Every August, Commercial Real Estate Development Association members from all corners of California brave the Sacramento summer heat and gather with other commercial real estate leaders to ensure the industry’s voice is heard in the California State Capitol. Earlier this month, CREDA participated in the California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES), a two-day annual event hosted by the California Business Properties Association (CBPA) that brings together members of CREDA, BOMA, ICSC, IREM, RILA, AIR CRE, Nareit, ACRE, and other commercial real estate organizations to advocate for the industry as a whole. This year, CREDA President and CEO Marc Selvitelli attended CCRES to help introduce our organization’s new name to the industry and to California state legislators.
The summit’s Day at the State Capitol kicked off on August 12 with a breakfast during which three legislators took the time to address attendees. Senator Jesse Arreguín, former Mayor of Berkeley, opened the program, followed by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, former Mayor of Newport Beach. Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, the newly elected Minority Leader of the California State Assembly, gave the keynote address.
Amid these legislative speakers, Marc Selvitelli delivered a speech concerning the new Commercial Real Estate Development Association name. Later in the day, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio participated in a meet and greet with the CCRES group, and Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen took a group of CREDA members on a tour of the Assembly floor. Not only was it informative to hear an update on California policymaking from this bipartisan and bicameral group of legislators, but it was also important for building the legislative relationships of the CRE industry.
After the breakfast event, CCRES attendees broke off into groups to meet with nearly 50 legislative offices in just three hours. This year, CBPA identified eight priority bills for attendees to speak about in their meetings. The industry supported the following four bills:
- AB 2418, which would allow an applicant for qualifying tenant improvements in Group B commercial buildings to retain a third-party plan checker if the local jurisdiction has not completed its review within 50 business days.
- AB 1704, which would require the California Air Resources Board to consider the cost-effectiveness of lower embodied carbon building materials and, if they have not reached cost parity with conventional building materials, pause the state’s embodied carbon program.
- AB 2044, which would require the California Building Standards Commission to deny a proposed building standard if the proposal does not contain an estimate of the standard’s costs.
- SB 1398, which would recognize Green Globes certification as an alternative to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to meet green building requirements.
AB 2044 has since been passed by both chambers of the legislature and now awaits the signature of Governor Gavin Newsom. AB 1704 died in the Senate Appropriations suspense file and will not pass. AB 2418 and SB 1398 are both still alive and can be passed before the end of the legislative session currently scheduled for August 31.
The industry opposed the following four bills:
- AB 2313, which would incentivize customers to permanently shut off natural gas service instead of replacing service lines.
- SB 1075, which would turn local community emissions reduction plans from community engagement tools into enforceable regulatory obligations.
- SB 1359, which would make it easier to transition customers away from natural gas service and toward electrification.
- SB 493, which would add “war” to the list of emergencies that trigger California’s price-gouging law, which includes rent.
In a major victory, SB 1075 was held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file and is dead for the year. AB 2313, SB 1359 and SB 493 are all still alive and can also be passed before the end of the legislative session. However, both AB 2313 and SB 493 both received CRE industry-supported amendments that address some of the issues with the bills.
Overall, the 2026 installment of CCRES was a great success. The passage of AB 2044 and the failure of SB 1075 both represent massive victories for CREDA California, CBPA, and the rest of the commercial real estate industry. Additionally, it created an important opportunity for CREDA members up and down the state of California to meet in one place and connect commercial real estate developers.
