Pache.co Information Technologies

According to Gartner, several factors will make 2023 a true test of the resolve of governments and the automotive industry in driving battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) forward.

“2023 is the moment of truth to drive full electrification forward,” says Pedro Pacheco, Vice President Analyst at Gartner. 

“The spike in electricity prices in Europe make BEV running costs less attractive, some countries, like Australia, the U.K. and Switzerland, are starting to introduce EV taxation. In addition, China ended electric vehicle subsidies at the beginning of 2023 and global charging infrastructure still has many coverage gaps and the average quality of service is poor.”

In addition, the sharp increase in raw material prices like lithium and nickel will drive BEV costs higher, making it harder for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to close the price gap with internal combustion. As a result, BEV sales may grow at a considerably lower pace or stall in some markets, making BEV investments take longer to break even.

Gartner expects supply chain shortages in the automotive industry to continue through 2023. 

“More than two years after the pandemic began, carmakers still cannot forecast an end to shortages of semiconductor chips or the subsequent shortage of vehicles they can produce. They also face short supply of key materials for BEV batteries, causing the prices of commodities to surge,” says Mike Ramsey, Vice President Analyst at Gartner.

“The digital transformation of automotive retail has not stalled, simply reduced speed,” adds Pacheco. “As the challenging economic environment is slowly moving the automotive market from supply-constraint to demand-constrained, auto-makers and retailers will refocus on the transition to online retail sales. They will also do so to reduce sales costs.”

The ongoing downturn period provides an opportunity for automotive CIOs to help their companies grow their market share through technology.

For instance, several established auto-makers are trying to transform into technology companies, but their corporate culture has been a significant obstacle to their ambitions. “This must be their starting point to avoid widening the gap with digital native auto-makers and grow their revenue via technology even further,” notes Pacheco.

Looking at the future beyond 2023, Gartner predicts that by 2026, more than 50% of EVs sold globally will be Chinese-branded automobiles. 

“There are more than 15 Chinese companies selling EVs and many of these are smaller and much less expensive models than those sold by foreign rivals,” says Ramsey. “While foreign auto-makers like Tesla, VW and GM are selling a lot of EVs in China, the growth is much faster with Chinese companies.”

As demand grows worldwide for EVs, Chinese firms are well-situated to take advantage of the growth with good access to key minerals and battery manufacturing capacity in China. As a result, Gartner recommends that automotive CIOs focused on EVs, integrate supply chain planning and visibility software to ensure better business decisions about where key materials are sourced and ensure resiliency for key materials.

Meanwhile, Gartner analysts estimate that by 2025, tech giants will own a part of the operating system for 95% of new cars on the road.

Tech giants have begun to displace established automotive Tier 1 suppliers as in-vehicle software providers (e.g., Google Automotive Services and CarPlay). Instead, they use their ecosystems to claim a larger share of the vehicle operating system territory (e.g., Renault’s partnership with Google and VW’s partnership with Microsoft). 

Furthermore, several tech giants are directly involved in developing, manufacturing and selling cars. Foxconn, Huawei, Alibaba, Xiaomi, Tencent and Sony are all examples of this trend.

“Succeeding alone won’t be possible for a traditional OEM or supplier. Each of them must forge partnerships with at least some digital giants if they want to remain profitable and competitive in the industry,” concludes Pacheco.

Despite high-profile housing fights, painful state budget cuts, and extreme weather conditions, cities have a lot to be positive about in the Legislature this year. Lawmakers introduced over 2,600 bills, the most in over a decade. Many of the bills with the biggest impact to cities — with the caveat that many are still placeholder measures without any specific language — would have beneficial outcomes.

Of course, there are areas where local leaders will vehemently disagree with the Legislature. Cal Cities lobbyists are busy pushing back on top-down housing measures, a slew of bills that would limit policing technologies, a .gov domain mandate, and pension divestment.

Housing, Community, and Economic Development

Addressing the housing supply and affordability crisis gripping nearly all regions of the state is a top priority for legislators, local officials, and residents. Seven in ten Californians view housing affordability as one of the top problems in their community. There is also growing concern that housing prices are so expensive that younger generations will be priced out of being able to buy a home.

Yet once again, lawmakers are trying to solve this crisis by introducing bills that limit local decision-making, require by-right housing approvals without public input or environmental review, and force cities to allow the conversion of non-residential buildings into housing units.

Three significant bills epitomize this top-down, one-size-fits-all legislative approach: SB 423 (Wiener),  AB 1532 (Haney), and AB 1490 (Lee). Cal Cities strongly opposes all three of these measures.

SB 423 — the subject of a recent action alert — would greatly expand SB 35 (Wiener, 2017) and eliminate its 2026 sunset date. Under SB 423, nearly all cities, including those in the coastal zone, would be required to ministerially approve SB 35 projects; allow the state to approve housing developments on property owned or leased by the state; and prohibit a city from enforcing its inclusionary housing ordinance if the income limits are higher than those in SB 35.

AB 1532 and AB 1490 would force the conversion of non-residential buildings into new housing units regardless of the underlining zoning. AB 1532 is primarily focused on the conversion of office buildings. AB 1490 goes several steps further; it would allow retrofitting and repurposing of any existing building into new residential units.

There is some glimmer of productive cooperation in the Legislature in the form of two bond measures. AB 1657 (Wicks) would dedicate a yet-to-be-determined amount of funding to affordable rental housing and homeownership programs. SB 834 (Portantino) would authorize $25 billion in bonds to fund homeownership programs, predevelopment infrastructure improvements, and other affordable housing programs.

