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PAC, Sac, and Tax

By Dustin Steiner, Vice President Government & Industry Relations

Last month at AGC’s National Convention, former AGC of America President Dan Fordice shared some sage advice during a breakout session. “As my granddaddy used to say, ‘get into politics or get out of business.’” Here at AGC San Diego, we have several options for you to do just that over the next few months!

First, AGC’s Political Action Committee (PAC) is meeting on May 3 at our headquarters in Lakeside to interview candidates for local office. Our PAC makes spending decisions for various races throughout the county including several ballot measures. We will also discuss new PAC options including an issues-only account (for those who can’t donate to candidates, but still want to help pass infrastructure measures), and a small donor program.

Next up, our Joint Legislative Summit is May 7 and 8 in Sacramento! This is your opportunity to meet with our state legislators, mingle with AGC-Cal members, and hear from our legislative advocates. On Tuesday, join us for an evening reception with pro-infrastructure elected officials, and on Wednesday, we will begin with a breakfast briefing before departing for a day jam-packed with Capitol meetings and legislative office visits. We will end the day with a tour of the Assembly or Senate Floor. Please contact me to register. For details including a schedule, click here: 

https://www.agc-ca.org/sites/legislative-day-2024/.

Lastly, our Government Relations Committee will meet on June 3. As part of AGC San Diego’s Strategic Plan adopted last year by our Board of Directors, we are reviewing our legislative positions. This is a major undertaking as we continue to adapt to a changing political environment. We will also be reviewing the numerous ballot measures slated for November. The Government Relations Committee already recommended endorsement of the Let’s Go! San Diego measure, which, if passed, will be a ½ cent sales tax increase countywide to fund much-needed infrastructure improvements. In addition, several other tax measures could be on the ballot, including a parcel tax for stormwater infrastructure and a general purpose sales tax in the City of San Diego, a general purpose sales tax in Escondido, and a dedicated sales tax in Santee to build new fire stations.

Get into politics…the water is warm!  

Have you Heard of the Infrastructure Strike Team?

By Mike McManus, Director of Engineering Construction & Industry Relations

A few months ago, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) completed a report called The Clean Freight Corridor Efficiency Assessment. This report was a requirement by the legislature under an obscure Senate Bill 671 (Gonzalez, Chapter 769, Statutes of 2021). This bill required the CTC to study and identify the infrastructure barriers and potential solutions to achieve the state’s goal of deploying zero-emission, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to move freight. The Assessment identified the costs to build the initial charging network infrastructure needed for deploying zero-emission freight along key freeway corridors to be between $10 billion - $15 billion by 2035. No program presently exists to fund or execute this needed infrastructure.

The CTC report also focused on the time it would take to permit and build the freight corridor charging station system. This was pointed out as a major barrier to deploying zero-emission trucks to move freight. According to the CTC, the current station development process ranges from six years to more than 10 years on average per station. This represents the aggregated timeline for permitting and preconstruction activities (three years to more than five years), construction (two years to more than three years), and grid upgrades (up to 10 years).  In short, if the planning started today, a station that needs a grid upgrade would not be operational until 2034. These timeframes tell us that building the number of stations needed to establish an initial viable charging station network by 2035 is not feasible. Without the charging network, the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, which phases in requirements to use zero-emissions trucks, isn't practical. Is anyone working on planning this network?

California’s ACT regulation mandates that manufacturers sell an increasing portion of truck sales in California as zero-emission, starting with the 2024 model year. California’s (ACF) regulation requires state and local governmental fleets, drayage trucks, and federal and large commercial fleets to begin to acquire zero-emitting medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in 2024. The ACF regulation, additionally, requires that all new California-certified medium- and heavy-duty vehicles be zero-emitting vehicles starting in 2036. However, the zero-emission trucks required under the ACF and ACT regulations starting this year do not exist in one-to-one tradeoffs for fleet owners. The CTC also found in its report that the transition for fleets to battery electric is not economically viable. The CTC recommends that the legislature create a permanent incentive program that makes it viable financially for fleet owners to start the transition to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) trucks without going out of business.

The Clean Freight Corridor Efficiency Assessment also identified the complex array of stakeholders as a barrier to deploying zero-emission freight. The transition will require the coordination of many different agencies and stakeholder groups across the state such as local permitting agencies, utility companies, regional transportation planning agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, ports, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, and private entities that own cargo carrying fleets. 

To address this barrier, the CTC recommends that a “Central Delivery Team” be identified to oversee the statewide deployment of the initial viable network needed for the widespread transition to zero-emission freight.” The central delivery team could include a statewide public agency to oversee statewide development and regional transportation planning agencies and metropolitan planning organizations to coordinate station funding, permitting, and development at the local level. “This Central Delivery Team could function as part of or alongside the Infrastructure Strike Team convened by Executive Order N-8-23”.   Has anybody ever heard of the Infrastructure Strike Team?  

The CTC’s findings are significant:

• Without a public charging station infrastructure along freeways, there is no way to operate electric trucks to move freight. 
• No agency is working on planning or implementing this charging station system. 
• A new agency needs to be created to start working on it. 
• Even if the agency was created and started operations today, the first station needing a grid upgrade won’t be up and running until 2034. 
• No funding has been identified to build this charging station infrastructure. 
• Finally, it is not economically viable for businesses that own fleets to transition to electric trucks without funding from the government. That funding also has not been identified.       

2024

April 11, 2024 - AGC Seaside Mixer - Tom Ham's Lighthouse

May 16, 2024 - Boy Scouts Lunch-O-Ree honoring Mike Furby - Paradise Point Resort

May 21 - Specialty Contractors Council - Meet Your GC/Cornhole Tournament - AGC HQ Lakeside

June 6, 2024 - Baseball Bash - Padres vs. Diamondbacks - Petco Park

June 24, 2024 - AGC/EGCC Spring Golf - Steele Canyon

July 8-12, 2024 - AGC Blood Drive - AGC Member Hosts

July 26, 2024 - Day at the Races - Del Mar Racetrack

August 9, 2024 - Affiliate Day Golf - Singing Hills Golf Resort - Sycuan

September TBD - Public Agency Showcase - San Diego Yacht Club

October 7, 2024 - AGC Fall Golf - Country Club of Rancho Bernardo

October 17, 2024 - CLC Car Show & Mixer - AGC HQ Lakeside

December 14, 2024 - Holiday Dinner Dance - Hotel Del Coronado

APRIL MEETINGS

April 17 - Port Liaison - 11:45 @ Port office

April 18 - Meetings & Events Committee - Noon @ Lakeside

April 23 - Affiliate Council @ 11:30 a.m. @ Lakeside

April 30 - NAVFAC - 10:15 a.m. @ Lakeside

About Monday Morning Quarterback

AGC San Diego Chapter's Monday Morning Quarterback is a "hot off the press" and to the point Monday morning briefing on the important issues facing San Diego's construction industry. It is prepared by AGC Chief Executive Officer, Eddie Sprecco, and Vice President Government & Industry Relations, Dustin Steiner.

Please contact Eddie Sprecco or Dustin Steiner with your comments, or with information that should be conveyed to the industry through this service. Well over 3,000 individuals employed by AGC member firms are part of this system.

AGC San Diego Chapter, Inc.

The VOICE of Construction

(858) 558-7444

agcsd.org

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