CAPITOL INSIDER
Look ing forward LO U I E B ROW N PAR T N E R IN THE S ACR AMEN TO OFFICE OF K AHN, S OAR E S AN D CON WAY, LLP
With the General Elections behind us, it’s time to look to the future and what’s in store for California. Brown
If you are like me, you are enjoying the election being over. At one point, I wasn’t sure it would ever end! Even if your candidate didn’t win, it’s nice to have the noise behind us. Hopefully, the Presidentelect will work towards unifying the country.
likely to grow and could include any number of termed out legislators, local government elected officials, and maybe a hedge fund manager.
In the California Assembly, the transition to the new term limit rules is complete. It will now be a full eight years before we see another major change. While we have a few new faces in the State Senate, the transition will take another election or two before it’s complete in that house.
With the $15 minimum wage, the extension of SB 32, and numerous other laws, California has established itself as the leader of the progressive movement. Many of these were headline grabbing issues that come with a lot of glitz and glamour. Over the next two years, I believe the focus will turn to the more mundane but critical issues that will truly impact the State’s economy for years to come.
The stability and continuity this transition has made in the Legislature is welcomed by most in Sacramento. Hopefully, a new focus on the major issues impacting California will emerge as a result. Jerry Brown is also entering his last two years as governor. In his 2016 budget presentation, Gov. Brown talked about California’s economy and how our recovery is entering unprecedented waters. Top of his agenda for the next two years will be doing what he can to keep the economy healthy. He made it loud and clear, he doesn’t want California to be in the red when he leaves office. The race for the governor’s office has been in high gear for a number of months now but it will definitely intensify. The field is also
No doubt, 2016 was the year of the progressive legislative agenda.
Transportation Our roads are crumbling and cannot handle the current demand. Our bridges cannot handle the weight of today’s truck and trailer combinations. California’s gas tax is no longer able to generate the money needed to maintain or rebuild our transportation infrastructure. Some of this is a result of the unintended consequences of other legislative priorities. As we move toward zero emission vehicles, which run primarily on electricity, hydrogen or other non-petroleum based fuel, the problem will only grow because
these vehicles don’t contribute to road maintenance, yet continue to create wear and tear on the system. Water California’s system of moving water was created by Governor Pat Brown and hasn’t been upgraded since. However, in the intervening years, Congress and the California Legislature have adopted numerous laws that make it more difficult to move water from wet Northern California to the more populated and dry regions of Southern California. The voters passed Proposition 1 two years ago which will begin to make major investments in a number of areas important to enhancing this infrastructure, including the building of surface storage projects. However, a concerted effort needs to be made to find a balance between the needs of the environment, communities and California’s economy. Business Environment The Governor has attempted to make changes to California’s reputation as a bad place for business, especially where litigation is involved. We have seen efforts to amend Proposition 65. We have also seen marginal improvements to the disabilities act. However, more focus needs to be made in these areas to balance the costs shifted to business over the past few years. Continued on page 18 ▶ CAL I FO RNIA GRO CER | 17