State & Local

BOMA Releases Policy Brief on Climate Change and Building Emissions Policies

The latest installment in BOMA International’s policy brief series, released at the Winter Business Meeting, addresses the difficult topic of climate change and how state and local governments are increasingly looking to the building sector for solutions. Climate Policies: Carbon Reduction and the Targeting of Building Emissions, focuses on the growing policy trend to dramatically increase “green” goals and initiatives without fully considering how feasible these are. While the intentions may be laudable, in some cases, the policies have centered on unfunded and unrealistic mandates related to building emissions. The policy brief aims to assist markets that haven’t yet dealt with these issues by providing background on several coordinated efforts to enact policy at both the state and local levels, as well as highlighting several large cities that have already undertaken ambitious approaches. As attention on climate change and resilience promises only to incre ase, commercial real estate can and will play a significant role, and this policy brief includes basic action steps to help ensure that related policies are fair and effective.

State & Local

BOMA International Joins Fight to Defeat California Split Roll Proposal

In July, we highlighted a looming confrontation over a California ballot measure on “split roll” property taxes that could potentially dismantle long-standing tax protections and result in an $11 billion tax hike on commercial real estate. For several years, BOMA California has been part of the leadership of a coalition of business groups, Californians to Stop Higher Property Taxes, that came together specifically to confront split roll efforts and now has plans in place for a multi-million-dollar advocacy campaign. At the Winter Business Meeting, BOMA International’s Industry Defense Fund (IDF) Oversight Committee unanimously approved BOMA California’s application for $100,000 in funds that will be matched by the BOMA local associations in the state. The largest award ever granted by the IDF, these funds will greatly assist overall fundraising in what is expected to be a very close ballot contest. The initiative will appear on the November 2020 ballot, and would require reassessments of commercial and industrial properties, creating a “split roll tax” because it would separate commercial from residential property. Not only would the direct effect in California be devastating to the commercial sector and particularly small businesses, but the measure also threatens to signal a dangerous precedent for other states that are looking for new revenue sources.

STATE & LOCAL BOMA/Chicago Gains IDF Support in Fight to Protect Collective Bargaining BOMA International’s Industry Defense Fund (IDF) Oversight Committee approved an application from BOMA/Chicago addressing a new city ordinance that violates the collective bargaining process and national labor policy. In July, the Chicago City Council passed a Fair Workweek Ordinance, one of the more comprehensive “predictive scheduling” laws in the nation. BOMA/Chicago disagreed with the added mandate of a waiver to get exemptions for employees covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement—in essence, the city council is preempting collective bargaining by creating a waiver that will become a negotiated item. As the collective bargaining agent for member buildings, BOMA/Chicago is committed to defending the ability to negotiate labor contracts in good faith and defeating politically driven interference in the process.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

BOMA Delegation Participates at Greenbuild Conference

A substantial BOMA delegation was part of last month’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the massive annual gathering of “green” building professionals. BOMA International Chair-Elect Shelby Christensen and Vice Chair Mark Dukes joined advocacy staff members John Bryant, Ken Rosenfeld and Maria Balzer-Pisciotta for the event, held this year in Atlanta. BOMA International is a longtime association partner of the event, which attracts thousands of attendees, bringing together a wide variety of perspectives dedicated to sustainability in the built environment.

 

This year’s conference was headlined by former President Barack Obama, whose keynote remarks included an on-point reminder of the need to consider who bears the brunt of costs and mandates when developing “green” policies. The line-up of education sessions included a range of relevant topics, including zero waste, the state of the recycling market, resiliency, adaptability and the future of LEED. As always, Greenbuild served as a good opportunity to interact with contacts from partner agencies and organizations, including Mike Zatz, manager of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR^® Commercial Buildings program.

Building Codes

BOMA Releases Summary and Cost Analysis of the 2018 ICC Code Changes

During the 2018 ICC code development cycle, BOMA International achieved significant victories resulting in real cost savings for the industry. Overall, the average 200,000-square-foot new office construction will save $10 million in expenses thanks to the defeat of proposals that would have raised the cost of new construction and alterations by $49 per square foot—and many of these savings are also applicable to existing buildings. Additionally, several BOMA-supported proposals were approved that also reduced costs—in some cases by 20 percent.

 

Some of our major victories:

- Reduced inspections of mechanically operated smoke and heat vents from every year to every five years.

- The occupant load factor for business uses has been revised from one occupant per 100 square feet to one occupant per 150 square feet.

- Defeated a proposal that would have required rooftops to be considered a story in high-rise buildings.

- Defeated a proposal that would have required whole building air leakage testing of commercial and multifamily buildings based on building size, climate zone, building use and the floor area of the conditioned space.

 

You can view the full summary of the report here.

