POLICY WATCH – January 2025
In This Issue
Nominate a Leader of the North Bay- Applications Open and Easy to do Online
Nominate a Teen Leader!! Do You Know an Outstanding Teen?
Governor’s Budget Proposal and Impacts of Destructive Fires
Let’s Get the Richmond San Rafael Bridge Moving Again and Try Something Better
Child Care and the Economy
Upcoming Events
Child Care Means Business in Marin, hosted by First5Marin and NBLC, January 31, 2025
Learn More About New Members - Soiland Company Inc. and Sonoma Clean Power
Members in the News
Happy New Year. I hope you all had a joyous holiday season and are recharged and ready for the year ahead. Looking ahead to 2025, NBLC will remain nimble, and stay strongly dedicated to working with you to address the urgent needs of our communities and beyond. I wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to those of you that have family, friends or clients that have been impacted by the horrific fires in the LA area. Please send your blessings, and resources where you can. There are many ways in which to send donations to those impacted from the destructive and deadly fires. For the latest information on how you can assist, please visit the City of LA website.
In this issue we call for nominations for Leaders of the North Bay and outstanding teen leaders in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties. We look at how the devasting fires may impact the state budget as well as how federal polices may impact our labor market among other things. We share our views on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge proposed modified pilot and we emphasize the significance of reliable and affordable child care as an essential foundation for our overall community vitality.
You will also learn more about NBLC’s latest members, Soiland Company Inc. and Sonoma Clean Power.
Enjoy!
Best regards,
Joanne
Leaders of the North Bay Awards Nominations are Open. It’s Easy. Click Here to Submit Online.
North Bay Leadership Council annually honors outstanding organizations, individuals and teams for their leadership in contributing to the prosperity and quality of life in Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties. Please fill out the online form and include a written statement to get your leader nominated today! You are welcome and encouraged to upload additional information about your leader. Please let us know why they deserve to be recognized as a Leader of the North Bay.
NEW - Nominate a Youth Leader. It’s Easy. Click Here to Submit Online.
Make a Difference in a Young Leaders Life. Support NBLC’s teen leaders through scholarships! This year, we will be recognizing several young leaders at the Leaders of the North Bay awards luncheon for their exceptional service in various areas including community building, environmental stewardship, innovation, and leadership in advancing equity. With your support, NBLC can award more teens. Do you work with or know an amazing teen that deserves this award and should be celebrated? Nominate them today. Please feel free to share widely with teachers, coaches and neighbors.
Governor Releases Proposed 2025-2026 Budget
On January 10, three days after the horrific fires devasted the LA area of southern California, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his proposed California state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, forecasting a modest surplus of $363 million following two consecutive years of budget shortfalls. However, the budget Newsom introduced on Monday serves largely as a stopgap, as we all await confirmation on whether President Donald Trump will carry out his threats to withdraw billions in federal funding. Such a move could compel state legislators to make difficult cuts to vital programs. Approximately one-third of California’s budget depends on federal funds, including substantial amounts allocated for healthcare services including Newsom’s medi-cal expansion, and the impact of voter approved Prop 35 to make permanent an existing tax on managed care organizations (MCOs).
The January budget will undoubtedly go through several revisions before the version that must be enacted in mid-June, and it may already be outdated as the fires still rage.
As Dan Walters, in his CalMatters column explains, “The new 2025-26 budget is already outdated because the fires, which are still growing, will have a heavy impact on both the income and outgo sides of the budget, by reducing economic activity in Southern California and increasing pressure for fire suppression and recovery aid from Sacramento.
Walters continues, “The fires struck as California’s economy was still recovering from the brief but sharp recession that hit the state five years ago when Newsom ordered shutdowns to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. About 3 million workers were idled, and recovery has been mediocre at best. California’s unemployment rate, 5.4% in November, the latest month for which data are available, was the second highest of any state, with more than a million unemployed workers.
A broader federal Bureau of Labor Statistics measure of unemployment or underemployment provides an even dimmer picture. The U-6 rate, as it’s dubbed, counts “total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.” (Marginally attached workers are people who aren’t working or looking for work but who want a job and have looked for one in the last 12 months.)
California’s current U-6 rate is 10%, by far the highest of any state and more than twice the national rate. It’s even higher — 11.8% — in Los Angeles.
Beacon Economics, in an analysis of the latest data, says that employment growth in California has trailed the nation in recent years: “Since February 2020 (the start of the pandemic), total nonfarm employment in the state has grown 2.5% compared to a 4.6% increase nationally.”
“There are a mix of influences both driving and constraining the state’s job growth,” Justin Niakamal, Beacon’s research manager, commented. “On one hand, California is seeing comparatively high incomes, strong consumer demand, and high economic output, but our critical lack of housing supply has led to the state’s well-known labor force contraction, and that is most certainly holding back job growth.”
