Foremost among the responsibilities of the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA) is advocating on behalf of the lodging industry and providing protection from, and education for, the various legislative and regulatory bodies in California. Through our national affiliation with the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), CH&LA is the only California state lodging association that provides both state and national representation and protection to its members.
The key components of CH&LA's ongoing Government & Legal Relations program include:
Legislative Advocacy: CH&LA addresses a wide range of legislative issues in
Sacramento, while the American Hotel & Lodging Association does the same in Washington, DC. CH&LA's Government & Legal Relations staff and long-time legislative advocates (Public Policy Advocates), annually review thousands of bills as they are introduced and amended in Sacramento each year. Bills which could have an impact on the lodging industry — either positive or negative — are identified, reviewed and tracked throughout the legislative process to aggressively protect the interests of the lodging industry. The Government & Legal Relations Committee meets regularly in person and/or via conference call when positions need to be taken and advocated at the Capitol.
Proactively, CH&LA helps the industry achieve legislative changes that are beneficial to its interests. When it is determined that legislative initiative or change is needed to protect and support the industry, a strategic effort is undertaken to identify and secure legislative support, build coalitions if necessary, lobby and advocate actively ensuring enactment of its initiatives.
One example of a major coalition effort, stopping a tax exemption bill for online travel companies (OTC's) was defeated in the early morning hours of the final debate for California's 2010-11 State Budget. The bill was an 11th hour, end-of-session legislative effort aimed at exempting online travel companies (OTC's) from remitting taxes on the retail amount of the hotel room rate and instead, permitting tax payments only on the contracted or wholesale room rate. It is estimated that this differential in taxation is approximately $100 million annually in California.
Once CH&LA became aware of the legislation, a meeting of the CH&LA Executive Committee was convened at the Northern California Hotel & Lodging Conference. In this meeting, a motion was passed unanimously that: "CHLA opposes the introduction of SB 848 without the benefit of discussion and/or analysis of the potential impact on the hotel and lodging industry and the municipalities in which the lodging industry operates."
After a furious 18 hours of lobbying by the California Hotel & Lodging Association, the California League of Cities, and a coalition that included the "Big Ten Cities", counties, and public safety groups, the bill was voted down for the final time at 6:30 a.m. the next day in the Assembly with only 12 Aye votes, 33 Noes, and 33 members not voting.We continue to monitor the efforts of the OTCs to secure tas preferences at both the state and federal level.
The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as "Card Check", has been an important topic in the most recent state and federal legislative sessions. While the lodging industry is committed to protecting workers' rights, including the right to join unions, the proposed "card check" legislation is a serious threat to the California lodging industry and one of the many issues that CH&LA has vigorously opposed. Most recently, during the current legislative session, we opposed SB 104 (Steinberg-D, Sacramento) which required card check provisions for agriculture employees. Although this bill was passed by both houses, we succeeded in the end when it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Brown.
AH&LA has produced videos to explain the proposed national legislation card check entitled "Think Again" and "Stand Up Part 1" & "Stand Up Part 2".
Some other examples of legislation that CH&LA has successfully secured on behalf of the industry over the last several legislative sessions are:
- Authorization to serve alcoholic beverages in limited-service properties
- Enactment of bills to create and fund the California Tourism Marketing Act
- Exemption of bed and breakfast inns from unnecessary requirements applicable to full-service restaurants
- Expansion of rights of to evict guests for non-payment
- Authorization for service of wine by bed and breakfast inns
- Authorization for in-room "mini bars"
- Exemption of hotel/motel shuttle buses from PUC regulations
CH&LA, when requested by members, also gets involved in legislative issues at the local level. Most frequently, CH&LA staff provides support and local representation in connection with transient occupancy taxes (bed taxes), as well as local ordinances prescribing hotel/motel registration procedures, permissible length of stay, food service requirements, sprinkler and other fire safety requirements, and public health issues that impact your business.
Regulatory Representation: The legislative component is only part of CH&LA's Governmental & Legal Relations program. CH&LA also charts an aggressive course in working with the 50+ regulatory agencies in California to enhance the ability of the lodging industry to conduct their operations without unreasonable restrictions.
Some of the more significant regulatory changes which CH&LA has initiated and obtained include the following:
- Repeal of California's daily overtime requirement
- Increase in maximum meal and lodging credits allowed
- Exemption of commissioned banquet, sales, and catering managers from overtime requirement
- Exemption of "complimentary" food and beverage from sales taxation
- Exemption of low-rise properties to provide unsafe "operable" windows
- Deregulation of the charges which innkeepers can impose on in-room telephone calls (prior to CH&LA's multi-year effort, the maximum per-call charge was $.25)
- Exemption from requirements to provide Proposition 65 warnings for faucets and ceramic tableware
- Exemption of hotels/motels and restaurants from requirement to use recycled packaging materials
Ballot Measures: CH&LA has initiated and managed two successful ballot measure campaigns which amended the California Constitution to provide all building owners (not just innkeepers) with millions of dollars of property tax relief when they alter their buildings to provide fire safety features or handicap accessibility. CH&LA has also represented the lodging industry in fighting a number of ballot measures that would have harmed the industry significantly. Importantly, the Government & Legal Relations Committee also takes positions on ballot measures that can impact our industry. This enables us to provide guidance to members seeking to better understand the ever growing and conflicting propositions on the ballot each election cycle.
Legal Representation:CH&LA considers representing the lodging industry before the California courts as another important component of its Governmental & Legal Relations program. CH&LA has, when appropriate, initiated lawsuits regarding innkeeper rights (e.g., regarding wage-and-hour issues). It has also filed amicus curiae (i.e., "friend of the court") briefs in many cases.
Some of the legal issues on which CH&LA has taken a position in court are:
- The requirement to provide vacation pay to departing employees
- The right of the Industrial Welfare Commission to set separate, lower minimum wages for tipped employees
- Limits on liability for stolen property of a guest
- The constitutionality of California's law limiting liability related to serving alcoholic beverages
Regional Educational Meetings: Each year CH&LA conducts numerous educational meetings throughout the state. Topics always include the most recent legislative and regulatory actions and feature a government relations briefing. Participation in these events is an excellent way for lodging industry professionals to stay current on their compliance responsibilities.