Cal Cities supports both measures in concept and is working with the authors on the details. If signed into law, the bills will go before the voters for approval.

Lawmakers have introduced dozens of other housing bills aimed at local government, including those related to housing projects on school property, student housing, streamlined grant applications, local government housing, and a right to housing. These bills include:

Community Services

This year, the Legislature is hyper-focused on local “accountability” for state homelessness funding. Although the state’s limited-term funding has helped people transition into permanent housing, it has not created a meaningful reduction in the number of people entering homelessness. Securing an annual ongoing appropriation would move the needle on this critical issue and support cities’ efforts to reduce homelessness and increase housing.

Building on the success of last year’s historic behavioral health legislation is also a major Cal Cities priority. Cal Cities is a strong supporter of Sen. Susan Eggman’s SB 43 and SB 363. SB 43 would make it easier to provide treatment to those unable to care for themselves; SB 363 would establish a real-time dashboard of available beds in psychiatric and substance abuse facilities.

Both bills are supported by behavioral health advocates and the Big City Mayors Coalition, which is sponsoring the measures. Eggman, a clinical social worker, introduced similar measures in 2022, which Cal Cities also supported.

Other bills of note include:

• AB 24 (Haney) Emergency Response. Opioid Antagonist Kits
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 33 (Bains) Fentanyl Addiction and Overdose Prevention Task Force
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 19 (Seyarto) Anti-Fentanyl Abuse Task Force
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 550 (Schiavo) Homelessness. Public Hearings
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 799 (L. Rivas) Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program. Homelessness Accountability Act
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 67 (Muratsuchi) Homeless Courts Pilot Program
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1215 (Carrillo) Pets Assistance with Support Grant Program. Homeless Shelters. Domestic Violence Shelters. Pets
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 37 (Caballero) Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 262 (Holden) Children’s Camps. Regulation
  Cal Cities Position: Pending

Public Safety

Concerns about repeated retail theft are top of mind for Cal Cities, which is working with Asm. Al Muratsuchi on AB 1708. The bill would reform Proposition 47. If signed into law, the proposed changes would be placed on the 2024 statewide ballot for voter approval. Cal Cities will be issuing an action alert on this legislation next week on this critical reform measure.

The fentanyl crisis has also exploded to the top of the legislative priority list and for good reason. An analysis of state data found that fentanyl was responsible for 1 in 5 deaths among 15- to 24-year-old Californians, a sevenfold increase from 2018. The report was conducted late last year.

Thus far, lawmakers have introduced over 20 bills that would increase accountability and penalties for anyone who illegally furnishes the drug. The measures with the biggest potential benefits to cities are AB 367 (Maienschein) and SB 44 (Umberg). Both bills are sponsored by the city of San Diego and are supported by Cal Cities.

AB 367 would create stronger penalties for individuals who cause significant or substantial physical injury through the distribution of controlled substances, including fentanyl. SB 44 takes a different approach to deterrence: The bill would require a court to advise anyone convicted of distributing a controlled substance that they may be charged with homicide if someone dies from their drugs.

Other measures would increase access to naloxone, which can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. The Cal Cities-supported AB 1166 (Bains)would protect anyone who is not trained in emergency medical services or as a health care provider from civil damages if the treatment is administered in good faith.

Lawmakers are also laser-focused on limiting the use of certain policing technologies, including radio communications, biometric facial recognition, and police canines. Cal Cities opposes these measures for one simple reason: arbitrary, overly broad restrictions on these tools may not increase public safety, but they will limit a peace officer’s ability to enforce the law in highly dynamic — sometimes atypical and dangerous — situations.

Other notable bills include:

• AB 642 (Ting) Law Enforcement Agencies. Facial Recognition Technology
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 1034 (Wilson) Law Enforcement. Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Surveillance
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• AB 742 (Jackson) Law Enforcement. Police Canines
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• SB 719 (Becker) Law Enforcement Agencies. Radio Communication
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• SB 796 (Alvarado-Gil) Threats
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 40 (Rodriguez) Emergency Medical Services
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• SB 402 (Wahab) Emergency Services Limiting Police Response
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose

Revenue and Taxation

In response to the state’s stagnating revenues and stubbornly high inflation, lawmakers introduced a suite of bills intended to provide financial relief for consumers through a variety of new tax exemptions, often at the expense of local governments. Several proposals have direct impacts on local revenue streams, such as sales and use tax exemptions that include the local 1% Bradley Burns sales tax.

Some bills would indirectly incentivize land development, most notably SB 721 (Becker). The bill would amend cities’ existing taxation authority to specify that taxes levied on vacant sites by a city, county, or special district are a special tax (to be used for specific purposes), for parcels identified in a city’s housing element inventory. Cal Cities is working with the author’s office to determine the necessity of this clarification and its impact before submitting a formal response.

Cal Cities is also sponsoring AB 972 (Maienschein). Once amended, the bill would coordinate, align, and streamline local government assistance resources by convening a statewide, cross-agency workgroup, no later than April 2024.

A uniform and streamlined application process would allow cities to effectively and equitably access funding opportunities. Likewise, centralizing local government assistance resources and developing a coordinated system to manage available funding would deliver the maximum number of projects as efficiently and equitably as possible.

