Monday, February 27, 2012

UPDATE: BOMA International National Issues Conference and Winter Business Meeting 2012

BOMA California Delegation with Senator Barbara Boxer 

BOMA San Francisco Members with Congresswoman Jackie Speier 

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - February 27, 2012

BOMA San Francisco Members and BOMA California Members went to Washington D.C. earlier this month to represent the Commercial Real Estate Industry (CRE) at the BOMA International 2012 Winter Business Meeting (WBM) and National Issues Conference (NIC).

Thank you to our local BOMA San Francisco members who shared their ideas with colleges from around the United States and traversed Capitol Hill to meet with our California Senators and/or staff: Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer; as well as our Congressional Representatives: Jackie Speier and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

BOMA San Francisco Delegation
  • Sandra Boyle, BOMA California President; Director of the Corporate Occupier and Investor Services Cushman & Wakefield
  • Meade Boutwell, President, BOMA San Francisco; Senior Vice President, Brokerage Services CB Richard Ellis
  • Susan Court, Director Cushman & Wakefield
  • Stephany Cull, CEO RetroCom Energy Strategies, Inc.
  • Steven Ring, Director - Client Solutions Cushman & Wakefield and BOMA San Francisco President-Elect
The BOMA member led discussion included CRE's contribution to the economy and these salient topics currently in debate in Congress:
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Notice and Compliance
    • BOMA supports legislation that protects the commercial real estate industry from 'drive-by' lawsuits.  This can be accomplished by imposing notice and a compliance opportunity before commencement of a private civil action under the ADA.
      • Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) that would allow a building owner time (60 days to communicate a planned remedy and 120 days to become compliant) to identify the ADA issue and correct it.  
  • Carried Interest
    • The current law taxes carried interest as a long term capital gain at 15 percent.
      • BOMA International supports maintaining current law that taxes the carried interest of a general partner in a real estate partnership as a capital gain. BOMA International opposes altering the tax code to require carried interest be taxed as ordinary income.
  • Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs
    • BOMA International supports tax incentives for energy efficiency upgrades and calls on Congress to consider conservation and demand side management tools, such as tax incentives, to address the growing energy challenge.
  • Leasehold Depreciation
    • Through the end  of 2011, tenant improvements were depreciated on a 15-year schedule.  On January 1, 2012, the law reverted back to a 39-year depreciation schedule.
      • The 39-year depreciation schedule does not accurately represent the tenant lease landscape in today's commercial real estate environment.
      • The 15-year depreciation schedule more closely reflects the reality of today's tenant lease range of three to seven years.
Click here to review BOMA International's summary of the 2012 WBM and NIC.

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Original Post - January 28, 2012



Your BOMA Advocacy Team will be attending the BOMA International Winter Business Meeting and National Issues Conference from January 30 to February 1, 2012 in Washington D.C.

The Winter Business Meeting and National Issues Conference provides members from all BOMA locals an opportunity to share ideas, learn from their peers, be a part of shaping the future of BOMA and the commercial real estate industry and to take our message to legislators and regulators in our nation’s capitol.  Click here for more information, and here for a schedule of events.

Our regular flurry of blog posts may diminish while we are in Washington D.C.  Please rest assured that we will be posting news and information from the conference, as well as the political and regulatory issues that affect the local commercial real estate industry in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo Counties as soon as we return.

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