SOCEC Positions

On August 24, 2023, SOCEC sent a letter to the California Department of Parks and Recreation supporting an agreeable curfew on the use of Doheny State Park for Ohana Festival 2023. The curfew is conducive to the smooth operation of the festival, which has been a tremendous economic boon for the region, and sensitive to the needs of Dana Point residents.

On April 5, 2023, SOCEC sent a letter to the CA State Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee in support of Senate Bill 366 and its efforts related to the California Water Plan. SB-366 will modernize the California Water Plan statutes and establish long-term water supply targets that the state can work to achieve along with local and regional water agencies, wastewater service providers, and other stakeholders.

On March 22, 2023, SOCEC wrote a letter calling upon the Assembly Insurance Committee to enact policy solutions that will address the insurance crisis (made worse in many areas now designated as high Fire Hazard Severity Zones) and present property owners with viable options for affordable coverage. Presently, too many Californians are being priced out and forced to turn to unregulated, non-admitted insurance markets.

On November 10, 2022, SOCEC sent a letter calling on California’s state and local policymakers and the Newsom Administration to advance policy solutions that would provide more clean, affordable water for California's over 40 million residents. We also signed onto another Solve the Water Crisis Coalition Letter, adding our voice to the list of agencies and organizations who share in this effort.

On May 10, 2022, SOCEC sent a letter to the Chair of the California Coastal Commission urging them to approve the Development Permit for the Poseidon Water's Seawater Desalination plant in Huntington Beach. This project would reduce dependence on imported water while also enhancing 

regional water supply 

diversification at at time when Orange County imports 50% of its water.

SOCEC has sent a letter to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla requesting $1.8M for a cultural and educational facility in Mission Viejo.  This is part of a larger economic development project occurring in the Civic Core of the community and would provide new resource for the residents to enjoy, while exploring the history and the natural environment of Mission Viejo.

SOCEC sent a letter to California's elected officials notifying them that we are strongly opposed to the proposed property fee increases associated with the use of Doheny State Park for the 2022 Ohana Music Festival.  The festival generates millions of dollars in revenue for Dana Point and Orange County and any increased fees would negatively impact those economic benefits along with other social contributions to the local community.

SOCEC sent a letter of strong support to the Economic Development Administration for the Oso Creek Trail Improvement Project in the City of Mission Viejo. The project will expand and make improvements to the Oso Creak recreational trail as part of a larger project to revitalize the Village Town Square and bolster new economic opportunities in the region. 

SOCEC supports a broad based group of business, industry and community organizations that call for the Regional Council to stop SCAG’s work on the Greenprint until clear and well-considered policy directions have been established. 

SOCEC supports AB 1560 (Daly) which will help increase broadband adoption and bring more Californians online. We believe this bill does more to expand digital inclusion for families of K-12 students than any other currently-proposed policy solution.

SOCEC recently joined LABizFed and the Inland Empire Economic Partnership in opposition to SAQMD Rule 2305 which imposes an illegal tax on warehouses, requiring them to reduce emissions by limiting the amount of trucks that can come to their buildings or be subject to a "mitigation fee." ​

SOCEC supports s the Irvine Ranch Water District’s (IRWD) Syphon Reservoir Improvement Project. The project would greatly increase the district’s recycled water storage capacity, reducing the need to import more expensive water from outside the region, and would be a great asset to residents and the business community. 

SOCEC expressed concern over SB 213's effort to replace trhe current resolution process administered by the Division of Worker's Compensation with a new system that would establish presumption in the Worker's Compensation Program for hospital employees without having to demonstrate that the ailments arose out of their work.

SOCEC supports AB 259 which would allow a one-year retroactive tax credit for personal income taxes and corporation taxes for 2020 providing much needed relief.

On March 4, 2021, SOCEC joined onto a letter written calling upon Governor Gavin Newsom to ensure the proposed Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Project is approved. This facility would be 100% carbon neutral, provide Southern California with a drought-proof water supply, reduce the need to import water, create thousands of jobs, generate millions of dollars in new tax revenues, and protect the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

On February 16, 2021, SOCEC signed onto a letter to California Senators Borgeas and Caballero in support of SB-74. This bill would appropriate $2.6 billion dollars to the Office of Small Business Advocate toward awarding grants to small businesses and non-profits that have experienced economic hardship resulting from COVID-19.

