Leaders of the state's fast-growing renewable energy companies, led by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), are in Sacramento today to shore up opposition to amendments to utility-backed legislation being advanced by Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Chairman Steven Bradford (D-Ingelwood). The CEOs they say will undermine the growth of clean energy in the state, including business, agricultural, and commercial users.

In a letter to the committee last week, SEIA said Bradford's legislation (AB 2514) is "entirely inconsistent" with the original legislation sponsored by former Assemblymember Fred Keeley that set up the policy called "net metering." Under net metering, ratepayers received credit for the excess solar electricity they generate and put on the grid, much like rollover minutes. The Bradford bill would change the law, stopping the Public Utilities Commission from moving forward with a tentative proposal announced last week to redefine the way net metering progress is calculated.

There is a cap on the amount of net metering that must be made available to customers - beyond that cap, there's no guarantee that utilities continue to allow new solar customers to net meter. California's law sets the cap at "5 percent of aggregate customer peak demand," but does not specify how utilities should calculate that number. Consequently, utilities are using a more restrictive approach that essentially halves the amount of solar that can be net metered.

The CPUC's proposed decision clarifies that utilities should use a new cap calculation process that results in more Californians having access to the energy bill saving benefits of net metering.

"When we crafted California's original net metering law, the goal was to maximize the amount of clean distributed energy on the grid," says Keeley. "By proposing this methodology, the CPUC is complying with the original legislative intent and helping California lead the way toward a clean energy economy."

Bradford's bill was heard last week in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.

In support of a new business plan recently approved  by the California High Speed Rail Authority, the California Alliance for Jobs released a short video challenging stakeholders and decision-makers to be bold, visionary thinkers and reminding them, “Wimps didn’t build California. People with grit and dreams did.”

The three-minute online video, which can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/user/CaAllianceforJobs, says that our visionary forefathers said, “to hell with the skeptics” and built the California that today is the envy of the world.

Jim Earp, Executive Director, California Alliance for Jobs, says in the video, “That’s the kind of spirit we need in California today. We need not only that spirit and vision, but we need to make it real. And we have leadership in place today to make that happen with this project.”

Earp is referring to Governor Jerry Brown who makes an appearance in the video via his State of the State speech last January, “Those who believe California is in decline will naturally shrink back. I understand that feeling, but I don’t share it because I know this state, and the spirit of the people who chose to live here.”

Others included in the video are Carl Guardino, President & CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group; Lucy Dunn, President & CEO, Orange County Business Council; Lon Hatamiya, Former Secretary of the California Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency; Ryan Heller, UC Merced Senior and Founder, I Will Ride student group in support of high-speed rail; and Charles Bynum, Construction Worker, Operating Engineers, Local 3.

Given the chronic 25 percent unemployment that continues to afflict the construction industry, and the clear benefits high-speed rail will bring to California, the Alliance is urging state lawmakers to press forward with a full and fair review of the new business plan.

Not too many of us look forward to the middle of April. A time of year almost all of us dread. Tax Day.
 
Whether we break even, get a little back, or have to write a check to pay our state taxes, the average Californian understands, in their gut, that the state’s tax structure is broken.
 
It turns out that our instincts are correct. Our state tax system is not clear, it’s not rational, and it does not support the services we want to provide our citizenry.  What’s more, it is riddled with exceptions that favor special interests over average Californians’.  There are thousands of examples of how this is true, but consider just one: our state’s tax structure actually favors out-of-state companies and puts California businesses and California-based employees at a disadvantage.
 
Let me explain. There’s a loophole in California tax law that allows corporations to make a choice: they can pay taxes based on the amount of business they do in our state, or pay taxes based on the number of buildings and employees they have here.
 
For California, it is a terrible option. It means that companies that employ few people here but have plenty of sales do well by our tax system, and companies with significant operations and large workforces in California are disadvantaged. The Ciscos, Disneys, and Apples pay more while the Philip Morrises, General Motors, and Bristol-Myers Squibbs pay little in comparison.
 
The result is that companies have an incentive to move their headquarters and manufacturing facilities to other states. Fewer jobs are created in California and the ones we already have are jeopardized.
 
Don’t take my word for it. Listen to the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office, which says closing this tax loophole for out-of-state businesses will increase economic activity and produce jobs -- on top of helping bring in more revenue to fix the state’s chronic budget problems.
 