Other bills include:

• AB 1203 (Bains) Sales and Use Taxes. Exemptions. Breast Pumps and Related Supplies
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1249 (Ta) Sales and Use Taxes. Exemption. Tax Holiday. School Supplies
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 84 (Ward) Property Tax. Welfare Exemption. Affordable Housing
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1492 (Alvarez) Taxation. Welfare Exemption
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 653 (Archuleta) Property Taxation. Exemptions
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 362 (Lee) Real Property Taxation. Land Value Taxation Study
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 532 (Wiener) Ballot Measures. Local Taxes
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 721 (Becker) Special Taxes. Vacant Land
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 769 (Gonzalez) Local Government. Fiscal and Financial Training
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending

Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations

Building on the effective, remote meetings conducted by local governments at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers proposed several remote meeting bills, including two bills sponsored by Cal Cities. Those two measures, combined with a council member pay reform bill, would reduce barriers to various local legislative bodies.

AB 817 (Pacheco) — pending amendments — would allow non-decision-making legislative bodies currently governed by the Ralph M. Brown Act, such as advisory bodies and commissions, to participate in two-way virtual teleconferencing without posting their physical location.

Pandemic-era remote meetings noticeably reduced barriers to participation. People who were usually unable to participate due to time, distance, or physical participation requirements were able to attend public meetings. By maintaining that access for certain legislative bodies, AB 817 would create greater access to leadership opportunities and provide more diverse input on critical community proposals.

AB 557 (Hart) would eliminate the sunset provisions in AB 361 (R. Rivas, 2021). The Rivas measure allows cities to meet remotely during proclaimed states of emergency under modified Brown Act requirements. AB 557 would also provide greater flexibility for agencies that meet on a fixed date every month by extending the SB 361 renewal period to 45 days.

Cal Cities is also sponsoring SB 329 (Dodd), which would allow general law cities to adjust city council pay caps for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index. Currently, in general law cities, city councils may vote to receive a salary, not to exceed limits based on population size provided in state law. This limit has not been increased since 1984, despite inflation rising over 300% during that time.

Other notable bills this year include:

• SB 252 (Gonzalez) Public retirement systems: fossil fuels: divestment
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• SB 251 (Newman) Political Reform Act of 1974: elected officers: conflicts of interest
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• AB 37 (Bonta) Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: security expenses
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 597 (Rodriguez) Workers’ Compensation. First Responders. Post-traumatic Stress
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose

Transportation, Communications, and Public Works

The most notable transportation bills should sound familiar. Asm. Laura Friedman, the Assembly Transportation Committee Chair, introduced two placeholder bills that appear to pick up where she left off last year with AB 2237 and AB 2438. Both measures stripped away local flexibility to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Ultimately, AB 2237 was held in committee and AB 2438 was vetoed. This year’s iterations of those bills, AB 6 and AB 7, are part of a broader conversation about transportation funding and planning. Cal Cities is participating in weekly meetings with the author’s office and stakeholders to preserve local control and decision-making when examining the state’s climate and transportation goals.

Cal Cities is also engaged in productive conversations that would make it easier to plan, fund, and finish infrastructure projects. The Cal Cities-sponsored AB 400 (Rubio) and SB 706 (Caballero) would expand the use of design-build and progressive design-build delivery methods for public works projects.

Also pertinent: Cal Cities is supporting AB 334 (Rubio), which would protect design professionals from distorted conflict of interest laws. The law’s current lack of clarity inadvertently precludes design professionals from bidding on successive phases of a local public works project. AB 334 would expand the bidding pool, reduce costs, and increase the quality of projects.

Legislators are also considering over two dozen electric vehicle (EV) charging measures, including SB 30 (Umberg) and AB 1504 (McCarty). SB 30 would identify charging stations on highway corridors near cities through new signage, which would also spur economic development. The Cal Cities-opposed AB 1504 would expand administrative review requirements to charging stations installed in the public right-of-way and charging stations installed with a battery storage system.

Cal Cities is opposing AB 1637 (Irwin), which would force local governments to acquire and transition all domain websites and email addresses to .gov by 2025. This mandate would not provide any immunity against hacking or malware attacks and would result in enormous technical and rebranding costs.

Other bills include:

• AB 744 (Carrillo) California Transportation Commission: data, modeling, and analytic software tools procurement
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 241 (Reyes) and SB 84 (Gonzalez) Clean Transportation Program
  Cal Cities Position: Watch
• AB 316 (Aguiar-Curry) Transportation. Autonomous Vehicles
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 415 (Rodriguez) Emergency Fairgrounds Communications
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 735 (Berman) Workforce Development. Utility Careers
  Cal Cities Position: Support

Environmental Quality

With extreme weather events, dramatically swinging California between droughts, floods, and record-breaking temperatures, the Legislature remains focused on meeting its ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

One of Cal Cities’ top priorities is securing more flexibility for cities’ SB 1383 (Lara, 2016) organic waste diversion requirements — a key greenhouse gas reduction program — through AB 573 (E. Garcia). The bill would help cities in rural and border areas meet compost procurement targets when in-state facilities are unavailable or cost prohibitive. when in-state facilitates are unavailable or cost prohibitive.

To ensure cities can muster better disaster responses, Cal Cities is engaging on the three proposed climate bonds aimed at the 2024 ballot: AB 1567 (E. Garcia), SB 638 (Eggman), and SB 867 (Allen). These three measures collectively propose $20 billion in bonds for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, and extreme heat mitigation.

Cal Cities is also focused on ensuring local governments are reimbursed for the costs of implementing a new single-use plastic mandate through AB 1526 (Asm. Natural Resources). Passed last year, the landmark law requires all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032 and 65% of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled in the same timeframe.