On January 13, 2021, SOCEC joined onto a joint letter which calls upon the Governor and State Legislature to take immediate action to reduce the costs facing all employers in California. This includes rejecting any new tax measures, expediting financial relief, and allowing employers to utilize net operating losses and tax credits, among other suggestions. 

On July 27, 2023, SOCEC signed onto a joint letter put forward by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposing numerous bills attempting to prohibit arbitration and class action waivers. The legislation is a de facto repudiation of numerous U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past decades which have upheld the use of arbitration, mediation, and other cost-effective alternatives to litigation.

On April 3, 2023, SOCEC signed onto a joint letter put forward by the California Chamber of Commerce to the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee opposing AB-68. This bill, which would effectively mandate exclusionary land use policies, would further restrict housing supply, raise costs and prices of homes, further inequality, and savagely curtail the authority of local governments.

On February 17, 2023, SOCEC sent a letter to the State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Water Rights requesting that it not prohibit the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power from utilizing the City of Los Angeles’ water rights in the Mono Basin. Such action would further disrupt California’s strained water resources and have a deleterious impact on water supply overall.

On October 7, 2022, SOCEC sent a letter to the California Coastal Commission to voice our support of the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project. This project will greatly contribute to the long-term sustainability and water supply reliability in South Orange County, and it is a step in the right direction towards approving more desalination plants where appropriate.

SOCEC sent a letter to the President of the CA PUC urging her to adopt the Federal Funding Account Program Rules and remove pricing proposals to advance broadband infrastructure in Southern California.

SOCEC has sent a business & Labor Coalition Summary Recommendation Letter to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) concerning the Greenprint & the Draft Regional Advanced Mitigation Program (RAMP) Policy Framework that was presented at the February 18, 2022 meeting of SCAG’s Regional Advance Mitigation Planning Advisory Task Group.

SOCEC has notified the San Diego Grants Program Manager that we support the proposed partnership between Cox Communications and SANDAG/SCAG with the goal of providing better internet access to people living in South Orange County. 

SOCEC has joined a diverse coalition of organizations, businesses and renewable energy advocates that support an extensive reexamination of California’s solar rooftop Net Energy Metering program that currently jeopardizes our transition to 100% clean energy.

SOCEC sent a letter to Rep. Katie Porter (CA-45th D) that urgers her and her colleagues in Congress to not raise corporate taxes to fund infrastructure.  Any raise in corporate taxes would further burden our Main Street business that are still recovering from the hardships caused by the recent COVID-19 Pandemic.  

SOCEC sent letters of opposition to Assemblymembers Davies, Choi and Petrie-Norris and signed-on to a letter from the California Chamber of Commerce in opposition of AB 650. This bill seeks to impose at least an estimated $6 billion in direct payroll costs on healthcare providers, which have lost billions of dollars during the pandemic, jeopardizing access to affordable healthcare for Californians. 

SOCEC recently joined the California Chamber of Commerce in opposition to AB995 which would impose signficant costs on small businesses by amending the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act to increase the number of sick days employers are required to provide. 

SOCEC supported SMWD's application for funding through the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSmart Program for Title XVI water reclamation and reuse projects for FY 2021. 

Called on U.S. Representative Porter to prioritize Providence's Medical Assistant Academy Program in Mission Viejo as one of her recommended projects. 

On April 15, 2021, SOCEC wrote a letter to Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Pat Bates, to vocalize our opposition to BS-213. This bill would establish a presumption in the workers’ compensation program for hospital employees for a broad range of illnesses and injuries and relieve them from having to demonstrate that certain diseases or ailment arose out of their work environment.

On February 18, 2021, SOCEC wrote a letter to California Senator Lena Gonzalez voicing support for Senator Pat Bates' SB-214, which would authorize Orange County to develop a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) transportation plan for the developing community of Rancho Mission Viejo. These vehicles provide an alternative to automobile travel within the community to reduce auto emissions and provide a great convenience for residents.