Walters adds, “The wildfires are obviously one uncertain factor in how California’s economy fares over the next few years — but not the only one. Newsom’s budget, without mentioning him by name, cites Donald Trump’s recapture of the White House as “the most immediate risk to the forecast,” listing Trump’s vows to impose tariffs on imported goods and deport undocumented immigrants.
“California would also be especially vulnerable to tariffs as the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland and the logistics industry that is concentrated in the Inland Empire are highly dependent on foreign trade,” the budget declares, adding, “To the extent that existing workers are deported and potential new workers banned or discouraged from immigrating, many sectors of the U.S. and California economies could face labor shortages, leading to price increases in the goods and services produced by these sectors.”
However, even if the fires had not occurred and Trump not been elected, the state would still face a declining labor force, as a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California notes.
“In the last two decades, the share of the population participating in the labor force has fallen five percentage points (from 67% to 62% today) due to the aging of California’s population,” PPIC analyst Sarah Bohn writes. “As the population continues to age and the state faces a shrinking workforce, preparing Californians who can and want to work will become more essential. California’s current economic realities reflect the volatile macroeconomic conditions we’ve weathered since the pandemic as well as long-term challenges that have been brewing for decades.”
NBLC will continue to monitor the budget revisions and weigh in when necessary. Our goal is to support sound public policies in housing, transportation, workforce development/education and climate adaptation that focus on economic development and competitiveness efforts to spur good job creation, foster more entrepreneurism and innovation, and encourage business expansion and retention in the North Bay.
Let’s Get the Richmond San Rafael Bridge Moving Again
Transportation has been identified as a priority focus area from our membership. NBLC is actively monitoring and weighing in on several improvement projects including the SR 37 project as well as actively engaging with the Bay Area Council, and other associations in getting the third lane of the Richmond San Rafael bridge converted to a pull-over lane Monday- Thursday. The modified pilot would last for two years and would convert the current full-time path to a part-time path. The proposed modified version of the pilot on the upper deck is to study the impacts of the path on congestion, incident rates, and incident durations and response times.
Data from the Bay Council suggests that more than 80,000 drivers utilize the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in their daily commute. Many of them commute to jobs in Marin and other parts of the North Bay. The vast majority of them (63%) are people of color. Sixty-nine percent of them do not have a college degree, and the majority of them (60%) make less than Bay Area’s median income.
The lived experience of these workers, mostly people who are low income, is real. For these Bay Area residents, this issue is not just an inconvenience; it is a significant burden on their daily lives. The lived experiences of these commuters are marked by persistent challenges. The increase in incidents (up to 33%) on the bridge since the barrier was installed, not only causes prolonged delays but also create undue hardship, affecting their ability to reach work, school, and other essential destinations on time. These delays translate into lost wages, increased stress, and diminished overall well-being. Workers and employers are asking policy makers for support and action to alleviate the struggles they face daily. NBLC provided public comment at a recent SF Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC) workshop and stressed the critical importance of addressing it as a matter of equity and quality of life for the tens of thousands of commuters crossing the bridge each day that do not have transit options and cannot bike across the bridge to work.
We also offered the perspective that the proposed modified pilot program of a pull over lane Mon-Thurs is not a zero-sum solution. This initiative does not prioritize one user over another but instead represents a balanced approach to SHARE this crucial resource. It provides compassionate relief during the weekdays for hardworking families who do not have the option to bike to work, while also ensuring that cyclists and pedestrians have access during the weekends, when usage is highest. Additionally, this pilot creates an opportunity to study the potential for future enhancements, such as converting the lane into an HOV or bus lane, to further benefit ALL users of the bridge.
NBLC supports efforts for increased investment in public transportation that serve the corridor to reduce reliance on personal vehicles. The usage of the current pilot is not compelling enough and did not support any kind of mode shift away from personal vehicles. We support something different and believe that this new pilot is a way for MTC and others to study the possibility of a HOV lane and if and how to make a real mode shift.
Child Care and the Economy
NBLC will be co-hosting a child care forum in late January with First5Marin. Please join us. Registration for this free forum is below.
As employers, we recognize that child care is a crucial foundation for a thriving economy, with 27 million Americans depending on it to maintain their jobs. The nationwide shortage of affordable child care options is causing substantial damage to family budgets, business profitability, and the overall U.S. economy.
As reported in May by the Center for American Progress, an Independent, nonpartisan policy institute, “Child care is at the core of U.S. society: Children rely on child care services for safe, enriching early learning environments; parents rely on the services of child care providers so that they can pursue work or school and build financial stability to provide for their families; and businesses rely on the child care sector to ensure a stable workforce and consumer base. Rapid turnover across sectors, which has increased during COVID-19 as parents struggle to find care for their children around work commitments, causes businesses to lose profit and productivity, and a steadily shrinking workforce hinders businesses’ long-term capacity and growth.”