Other bills include:

• AB 2 (Ward) Recycling. Solar Photovoltaic Modules
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 573 (E. Garcia) Organic Waste Disposal Reduction Targets
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 863 (Aguiar-Curry) Carpet Recycling. Carpet Stewardship Organizations. Fines. Succession. Procedure
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• SB 560 (Laird)  Solid waste. Extended producer responsibility
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 615 (Allen) Solid Waste. Lithium Vehicle Batteries
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 707 (Newman) Textile Recovery
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 50 (Wood) Energy Utility Communication
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 698 (Essayli) Gas Stoves
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1132 (Freidman) Solar Permit Fees
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 272 (Laird) Sea Level Rise Planning
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 69 (Cortese) CEQA Document Requests
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose Unless Amended
• AB 1000 (Reyes)  Land use. Housing
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 460 (Bauer-Kahan) State Water Board Authority
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 1572 (Friedman) Non-functional Turf
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose Unless Amended

How to make your city’s voice heard

Policy committee meetings started in the Capitol this week, which means the legislative season is in full swing. These small, focused meetings are great opportunities for city officials to voice their support and opposition to specific legislation.

Some sample letters of support and opposition are already available, along with action alerts on the biggest legislative issues. Starting next week, Cal Cities Advocate will provide information about the top bills facing cities, any notable legislative changes, and how to make your city’s voice heard, in a new, digestible format each week.

Public Safety

Concerns about repeated retail theft are top of mind for Cal Cities, which is working with Asm. Al Muratsuchi on AB 1708. The bill would reform Proposition 47. If signed into law, the proposed changes would be placed on the 2024 statewide ballot for voter approval. Cal Cities will be issuing an action alert on this legislation next week on this critical reform measure.

The fentanyl crisis has also exploded to the top of the legislative priority list and for good reason. An analysis of state data found that fentanyl was responsible for 1 in 5 deaths among 15- to 24-year-old Californians, a sevenfold increase from 2018. The report was conducted late last year.

Thus far, lawmakers have introduced over 20 bills that would increase accountability and penalties for anyone who illegally furnishes the drug. The measures with the biggest potential benefits to cities are AB 367 (Maienschein) and SB 44 (Umberg). Both bills are sponsored by the city of San Diego and are supported by Cal Cities.

AB 367 would create stronger penalties for individuals who cause significant or substantial physical injury through the distribution of controlled substances, including fentanyl. SB 44 takes a different approach to deterrence: The bill would require a court to advise anyone convicted of distributing a controlled substance that they may be charged with homicide if someone dies from their drugs.

Other measures would increase access to naloxone, which can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. The Cal Cities-supported AB 1166 (Bains)would protect anyone who is not trained in emergency medical services or as a health care provider from civil damages if the treatment is administered in good faith.

Lawmakers are also laser-focused on limiting the use of certain policing technologies, including radio communications, biometric facial recognition, and police canines. Cal Cities opposes these measures for one simple reason: arbitrary, overly broad restrictions on these tools may not increase public safety, but they will limit a peace officer’s ability to enforce the law in highly dynamic — sometimes atypical and dangerous — situations.

Other notable bills include:

• AB 642 (Ting) Law Enforcement Agencies. Facial Recognition Technology
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 1034 (Wilson) Law Enforcement. Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Surveillance
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• AB 742 (Jackson) Law Enforcement. Police Canines
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• SB 719 (Becker) Law Enforcement Agencies. Radio Communication
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• SB 796 (Alvarado-Gil) Threats
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 40 (Rodriguez) Emergency Medical Services
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• SB 402 (Wahab) Emergency Services Limiting Police Response
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose

Revenue and Taxation

In response to the state’s stagnating revenues and stubbornly high inflation, lawmakers introduced a suite of bills intended to provide financial relief for consumers through a variety of new tax exemptions, often at the expense of local governments. Several proposals have direct impacts on local revenue streams, such as sales and use tax exemptions that include the local 1% Bradley Burns sales tax.

Some bills would indirectly incentivize land development, most notably SB 721 (Becker). The bill would amend cities’ existing taxation authority to specify that taxes levied on vacant sites by a city, county, or special district are a special tax (to be used for specific purposes), for parcels identified in a city’s housing element inventory. Cal Cities is working with the author’s office to determine the necessity of this clarification and its impact before submitting a formal response.

Cal Cities is also sponsoring AB 972 (Maienschein). Once amended, the bill would coordinate, align, and streamline local government assistance resources by convening a statewide, cross-agency workgroup, no later than April 2024.

A uniform and streamlined application process would allow cities to effectively and equitably access funding opportunities. Likewise, centralizing local government assistance resources and developing a coordinated system to manage available funding would deliver the maximum number of projects as efficiently and equitably as possible.

Other bills include:

• AB 1203 (Bains) Sales and Use Taxes. Exemptions. Breast Pumps and Related Supplies
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1249 (Ta) Sales and Use Taxes. Exemption. Tax Holiday. School Supplies
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 84 (Ward) Property Tax. Welfare Exemption. Affordable Housing
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1492 (Alvarez) Taxation. Welfare Exemption
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 653 (Archuleta) Property Taxation. Exemptions
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 362 (Lee) Real Property Taxation. Land Value Taxation Study
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 532 (Wiener) Ballot Measures. Local Taxes
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 721 (Becker) Special Taxes. Vacant Land
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 769 (Gonzalez) Local Government. Fiscal and Financial Training
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending

Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations

Building on the effective, remote meetings conducted by local governments at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers proposed several remote meeting bills, including two bills sponsored by Cal Cities. Those two measures, combined with a council member pay reform bill, would reduce barriers to various local legislative bodies.

AB 817 (Pacheco) — pending amendments — would allow non-decision-making legislative bodies currently governed by the Ralph M. Brown Act, such as advisory bodies and commissions, to participate in two-way virtual teleconferencing without posting their physical location.

