Latest news with #Menjivar
Epoch Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Bill to Tax Vacant Storefronts Rewritten Following Pushback, Passes Committee
A bill that originally sought to tax landlords for vacant storefronts in California passed its first hearing within the state's Senate Committee on Revenue and Tax on April 23, following a complete rewrite of the proposal earlier in the week. People who fail or refuse to file the paperwork would face a civil penalty of a currently unspecified dollar amount. 'This was an ambitious bill,' Menjivar said at the April 23 SB 789 previously sought to implement a tax of $5 per square foot on vacant buildings in commercial properties. The tax collected would have been deposited into the state's California Dream for All Fund, a program that offers loans to first-time, first-generation homebuyers. This earlier version of the bill faced heavy criticism from commercial property owner associations, building owners, taxpayer advocates, mortgage bankers, housing associations, chambers of commerce throughout the state, and many others. Related Stories 4/22/2025 11/15/2024 On April 21, Menjivar revised SB 789 following the opposition by completely rewriting the bill to instead focus on collecting information on vacant properties. The San Fernando Valley senator said multiple business corridors in her district have sat empty for decades without new shops investing and opening new storefronts. Many of these buildings are now used by squatters, burned, vandalized, or falling apart as a result of being vacant. 'I want investment in my communities,' she said. 'I'm looking to find out—why are they empty?' Menjivar said she just wants to 'collect the data' and understand the underlying causes leading to prolonged vacant commercial buildings so the state can seek solutions to incentivize businesses to open in California. 'Is it a problem with us? Our regulations? Is it a permitting issue? Is it because they are just holding onto that building for the best offer possible?' she asked. A better understanding would allow the state to streamline permit approvals or develop new 'carrot-and-stick' approaches to encourage commercial property owners to rent out their buildings, according to Menjivar. At the committee hearing, union organization SEIU California expressed its support for the recent revisions to SB 789. However, the bill continued to receive opposition from various property owners' associations and retailers. 'It's just repackaged in a bureaucratic, burdensome form, and now poses a sweeping statewide reporting mandate on every commercial property owner in California,' Skyler Wonnacott, a legislative strategist for the California Business Properties Association, said during the April 23 hearing. 'While the $5 square foot vacancy tax has been removed, the bill remains equally harmful.' He raised concerns about the possibility of SB 789 becoming a 'Trojan horse' for future vacancy taxes, which he said would impact small business owners and mom-and-pop shopping centers the most. Cities He said reforms to the state's current permit process and new tenant incentives would benefit property owners and encourage new businesses to rent the currently vacant commercial buildings. 'We should be trying to remove barriers to encourage investment in this state,' said Oracio Gonzalez, a representative for the California Business Roundtable. He said that potential financial costs to meet the administrative requirements of SB 789 and cover compliance advisers would likely be passed on to tenants looking to rent. Following the April 23 vote, the Senate Committee on Revenue and Tax asked Menjivar to revise SB 789 again before sending it to the Appropriations Committee for a review of its fiscal impact.
Epoch Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
California Lawmakers to Consider Vacancy Tax on Commercial Property
A California state senator is proposing a tax on vacant commercial properties, saying empty buildings and storefronts reduce business vitality, lower tax revenue, and create public nuisances. Democratic state Sen. Caroline Menjivar of San Fernando Valley authored Menjivar sees the measure as a way to spur economic activity. 'Vacant commercial property represents a missed opportunity for community enrichment,' Menjivar said, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. 'Other times they contribute to the neighborhood's blight and can be areas of nuisance and public safety concerns. These underutilized spaces hold potential as storefronts for local entrepreneurs, innovative workspaces for growing businesses, or mixed-use projects combining housing with commercial amenities.' The measure requires all owners of commercial property in the state to register with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) each year, providing detailed information about their properties, including giving a reason why if a property is vacant. Anyone who doesn't file would be required to pay a penalty, according to the bill. Related Stories 4/22/2025 3/20/2025 Menjivar claims that without state oversight, the empty parcels can stay vacant for years and sometimes decades. 