What’s Inside: Meet Our San Diego Policy Champion; Comments on NIST March-In Framework; Potential R&D Amortization Fix; How San Francisco’s Proposed Tax Overhaul May Affect Biotech Industry; San Diego Primary Elections; and more.
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Meet Seth Litchney, City of San Diego
Seth Litchney is the Program Manager for Housing Policy with the City of San Diego Planning Department. In this role, Seth develops policies for the city related to the Land Development Code, Coastal Commission, and housing. In 2023, Seth led the huge task of writing the city’s Housing Action Package 2.0 (HAP 2.0), which aims to create new and affordable home opportunities in all communities for people of all backgrounds. We are proud to have supported HAP 2.0, which was approved by San Diego City Council on December 12. Learn more about Seth and his efforts that earned him this nomination here.
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R&D Amortization Fix Passes House of Representatives
Research and development amortization has been a critical issue for the innovation economy since the recent implementation of provisions that dramatically limit the amount companies doing innovative R&D can deduct from their taxes. The House of Representatives recently passed a tax package that would retroactively push back implementation until the end of 2025. The Senate cast doubts about the package, but Biocom California continues to advocate for this important fix.
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Biocom California Responds to Real-World Evidence FDA Guidance
Biocom California submitted a comment letter responding to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) draft guidance, Use of Real-World Evidence to Support Regulatory Decision-Making for Medical Devices. This draft guidance builds upon the recommendations outlined in the 2017 real-world evidence (RWE) final guidance document and includes new content about methodologies for the collection and analysis of real-world data (RWD) to generate RWE.
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California’s New Senate Leader Mike McGuire
State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, who was sworn in on February 5, unveiled his reshuffling of the leadership team and committee assignments. Among the changes, Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) will succeed McGuire as majority leader, Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) will continue as Democratic caucus chairperson, and Sen. Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento) will be one of two assistant majority leaders and take over the business, professions and economic development committee.
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Bay Area
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Proposed Tax Overhaul’s Impact on Biotech in San Francisco
The Offices of the Controller and Treasurer & Tax Collector for the City and County of San Francisco issued recommendations intended to frame the development of a ballot measure in November 2024. If the recommendation is passed by voters, there will be a tax increase for the biotech industry. The 2022 baseline for taxes paid from the biotech industry in San Francisco was $7.6 million and the proposed amount for 2026 would be $12.8 million, an increase of $5.2 million or 68% total.
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Electric Energy Codes in Legal Limbo in San Mateo County
While most cities in San Mateo County mandate all-electric appliances in new developments, a recent decision cementing the prohibition of Berkeley’s natural gas ban lawsuit has created ambiguity for energy codes. Some municipalities have made exceptions for natural gas usage, such as hospitals or labs.
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Berkeley City Council Special Election
The special election to fill the Berkeley City Council seat left unexpectedly vacant earlier this month will be held April 16. The election is for District 7’s seat, which covers the Southside neighborhood near UC Berkeley.
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San Diego
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San Diego City Council Primary Election 2024
San Diego’s City Council currently has primary races in districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9. The main issues the candidates and council are facing are homelessness, affordable housing, and improvements to infrastructure. Learn more about the issues and candidates here.
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Land Development Code Update Proposes Sweeping Changes
A large package of proposed policy changes in San Diego would change parking requirements for research and development facilities and make it easier to turn empty malls into homes. The package would also give developers more options for complying with some requirements of the high-density housing incentive program known as Complete Communities.
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Potential Tax for Flooding Fixes in San Diego
San Diego Council President Sean Elo-Rivera is moving to revive a proposed water quality tax to pay for flood prevention and anti-pollution efforts. If the proposed tax makes it to the November ballot, it will need support from more than two-thirds of city voters for approval.
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Greater Los Angeles
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LA City Council & Board of Supervisors Primary Election 2024
Los Angeles’ City Council and Board of Supervisors have multiple districts on the ballot for the March 5 primary election. The issues on both agendas for next term include policing and juvenile justice, homelessness and “vanlords,” housing, transportation, and government reform.
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Impact of Declaring a State of Emergency on Homelessness
Since the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency on homelessness just over a year ago, more than 23,000 people in LA County were placed in permanent housing and 37,000 were moved to interim housing. Improvements were also made to the Department of Mental Health and other agencies.
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Landslide Halts Train Services in San Clemente
Passenger service Metrolink has been suspended indefinitely in San Clemente after a landslide shifted the tracks on January 24. This is the fifth time since September 2021 that passenger service has been suspended in the area due to hillside failures.
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Upcoming Committee Meetings and Events
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Zoe Bilis
Manager of Regulatory Policy
Washington, D.C.
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Emily Cassel
Govt. Affairs Events & Project Manager
San Diego
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Laure Clark
Sr. Director, Federal Policy & Govt. Affairs
Washington, D.C.
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Melanie Cohn
Sr. Director, Regional Policy & Govt. Affairs
SD, LA, Bay Area
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Jimmy Jackson
Senior Vice President
& Chief Policy Officer
San Diego
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Casey O’Neill
Policy & Workforce Dev. Manager
Greater Los Angeles
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Biocom California Advocacy
Biocom California is the largest, most experienced leader and advocate for California’s life science sector. Our public policy staff is strategically located in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Washington, D.C. We work with federal, state, and local governments to collectively pursue outcomes that benefit regional life science growth and contribute to a more innovation-friendly state. With over 28 years of experience, Biocom California works on behalf of more than {{{dynamic_content_1600}}} member companies statewide.
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