Pandemic-era remote meetings noticeably reduced barriers to participation. People who were usually unable to participate due to time, distance, or physical participation requirements were able to attend public meetings. By maintaining that access for certain legislative bodies, AB 817 would create greater access to leadership opportunities and provide more diverse input on critical community proposals.

AB 557 (Hart) would eliminate the sunset provisions in AB 361 (R. Rivas, 2021). The Rivas measure allows cities to meet remotely during proclaimed states of emergency under modified Brown Act requirements. AB 557 would also provide greater flexibility for agencies that meet on a fixed date every month by extending the SB 361 renewal period to 45 days.

Cal Cities is also sponsoring SB 329 (Dodd), which would allow general law cities to adjust city council pay caps for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index. Currently, in general law cities, city councils may vote to receive a salary, not to exceed limits based on population size provided in state law. This limit has not been increased since 1984, despite inflation rising over 300% during that time.

Other notable bills this year include:

• SB 252 (Gonzalez) Public retirement systems: fossil fuels: divestment
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• SB 251 (Newman) Political Reform Act of 1974: elected officers: conflicts of interest
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose
• AB 37 (Bonta) Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: security expenses
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 597 (Rodriguez) Workers’ Compensation. First Responders. Post-traumatic Stress
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose

Transportation, Communications, and Public Works

The most notable transportation bills should sound familiar. Asm. Laura Friedman, the Assembly Transportation Committee Chair, introduced two placeholder bills that appear to pick up where she left off last year with AB 2237 and AB 2438. Both measures stripped away local flexibility to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Ultimately, AB 2237 was held in committee and AB 2438 was vetoed. This year’s iterations of those bills, AB 6 and AB 7, are part of a broader conversation about transportation funding and planning. Cal Cities is participating in weekly meetings with the author’s office and stakeholders to preserve local control and decision-making when examining the state’s climate and transportation goals.

Cal Cities is also engaged in productive conversations that would make it easier to plan, fund, and finish infrastructure projects. The Cal Cities-sponsored AB 400 (Rubio) and SB 706 (Caballero) would expand the use of design-build and progressive design-build delivery methods for public works projects.

Also pertinent: Cal Cities is supporting AB 334 (Rubio), which would protect design professionals from distorted conflict of interest laws. The law’s current lack of clarity inadvertently precludes design professionals from bidding on successive phases of a local public works project. AB 334 would expand the bidding pool, reduce costs, and increase the quality of projects.

Legislators are also considering over two dozen electric vehicle (EV) charging measures, including SB 30 (Umberg) and AB 1504 (McCarty). SB 30 would identify charging stations on highway corridors near cities through new signage, which would also spur economic development. The Cal Cities-opposed AB 1504 would expand administrative review requirements to charging stations installed in the public right-of-way and charging stations installed with a battery storage system.

Cal Cities is opposing AB 1637 (Irwin), which would force local governments to acquire and transition all domain websites and email addresses to .gov by 2025. This mandate would not provide any immunity against hacking or malware attacks and would result in enormous technical and rebranding costs.

Other bills include:

• AB 744 (Carrillo) California Transportation Commission: data, modeling, and analytic software tools procurement
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 241 (Reyes) and SB 84 (Gonzalez) Clean Transportation Program
  Cal Cities Position: Watch
• AB 316 (Aguiar-Curry) Transportation. Autonomous Vehicles
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 415 (Rodriguez) Emergency Fairgrounds Communications
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• AB 735 (Berman) Workforce Development. Utility Careers
  Cal Cities Position: Support

Environmental Quality

With extreme weather events, dramatically swinging California between droughts, floods, and record-breaking temperatures, the Legislature remains focused on meeting its ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

One of Cal Cities’ top priorities is securing more flexibility for cities’ SB 1383 (Lara, 2016) organic waste diversion requirements — a key greenhouse gas reduction program — through AB 573 (E. Garcia). The bill would help cities in rural and border areas meet compost procurement targets when in-state facilities are unavailable or cost prohibitive. when in-state facilitates are unavailable or cost prohibitive.

To ensure cities can muster better disaster responses, Cal Cities is engaging on the three proposed climate bonds aimed at the 2024 ballot: AB 1567 (E. Garcia), SB 638 (Eggman), and SB 867 (Allen). These three measures collectively propose $20 billion in bonds for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, and extreme heat mitigation.

Cal Cities is also focused on ensuring local governments are reimbursed for the costs of implementing a new single-use plastic mandate through AB 1526 (Asm. Natural Resources). Passed last year, the landmark law requires all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032 and 65% of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled in the same timeframe.

Other bills include:

• AB 2 (Ward) Recycling. Solar Photovoltaic Modules
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 573 (E. Garcia) Organic Waste Disposal Reduction Targets
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 863 (Aguiar-Curry) Carpet Recycling. Carpet Stewardship Organizations. Fines. Succession. Procedure
  Cal Cities Position: Support
• SB 560 (Laird)  Solid waste. Extended producer responsibility
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 615 (Allen) Solid Waste. Lithium Vehicle Batteries
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• SB 707 (Newman) Textile Recovery
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 50 (Wood) Energy Utility Communication
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 698 (Essayli) Gas Stoves
  Cal Cities Position: Pending
• AB 1132 (Freidman) Solar Permit Fees
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 272 (Laird) Sea Level Rise Planning
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• SB 69 (Cortese) CEQA Document Requests
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose Unless Amended
• AB 1000 (Reyes)  Land use. Housing
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 460 (Bauer-Kahan) State Water Board Authority
  Cal Cities Position:  Pending
• AB 1572 (Friedman) Non-functional Turf
  Cal Cities Position: Oppose Unless Amended

How to make your city’s voice heard

Policy committee meetings started in the Capitol this week, which means the legislative season is in full swing. These small, focused meetings are great opportunities for city officials to voice their support and opposition to specific legislation.