'In order to encourage development or penalize blighted vacant buildings, we need data to systematically track commercial vacancies, including their underlying causes like renovation delays, regulatory hurdles, or speculative holding patterns,' she said. The senator says the state would be able to streamline permit approvals if clusters of vacancies were caused by slow permitting, or consider a vacancy tax to incentivize productive use. The bill would also require that the state post on its public website detailed information about each commercial property, including the percentage of commercial properties that were vacant in a calendar year and the reason for the vacancy if the property was vacant for more than 182 days in a year. The state would have to post what percentage of commercial properties are located in a blighted area, among other information. The city and county of San Francisco approved a similar tax with Measure M in November 2022, but the ordinance was ruled unconstitutional. The measure imposed an annual tax of $2,500 to $5,000 per vacant unit, depending on the unit's size. The tax was allowed to increase annually to a maximum of $20,000 if the same owner keeps the unit vacant for multiple consecutive years. However, the San Francisco County Superior Court issued an order Nov. 26, 2024, in favor of taxpayers, finding that the tax violated the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court also found the tax violated property-owners' constitutional right to privacy under the California Constitution by compelling owners to share their property via application of the tax. The court also held that Measure M violated the California Ellis Act, which prohibits public entities from compelling residential property owners to rent or lease. Other cities have instituted similar vacancy taxes in recent years. Berkeley, east of San Francisco, imposes an empty homes tax on residential units that are vacant for more than 182 days per year. Empty residential units in duplexes, condos, single-family homes, and townhouses are charged $3,000 the first year and $6,000 for each subsequent year. All other empty residential properties pay $6,000 in the first year and $12,000 each year after that. Stacked shipping containers begin to surround People's Park in Berkeley, Calif. on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP Oakland also charges an annual tax of $6,000 for residential, nonresidential, and undeveloped properties, and $3,000 a year for condos, duplexes, and townhomes. The tax applies to privately owned properties not occupied more than 50 days per year and has several exemptions. Menjivar's legislation faces tremendous opposition from commercial property owner associations, building owners and managers groups, taxpayer advocates, hotel and lodging associations, mortgage bankers and housing associations, retailers, and multiple chambers of commerce throughout the state. The California Business Properties Association 'Vacancy is largely driven by market forces—not neglect—especially as sectors like retail, office, and industrial continue to recover from the pandemic,' the association wrote in an opposition statement. 'This tax would penalize property owners during economic uncertainty and risk further destabilizing struggling markets. SB 789 would also undermine local property tax revenues, reducing property values and triggering reassessments under Prop. 8—resulting in permanent funding losses for schools, cities, and essential services.' The bill also imposes costly administrative burdens, the association says.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed law would give relief to residents whose neighborhood is covered in thick layers of grime: 'You could literally taste it'
Sun Valley residents have watched dust settle over their streets, their cars, and even the air they breathe for years. Thick layers of grime coat the neighborhood, kicked up by nearby industrial sites that process and store construction materials like concrete and asphalt. Complaints have piled up just as high as the dust, but little has changed — until now. State Senator Caroline Menjivar has introduced Senate Bill (SB) 526, pushing for stricter regulations on aggregate facilities so that neighborhoods can breathe easier, according to the San Fernando Valley Sun. "With each complaint having gone unresolved, residents have given up on hoping the government addresses their concerns," said Menjivar. "That ends today." These facilities release fine dust particles known as PM10, which can seep into homes, settle on playgrounds, and cause serious respiratory issues. Yet, the regulations meant to keep them in check haven't been updated since 2006. If passed, SB 526 would strengthen oversight and force these businesses to take real steps to control pollution. Facilities would need to install taller fencing to keep dust from escaping, limit the height of storage piles near homes and schools, and set up air quality monitoring systems at their boundaries. If they repeatedly exceed pollution limits, they'd be required to enclose their storage piles and undergo frequent inspections until they comply. Sun Valley is home to 11 aggregate facilities within a three-mile radius, including AMH Recycling, the largest in the San Fernando Valley, which sits directly across from homes, a park, and two elementary schools. Residents say the pollution is impossible to ignore. "Residents' cars were covered in a dust so thick you could literally taste it, and yet neighborhood kids were playing soccer in a park across the street from the facility," said Ian Bertrando, a UCLA law student who did research in the area. According to Mariam Moore, CEO of The Climate Corps Initiative, the "intrusion of industrial facilities" in Sun Valley has worsened the community's public health crisis. Long-term exposure to this type of pollution can lead to asthma, chronic respiratory diseases, and other serious health problems. Menjivar made it clear that the bill isn't about shutting down the industry but about forcing it to operate responsibly. "I'm not trying to get rid of them," she said. "But they need to be top-notch neighbors." The bill is advancing with a window for amendments, and Menjivar's team is focused on rallying support from community members and environmental justice groups. If passed, it could set a precedent for other communities facing similar environmental injustices, proving that residents don't have to accept pollution as an unavoidable part of life. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Associated Press
