(July 14, 2008) -- The LB Area Chamber of Commerce, a privately run advocacy group which continues to receive financial support from at least two City of LB entities (the Port of LB and the LB Water Dept.), has sent a mass advocacy emailing urging recipients to oppose State Senator Alan Lowenthal's (D, LB-Paramount) "Port Investment/container fee" bill (SB 974) and legislation by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D., San Francisco) that would ensure that employees of CA businesses receive paid sick leave leave (AB 2716).

A Chamber "e-alert" transmitted at midday today (July 14) includes links to two pre-written letters on the two measures, addressed to their respective authors, stating in pertinent part:

[To Sen. Lowenthal re SB 974]: "I OPPOSE SB 974, the Port Container Fee, which would impose a $35 per Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) fee on owners of container cargo coming into various California ports, including the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland.

Both the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have already implemented their own user fee for the purposes outlined in SB 974. On December 17, 2007 the Long Beach Port Commission approved a "special cargo fee" ($35 per every TEU) to help fund green efforts, including mitigating air pollution. On December 21, 2007 the Los Angeles Port Commission approved a cargo fee ($35 per every TEU) to help fund air pollution mitigation. The additional burden created by SB 974 would raise the overall cargo tax to $70 per every TEU.

Also, funds gathered from user fees are limited in how they can be spent for infrastructure. For example, the monies generated by this fee cannot go towards the upgrade or repair of the ever-important Gerald Desmond Bridge.

Though I applaud you for looking at ways to green up the port and improve on infrastructure, a high and painful tax on an already-weakened California economy will only further damage job production and economic development in the state.

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[To Assemblymember Ma re AB 2716] I OPPOSE AB 2716 (Ma), the Employment/Sick Leave Mandate, which would require all employers provide paid sick leave to an employee. This would unreasonably expand employers’ costs and liability for a new protected and paid sick leave for all types of employees (full-time, part-time and seasonal) with no exceptions.

Currently, employers are not mandated to provide for sick leave, even though many companies and government agencies do. This legislation would require employers, from large corporations to small businesses to government agencies, to grant sick leave which can be accrued starting after seven days of work.

Also under current law, sick leave days do not accrue. Therefore, any unused sick leave may be forfeited at the end of a designated period of time. However, AB 2716 would allow unused sick leave to be accrued. This could cause undue burden on employers who are trying to meet deadlines and their bottom line.

The legislature should be looking at ways of generating job production for an already struggling California economy. Instead, these ever-increasing burden of costly mandates on employers as demonstrated in AB 2716 will result in reduced wages, loss of benefits, or worse, loss of employment altogether.

Sen. Lowenthal's SB 974 has been endorsed by voted action of LB's elected City Council and by the city's non-elected Board of Harbor Commissioners, the latter seeking and receiving (after Councilmembers endorsed the bill without amendments) two key amendments from Sen. Lowenthal.

As previously reported by LBReport.com, LB Mayor Foster has ended (effective 2009) a previous practice (elevated by former Mayor Beverly O'Neill) of letting the Chamber use the Mayor's official State of the City message as a Chamber fundraiser. City Manager Pat West has separately issued a directive, advising city management run departments to end the practice of sponsoring (purchasing tables and the like) at events by outside entities, citing budget constraints...and requested that non-City Manager run agencies adopt a parallel policy.

On May 19, 2008 LB's Board of Harbor Commissioners brushed aside Manager West's request and voted to give nearly $30,000 in public money to the LB Chamber, voting 5-0 to make the Port of LB a member of the LB Chamber's so-called "Chairman's Circle" for FY 08-09 at "Diamond" (highest/costliest) level.

The Port of LB is a dues-paying Chamber member and its practice had been to sponsor specific Chamber events as they arise, with each one publicly identified and agendized, most recently connected with International Trade Week. PoLB Director of Communications and Community Relations, Heather Morris, explained as follows to give the Chamber $29,204 in one lump sum as follows:

Ms. Morris: Basically approval of this item will allow us the opportunity to make a once a year commitment of sponsorship as opposed to piecemealing different sponsorship requests throughout the year. Under the program, we have the opportunity to choose the number of Chamber events that we would like to support throughout the year and then we're credited for that total amount of budget as we go through the year, which basically helps our staff and also the Commission taking each of these events back to the Commission on an ongoing basis. It also covers our annual Chamber dues and also our dues for the International Business Association.

Prior to the vote, Commission VP Dr. Mike Walter told Chamber President/CEO Randy Gordon that "we need a person from the Port as a member of the [Chamber's] Board of Directors" in the following colloquy:

Harbor Comm'n VP Walter: We're very proud to be a supporter, but I think I'd like to have you think about, we need a person from the Port as a member of the [Chamber's] Board of Directors. I looked at your Board of Directors and I didn't see anyone, I don't remember in recent past years that there was ever a member from the [Harbor Comm'n] Board of Directors on the Board there.

Mr. Gordon: It would be our pleasure to have a member of the Board. We'll coordinate if [Port Executive Director] Mr. Steinke would like to think of someone, we'd be happy to explore that possibility however.

Mr. Steinke: I was just going to say, Commissioners, Mr. President, that we have had members on the [Chamber] Board for many years, but we were not on the [Chamber] board for this past year so we will work with Mr. Gordon and an appropriate member of our staff

Harbor Comm'n VP Walter: And we appreciate being invited to the Chairman's Circle reception...

The LB Water Department, which is preparing to impose a rate increase on its customers, has separately used public money to assist the privately run Chamber. On June 23, 2008 LB's Board of Water Commissioners voted 3-0 (Yes: Townsend, Blanco, Clarke; Absent: Allen, Conley) to spend $1,750 to purchase a table at the Chamber's "117th Inaugural Gala" two days later, contending that its action complies with a previously adopted Water Board policy.

That Board policy (1998-31 "Expenditure of Water Dept. funds for Board Approved Long Beach Related Community and Civic Activities") states in pertinent part:

Per Section 1407(1) of the Long Beach City Charter, the expenditure of Water Department Funds wioll be directed to "the necessary expenses of operating and maintaining the water works and the sewer system, and for such preliminary surveys, reconnaissance, options, estimates, engineering data, experimentation and investigat6ion, as in the discretion of the Commission shall be necessary, or shall be incidental to the extension or betterment of the physical properties, or the business of the department and/or the acquisitoin of additional lands, water rights and/or property."

Such fundraising/expenditure of Water Revenue Funds or Sewer Revenue Funds, must have a water, water conservation, reclaiming water or wastewater related purpose and shall not include profit-making companies and organizations or political fundraising and events.

Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Board.

Chamber advocacy policies are not set by a vote of Chamber membership but by the group's leadership. The emails were transmitted via LongBeachAdvocacy.biz, the Chamber's advocacy website.

While the City Council doesn't directly decide Harbor Dept. or Water Dept. policies, the Council does annually approve the entities' annual spending budgets each September. In May 2007, LB voters also amended the City Charter to give a Council majority (with the Mayor) the power to remove LB Commission members for virtually any reason.