2016 Accomplishments
“In Northern California, there’s a single dominant business leadership group, the
70-year-old Bay Area Council, advocating for the region’s economic future.”
Michael Storper, UCLA Professor and Co-Author of The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles
Housing and Sustainable Development
Disrupted California’s Housing Production System With ADU Legislation
Frustrated by the State’s inability to produce housing to meeting growing demand, the Bay Area Council made a huge
push to ease barriers on accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Also known as granny flats or in-law units, ADUs offer
environmentally friendly, naturally affordable, gentle infill in existing neighborhoods. The Council assembled a rainbow
coalition of supporters, including businesses, housing and social justice advocates, environmentalists, teachers, and
others. This push to ease some of the most onerous barriers on ADUs – fees, parking, and permitting- generated broad
bi-partisan support and ultimately the Governor’s signature. We estimate this could create 150,000 new housing units
in our region.
Unified Housing Proponents To Support Governor Brown’s By-Right
After Governor Brown surprised the State with his by-right housing proposal, the most significant housing reform
proposal in years, the Council jumped into action to lead the fight in support of by-right. Launching a major social media
campaign, the Council unified housing proponents and educated nay-sayers about the need of housing supply and
housing’s effect on poverty, the environment, and economy. Although by-right did not pass, the Council set the stage for
legislators to pass meaningful reforms in 2017 and beyond, and created a unified voice for housing proponents.
Clean Energy
Convened World’s Top Business and Government Leaders For Breakthroughs in Clean Energy
The Bay Area Council organized and managed the global Clean Energy Ministerial conference, in partnership with the US
Department of Energy and a host committee of top energy foundations, companies, and government leaders. This event
brought the energy ministers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France,
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the
United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Governor Brown and
many others to work on implementing the Paris climate accord and other top clean energy issues. Among the many
highlights of CEM7, some of world’s largest companies—including Council members Well Fargo, Google, Apple,
Facebook, and Microsoft—pledged to shift to between 50% and 100% renewable power. Other adopted commitments
included purchasing and deploying eight billion energy-saving LED bulbs and the investment of $1.5 billion to accelerate
the deployment of clean energy technology.
Engaged Business Leaders On Renewable Energy Transformation
The Energy Committee, Co-Chaired by Tony Earley (PG&E) and Mike Petouhoff (Apple), convened for a series of focused
conversations on some of the key energy policy, technology, and economic issues in the renewable energy
transformation, including battery-electric vehicles, energy innovation R&D, and business leadership to transition to
renewable energy. Through co-sponsorship of major conferences—including the AEE Pathways Conference, and the
GreenBiz Verge conference—the Bay Area Council promoted its commitment to clean and renewable energy and
connected its members with learning opportunities.
Transportation
Started the “Go Big or Go Home” Transportation Effort for 2018
Under the leadership of Transportation Committee Co-Chairs Jeff Heller and Rosemary Turner, the Bay Area Council has
established a Task Force with the Office of the Mayor in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, Senator Feinstein and The
Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Working with top political consultant, Ace Smith, the Task Force identified a
goal to make a quantum leap in transportation funding and traffic improvement for 2018. We have begun polling and
legislative preparations, plus investigated similar efforts in Los Angeles.
Brought Near-Term Commute Improvement
The Council’s focus on the 101/Caltrain corridor created real progress in 2016, with San Mateo County initiating
environment review, on a compressed timeline, to create new carpool lanes on 101. With the Council’s support, Caltrain
funding partners agreed to absorb the cost increase to electrify Caltrain and contracts have been awarded to install
overhead electric power and to acquire electrically-powered trains. The Council’s continuing drumbeat to ‘improve
commutes now’ led the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to allocate $40 million to near-term transit expansion
in the Bay Bridge corridor, including new ferry service on the Oakland and Vallejo routes.
Facilitated Private Sector Transportation
The Bay Area Council’s Shuttle Task Force negotiated a hard-fought one-year approval of the employer shuttle program
in San Francisco and defended against the most extreme and unacceptable provisions. In collaboration with the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Council conducted a regional shuttle census the demonstrated the
tremendous growth of private shuttles, supporting our argument that shuttles have become a substantial segment of
the regional transportation system. The Council engaged successfully to advance autonomous vehicle development and
deployment, contributing to the legislative approval of AB1592 (authorizing autonomous vehicle testing in Contra Costa
County) and to the development of new federal autonomous guidelines that are substantially more flexible and proinnovation than those being considered by the California DMV.