Some sample letters of support and opposition are already available, along with action alerts on the biggest legislative issues. Starting next week, Cal Cities Advocate will provide information about the top bills facing cities, any notable legislative changes, and how to make your city’s voice heard, in a new, digestible format each week.

Revenue and Taxation

In response to the state’s stagnating revenues and stubbornly high inflation, lawmakers introduced a suite of bills intended to provide financial relief for consumers through a variety of new tax exemptions, often at the expense of local governments. Several proposals have direct impacts on local revenue streams, such as sales and use tax exemptions that include the local 1% Bradley Burns sales tax.

Some bills would indirectly incentivize land development, most notably SB 721 (Becker). The bill would amend cities’ existing taxation authority to specify that taxes levied on vacant sites by a city, county, or special district are a special tax (to be used for specific purposes), for parcels identified in a city’s housing element inventory. Cal Cities is working with the author’s office to determine the necessity of this clarification and its impact before submitting a formal response.

Cal Cities is also sponsoring AB 972 (Maienschein). Once amended, the bill would coordinate, align, and streamline local government assistance resources by convening a statewide, cross-agency workgroup, no later than April 2024.

A uniform and streamlined application process would allow cities to effectively and equitably access funding opportunities. Likewise, centralizing local government assistance resources and developing a coordinated system to manage available funding would deliver the maximum number of projects as efficiently and equitably as possible.

Other bills include:

Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations

Building on the effective, remote meetings conducted by local governments at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers proposed several remote meeting bills, including two bills sponsored by Cal Cities. Those two measures, combined with a council member pay reform bill, would reduce barriers to various local legislative bodies.

AB 817 (Pacheco) — pending amendments — would allow non-decision-making legislative bodies currently governed by the Ralph M. Brown Act, such as advisory bodies and commissions, to participate in two-way virtual teleconferencing without posting their physical location.

Pandemic-era remote meetings noticeably reduced barriers to participation. People who were usually unable to participate due to time, distance, or physical participation requirements were able to attend public meetings. By maintaining that access for certain legislative bodies, AB 817 would create greater access to leadership opportunities and provide more diverse input on critical community proposals.

AB 557 (Hart) would eliminate the sunset provisions in AB 361 (R. Rivas, 2021). The Rivas measure allows cities to meet remotely during proclaimed states of emergency under modified Brown Act requirements. AB 557 would also provide greater flexibility for agencies that meet on a fixed date every month by extending the SB 361 renewal period to 45 days.

Cal Cities is also sponsoring SB 329 (Dodd), which would allow general law cities to adjust city council pay caps for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index. Currently, in general law cities, city councils may vote to receive a salary, not to exceed limits based on population size provided in state law. This limit has not been increased since 1984, despite inflation rising over 300% during that time.

Other notable bills this year include:

Transportation, Communications, and Public Works

The most notable transportation bills should sound familiar. Asm. Laura Friedman, the Assembly Transportation Committee Chair, introduced two placeholder bills that appear to pick up where she left off last year with AB 2237 and AB 2438. Both measures stripped away local flexibility to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Ultimately, AB 2237 was held in committee and AB 2438 was vetoed. This year’s iterations of those bills, AB 6 and AB 7, are part of a broader conversation about transportation funding and planning. Cal Cities is participating in weekly meetings with the author’s office and stakeholders to preserve local control and decision-making when examining the state’s climate and transportation goals.

Cal Cities is also engaged in productive conversations that would make it easier to plan, fund, and finish infrastructure projects. The Cal Cities-sponsored AB 400 (Rubio) and SB 706 (Caballero) would expand the use of design-build and progressive design-build delivery methods for public works projects.

Also pertinent: Cal Cities is supporting AB 334 (Rubio), which would protect design professionals from distorted conflict of interest laws. The law’s current lack of clarity inadvertently precludes design professionals from bidding on successive phases of a local public works project. AB 334 would expand the bidding pool, reduce costs, and increase the quality of projects.

Legislators are also considering over two dozen electric vehicle (EV) charging measures, including SB 30 (Umberg) and AB 1504 (McCarty). SB 30 would identify charging stations on highway corridors near cities through new signage, which would also spur economic development. The Cal Cities-opposed AB 1504 would expand administrative review requirements to charging stations installed in the public right-of-way and charging stations installed with a battery storage system.

Cal Cities is opposing AB 1637 (Irwin), which would force local governments to acquire and transition all domain websites and email addresses to .gov by 2025. This mandate would not provide any immunity against hacking or malware attacks and would result in enormous technical and rebranding costs.

Other bills include:

Environmental Quality

With extreme weather events, dramatically swinging California between droughts, floods, and record-breaking temperatures, the Legislature remains focused on meeting its ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

One of Cal Cities’ top priorities is securing more flexibility for cities’ SB 1383 (Lara, 2016) organic waste diversion requirements — a key greenhouse gas reduction program — through AB 573 (E. Garcia). The bill would help cities in rural and border areas meet compost procurement targets when in-state facilities are unavailable or cost prohibitive. when in-state facilitates are unavailable or cost prohibitive.

To ensure cities can muster better disaster responses, Cal Cities is engaging on the three proposed climate bonds aimed at the 2024 ballot: AB 1567 (E. Garcia), SB 638 (Eggman), and SB 867 (Allen). These three measures collectively propose $20 billion in bonds for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, and extreme heat mitigation.

