TBA President Bill Halprin, Builder Services Staff Vice President Claudia Cotton and HBAV President Michael Newsome take part in a conference call on upcoming legislation.
With the Virginia General Assembly back in session, it’s back to work for the legislative committee of the Home Builders Association of Virginia.
That means it’s back to weekly conference calls to discuss pending legislation for local members, who make up the statewide committee.
The committee is comprised of members from local home builders association across the Commonwealth, including from Tidewater Builders Association.
The committee is vigilant about tracking and monitoring new regulations making their way through the legislature, and weighing in on those issues the housing industry finds particularly egregious.
Though early in the session, the group has already been tackling some big issues.
For instance, HBAV led a coalition of business organizations and local governments that has reached a tentative agreement with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the James River Association and the Nature Conservancy on a measure to “temporarily” suspend proposed new stormwater regulations. HBAV maintains these would have significantly increased the cost of land development in every part of Virginia, while doing little to improve the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.
In addition, several bills are pending before the General Assembly to delay the regulations for one or two years, or until the federal government imposes its own stormwater standards, which could be in 2012.
The group is also vigilant on action by other state agencies who enact rules that affect the industry. On Monday, builders showed up in record numbers at a meeting of the Board for Housing and Community Development to object to a proposed change in the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) that would require every new home to be equipped with a Sprinkler System.
It was the second hearing on the issue by the board, which has voted to change the Sprinkler Mandate to an Option in Virginia. The board is expected to make its final decision on the Sprinkler Mandate in May.