That’s why a broad coalition of business, health, and environmental advocates are gathering signatures to put an initiative on the ballot that will close this tax loophole. Our ballot measure will help solve the state’s budget problem and also create tens of thousands of quality, clean energy jobs throughout the state. We’ll require that all corporations pay taxes based on the amount of sales they do in our state, and by doing so put California companies on a level playing field. It will also bring in $1.1 billion dollars to fund state services like public safety and higher education.
 
Our initiative will take half that money -- $550 million for the next five years -- and put it into a fund to create jobs. We’ll put Californians to work improving the energy efficiency of schools and public buildings, retrofitting colleges and universities, participating in public-private partnerships, and learning in workforce development programs for veterans and disadvantaged young people. These will be jobs for Californians, in California, beginning in just eight months.
 
It’s a simple fix to our tax code, and polling shows that nearly 70 percent of our state’s voters support the idea of closing this unfair loophole. However, we don’t need polling. We hear it every day as they gather signatures throughout the state to put this measure on the ballot. Californians want a fair tax system. They want a balanced, transparent tax code. And if they had it, they would be more than willing to pay their fair share.
 
We probably will never get to place where Californians are elated for Tax Day, but an initiative to correct the sales factor and treat California-based businesses fairly will go a long way toward helping families understand where their tax dollars are going. If we pass this ballot measure, those dollars will go toward job creation and better schools in California – and that’s something Californians’ can get behind.

This week, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter cockpit demonstrator and its crew will travel to the steps of the State Capitol, togive elected officials, statewide leaders, and suppliers and their workers aclearer understanding of what support for the F-35 means to California and to our nation. This interactive demonstrator event couldn’t come at a better time.

As the Executive Secretary Treasurer of the California Conference of Machinists, I represent thousands of employees whose lives are intertwined with the supersonic, multirole F-35 stealth fighter. They make and build a variety of the components for this aircraft.

Perhaps more than any other state in the country, California significantly benefits from the F-35’s development and production. The Golden State is home to nearly 300 manufacturers that provide over 27,000 direct and indirect jobs and more than $6 billion in economic impact across the state.  Even at the F-35’s current low production rate of three to four aircraft per month, those numbers are incredible and only serve to remind us just how important the aerospace industry is to California, especially in the wake of the nation’s economic crisis. Our state’s unemployment rate hovers just below 11 percent -- the third highest percentage in the country.  Facing such a fragile economic recovery, we cannot afford to jeopardize good-paying jobs and put more men and women out of work.

That’s why the F-35 really is a game changer. The program is not just a practical military solution; it’s also an economical one. By coming in three variants for all our services – the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Navy -- and our allies, the F-35 takes advantage of both economy of scale and economy of commonality.  But it’s absolutely essential that production quantities remain intact and production rates are consistently increased until full rate production is achieved. This will ensure a cost-efficient strategy and offer companies across the state the opportunity to hire even more highly skilled employees.

It is my hope that every employee and each of our state’s elected officials will pledge their unfaltering support for this vital program.  The F-35 represents a quantum leap in capability and survivability, benefitting America and our Allies now and for years to come. What’s more, it will continue to create hi-tech jobs and build the highly skilled workforceessential to the U.S. and California’s economy. Those are things worth fighting for.

It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to protect our interests at home and abroad. Let’s show our support for a program that does just that.

Renewable energy advocates, led by the Solar Energy Industries
Association (SEIA), are opposing amendments to a utility-backed
legislation being advanced by Assembly Utilities and Commerce
Committee Chairman Steven Bradford (D-Ingelwood) they say will
undermine the growth of solar energy in the state.

In a letter to the committee today, SEIA said Bradford's legislation
is "entirely inconsistent" with the original legislation sponsored by
former Assemblymember Fred Keeley that set up the policy called "net
metering." Under net metering, ratepayers received credit for the
excess solar electricity they generate and put on the grid, much like
rollover minutes. The Bradford bill would stop the Public Utilities
Commission from moving forward with a tentative proposal announced
last week to redefine the way net metering progress is calculated.

There is a cap on the amount of net metering that must be made
available to customers – beyond that cap, there’s no guarantee that
utilities continue to allow new solar customers to net meter.
California’s law sets the cap at “5 percent of aggregate customer peak
demand,” but does not specify how utilities should calculate that
number. Consequently, utilities are using a more restrictive approach
that essentially halves the amount of solar that can be net metered.
The CPUC's proposed decision clarifies that utilities should use a new
cap calculation process that results in more Californians having
access to the energy bill saving benefits of net metering.

