News

Legislators returned to work last week as members continued to introduce legislation. In the House, public bills can be introduced through April 23rd, while the Senate requires all legislation be filed by April 2nd. Over the coming weeks legislators will spend much of their time crafting legislation before their attention turns to having those bills move through committees. 

This year’s crossover date is May 9th meaning that a bill must be passed through the chamber of origin and be read into the other body in order to be eligible for further action during the remainder of the long session or next year’s short session.

After spending the first half of the week at the NCHBA’s 1st Quarter Meeting, your legislative team returned to the Legislative Building on Wednesday and continued to work with legislators in pursuit of one of the association’s top legislative priorities – continuing education for general contractors. We are pleased to announce that our principal sponsors in both bodies have been successfully recruited.

Senators Rick Gunn (R-Alamance), Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) and Don Davis (D-Pitt) will lead the Senate effort. Senator Gunn is a licensed real estate broker and is Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. Senator Newton is an attorney and co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Don Davis formerly was a member of the State Building Code Council prior to his Senate service.

In the House, Representatives Larry Potts (R-Davidson), Mark Brody (R-Union), Julia Howard (R-Davie), and Ashton Clemmons (D-Guilford) have agreed to introduce the House companion bill. Both Reps. Potts and Brody are active licensed general contractors, while Rep. Howard is a licensed real estate broker and Senior Chair of the House Finance Committee. Representative Clemmons’ husband is a licensed general contractor in the Triad with experience in both residential and commercial projects. 

“We are delighted with our principal sponsors who all well understand general contracting and appreciate the importance of continuing education to enhance the professionalism of our industry,” said NCHBA Executive Vice President Mike Carpenter.

Representative Mark Brody expressed interest this week in again running another “Building Code Regulatory Reform Bill” in coordination with NCHBA. This would be Brody’s fourth annual bill which has been preceded by legislation of the same name enacted in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Each of those previously enacted bills has expanded builders’ options, provided significant reforms to existing procedures, significantly improved the inspection process and, thereby, saved millions of dollars for builders across the state. Some of the potential items on the agenda include alterations to silt fence requirements, expansion of the engineer option for foundations and under slabs, and reducing unnecessary delays in jurisdictions who conduct residential plan review. 

NCHBA’s legislative team has held preliminary discussions with stakeholders on issues including:

• Septic Tanks Rules
• Capacity Fee Clarifications
• Stormwater Regulations

Members have faced regulatory barriers either locally or statewide on the implementation of rules that deal with each of those subjects. NCHBA will continue to seek clarity with departments and legislators to ease the regulatory burden and make it easier for NCHBA members to comply with the rules. 

Please mark your calendars as there are two important dates rapidly approaching:

On May 21st, NCHBA will host its annual Legislative Reception in Raleigh at the North Carolina History Museum. The reception coincides with NCHBA’s 2nd Quarter Meeting. The following day, May 22nd, members will have an opportunity to meet with their legislators to discuss the association’s top legislative priorities. 

The following month, on June 5th, NCHBA will again participate in the National Association of Home Builders’ Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. After several years of meeting with our Congressional delegation in the state, this event will allow our members to meet with our delegation in Washington and discuss federal issues.

Plan now to join us in both Raleigh and Washington.

This post was written by NC HBA.