Cal Cities is also focused on ensuring local governments are reimbursed for the costs of implementing a new single-use plastic mandate through AB 1526 (Asm. Natural Resources). Passed last year, the landmark law requires all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032 and 65% of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled in the same timeframe.

Other bills include:

How to make your city’s voice heard

Policy committee meetings started in the Capitol this week, which means the legislative season is in full swing. These small, focused meetings are great opportunities for city officials to voice their support and opposition to specific legislation.

Some sample letters of support and opposition are already available, along with action alerts on the biggest legislative issues. Starting next week, Cal Cities Advocate will provide information about the top bills facing cities, any notable legislative changes, and how to make your city’s voice heard, in a new, digestible format each week.

Enjoy While Making Money Through Blogging

What if you can make cash via blog writing? It would certainly be a really good suggestion and also because you do it often, why not make some cash out of it?

Prior to you assume regarding making cash via blog writing, you initially require to recognize regarding specific blogging pointers that you require in order for it to create money.

You have to bear in mind that your blog writing internet site ought to be devoted to a particular niche market. This indicates that your blog site must concentrate on a particular topic and also not simply regarding anything that the globe has to provide.

Your blog site needs to likewise be upgraded frequently. This is due to the fact that constant site visitors in your blog writing web site would truly desire to be maintained upgraded regarding the specific subject you are reviewing. Take treatment of your visitors by upgrading as well as uploading fresh materials for your blog site site.

Today, there are numerous site that supplies blog site organizing. Make certain that you sign up with one that you can really depend upon when it comes to creating targeted web traffic.

You likewise require sufficient backlinkses in order to create even more targeted website traffic. Directory site entry would certainly be adequate when you begin making a blogging internet site.

You have to give high top quality posts to your blog writing internet site. If you come throughout an inadequately created short article, possibilities are, you will certainly simply miss via it as well as discover an additional write-up with the very same topic. It likewise assists to sustain the short articles with photos to make it simpler for your viewers to recognize what you are discussing.

What you must do is pick an associate program that is associated to the materials of your blog sites or associated to the subject inside your blog writing web site. The associate firm will certainly be making usage of your site as an online signboard to upload in their advertising and marketing. If a viewers from your internet site selects to click on the web link and also get a specific item from your associate business, after that you will certainly make a compensation on that acquisition.

Simply keep in mind to upgrade your blog site regularly with fresh subjects as well as maintain your visitors interested. In time, you might also stop your day task and also emphasis on your blog writing site as the cash it will certainly create will certainly be much even more than you anticipated it to be.

You have to keep in mind that your blog writing internet site need to be devoted to a details particular niche market. You have to offer high top quality posts to your blog writing internet site. What you need to do is select an associate program that is associated to the components of your blog sites or associated to the subject inside your blog writing site. The associate firm will certainly be making usage of your site as a digital signboard to upload in their marketing. In time, you might also stop your day task and also emphasis on your blog writing internet site as the cash it will certainly produce will certainly be much even more than you anticipated it to be.

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Report by Julia Cassano

Giving women parliamentarians a unique opportunity and a global platform for international decision-making, the Women Parliamentarians Forum opened yesterday in Bahrain alongside the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly.

The first of its kind and a trailblazer on the issue of women’s political participation, the forum meets at every IPU Assembly.

It provides an opportunity for women MPs to learn about how other countries are addressing gender inequality.

IPU President Duarte Pacheco opened the forum in the presence of the participating parliamentary delegations attending the 146th IPU Assembly.

Representing Bahrain, Shura Council First Deputy Chairman Jamal Mohammed Fakhro stressed Bahrain’s strides in promoting gender equity through constitutional and legislative provisions.

He noted Bahrain’s ranking on international indicators measuring women’s progress, paying tribute to Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women.

Cyber-attacks affect women: Dr Ravza

In an interview with The Daily Tribune, Dr Ravza Kavakci Kan, president of the Turkish IPU Group, emphasized the importance of increasing women’s participation in parliament and exchanging resolutions to address common issues.

She proudly noted that all parliaments now have female representatives, which was once nonexistent, and stated that the IPU sheds light on important issues faced by both men and women in societies.

During the Women’s Forum IPU, a special discussion was held on cyber-attacks, where Dr Ravza highlighted the impact of such attacks on women, especially those in the public eye.

“Cyber-attacks pose threats to everyone of all ages and genders; however, we wanted to center the discussion around how cyber-attacks affect women,” she said.

She further stated that any type of cyberattack has significant effects on women, whether it is economic or social.

The issue of social media and cyberbullying towards women was also discussed, and it was recognized as a global issue.

Dr Ravza highlighted female members of parliament as potential targets for such attacks, as they are more visible in the public eye.

Human rights were also a significant topic of discussion, and Dr Ravza stressed the need for resolutions that address issues faced by all genders, nationalities, and races. She stated, “If we advocate for democracy and human rights, it should be a right for all people.”

Be fair and equal to all: Savinykh

According to Andrei Savinykh, ambassador and chairman of The Standing Commission on International Affairs, the IPU is an essential organisation that allows parliaments to discuss critical issues.

He highlighted that the world is currently undergoing a transformative time in international history, and it is crucial to ensure that the principles of this new world are fair and equal to all.

Savinykh asked, “How will we provide possibilities for different countries to develop?”

and emphasized that through the IPU forum, honest recommendations can be freely shared, and views can be changed.

He believes that the IPU’s special and unique platform can create opportunities to exchange ideas and expectations.

