INFO ALERT: New funding & focus to curtail smash-and-grabs
We want to stop seeing images like these on the news. The business community’s calls for additional resources to fight...
HERE'S WHAT BIZFED BOARD DECIDED IN NOVEMBER Many thanks to our November Board Meeting host Latham & Watkins LLP! Here's what we covered at the meeting:
Fight for Birth Control Campaign
The Board supported Planned Parenthood’s Fight for Birth Control Campaign (fight4birthcontrol.org) to ensure businesses keep birth control covered under their health insurance plans. Before the Affordable Care Act’s birth control provision went into effect, 1 in 3 women struggled to afford prescription birth control. The Affordable Care Act helped to ensure that 62.4 million women had access to birth control by guaranteeing that it was covered by all health insurance plans. This month, the Trump Administration issued a set of rules that allow virtually ANY employer or Issuer to deny contraceptive coverage to employees based on religious or moral objection. Due to California’s own laws, only Self-insured employers are legally able to opt out, which affects 6 million Californians. It is important that these self-insured employers commit to continuing to cover birth control in their insurance plans. The invention of the pill — which became available to American women as a contraceptive in 1960 — was one of the top ten most transformative moments in the business sector over the last 85 years, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. We must join the fight to keep guaranteed access for all women. Read more HERE (p. 13-17)Northridge Metrolink Relocation
LA County Tenant Protections Framework
The current housing crisis is hurting our region. Employers can’t attract quality employees because of high housing costs as the workforce is leaving the region. For those that remain in the region, they move further and further away from places of employment thereby impacting their productivity, freeway usage, and air quality as more cars on our roads increase air pollution. The LA County Board of Supervisors formed The LA Coalition for Responsible Housing Solutions to help frame the discussion around the broader solutions of increasing the supply of housing, impediments to the production of housing, and ways tenants can be helped until the time that supply catches up with demand. BizFed has been a strong advocate for affordable housing and will continue to solidify its role in supporting tenants rights by joining The LA Coalition for Responsible Housing Solutions as a standing member. Read more HERE (p. 26-30)RecycLA
The BizFed Board fully supported RecycLA, an innovative public/private partnership to increase recycling and invest in cleaner waste delivery methods. On July 1st, the City of Los Angeles began its “RecycLA” program, partnering with private franchisers to modernize recycling services for 80,000 customers who were not previously covered under the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation (LASAN) services. One of RecycLA’s goals is that 90% of LA’s customers recycle materials and organics by 2020, which will significantly reduce landfill waste and methane in our air. By consolidating waste hauling companies from 140 to seven franchisers, collectively investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a clean fleet of waste vehicles and new recycling infrastructure, RecycLA will reduce traffic and vehicle emissions and deliver the most efficient services. Each of the new recycling customers is given a waste assessment to determine the costs of their service, with costs of black bin (mixed waste) service as the primary basis of the fees, and blue (recycling) and green (organics) bin service being free. As customers increase their recycling and reduce the black bin waste, their costs go down. In addition, customers can request an updated waste assessment at any time, to immediately reflect recycling improvements on their bills. Read more HERE (p. 31-41)~ ACA 1 (Mayes) - Greenhouse Gas Reduction Reserve Fund
~ ACA 17 (Mullin) - Ballot measures: effective date ~ SB 5 (De León) - California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018
We want to stop seeing images like these on the news. The business community’s calls for additional resources to fight...