CBPA's California Legislative Update 01/17/2020
- INDUSTRY AWARDS DINNER DATE CHANGE
- LLC – BROKER BILL MOVES FORWARD
- AG AND ARB JOIN SUIT AGAINST WORLD LOGISTICS CENTER
- NEW EMPLOYMENT LAWS
- CBPA 2020 CALENDAR
INDUSTRY AWARDS DINNER DATE CHANGE
The date of the Industry Awards Dinner and board meeting has been changed. Both will now take place on Thursday, November 5, 2020, at the Renaissance Hotel in Newport Beach, California.
Please note this date change in your calendars, as we would love to see all of you there to celebrate the achievements and hard work members of our industry have been putting in for all our benefit.
On major benefit to this change in date is that it is immediately after the Presidential elections so we will be able to review all the races and hopefully celebrate a huge victory when we defeat the split roll property tax measure!
Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to our office directly at 916-443-4676, or by simply responding to the email, if you have any questions about sponsorship opportunities. See you in November!
LLC – BROKER BILL MOVES FORWARD
After years of trying, and months of negotiations with interested stakeholders, we are pleased to report that our sponsored bill, AB 687 (Daly; D-Anaheim) to allow limited liability companies (LLC) to operate as a real estate broker has moved through the Assembly Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan vote.
Real estate broker licensing was not extended to LLCs when other types of licensing were extended to LLCs over 20 years ago because at that time our industry standard was to operate as corporations. Over time the business has shifted and now many companies within the real estate industry use LLCs extensively to hold and operate real property. AB 687 updates the statute to reflect that evolution in the industry and allow brokers to operate as an LLC.
The Department of Real Estate thinks that the bill will be popular with licensees estimating that a third of California’s 130,000 licensed brokers would take advantage of law should it pass.
Enabling brokerage firms to form as an LLC will allow greater flexibility in management and operations which will be particularly helpful for smaller firms. AB 687 also will enable a savings of both time and costs for these firms as operating as an LLC means more streamlined entity reporting and filing requirements than a corporation.
Finally, AB 687 will simplify taxation at the entity level as gains and losses are passed through and taxation occurs at the individual owner level. Although Subchapter S corporations do offer the same income tax pass-through feature, limitations on number and types of owners and other restrictions make the Subchapter S vehicle less readily available.
We thank Assemblymember Tom Daly from Anaheim for being our champion on this important policy change. The bill will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee next week.
AG AND ARB JOIN SUIT AGAINST WORLD LOGISTICS CENTER
World Logistics Center located in Moreno Valley is a planned 2,600-acre campus that is striving to be one of the most sustainable developments of its kind. According to the project proponents, “the project’s innovative environmental design, water conservation strategies as well as its utilization of advanced, cleanest diesel technology available, will ensure the outmost in environmental compatibility. The project will encompass 40.6 million square feet of buildings and will be constructed over a period of 15 years, generating thousands of construction jobs.”
So, of course, it is being sued.
From a press release out of the AG’s Office: “California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) today filed an amicus brief with the Fourth District Court of Appeal, challenging the Moreno Valley Community Services District (Moreno Valley) for disregarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in its analysis of the World Logistics Center warehouse project.”
Click here to read the brief.
Click here to learn more about World Logistics Center.
NEW EMPLOYMENT LAWS
On January 1, hundreds of new laws came into effect. Our friends at Cox, Castle & Nicholson have provided some information on the high priority laws that our industry should be immediately aware of. Many of these have been covered in past eWeeklys, but we are providing again because its so important your business know about these new laws and get into compliance.
Click here to read the list which covers everything from the new Independent Contractor law you have read so much about, to new Lactation in the Workplace accommodation requirements. “New Employment Laws and Requirements for 2020.”
CBPA 2020 CALENDAR
Wednesday, February 26
CBPA Winter Board Meeting
Cal Chamber, Sacramento
Thursday, April 2
CBPA Industrywide Legislative Meeting
Southern California
Tuesday-Wednesday, June 9-10
California Commercial Real Estate Summit
Cal Chamber, Sacramento
Thursday, November 5
CBPA Board Meeting & Industry Awards Dinner
The Renaissance Hotel, Newport Beach