Child care supports children’s health and economic outcomes, providing massive returns over time. It also acts as a family stabilizer and indirect economic driver, enabling parents to work or go to school and directly employing hundreds of thousands of providers and early childhood educators. Temporary relief through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) has provided dollars for the early learning sector through 2024. When those funds run out, however, the more than 92 percent of providers who reported that ARP funding kept their programs open—and who operated with a less than 1 percent margin even before the pandemic—will face a steep cliff with no safety net to cover basic operating costs, including child care worker wages, which make up the vast majority of providers’ expenses.
Addressing the fractures in the child care system that plague families and businesses across the country will take more than a return to the pre-pandemic status quo. Child care has been underfunded far too significantly for far too long, hurting both families and businesses. Saving child care and putting the American economy back on track will take significant, sustained investment, as the sector has been unsustainable for many families for decades as well as increasingly untenable for businesses. Sustained investments in comprehensive child care infrastructure could serve as a critical counter-inflation measure by easing the worker crunch, while also contributing to economic growth—helping to support providers and early educators; putting more parents of young children, especially mothers, back to work; boosting business capacity and productivity; and supporting broader economic recovery.
Here are five things to know about child care and our economy from First5Years Fund:
The United States economy loses an estimated $122 billion a year due to child care challenges.
On average, businesses lose $1,640 a year for each working parent due to lost revenue and hiring costs because of insufficient child care, totaling $23 billion annually.
77% of small business leaders say access to high-quality, affordable child care is essential or important to strengthening the economy and helping workers.
Investments in high-quality child care and early learning programs can generate up to $7.30 per every dollar invested.
The availability of early childhood education programs attracts homebuyers and increases property values by $13 for every dollar invested in programs.
Upcoming Events
Child Care Means Business in Marin- Affordable, High-Quality Care is a Key Part of Important Benefits for Working Families, January 31st, Embassy Suites
Please join us for this important forum: Child Care Means Business in Marin, January 31st, Embassy Suites. This forum is in partnership with First5Marin and NBLC. Register for Free Here.
Leaders of the North Bay - Save the Date, May 16th, Flamingo Resort
New Members
North Bay Leadership Council provides a strong voice for leading employers to drive public policy in our region. Our membership consists of private businesses, public institutions, hospitals and members in the health care sector, government agencies, as well as nonprofits. They represent over 100,000 employees, across 27 different industry sectors. This diversity in membership brings the vision needed to our work to address complex issues and improve the community as a whole. The challenges we face require regional leadership, to work collaboratively in finding regional solutions.
Members in the News
The Buck Institute for Research on Aging - Buck Seminars: Ovarian Aging and Women’s Health
The Buck Institute hosts in-person (with zoom option) monthly conversations with geroscience experts about how people can live longer, healthier lives.
Basin Street Properties Broker of The QuarterTony Sarno of JLL
Basin Street Properties is pleased to announce JLL's Vice President, Tony Sarno, has been named our Broker of the Quarter for Q4 2024. This quarterly award, presented by Basin Street Properties, recognizes outstanding brokers with whom we are privileged to collaborate with, acknowledging their noteworthy contributions to our industry, communities, and the success of Basin Street.
Sonoma County Tourism Celebrates 20 Years of Partnership and Progress
Sonoma County Tourism (SCT), the nation’s first Destination Stewardship Organization, celebrates 20 years of advocating for Sonoma County as a premier travel destination.
BioMarin to Present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) announced that Alexander Hardy, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioMarin, will present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Conference.
Keysight Showcases Solutions Designed to Accelerate AI Innovation at DesignCon 2025
At DesignCon 2025, Keysight Technologies will showcase a range of solutions to accelerate the development of intelligent networks. Demonstrations will include emulation and test solutions for electrical and optical transmissions and data center interconnect applications up to speeds of 800G and 1.6T as well as design and simulation of chiplet interconnects.
BPM Partners with AssurX to Enhance Cybersecurity and Compliance Solutions for Energy and Utility Industry
BPM LLP, one of the 35 largest public accounting and advisory firms in the country, announced a strategic alliance with AssurX, Inc., a renowned provider of regulatory compliance software for the energy and utility sector, and quality management system (QMS) software for manufacturing industries.
Who We Are
North Bay Leadership Council is the strong voice of employers who advocate for sound public policy affecting the North Bay, demonstrate and grow leadership within the region, and collectively work for a more resilient, prosperous and equitable future. For more information: Call 707.283.0028 / E-mail info@northbayleadership.org
www.northbayleadership.org