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We have already started this year with fervor and excitement as the 2016 Legislative Session begins tomorrow, January 12. When Session ended in 2015, FHBA staff and volunteer leaders kept working to ensure that the issues which lay before our industry this year will receive a strong, unrelenting fight.
In addition to the numerous bills and amendments the FHBA monitors, below are our top three priority issues:
6-Year Building Code Cycle
Among the multiple building code issues the FHBA monitors and fights for each legislative session, shifting from a 3-year to a 6-year Florida Building Code cycle marks the top of the list.
The addition of three more years to the code cycle will:
- Establish a firm implementation of current and new codes,
- Reduce the constant change in building compliances, and
- Increase the number of successful and efficient compliances.
Construction Industry Workforce Task Force
FHBA tracks home building trends in Florida and, while the number of new homes being built is flourishing, the workforce remains stagnate.
FHBA seeks to establish a Task Force, whose membership would include all state agencies and associations affiliated with the building industry, whose mission will be the following:
- Address existing critical shortage of trained individuals in the building, construction, and inspection industry,
- Create a consensus path of training for the next generation, and
- Review, and potentially address, the existing state of current methods and resources available in technical training and the K-12 system.
Water Policy
As unfinished work from last year, FHBA advocates for water policies, which utilize scientific methods to determine the extent and source of spring degradation relating to septic tanks and housing developments.
FHBA will continue to work with both the House and the Senate to:
- Rely upon the Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) to determine spring degradation,
- Establish an infrastructure to provide an adequate water source for future Florida citizens, and
- Maintain affordability of Florida’s homes.
To learn how you can help during the 2016 Legislative Session, email our CEO and Chief Lobbyist, Rusty Payton, at rpayton@fhba.com.
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