"When we crafted California's original net metering law, the goal was
to maximize the amount of clean distributed energy on the grid," says
Keeley. "By proposing this methodology, the CPUC is complying with the
original legislative intent and helping California lead the way toward
a clean energy economy.”

Bradford's bill, AB 2514, will be heard today in the Assembly
Utilities and Commerce Committee.

The Lincoln Club of Orange County – the "driving force" behind the so-called “Stop Special Interest Money” initiative on the November ballot – is hosting one of the nation’s leading campaign finance reformers at its annual black tie fundraising gala on Saturday night: Karl Rove.

That’s right. Just one day after a mystery donor who will forever remain anonymous contributed $10 million to Rove’s Crossroads GPS – the King of Super PACs himself is coming to California to spread his gospel of good government reforms.  And his Lincoln Club hosts, who have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to place the phony reform initiative on the ballot (along with the previous two attempts in 1998 and 2005), have certainly paid close attention to Rove’s Super PAC tactics ever since the Citizens United decision led to their explosion onto the national scene.

How so?

California solar energy advocates today praised a proposed decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that, if approved, will likely boost renewable energy use by homeowners, businesses, and commercial uses and lower energy costs for both solar and non-solar energy ratepayers.

The proposal, put forward by PUC Chairman Michael Peevey, clarifies the methodology to fairly calculate the cap on Net Energy Metering (NEM or "net metering"), a billing arrangement that allows utility customers to offset energy use with their own renewable energy systems (such as electricity-generating solar panels). Net metering works like "rollover minutes," with customers receiving credits on their bills for the excess power they generate that is put back on the grid.

"When we crafted California's original net metering law, the goal was maximize the amount of clean distributed energy on the grid," said former Assemblyman Fred Keeley, author of California's net metering law  "By proposing this methodology, the CPUC is complying with the original legislative intent and helping California lead the way toward a clean energy economy."

There is a cap on the amount of net metering that must be made available to customers. California's law sets the cap at "5 percent of aggregate customer peak demand," but does not specify how utilities should calculate that number. Consequently, utilities are using a more restrictive methodology that results in almost 50 percent less net metered solar and renewable energy than would otherwise be allowed. Chairman Peevey's proposed decision clarifies that utilities should use the cap calculation methodology that results in more Californians having access to the energy bill saving benefits of net metering.

"The PUC's proposed decision is a positive step in maintaining the growth of solar in California by clarifying the amount of net metering allowed under current law," said Joseph Wiedman, a partner at Keyes, Fox & Wiedman LLP who represents the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). "If adopted, this decision will ultimately allow more ratepayers to benefit from net metering -- creating even more job growth in one of our state's thriving industries while lowering costs for solar users and all energy customers."

"Unlike the current cap calculation methodology, which overestimates the amount of solar on the grid, the CPUC proposal is in line with the original intent of California's net meeting law," said Carrie Hitt, Vice President of State Affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "Adopting this proposal will help to maintain California's place at the top of one of the fastest growing industries in America."

"This is about choice," said Vote Solar Initiative Executive Director Adam Browning. "Do we want to allow Californians to generate their own electricity using clean, renewable power or stay beholden to the utilities? Do we want to allow people to put panels on their own roof and get fair credit for that power?  Schools across the state are already saving $1.5 billion on their electricity bills thanks to net metering. Do we want more of that, or less?  This proposed decision comes down on the side of more."

"This decision is good for our health, good for our wallets, and great news for the California workers who rely on solar installation jobs to feed their families," said Jim Metropulos, Senior Advocate with Sierra Club California. "Now, more California families who want to use the free solar power that falls on their roofs to lower their energy bills can do so, and benefit from the savings."

SEIA, the Vote Solar Initiative, Sierra Club and IREC submitted joint comments in the PUC's cap calculation proceeding.  The proposed decision will be considered by the entire commission at an upcoming hearing, to be held no sooner than 30 days from the issuance of the proposed decision.

Solar is by far the largest and one of the fastest growing segments of California's new green workforce - employing more than 35,000 Californians today, according to a report by the Solar Foundation.

Established in 1995, California's net metering policy has helped make the state the nation's solar leader. Net metering ensures that solar customers receive fair credit for any excess electricity they put back on the grid for the utility to sell to other customers. The policy makes solar more affordable to Californians in low and middle class
zip codes, where solar adoption has been largest in recent years.

