The Bottom Line: SEBC is Over…So Now What?

As FHBA recovers from a successful Southeast Building Conference (SEBC), members ask me what is next? For an organization whose priority is advocacy, no down time exists. This week, FHBA will be with the Florida Building Commission working to establish a Residential Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The advances made to the building code development process made possible by the passage of HB 2021 can be augmented by the creation of a Residential TAC. A Residential TAC allows Floridaโ€™s Building Commission to view proposed changes in context of other residential changes being recommended and evaluate the overall impact of all proposed changes on a single house. Of course, the full Building Commission remains the final arbiter, determining which proposed changes will ultimately be adopted.

Once work with the Building Commission is completed, the Construction Industry Workforce Task Group meets. They are working on funding issues and developing strategies to ensure that tomorrowโ€™s workforce understands the advantages of employment in the construction trades.

The Governmental Affairs Committee established an initial set of Legislative Priorities for us to begin working on. You may be asking yourself, “What? I though session just ended?”. Yes – it did not that long ago, but the 2018 Legislative Session begins on January 9th with committee meetings starting in September. Bills for the 2018 Session have already been filed.

Many Legislative Delegations will conduct local delegation hearings in the next few months. Delegations are set by County, comprised of the State Senators and Representatives who represent the county. For those locals who wish to present policy issues to the delegation, later this week FHBA will make available to all local Executive Officers the complete list of FHBA 2018 Legislative Priorities and a one page flyer highlighting 6 of our top issues. This flyer is meant to be distributed to the delegation.

We will of course continue working on language for expected bills and amendments, securing sponsors for bills and working the political fundraising circuit.

Bottom Line: When session ends in May and officially starts the next January, there is no rest period. Coming out of SEBC, we continue to work on regulatory activity, finalizing language and seeking sponsors. No rest for the weary!

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