Climate change needs global collaboration: Hasipoglu

MP and General Secretary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Oguzhan Hasipoglu, stressed the significance of countries working together to address global issues.

He stated that climate change has become a pressing concern that requires global collaboration and partnership to solve.

Hasipoglu acknowledged that Bahrain is starting to play a crucial role in national affairs and expressed hope for further discussions between Cyprus and Bahrain.

Working together and sharing knowledge: Dr Chaudhury

Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, MP of Bangladesh Parliament, considers the assembly an excellent platform to discuss and deliberate on essential issues and emerging challenges that affect the welfare of the people.

She believes that sharing best practices among nations is crucial to drawing upon different solutions to common problems, including climate change, strengthening women’s empowerment and participation, and gender equality.

Chaudhury stressed that many countries face the same issues and are interconnected, making global cooperation urgently needed.

She stated, “When countries can unite and come together as one, we can solve some of the most frightful issues threatening societies all over the world.”

The MP believes that by working together and sharing knowledge, countries can tackle the most significant challenges affecting societies globally.

Vegetable growers in different upazilas of Lalmonirhat and Kurigram are getting frustrated due to lack of rainfall during the ongoing hot spell for the last couple of weeks and they are now worried that they may not get the expected production of crops this season.

Finding no alternative, some of the farmers have been irrigating their vegetable fields, using diesel-run shallow machines, but it is increasing the production cost of the crops.

Farmer Jiten Chandra Barman of Kumrihat village in Aditmari upazila said though he is taking care of his two bighas spinaches field as much possible, he is worried about getting expected output due to the drought like situation currently prevailing all over the country.

“There has been no rainfall in the district for over a month now,” Jiten said, adding that he had never witnessed such weather condition during this time of the year.

“Now I fear that I may not get the expected production from my four bigha bitter gourd field as there is no rain for the last couple of weeks, said Ashraf Ali of the village.”

Moreover, their vegetable fields are getting attacked by different insects and pests due to lack of rainfall during this period of the cultivation, he added.

Meanwhile, Narendra Nath Barman, a vegetable grower at Baidder Bazar in Kurigram’s Rajarhat upazila, said lack of rain as well as the ongoing heat waves have been badly hampering the vegetable farming in his locality.

“Rain is essential for the vegetable farming, especially during this time of the season,” he said.

Farmer Aftab Uddin of Shimulbari village in Kurigram’s Phulbari upazila said local farmers fear that they may incur losses due to lack of irrigation water for vegetable farming.

According to Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), different kinds of vegetables have been cultivated on 1,850 hectares of land in Lalmonirhat and 2,340 hectares in Kurigram this season.

Lalmonirhat DAE Deputy Director Hamidur Rahman said he is also upset over lack of rainfall during this time of the year.

Due to lack of rain the production of spinach has fallen alarmingly while the quality is very poor as well, he said.

Palma, Spain, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 12th Mar, 2023 ) :Real Sociedad stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca on Sunday in La Liga, with their bid to finish in the top four losing steam at an alarming rate.

Struggling Sevilla earned an important 2-1 win over Almeria to climb to 13th, two points clear of the relegation zone, leaving their opponents 19th.

Real Sociedad have just one win in their last nine matches across all competitions and were frustrated by hosts Mallorca, 10th.

The Basque side remains fourth, level on 45 points with third-place Atletico Madrid, who visit Girona on Monday.

Real Sociedad captain Mikel Merino was dismissed late on for a late lunge on Abdon Prats to make a disappointing afternoon worse still.

Beaten in the Europa League last 16 first leg by Jose Mourinho’s Roma, Real Sociedad were trying to bounce back with their first league win in four games.

Carlos Fernandez fired the Basque side ahead after just three minutes with a well-taken strike.

Veteran playmaker David Silva fed the forward, who drilled into the bottom corner.

Real Sociedad dominated the first half but could not extend their lead, and soon paid the price.

Lee Kang-In levelled for Mallorca after defender Jon Pacheco stumbled, with the South Korean forward slipping in behind and finishing well.

Merino was sent off for a dangerous lunge on Prats after losing the ball with a poor touch, in the final stages.

“Today we wanted to win and the team’s reaction after their goal was phenomenal,” said Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil.

“Being close (to winning), it escaped us, and we can do nothing else but reset and try to improve.” Real Betis, fifth, are four points behind La Real and face sixth-place Villarreal later Sunday, before leaders Barcelona visit Athletic Bilbao.

– Lamela lifeline – Jorge Sampaoli made five changes to the Sevilla side which beat Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday to try and freshen up his side, but Almeria took an early lead.

Sergio Akieme finished well from Alejandro Pozo’s cross to silence the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan — a terrible start for Sevilla, who began the day in the relegation zone.

The goalscorer soon went off injured, along with Almeria striker El Bilal Toure, while Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou also suffered an injury and had to be replaced.

The Morocco international collided with team-mate Alex Telles and was taken off on a stretcher with Marko Dmitrovic replacing him.

Bounou went hospital for precaution and will undergo tests, Sevilla said on Twitter.

The hosts levelled towards the end of the first half, with Lucas Ocampos slotting home a penalty after Telles was felled.

Lamela headed home winger Bryan Gil’s cross to send Sevilla ahead after 73 minutes.

Youssef En-Nesyri should have wrapped up the win when through on goal but rolled a tame effort into the side netting after taking it past Fernando Martinez.

Sevilla held on, bouncing back from their 6-1 humiliation by Atletico Madrid last weekend to clinch three vital points.

The Kansas City Chiefs are hopeful that RB Isiah Pacheco (hand, shoulder) can return to action midway through training camp. He is continuing to recover