[Source: UC Davis/Institute of Transportation Research] In 2017, several automakers and policymakers announced commitments to a transition to electric vehicles: Toyota set a goal to sell more than 1 million electric vehicles by 2030; Volvo aims to beat Toyota by doing the same by 2025; VW’s goal is 25% of its vehicle sales will be Read More…
Newsroom
Paint companies could hand taxpayers the bill for hazardous lead paint cleanup under proposed California ballot measure
[Source: Los Angeles Times] A proposed November statewide ballot measure could allow three of the nation’s biggest paint companies to hand California taxpayers a bill for the cost of cleaning up health hazards caused by lead paint. The measure would place a $2-billion bond on the November ballot to fund the remediation of lead paint, Read More…
Trump says fairer deal might coax U.S. back into the Paris climate accord
[Source: Reuters] President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his primary concern with the Paris climate accord was that it treated the United States unfairly and that if a better deal could be reached, Washington might be persuaded to rejoin the agreement. “It treated the United States very unfairly,” Trump said during a news conference with Read More…
L.A. County slips in annual economic performance rankings
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] Los Angeles County fell sharply in an annual ranking of job growth and economic performance among metropolitan areas, according to a Milken Institute report released on Jan. 10. According to the institute’s annual Best Performing Cities index of the 200 largest cities and metropolitan areas in the nation, Los Angeles Read More…
What you need to know about California’s new minimum wage
[Source: LA Biz] One thing is always certain for California employers at the start of each year — a number of significant employment-related laws will go into effect. One such area is the continued increase in the state’s minimum wage. Although there are some exceptions, almost all employees in California must be paid the minimum Read More…
Pension costs are threatening public services all over California
[Source: Sacramento Bee] California is great at making pension promises, but a dismal failure at properly funding them. The most recent annual report released by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System shows that, as of June 2016, CalPERS was more than $138 billion in debt. The teachers’ retirement system (CalSTRS) is nearly as bad, with Read More…
Expect environmental battles to be ‘even more significant’ in 2018
[Source: The New York Times] If 2017 was the Trump administration’s year of grand pronouncements declaring an end to environmental regulations, 2018 will be the year of trying to finish what it started. Despite President Trump’s proclamation in the Rose Garden that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the United States Read More…
Will 2018 bring more employment mandates on California’s business community?
[Source: Fox & Hounds] As the 2018 California Legislative Session commences on January 3, the business community must remain vigilant about those bills that could present new, burdensome changes in state labor and employment laws. The 2017 Session saw a large number of significant labor and employment laws get enacted that impose significant burdens upon Read More…
Californians, economics and environmental protection
[Source: Capitol Weekly] Something that isn’t too surprising for legislators or Gov. Brown as California continues to be on the forefront of environmental policies: A major survey shows strong majority (62 percent) of Californians believe air pollution is a problem in their part of California. Two-thirds (66 percent) believe the effects of global warming have Read More…