Q2 Impact Report 2025

IN THIS ISSUE

• Letter from the CEO
• Welcome Q2 New Members!
• Big Wins
• Policy Highlights
• Coming up in Q3
• The Historic Klamath

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LETTER FROM THE CEO

Dear Bay Area Council Members,

As we close out the second quarter of 2025, it’s clear: the challenges facing our region are real — and growing. But so is our resolve. I’m proud to share an impact report that reflects the growing momentum and extensive reach of the Bay Area Council. Together with our members and partners, we’ve driven progress across every one of our key initiatives, from policy to publication.

In a major victory for housing, last night Governor Newsom signed two Bay Area Council-sponsored bills which remove CEQA reviews for a large swath of housing development moving forward.

Looking ahead, our work requires not just continued commitment, but greater urgency, sharper focus, and stronger leadership. That’s why we’re doubling down on our core values: inclusive growth, sustainability, and regional stewardship to deliver solutions that meet the scale of the moment.

Thank you to all our members for being part of this dynamic community and for believing in the power of business-led solutions. Your engagement fuels our work, and your support amplifies our impact.

Sincerely,
Jim Wunderman
President and CEO, Bay Area Council

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Welcome Q2 New Members!

Maximize Your Membership—Book a Call with Our Team!

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BIG WINS

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POLICY HIGHLIGHTS

Business Climate

• The Data Center Taskforce continues to grow and engage at the local, regional, and state levels pushing for measures to streamline construction and connection of data centers to the grid. Email Matt Regan if you would like to join the Data Center Task Force.  
• The Bay Area Council is organizing a Chicago delegation of elected officials and industry leaders to explore “Powering the Future: How can consistent, affordable, and reliable clean energy—particularly nuclear—power the future of AI and data centers?” Learn more about the trip.

Public Safety

• Released landmark report, Making Oakland Safe and Its Economy Strong: A Vision for Lasting Change, as part of the ongoing work of the Public Safety Committee’s Oakland safety coalition, and began coordinated advocacy efforts to advance the report’s key recommendations.
• Successfully advanced 100% of Bay Area Council-backed public safety bills out of their house of origin – SB 692 (Arreguin), SB 431 (Arreguin), SB 276 (Wiener), AB 992 (Irwin), and AB 394 (Wilson).
• Helped secure a $100 million commitment from the Legislature for Prop 36 implementation (Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act).
• Continue to advance transit safety, including successfully advocating for the expeditious deployment of BART’s next generation fare gates, with over 75% of stations already completed.

Housing

• Helped jumpstart the revitalization of Downtown San Francisco by helping pass statewide legislation creating a tax district to fund the conversion of empty office space to housing and working with SF Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors to begin the process of establishing it.
• Helped pass some of the most meaningful bills through their houses of origin, reforming the impact of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) on the production of much-needed housing in the Bay Area.
• Held committee discussions and successfully supported the passage of $10 billion for new affordable housing production, which was incorporated into the state’s budget framework, subject to voter approval.

Homelessness

• All three Council-sponsored homelessness bills—SB 16 (Blakespear), SB 606 (Becker) and AB 255 (Haney)—have cleared their houses of origin.
• Presented to the Alameda County Conference of Mayors on the importance of building interim housing to bring people indoors, save lives, and restore access to public spaces.
• Supported local efforts in San José and San Francisco to prioritize interim housing and ending encampments.

Transportation

• Led delegation of transportation executives to DC to meet with USDOT and top Congressional leaders to advocate for Bay Area transportation priorities.
• Sponsored bill SB 71 (Wiener) that will expedite the delivery of sustainable transportation projects passed out of the Senate unanimously.
• Developed fiscal accountability requirements associated with transportation revenue measure, served as lead witness for SB 63 (bill to authorize the measure) in State Legislature.
• Ridership on SF Bay Ferry has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, the first transit agency to reach that achievement.

