A ‘Capital’ Trip by Keziah Olsen, LCMP  The first meeting in the state capital was at the Sheehy Strategy Group office very close to the capitol building. Founder Tom Sheehy and his associate/wife Brena have been the CLCA legislative advocates for many years. Tom has a very impressive resume: he has a BA in agriculture, worked as a soil expect after college, and served under Governor Schwarzenegger as his appointee to the Department of Finance. During this meeting, we were introduced to other chapter members who travelled for the conference: CLCA North Coast Chapter President Lou Penning, CLCA Legislative Director Megan Rios, CLCA President Lindsay Ono, and CLCA Executive Director Sandra Giarde, CAE. These CLCA executives took the lead, describing the objectives, procedures, and goals for the next two days. On the first day, each chapter representative met with their local elected representatives. As a LA/San Gabriel Valley Chapter Member, I had the pleasure to briefly meet with Senator Sasha Perez and Assembly Member Nick Schultz, where I had the chance to introduce the CLCA’s overarching mission and responsibilities. I also described the importance of the network a chapter like the LA/SGV has and its unique work on the ground. I also mentioned our support and opposition to certain legislation bills impacting our license, our work, and our employees at large. On the second day, two groups were formed. Megan Rios and I met four elected representatives or their legislative directors: Assembly Member Juan Alanis, Assembly Member Phillip Chen, Senator Mike McGuire, and Senator Tim Grayson. We have been closely following SB 291 regarding worker’s comp authored by Senator Tim Grayson, who was a general contractor before becoming an Assembly Member and then a Senator. Fire prevention was, of course, part of the discussion, and the Senator invited the CLCA to be part of a roundtable event that he put together in his district, which the local CLCA representative attended. Being invited to the table by a Senator is a big deal, and the CLCA is very well equipped to not only participate but also be a major player in the solutions to big issues — statewide. The other CLCA advocacy group had the pleasure to meet with the staff of Bay Area Assembly Member Marc Berman, who authored the CORE (Clean Off-Road Equipment) program that many of us know and may have benefitted from. The CLCA thanked the Assembly Member and requested additional funds for the CORE program to assist those who are transitioning to electric equipment. Though CORE announced that funds had been exhausted on July 29, 2025, the program announced less than a month later that, as of August 19, it was accepting voucher applications for the purchase of heavy-duty off-road equipment. California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) Deputy Director Mike Jamnetski and the CSLB Legislative Director Rebecca May joined us for lunch and some very informative discussions about the profession, achievements, and future goals. One of the most important topics of discussion for this current legislative session — which will end September 13 — is modifications to fire regulation. The current references to “Zone 0” were created in a rush to create an easy-to-follow rule during a crazy fire season. Unfortunately, much to the dismay of landscape contractors and landscape architects in California, this rule dictated no plants at all were allowed within 5 feet of a home. Now, this regulation appears to be emerging as a subject of major discussion for the next session, in line with Governor Newsom’s push for widescale adoption of “Zone 0” regulations by the end of 2025. The conclusion and souvenir of this two-day conference was a nice photo taken in the State of California Assembly chamber (see above). Productive, hard work — going from meeting to meeting on different floors of the “swing space,” where Assembly Members and Senators work — was highly rewarding. I strongly encourage all chapters to organize and send their legislative representative to the next CLCA Legislative Action Conference. |
