The California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA) today announced it is suing the City of Long Beach to seek a permanent injunction of Measure WW, a ballot initiative approved by Long Beach voters in November that created workload restrictions and safety regulations for hotels with 50 or more rooms.
City Attorney Charles Parkin told the Business Journal this morning that he had not received official notification regarding the litigation. “We will be defending it,” he said, referring to Measure WW. “The citizens told us this is what we want – this is the ordinance that we want related to issues on hotels. We will probably have to go into closed session to make sure my clients are aware of the litigation and we talk about it. But yes, we would defend to the best of our ability this ordinance.”
CHLA’s complaint, which the organization stated was filed in the state superior court in Los Angeles County, claims that Measure WW “violates the authority” of the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration “as the only state agency authorized to make occupational safety and health standards.” CHLA also claims that the ordinance created by Measure WW’s passage “deprives hotels of due process of their property and contractual rights.” Heather Rozman, executive director of the Long Beach Hospitality Alliance, stated that Measure WW lacks regulatory oversight.
Out of nearly 131,000 votes cast in the November 6 election, Measure WW passed with 64.49% of the vote.