On January 27, 2021, SOCEC wrote a letter to the Three Valleys Municipal Water District's Board of Directors standing for South Orange County's right to have a local water source. It commended the Board for its effort to answer its remaining questions the Cadiz Water Project's possible environmental impacts and urged that it continue the desert springs study.

On July 24, 2023, SOCEC sent a letter to the CA State Senate Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee opposing ACA 6, which would impose new employment regulations on UC schools. This legislation uniquely singles out UC's while affording separate treatment for other universities and delegates negotiating power and authority away from the UC’s to the State Personnel Board.

On April 3, 2023, SOCEC sent a letter to the CA State Senate opposing Senate Bill 525, which would mandate massive wage hikes for an estimated 1.5 million health care facility staff members. By implementing this job-killing bill, the government would impose astronomical additional costs on employers, which will result in widespread layoffs, reduced hiring, and/or decreased hours for the very health care workers this bill allegedly aims to protect.

On January 11th, 2023, SOCEC sent a letter to the California Fire Authority to request an extended period of public comment so that business and community leaders could have sufficient time to review the proposed Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps that were released near the holidays.

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Update: CalFire agreed to our suggested 60 day extension for public review/comment.

On August 24, 2022, SOCEC joined over 60 organizations in signing onto a letter that urges the CA Public Utilities Commission to enact meaningful reform to the state’s rooftop solar program. This requires the elimination of the decades-long unfair cost burden on the 90% of Californians without solar. We ask the state to modernize its NEM program and actually meet its own clean energy goals.

SOCEC has sent a letter to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla as well as Representative Mike Levin, strongly in favor of supporting a request for funding concerning Santa Margarita Water District's Ranch Water Filtration & Oso Barrier Water Treatment Plant Projects.

SOCEC has sent a letter to the Deputy General Manager of Santa Margarita's Water District strongly in favor of funding SMWD's San Juan Watershed Project 

implementation grant application. This grant would ultimately help improve water supply reliability and create a new source of potable water in the San Juan Groundwater Basin.

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board recently released Tentative Orders #s R9-2022-0005 & R9-2022-0006 relating to the Wastewater Authority & Doheny Desalination Project for public review. SOCEC urges support for these orders due to the critical need for a reliable, local and safe drinking water supply.

SOCEC signed on to a letter of opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce to members of the California State Senate voicing their disapproval of SB-213.  This bill, which has been labeled a “job killer” will impose an astronomical financial burden on employers in the healthcare industry.

SOCEC supports SB 743 (Bradford) which will effectively, sustainably, and equitably bridge the digital divide by removing barriers to broadband adoption for low-income public housing residents. 

SOCEC strongly supports the revitalization efforts of the Village at Laguna Hills which could create more than 8,000 jobs in retail, entertainment, construction and other areas. The project would also generate approximately $22 million in park fees to update community parks in the city.  

SOCEC signed onto a coalition of business, industry and community organizations requesting clarification to ensure that the SoCal Greenprint is appropriately crafted and that we have a viable tool that can truly support our business, development and labor partners in their efforts to strengthen the Southern California region for all of its inhabitants. 

Called on the San Clemente City Council to strongly consider a policy that does not restrain housing production, increase ownership costs and further complicate attainability.

SOCEC supports SB 623 (Newman) because it makes it clear that toll facilities are permitted to share necessary customer information with the Department of Motor Vehicles and other agencies to pursue toll collection and enforcement.

On March 16, 2021, SOCEC signed onto a letter supporting AB-62 aimed at facilitating California’s economic recovery amid new burdensome regulatory requirements in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill begins to address these increasingly pervasive issues by providing a tax credit for struggling businesses seeking to comply with costly new COVID-19 regulations.

On February 18, 2021, SOCEC wrote a letter of support for a proposed budget item for the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) Program of the Department of Conservation in the California Resources Agency. The RFFC as it stands does not include Orange County, and this budget item will help regional collaborations like COAST realize their potential to prevent wildfires and keep communities safe.

On January 27, 2021, SOCEC wrote a letter reaffirming support for The Legacy at Coto California Grand Villages project. However, the letter also requested that a further study within the Draft Environmental Impact Report be conducted to provide a traffic data analysis, outlining which intersections in Rancho Santa Margarita would be impacted.