BOMAPAC

BOMAPAC Fundraising Exceeds Expectations

Our fundraising efforts in 2019 broke records! This year we totaled $90,000 in contributions, a testament to the tremendous effort put forth by BOMA local associations and individual members alike. Some local associations hosted a fundraiser for the first time, while others continued to build on their fundraising efforts from previous years. BOMA/Utah raised the bar for future annual conference fundraisers with an increase of 50 percent in the amount raised compared to previous years. A special acknowledgement to Sandrena Robinson, BOMAPAC Council Chair, and Vice Chairs Manny Moreno, Cristalle Bozarth and Andy Taylor. Their guidance and tireless efforts made an incredible impact this year.

 

In 2020, our goal is to raise $100,000. While ambitious, with the support of each local association, we are confident we will achieve this milestone. Let’s continue to raise the bar, so that we can increase our ability to connect with the lawmakers who understand real estate’s impact on the economy on both a local and national scale.

Federal

BOMA Makes Big Progress on Key Issues in U.S. Congress

BOMA International’s advocacy team worked tirelessly throughout 2019 to advance our legislative priorities: correcting the qualified improvement property (QIP) tax error; extending or making permanent the Commercial Buildings Energy-Efficient Tax Deduction (179D); and renewing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. All of these agenda items made significant progress towards the finish line this past year thanks to directly lobbying on Capitol Hill, working with our coalition partners and grassroots efforts by BOMA members.

 

BOMA secured an extension of 179D through 2020 (and retroactive to 2017) and ensured it would be an important component of current and future energy packages in the hopes of making it permanent in the coming year. After BOMA testified in front of the Senate Committee on Finance staff, the panel released a bipartisan report identifying 179D as a provision that should be made permanent. We have also identified champions in the House to introduce a permanent bill next year.

 

A bill to correct the error for QIP, formerly referred to as leasehold depreciation, was introduced in both chambers of Congress and gained broad bipartisan support. Additionally, reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIA) sailed through the House and is expected to be included in a year-end spending deal along with an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through 2020.

 

Next year will be a busy one on Capitol Hill, and our efforts in 2019 laid the groundwork for success thanks to the hard work of BOMA’s advocacy team and its engaged membership.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

Free Webinar: New Technology Solutions for Accessing Waste Data

Join us on Wednesday, November 13, at 2pm Eastern, for the next installment in the free Water and Waste Challenge (W²) webinar series. Open to all, the series is designed to provide insights and best practices to help building owners and managers improve water and waste performance. The upcoming webinar, “Solutions for Better Waste Data and Management,” will explore new technologies that can solve the often-difficult challenge of getting access to waste data. Expert speakers will help illustrate the impact that waste management has on your bottom line; the importance of benchmarking for improving performance; and new technology solutions for accessing accurate waste data.

BUILDING CODES BOMA Defends Positions During ICC Public Comment Hearings Key members of BOMA International’s Building Codes Committee, including committee vice chair and president of BOMA/Tulsa Susan Walker, traveled to Las Vegas for the second round of hearings that will complete the 2021 International Code Council (ICC) code development cycle. Along with Susan, BOMA’s codes consultants John Catlett and Andrew Klein and Vice President of Advocacy & Building Codes John Bryant will be defending positions and making recommendations related to changes made to the International Existing Building Code, International Building Code Administration and Structural provisions, and the International Energy Conservation Code. Most of our concerns revolve around advanced energy efficiency proposals with high-cost implications and long-term paybacks. Testimony began last Wednesday and will be wrapping up this week. You can catch the hearings live at iccsafe.org/content/webcast-hearings.

 

STATE & LOCAL

BOMA/Seattle-King County Public Safety Survey Reveals Increasing Crime Concerns

Responding to mounting concerns from local property owners and managers about crime and public safety, BOMA/Seattle-King County launched a survey of its membership to verify anecdotal stories. More than 100 office buildings participated in the survey regarding the impact that crime and other safety incidents are having on tenants, employees, vendors and visitors to their buildings, and the results were bleak. The survey results grabbed the attention of a local news station, with 73 percent of respondents believing that public safety and security issues are worse than they were three to five years ago and a majority reporting experiencing at least seven security incidents per month.

 

Compounding the problem, properties are significantly under-reporting incidents to law enforcement because they don’t believe it makes a difference. “The information we gathered is alarming,” says Rod Kauffman, president of BOMA/Seattle-King County. “Incidents involving intimidation, property damage and refusal to leave our members’ properties are a regular and growing occurrence. I am concerned that we are reaching a tipping point. We cannot afford to wait to deal more consistently and effectively with crime.” The local association, which has a long track record of contributing to community support services, will next share its findings with local officials with the goal of identifying comprehensive solutions.