Businesses face new laws

Big changes are coming in state environmental laws that will affect large and small businesses, school districts, corporations, cities, universities and other entities, according to Westlake Village attorney Greg Patterson of the firm Musick, Peeler and Garrett.

Patterson spoke to business owners with the Agoura/Oak Park/ Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce on April 15 at the Calabasas Country Club. He discussed California's landmark initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in response to global warming. Signed in 2006, Assembly Bill 32 seeks to reduce state emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and to reduce them by another 80 percent by the year 2050. But significantly cutting emissions while attempting to grow the economy will be a challenge, Patterson said.

"It's like a big giant wave about to hit the shore and a lot of people don't know about it. It's going to be difficult for businesses. It's going to require some real changes in how we look at energy," Patterson said.

Industries affected immediately are transportation, which accounts for about 41 percent of emissions in the state; industry, which accounts for 22 percent; and electrical, which causes about 19 percent of emissions. Power companies will be required to reduce coal use by as much as 30 percent, and companies and public entities will have to monitor and report emission levels at all times.

Patterson anticipates enforcement policies to be in place by 2009, along with civil and criminal penalties for those that fail to submit accurate reports.

Meanwhile, the cost of power will continue to rise, he said. Businesses may have to hire consulting firms to help them navigate the rough waters.

It may sound like "gloom and doom," Patterson said, but the changes will help the economy in the long run.

"It will be rough working through it, but at the end of it, it's really about efficiency," he said.

Businesses should educate themselves about the new laws and participate in statewide workshops, Patterson said.

"Folks in Sacramento are sitting in their offices trying to figure this out. Engage your senator, congressman, the people actually writing the legislation that will affect your community," he said. "They want input to do this right."

Information on the energy legislation is available through the California Climate Change Registry at www.climateregistry.org.

Chamber members expressed concern about the new requirements.

"I think it will push companies currently in California elsewhere," said Bill White, a Chamber board member and small business counselor.

Al Adam, an investment adviser and Thousand Oaks planning commissioner, asked about the effect of the environmental laws on cities. According to Patterson, the municipalities will have to keep the regulations in mind whenever they develop or redevelop property.

For more information about the changes, visit the website www.arb.ca.gov.