Gavel

NAIOP SoCal Gavel Sponsorship

PURPOSE - To strengthen NAIOP SoCal's Legislative Advocacy program, respond to threats, proactively engage public officials, build and maintain relationships with policymakers, educate government officials on the value of commercial real estate to the local economy and be a powerful advocate for the commercial real estate industry.

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RECENT LEGISLATIVE SUCCESS

Cleaned Up AB 98 Warehouse Setback: Worked with our members and allied trade associations to secure 16 targeted amendments fixing AB 98 (Carrillo). Amendments ranged from protecting project feasibility and safeguarding entitlements to preserving workable design and truck circulation standards.
Defeated SB 789 Vacancy Tax: Led a sustained grassroots campaign to stop SB 789 (Menjivar), a $5/sq. ft. tax on commercial and industrial properties vacant 183+ days.
Stopped Commercial Rent Control Bill: Led direct negotiations on AB 380 (González) with its author to secure key exemptions, including on tenant improvements and non–month-to-month leases. As a result, we protected commercial and industrial property owners and bolstered a productive working relationship with the author.
Helped Defeat SB 34: As part of a broad coalition, we blocked port automation restrictions and new South Coast AQMD procedural barriers proposed in SB 34 (Richardson). Our efforts culminated in the Governor’s veto.
Shaped Local Zoning Policies: Leveraged our members’ expertise to work with city councils and staff in Pico Rivera, Fullerton, Irvine, Irwindale, Los Angeles’ Harbor Communities, and Santa Ana in shaping zoning updates, ordinance amendments, and industrial and housing incentive overlays.
Expanded Access to Policymakers: Hosted three Legislative Receptions in Los Angeles and Orange counties, which allowed over 200 members and 60 public officials to discuss priority issues shaping commercial real estate in Southern California.
Successful Advocacy Days at the State Capitol: Organized over 40 meetings with state lawmakers, including during two advocacy trips to Sacramento. Hosted two private dinners with more than 20 state legislators.
Activated Over 2,000 Advocates: Mobilized NAIOP SoCal members and allies to take action through our digital grassroots program.
Showed Up, On the Record, When it Mattered: Delivered public testimony at over one dozen city council meetings and planning commission hearings.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Be part of the most politically connected commercial real estate group in Southern California. NAIOP SoCal is the tip of the spear defending commercial real estate companies in Southern California and Sacramento. Our Gavel Sponsors get exclusive access to elected officials making decisions that impact all disciplines in commercial real estate. Gavel Sponsors also get exclusive insights on policy developments.

In 2025, NAIOP SoCal’s Legislative Advocacy program secured some of the most impactful wins in our chapter’s history, directly protecting our members’ assets, investments and future projects. We helped deliver SB 415 (Reyes) to fix 16 critical flaws in AB 98 (Carrillo), led the efforts to defeat SB 789 (commercial vacancy tax) and AB 380 (commercial rent control), and contributed to the veto of SB 34 (port automation restrictions). Backed by our valued Gavel Sponsors, NAIOP SoCal is firmly positioned as the top-tier, bipartisan commercial real estate advocate in California.
NAIOP SoCal delivered concrete policy outcomes that matter in jurisdictions where our Gavel Sponsors entitle projects, as well as own and operate assets. We secured industrial-friendly zoning and land-use wins in Pico Rivera, Fullerton, Irwindale, Irvine, Santa Ana, and Los Angeles’ Harbor Communities, aligning warehouse and logistics standards with AB 98, protecting and accurately defining industrial-oriented uses, and safeguarding multigenerational industrial overlays. Our three Legislative Receptions drew over 200 members and 60 public officials, and strengthened relationships with the decision-makers who control zoning, fees, infrastructure and regulations. Our Legislative Advocacy program is helping to lower risk, improve entitlement certainty, and create a more predictable and investment-friendly policy environment for commercial and industrial real estate in the Los Angeles Basin.
We continue fighting on the regulatory front. The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s 9-1 approval of the negotiated Cooperative Agreement with the cities and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is a significant win for the nation’s largest port complex, which supports millions of jobs and hundreds of billions in economic activity. The agreement reaffirms Southern California’s leadership in clean-air innovation through the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, which has already cut diesel particulate matter by 90%, nitrogen oxides by 70% and sulfur oxides by 98% since 2005. NAIOP SoCal is proud to be part of the broad coalition that helped bring the agreement across the finish line. The Ports Cooperative Agreement demonstrates what is possible when regulatory agencies and the regulated community work together towards unified goals.

It is imperative for NAIOP SoCal to continue building relationships with policymakers on a regular basis. NAIOP SoCal will not be an effective advocate if our interaction with a policymaker is only to oppose something.

We must continue to accelerate progress in educating government officials on the value that commercial real estate provides to job growth, the local and regional economy, and the quality of life in communities across Southern California.

We thank you for your support, which makes it possible for NAIOP SoCal to elevate our advocacy successes for commercial real estate.