In place in 43 states nationwide, net metering one of the most important policy tools for empowering homes, businesses, schools and public agencies invest in solar.

California's Senate Republicans are at it again, playing politics with the complex issue of pension reform.

Today, Senators Mimi "Millionaire" Walters www.DontScapeGoatUs.com and Bob Huff sent a letter to the co-chairs of the conference committee demanding a vote on their bill package on Friday -- despite the fact that the committee is still working on the complex legislation.

Here's what Dave Low, Chairman of Californians for Retirement Security www.LetsTalkPensions.com, had to say about that:

"It's unfortunate but predictable that some legislative Republicans are more interested in rushing to play politics with the issue of pensions than in providing long-lasting solutions. It is particularly disappointing that conference committee member Senator Walters, who has uttered nothing but empty sound bites during the committee's deliberations, is so eager to brush aside the concerns of her Republican Assembly colleague on the conference committee about the Governor's proposal as well as experts from around the nation and throughout California who have proposed alternatives to the Governor's plan. Unlike Senate Republicans, public workers whose retirement security depends on wisely-crafted legislation believe that the bipartisan conference should improve the Governor's proposals instead of rubber stamping them."
 
Californians for Retirement Security is a coalition representing more than 1.5 million public employees and retirees.

Will have responsibilities in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Firm continues building roster of senior leaders.
 
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Mercury announced today that Roger Salazar, one of the nation’s most respected and experienced communications professionals, will be joining as managing director and focusing on management, execution, and growth of Mercury’s media relations, crisis communications, and public affairs practices in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Washington DC, in addition to continuing his efforts on initiative campaigns. Mr. Salazar will also work with Hon. Fabian Nunez on the firm’s emerging Hispanic and Spanish language public affairs specialty practice.
 
Mr. Salazar is a significant addition to the Mercury team. The firm specializes in high-stakes public strategy and continues to build an organization unparalleled in its experience, expertise, and creativity. Most recently, Mercury hired crisis communications and litigation specialist Sara Jones and in October the Washington, D.C. office merged with preeminent lobbying firm Clark and Weinstock. The California offices are managed by partners Hon. Fabian Nunez and Adam Mendelsohn.
 
“Roger Salazar is among the best in the country and an incredible addition to our leadership team,” said Mendelsohn. “Our clients are facing increasingly complex challenges and opportunities in a dramatically changing media environment. They require and deserve serious experienced professionals like Roger who understand how to manage challenges and seize the opportunities.”
 
“Roger Salazar and I have worked together in Democratic politics for a long time and he is one of the best,” said Nunez. “He has a deep understanding about California issues and brings invaluable experience. Roger is also an important addition to our rapidly growing efforts in building Mercury's national Hispanic public affairs specialty practice.”
 
Prior to joining Mercury, Salazar was co-founder of Acosta|Salazar LLC, which was called “one of the most sought-after firms in Sacramento,” and previously was senior vice president for the public affairs firm Porter Novelli. Salazar has served as principal officer for California Working Families for Jerry Brown 2010 – the largest independent expenditure effort in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign; spokesman for the California Democratic Party; political spokesman for California State Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez; campaign press secretary for California Governor Gray Davis; and served on the podium press team for the 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Conventions.
 
Salazar’s experience as a media spokesperson for other prominent officials — including President Bill Clinton (Assistant Press Secretary, The White House); Vice President Al Gore (Deputy Press Secretary, White House OVP/Gore 2000); U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman (Deputy Press Secretary); and U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal–Allard (Press Secretary) make him an expert in strategic media communications.
 
Salazar was recognized as one of the “Top 100 California Political Power Brokers” by Capitol Weekly newspaper in 2009, 2010 and 2011; “Top 50 California Democratic Influencers” by Campaigns and Elections magazine in 2010; the "100 Most Influential Hispanics in America" by Hispanic Business Magazine for his work on the Gore campaign in 2000; and the “Hot New Spinning Star” for his work on the Gray Davis campaign in 2002 by California Political Week.

About Mercury
Mercury (http://www.mercuryllc.com) is a high-stakes public strategy firm with offices in Washington, DC, New York, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in addition to its California offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Salazar will be joining a talented team of experienced and dynamic professionals. Mercury California clients include Fortune 10 corporations, nonprofit organizations, and high-profile individuals spanning diverse industries including technology, energy, health care, sports, entertainment and automotive.