Expanding Region’s Ferry System
The Council’s Ferry Subcommittee has become the region’s focal venue for leadership on expanding the ferry system,
and has advanced its priorities in several areas. As a result of Ferry Subcommittee advocacy, and the leadership of WETA
Vice Chairman Jim Wunderman, the new WETA Strategic Plan articulates an expansion vision, recognizes the need to
advocate for additional funding, acknowledges the arrival of low-carbon ferry technology, and states an openness to
partnership with the private sector. The Council actively supported the successful efforts of private ferry operators
Tideline and Prop SF; with their new CPUC permits, both plan to offer new ferry service in January 2017. By organizing
interested employers, the Council successfully drew attention to the opportunity to develop new terminals at Redwood
City and Mission Bay, and project development efforts are now beginning at both sites. Direct engagement and
advocacy with MTC brought new funds (discussed above) to expand service from Oakland and Vallejo.
Growing Transportation Funding
The Council’s active participation in the Fix Our Roads Coalition has not yet produced the desired new funding from
Sacramento but has produced a strong and committed coalition that will continue its work in 2017. Local efforts in 2017
were significantly more successful. With the active engagement of the Bay Area Council, voters will have the opportunity
to approve over $15 billion of new transportation funds at the November election. A top priority of the Council was to
bring funding for BART and Caltrain improvements; if passed, the measures will fund rehabilitation of BART,
approximately 30 percent more peak-hour capacity on BART, and significant improvements on Caltrain in Santa Clara
County.
Workforce Development
Closing the Communication Gap between Employers and Educators
The Bay Area Council has taken the lead to address the skills/employment gap given its relations with its member
organizations and the public sector that include educational leaders from K-14, community colleges and four-year
universities. Starting with the two-year colleges, supported by the Bay Area Community College Consortium, the
Workforce of the Future Committee has engaged educational experts teaching courses most relevant to the four
industry sectors (technology, healthcare (biotech), utilities/infrastructure, and financial service industries). The working
meetings reviewing curriculum and defining pathways to jobs from classrooms is being recorded and uploaded into the
online supply and demand tool to bring transparency to employer needs. This tool is in response to employers with
numerous job opening that sometimes go back an entire year are bombarded by hundreds of educators, community
based organizations, and workforce investment boards for their input. Close to $500K have been raised to support the
labor intensive program development and implementation. This support has come from the Committee Chairs for the
Workforce of the Future Committee, Teresa Briggs of Deloitte, and Glenn Shannon of Shorenstein including generous
support from funders including Bank of America, CA Workforce Investment Board, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, US Bank,
Water Career Pathways and members of the Council interested in closing the skills/employment gap. The Council is
responding to its member needs to create a simple one-stop site to post workforce needs of employers.
Boys and Men of Color Career Summit Hires 332 Youth of Color
On July 21st, in partnership with My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, LeadersUp, Urban Strategies Council, and PolicyLink, the
Bay Area Council welcomed 929 individuals – mostly young men of color – to Invest in Youth: Pathways to Success Boys
and Men of Color Career Summit at the Oakland Convention Center. Over 30 employers, the majority being Bay Area
Council members, explored career pathways with young adults and conducted a total of 601 interviews, extending 332
job offers on the spot, a 55% interview to hire ratio. Nearly 200 volunteers and over a dozen community service
providers, legal and financial advisors, career education services, and community colleges offered attendees access to
critical resources. U.S. Secretary of Education John King, former NFL superstar and Oakland native Marshawn Lynch, and
other high-profile attendees attended and engaged directly with attendees.
Healthcare
Brought Attention to Cost-Saving “Precision Medicine”
At the request of the White House Precision Medicine Initiative, convened a major conference “Delivering on the
Promise of Precision Medicine” co-hosted by Oracle and Genentech and attended by hundreds of industry stakeholders.
Presentations by senior scientists and CEOs helped usefully inform the state and national dialogues on solutions for
preserving precision medical innovation while improving value for spending. Laid the groundwork for multi-stakeholder
advocacy in this area including successfully lobbying for the expansion of the funding for the California Initiative to
Advance Precision Medicine in the Governor’s 2016 budget.
