child. Well that might not sound too out of line for us in Southern California, Los Angeles and in Santa Monica; there was a little hook to their recent ordinance. However, even a temporary relocation requires the full relocation fee to be paid.
So for example, the tenant fails to report a leak causing water damage. Which leads to mold, then the tenant complains about the mold. Well, you might have to move them out of their unit for a couple of days to dry it out and fix the leak. Yes, you got it, you have to pay the full relocation even if they are out for only a few day.
We know that all the rent control boards and tenant advocates talk and the Santa Monica Rent Control has to keep up with the Jones’s. So we better watch out and make sure they do not try to slip a temporary relocation fee of such magnitude into the Santa Monica Rent Control Ordinance.
I hope you Have a pleasant holiday season and a prosperous New Year!
HOT NEWS FLASH!!!
As I stated earlier in my original article, Proposition 13 is under attack.
Just posted on the Attorney General’s website is a Split Roll Proposal, officially entitled “Protect Homeowners and Close Corporate Tax Loopholes Act.” The initiative was filed by a prominent Democratic law firm that has historically represented the California Teachers Association and other unions.
Under the Act, each county assessor is required to reassess commercial property, as defined, to its current fair market value at least every three years. All residential property, including multifamily, is not included in the definition of commercial property (specifically, “nonresidential real property”). The definition provides that, “nonresidential real property” means any real property other than a single-family or multifamily unit that is intended to be used primarily as a permanent residence and is used primarily as a permanent residence or that is zoned as a residence, and the land on which that unit is constructed, or any portion of the property used as a residence.
As stated in the Act, the measure is intended to,
- Ensure that commercial property is taxed at its “fair market value.”
- Provide for periodic reassessment of non-residential, non-agricultural real property to market value.
- Provide for the exclusion of $1,000,000 in personal property tax for businesses, in order to give small businesses immediate tax relief.
- Provide additional money for local school districts that will increase the minimum funding guaranteed by Proposition 98.
- Reduce property taxes for homeowners on the dwelling they occupy by doubling the homeowners’ exemption from $7,000 to $14,000 (This is designed to buy the homeowner vote. However, this is only an $87 a year reduction).
The California Attorney General must now prepare a title and summary for the proposed initiative within the next 15 days and proponents must then collect 807,615 valid signatures within 150 days to qualify the initiative for the November election ballot. CAA will continue to monitor this initiative. Unfortunately, the commercial owner in the State are not as organized as we are and there probably not be a well run or funded campaign to defeat this attack on Prop 13.
As apartment owners we might say it is not our ox being gored, but this is the camel’s nose under the tent. We could be next. This will affect all our venders and increase our cost of doing business. Think about it, the locksmith, plumber, electrician will all have their property taxes increased. Rental agreements for commercial and retail usually have a clause to allow for the pass thru of property tax increases. Virtually every one will be impacted. More retailers on Montana and Main Street will be forced out. People will be forced to buy more on the internet. Jobs in California will be adversely affected.
I understand that the schools need help. But the problem is the unions which drive up the costs and inhibit creativity. Further with the fact that the unions now control politics in California. As a case in point, one politician who votes with the unions about 90% of the time was targeted by the unions because he did not vote 100% of the time! The unions put millions into Mark Ridley Thomas’ campaign to prove to other candidates that they either need to vote all the time with the unions or else.
The Santa Monica unions control the SMRR controlled City Council. That is why the Santa Monica Police will always be the top one or two highest paid forces in the state. It happens without any vote as it is in the union contract to automatically increase as soon as another City increases their Police into the number one or two spot. I strongly support our Police and Fire departments, but this is an example of how the unions work the system. The unions support the SMRR candidates in exchange for this cushy clause.
I will give you more updates on this bill as it progresses.