21-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES CO-SPONSOR NEWLY INTRODUCED 'CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2025" TO MAKE POLLUTERS PAY FOR CLIMATE-FUELED DISASTERS
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Californians struggle to rebuild communities torn apart by devastating wildfires, The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California (CSHC) today announced that it is co-sponsoring the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (SB 684 and AB 1243) along with the Center for Biological Diversity and California Environmental Voters. Introduced by Senator Menjivar and Assemblymember Addis, this bill addresses the financial injustices imposed on taxpayers and working families from climate-related disasters by requiring fossil fuel polluters to pay for the destruction they cause. 'For decades, Big Oil has reaped massive profits while driving the climate crisis and misleading the public. It's time for polluters to pay for the destruction they've caused,' said Darryl Molina Sarmiento, Executive Director for Communities for a Better Environment and CSHC Steering Committee Member. 'This legislation provides a critical pathway to hold these corporations accountable for the damage caused by their products.' Fueled by climate change and driven by extreme drought and record-breaking heat waves, California's wildfires are exacerbated by decades of environmental harm caused by large corporate polluters who knew exactly what their pollution would cause. Despite heroic efforts by firefighters and first responders, Southern California wildfires burned more than 10,000 structures, including homes and businesses, and have driven 180,000 residents out of their homes. This devastation alone is estimated to cost Californians at least $250 billion. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act identifies and assesses a fee on a small number of the world's largest fossil fuel polluters, proportional to their fossil fuel emissions since 1990. This legislation addresses a growing crisis in California, where increasingly frequent and devastating wildfires, extreme weather, and other climate-related disasters have placed an enormous financial burden on families, businesses, and the state. A recent study revealed that ExxonMobil and other oil giants were aware of the climate risks associated with fossil fuels as far back as the 1950s. Instead of acting responsibly, they funneled millions into disinformation campaigns, stalling action and ensuring continued reliance on their products. This deliberate deception has resulted in irreparable harm to California's families, infrastructure, and natural environment. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act will: Direct CalEPA to complete a climate cost study to quantify total damages to the state (through 2045), caused by past fossil fuel emissions. Direct CalEPA to identify responsible parties and assess compensatory fees on the largest fossil fuel polluters proportional to their fossil fuel emissions 1990 through 2024, to address damages quantified in the cost study. Fund California's future. Fees collected will fund projects and programs to mitigate disaster related rate increases for Californians and remedy or prevent climate-related costs and harms. The bill prioritizes labor and job standards and dedicates at least 40% of the funds to benefit disadvantaged communities. 'As a Steering Committee member for the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California, I am proud to stand alongside a diverse coalition of community leaders and environmental justice organizations in support of the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act,' said Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles and CSHC Steering Committee Member. 'This bill represents a unified effort to ensure that Big Oil polluters, who have reaped billions in profits while knowingly sacrificing the health and well-being of frontline environmental justice communities and fueling the climate crisis, are held accountable for the damage they have done. Together, Physicians for Social Responsibility LA, Communities for a Better Environment, California Environmental Justice Alliance, Black Women for Wellness LA, Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, and Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action demand justice for California communities by making polluters pay.' The state of New York also recently passed a Climate Superfund Bill that shows growing momentum nationwide to hold Big Oil accountable for decades of pollution and its devastating effects on a state and local level. These actions by states are critical as President-elect Donald Trump vows to unravel corporate accountability for the oil industry's polluting ways. California has long been a leader in climate policy, and the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act builds on this legacy. From wildfire recovery to rebuilding efforts and mitigation, this bill provides a lifeline to families and communities bearing the brunt of climate change. California's largest greenhouse gas emitters should be the ones paying for firefighting, disaster recovery, and rebuilding efforts in communities most affected by climate-driven disasters and prevention efforts to limit future tragedies. 'California needs to seize this moment - it is time for our leaders to take bold action to protect our communities and hold those responsible for the climate crisis to account,' said Mabel Tsang, Political Director for California Environmental Justice Alliance and CSHC Steering Committee Member. 'Making these polluters pay for their climate damage is the moral and economic responsibility of this generation.'