Built Support For Medi-Cal Funding
Released major Economic Institute report which received state and national coverage, “Mainstreaming Medi-Cal” which
documented the importance of this healthcare financing program on which one third of the state’s residents rely. Set
stage for endorsement of and advocacy on behalf of Propositions 52 and 56 which would increase funding for the MediCal program and provide more reliable revenue for hospitals and doctors that provide services to low-income California
residents.
Gender Equity
Passed Landmark Legislation Aimed at Retaining Women in the Workforce
The Council drove the passage of the San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance, which made San Francisco the first
city in the nation to guarantee that nearly all employees have access to fully paid leave for the purposes of bonding with
a new child. Fully paid parental leave is not only important for parents and children, but it also benefits employers and
the economy at large. Economists have found that paid leave raises the probability that employees return to work,
thereby improving employee loyalty and reducing the cost of replacing an employee (estimated at approximately 6-18
months of that salary). This is a critical policy for retaining women in the workforce and promoting their career
advancement, while also supporting men to be equal partners in family responsibilities.
Developed the Gender Equity Best Practices Resource Guide
The Gender Equity Committee successfully fundraised for the development of the Best Practices Resource Guide that
will help companies promote gender equity within their organizations. The Guide is a useful tool for employers across
the region to learn about a range of innovative strategies that their peers have employed and decide on the best
strategy to promote a workplace culture of equality within their company. The Bay Area Council hosted a successful
launch event for the Guide that included an interactive discussion with gender equity leader and The Representation
Project Founder & CEO Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The event attracted over 150 attendees, as well as media attention
which further promoted the Guide to external stakeholders on strategic action items: Close the Pay Gap, Reduce
Unconscious Bias, Improve Access to Mentorship and Career Development Opportunities, Establish a Healthy Workplace
Culture, Offer HR Policies Beneficial to All, and Advance Women as Leaders.
Emerged as Gender Equity Thought Leaders
Throughout 2016 the Gender Equity Committee successfully developed relationships with key stakeholders and
positioned the Bay Area Council as a thought leader on this issue. The Council hosted several major events that
attracted many high profile companies and the two lawmakers that authored the most progressive equal pay and paid
leave pieces of legislation in the nation – two policies that are critical to the advancement of women in the workforce.
The Committee hosted San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener to discuss his paid parental leave proposal, and Senator
Hannah-Beth Jackson to discuss the implementation of the California Fair Pay Act, the nation’s strongest equal pay law.
These relationships with lawmakers combined with new partnerships with key gender equity organizations has solidified
our image as a leader in this field, and has positioned us well to continue our advocacy and convening roles in 2017.
Water
Paved the Way for a Functioning, Large-Scale Water Market in California
The Water Committee voted at its 2/24 meeting to sponsor legislation with Assemblymember Dodd to transform the
way California manages its water data. Under current law, California collects and stores water data (on hydrology,
storage levels, groundwater pumping, fish abundance, water temperature and more) on myriad government databases,
making it impossible for all but the largest and most resourceful water agencies to gather the information necessary to
transfer water. By placing existing state data onto a new online platform, water agencies and farmers of all sizes could
buy and sell excess water more easily, thus introducing market efficiencies into the state’s water system. Discussions
with the water committee resulted in AB 1755, the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, which was signed into law by
Governor Brown on September 23. The platform will be completed and fully populated with all datasets by 2020.
Passed Region’s First 9-County Ballot Measure Securing $500 million for San Francisco Bay Resiliency
Senator Dianne Feinstein helped negotiate the purchase of the South Bay Salt Ponds from Cargill in 2002, in the hopes
that the ponds, and other sites around the San Francisco Bay, would eventually be restored to their original tidal
marshes. Thus began years of work to attract state and federal support for restoration. Following mega storms on the
Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, wetlands received renewed attention for their potential to provide cost-effective flood
protection. Beginning in 2012, the Bay Area Council Water Committee began supporting efforts to create a local funding
stream for wetland restoration and flood protection projects, culminating in Measure AA. The region’s first 9-county
ballot initiative, Measure AA enacts a $12 parcel tax to fund projects authorized by the San Francisco Bay Restoration
Authority. The Bay Area Council shaped the overall tax measure, and raised approximately $450,000 of the total $2
million raised by the Measure AA campaign. Bay Area voters approved Measure AA on the June 7 primary election, and
the measure is expected to raise $500 million over the next 20 years.