Guest Commentary

Commentary

My turn: Gavin Newsom is right to order a DMV overhaul

In Sacramento, talk is cheap. Politicians say a lot of things to get elected. It’s what they do after they win that shows what their priorities are. But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s swift action on the DMV is a welcome change.

By Guest Commentary • January 31, 2019

Commentary

My turn: Changing Prop. 13 could worsen housing crisis. Here’s how

Why a split roll initiative is a bad idea: Changing Proposition 13 to permit commercial property to be taxed at market value would worsen the housing crisis and destabilize government finances. Just as taxpayers make adjustments to reduce their taxes, government officials embrace projects that will increase revenue.

By Guest Commentary • January 30, 2019

Commentary

My turn: California has a broken system of long-term care. Here’s what’s needed

We need an affordable and accessible system of long-term care for all Californians. We believe the public would embrace funding a limited but meaningful range of services for those with long-term services and supports needs.

By Guest Commentary • January 29, 2019

Commentary

My turn: Here’s one way Newsom can be rural California’s governor

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed tens of millions to help local governments recover tax revenues, and $19 million in direct aid to school districts affected by wildfire. If Newsom really wants to change the direction of the state’s long-neglected northern region, he’ll need to do more. He included $2 million in his 2019-20 budget to review options for a new California State University campus in San Joaquin County, likely in Stockton, 135 miles from Paradise, the epicenter of the Camp Fire. The governor’s proposal should be expanded to include study of another potential campus: a Cal Poly for Northern California.

By Guest Commentary • January 28, 2019

Commentary

My turn: We need a bold vision for juvenile justice. Gov. Newsom’s plan falls short

No one has credibly explained why teens of every demographic and locale stopped committing crime. Before we rush to approve Gov. Gavin Newsom's “reform” of the Division of Juvenile Justice, we need solid analysis, not pleasing myths and prejudices, not self-serving credit-grabbing.

By Guest Commentary • January 27, 2019

Housing

Housing construction

Dan Dunmoyer, president and chief executive officer, California Building Industry Association A recent opinion authored by Scott Littlehale, “The missing ingredient to solve California’s housing affordability crisis,” erroneously embraces the position that California’s housing crisis is primarily due to a shortage of construction labor. Simply put, a shortage of labor isn’t the problem if new […]

By Guest Commentary • January 25, 2019

Housing

Housing crisis

Dan Dunmoyer, president and chief executive officer of the California Building Industry Association Recent opinion authored by Ashley Warner, Don’t blame environmental law for California’s housing crisis, severely over simplifies the effect of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) upon the state’s housing crisis.   Ms. Warner lays out a naively simplistic scenario that suggests […]

By Guest Commentary • January 25, 2019

Commentary

My turn: The missing ingredient to solve California’s housing affordability crisis

While the industry’s choices may well have been informed by the cost of decades of new regulatory burdens, an agenda focused exclusively on regulatory reform will only serve to compound the residential construction sector’s current labor shortage. The first step to building more housing is attracting and sustaining a labor force that knows how.

By Guest Commentary • January 24, 2019

Commentary

My turn: A California solution to immigration policy

Imagine if California’s undocumented workers were to stop working. Unharvested crops would rot in the fields. The hospitality industry would shut down. Residential construction would plummet. It would be an economic catastrophe.

By Guest Commentary • January 23, 2019

Commentary

My turn: We must shelter the people the ‘free market’ leaves behind

It’s great that the free market works well for builders and buyers who want to make a lot of money or have a lot of it to spend. Supply and demand, however, only go so far. Housing is a basic human need that is crucial to giving children and families the ability to grow and thrive and the elderly a safe place to retire in peace.

By Guest Commentary • January 22, 2019