Global Business and Investment

• California Africa Climate and Economic Forum (April 22): The event marked the launch of a groundbreaking initiative to strengthen collaboration between California and African nations on clean energy, sustainable infrastructure, transportation, and inclusive economic growth.
• Technology and Innovation in the UK: Why the United Kingdom is Europe’s Leading Center for Venture and Startup Investment report release (May 7) – hosted the United Kingdom’s Minister of Investment Baroness Poppy Gustafsson for the release of the Economic Institute’s new report on the UK’s technology and innovation system and its Bay Area connections.
• Space in the Bay Area: Research, Technology, and the Commercialization of Space report release (May 28).

Waterfront

• Hosted newly-elected San Francisco Supervisor Danny Sauter, whose district encompasses the San Francisco shoreline from the Ferry Building to Fisherman’s Wharf, for a discussion on the future of the waterfront.
• Built regional momentum to revitalize the shipbuilding industry in the Bay Area, including key support in Washington for the White House’s Executive Order on Restoring Maritime Dominance and Congressman John Garamendi’s SHIPS Act.
• Accelerated permitting reform advocacy across various levels of government, including at the Bay Conservation & Development Commission, where preliminary measures to streamline permitting processes are approaching approval.

Energy and Climate Mitigation

• Kicked off our Q2 committee meeting with a tour of Bayer’s new Cell Therapy Launch and Manufacturing Facility, a LEED Platinum facility in Berkeley. Led by new committee Co-Chairs Nathan Fleischer of Apple and Regina Donaldson of Bayer.
• Supported the sustainable aviation fuel streamlining bill, AB 839 (Rubio), which cleared its house of origin and progressed to the Senate.  

Water and Climate Resilience

• Launched the Waterfront Initiative to reimagine and redevelop the Bay shoreline for enhanced climate resilience while meeting housing and transit needs.
• Hosted SF Climate Week event, Climate on the Klamath, a full day of panels, policy discussions, and powerful ideas for a climate resilient future. The day brought together leaders from across sectors to tackle critical issues like drought resilience, decarbonizing aviation and transportation, wildfire and forestry innovation, and the intersection of tech and sustainability.

Workforce

• Joined an SF Delegation to Zurich’s ETH Institute, a delegation of local and national apprenticeship leaders at renowned CEMETS institute Switzerland this month to kickstart an apprenticeship reform team. The team will work together until year end on advancing apprenticeships in the Bay Area and beyond.
• Launched ROI of Apprenticeship Study. For more employers to join one of Newsom’s hallmark priorities, apprenticeships, the Bay Area Council and the Northern California Apprenticeship Network recognizes we need a clearer business case on the ROI for non-trade apprenticeships. Guiding this work is the BAC’s Economic Institute, supported by the Irvine Foundation, which kicked off this month.
• Celebrated National Apprenticeship Day at MetroEd, which hosts the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education Center serving 2,600 students across the South Bay.
• Gathered with over 100 members of the apprenticeship community to hear from successful apprenticeship programs from all over Northern California and to learn how to replicate and scale what works.

Healthcare

• Hosted a first-of-its-kind regional convening focused on ensuring the successful implementation of Proposition 1. Led by Sutter Health’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. William Isenberg, and Founder and CEO of DignityMoves, Elizabeth Funk, the convening featured behavioral health leads from six of the nine Bay Area counties, Kaiser, Sutter, and Stanford Health, along with regional housing and homelessness experts.
• Continued to strongly advocate for the future of Medi-Cal at both the federal and state levels.
• Advocated for the responsible determination of the new sectors and spending targets being developed under California’s new Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA).

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COMING UP IN Q3

Register for our events!

• California-Africa Climate and Economic Delegation – August 8-18
• Annual Meeting of Members – September 9
• Chicago Delegation: Powering the Future – September 25-30
• Oktoberfest On the Bay 2025 – October 7
• Women’s Leadership Summit – October 28

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THE HISTORIC KLAMATH

Host your next event aboard the Historic Klamath!

After recent stabilization work, members are saying the difference is night and day!