What’s Inside: June Primary Highlights; FDA User Fee Legislation Passes House; New Bay Area Water Restrictions; San Diego County Proposes $618.7M Budget; and more.
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The Latest on Midterm Elections
California’s “top two” primary system, which advances the top two candidates to the November general election without regard to party affiliation for federal and state offices, has led to intrigue and sometimes unlikely alliances as interests sometimes try to “help” candidates get to the second place slot because they are far less likely to win a general election, but this year’s June 7 primary election did not produce a large number of surprises for top candidates. Similarly, local races, many of which can be won in June without a runoff if a candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, played mostly to form this year, as well. Please click on the links below for more comprehensive looks at election results at the federal, state and local levels.
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On June 7, California held its top-two primary, in which the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of their party. For the first time in its 171-year history, California lost one congressional district following the 2020 Census and will have 52 Representatives joining Congress in January. The change resulted is newly drafted districts and some incumbents moving to safer districts. All districts but five have incumbents. The current top two in the five open seats are: Kermit Jones (Democrat) v. Kevin Kiley (Republican) in District 3; Adam Gray (Democrat) v. John Duarte (Republican) in District 13; Kevin Mullin (Democrat) v. David Canepa (Democrat) in District 15, Sydney Kamlager (Democrat) v. Jan Perry (Democrat) in District 33; and Robert Garcia (Democrat) v. John Briscoe (Republican); in District 42. In the Senate, Sen. Alex Padilla will
face Republican Mark Meuser.
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User Fee Legislation Passes U.S. House of Representatives
On June 8, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Food and Drug Amendments by a vote of 392-28. On June 14, the Senate HELP Committee marked up their version of the user fee agreement legislation and passed it by a 13-9 vote. Biocom California applauds the House for the timely passage of the bill and looks forward to working with the Senate as they move the bill to the floor. Biocom California will remain engaged in the user fee reauthorization process during the conference process.
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Biocom California Receives Response to March-In Rights Letter
On June 2, Biocom California received a response from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in regards to a recent letter we sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging him to reject petitions to use the march-in rights provisions in the Bayh-Dole Act to control drug prices. In the response from NIH, Acting Director Lawrence Tabak stated they are still reviewing the current petition for Xtandi, outlining the criteria the petition
must meet in law.
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Biocom California Hires Zoe Bilis to Handle Regulatory Policy
Biocom California welcomed Zoe Bilis to the public policy team on June 6. Zoe’s focus is to respond to guidance documents, engage with federal agencies, lead Biocom California Regulatory Affairs Committee (RAC) and manage our Regulatory and Reimbursement Newsletter (R&R). Zoe has experience as both a biomedical engineer technician and a regulatory affairs specialist, and is based in our Washington, D.C. office. Zoe can be reached at [email protected].
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Biocom California’s D.C. Office has a new location
We are pleased to announce that Biocom California’s Washington, D.C. office recently moved to 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, South Building, Suite 900. The move denotes a growing federal advocacy team dedicated to representing our members’ interests in our nation’s capital. We invite members to visit!
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June Primary Highlights Mixed Results of State’s ‘Top Two’ System
Ten years after the state’s "top two" primary system was adopted following a late night budget compromise, the system continues to provide unpredictable results wherein two candidates emerge from the primary to continue to the November General Election, without any particular regard to their place on the political spectrum. The system was supposed to create a more moderate legislature but it is unclear if that has happened. Following the June 7 election last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom will advance against another Democrat, while two Democratic candidates for the State Senate will advance to November in a usually safe Republican district, guaranteeing a larger Senate supermajority.
It remains to be seen how the process will work for a more moderate legislature in the future.
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Regional Affairs
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In Los Angeles County, there are still a high number of votes that need to be tallied (100,000 to 200,000) as of June 15. At the county level, Supervisor Hilda Solis will secure her third and final term in office, and State Sen. Bob Hertzberg and West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsey Horvath appear headed to the November runoff. In the race for LA mayor, Congressmember Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso emerged as the top-two finishers and will face each other in the November runoff to replace termed-out Mayor Eric Garcetti. Initial counts had Caruso in first, but Bass moved to first place as more vote-by-mail ballots are counted.
San Diego County Board of Supervisors Member Nathan Fletcher won handily over Republican Amy Reichert, and incumbent Councilmember Dr. Jen Campbell will likely face off against Republican Linda Lukacs for the District 2 seat of the City Council. In Council District 6, Kent Lee and Tommy Hough advance to the general election with Lee leading Hough by a narrow margin.
In the Bay Area, Sylvia Arenas is leading in the race for Santa Clara County Supervisor, and Charles Stone and Ray Mueller have emerged as the top vote-getters for two seats on San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors. Christina Corpus is holding a lead for San Mateo County Sheriff, and Eric Lucan and Mary Sackett are leading the race for available seats on the Marin County Board of Supervisors.
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San Diego Tops Office-to-Lab Conversions
According to a report by CBRE, San Diego is second only to Boston in square feet of office-to-lab conversions in the U.S. Life science developers are increasingly opting to convert due to demand for flexible spaces following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lower cost of converting buildings versus ground-up construction.
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Construction Begins at Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport
Travelers going through San Diego are bracing for increased congestion around the airport due to construction of the improved Terminal 1, set to be completed in late 2024. The Terminal 1 parking lot was closed to incoming traffic June 5 and will be permanently closed June 15.
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County of San Diego Proposes $618.7M Budget, $1.8M for New Climate Action Plan
The proposed $618.7M 2022-23 budget for the County of San Diego Land Use and Environment Department includes $1.8 million for the County to develop a new Climate Action Plan (the one adopted in 2018 has been subjected to continued litigation) and $33 million to support climate action goals.
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Alameda County Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate
As of June 3, Alameda County has implemented an indoor mask mandate in most indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status or history of prior COVID-19 illness. The City of Berkeley, which sets its own health protocols, and the other eight Bay Area Counties are not
considering reimplementing a mask mandate for their residents at this time.
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California Farms, Bay Area Cities Ordered to Stop Diverting Water
The State Water Resources Control Board announced curtailment orders on June 7 for the City of San Francisco and farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to cease pulling water from area rivers and streams, including the Tuolumne River, due to worsening drought conditions. The order affects communities from Fresno to the Oregon state line and a total of 212 public water systems. Water that is already held in storage is not affected.
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Water Wasters Could Be Fined Up to $10K in South Bay
Santa Clara Valley Water adopted a program to enforce restrictions on outdoor water use by residents and businesses by fining those who disregard repeated warnings on wasting water. SCVW customers could face fines ranging anywhere from $100 to $10,000 for not following rules for reducing outdoor water use.
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Roundtable with Rep. Lou Correa
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On June 1, Biocom California hosted a roundtable meeting with Representative Lou Correa (D-CA-46) who represents Orange County and has been a great supporter of our industry. During the roundtable, he engaged Biocom California members on access to new medicines, supply chain, manufacturing, and IP protections.
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IP Committee Meeting with UPSTO Official Steve Koziol
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Biocom California hosted a meeting with USPTO Silicon Valley Office Acting Director, Steve Koziol, on June 2. During the meeting, he touched on the initiatives that recently confirmed USPTO Director, Kathi Vidal, is initiating, including efforts to make the patent system more accessible to all Americans. He also provided an update on the important outreach and educational activities of the USPTO Silicon Valley Office.
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Zoe Bilis
Associate 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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Richard White
Associate Manager of Federal Advocacy
Washington, D.C.
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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 all levels of 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 27 years of experience, Biocom California works on behalf of more than 1,600 member companies statewide.
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