National News: Remodelers Action Needed!

NAHB Remodelers are urged to comment on a recent proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would add more requirements and costs — and subject the remodeling and renovation of an estimated 40 million additional homes — to the lead paint regulations that will go into effect in April 2010.

The proposed amendment is a direct result of EPA’s settlement with environmental advocates. Some of the proposed changes will drastically affect the rule and add further demands on remodelers.

The EPA’s lead paint rule is focused on homes built before 1978, which are more likely to contain lead. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, these homes account for 68% of the nation’s total housing stock.

The rule currently requires remodelers to certify their firms, have a trained and certified lead renovator on staff, educate home owners, contain and clean up dust, conduct a final dust wipe to confirm cleaning, and maintain records. The rule also allows an “opt-out” provision for homes without children under six and pregnant women as residents.

EPA is now proposing to remove the “opt-out” provision, which would drastically increase the number of homes impacted by the rule. If accepted, all pre-1978 homes would be subject to the rule, which is an estimated addition of 40 million homes.

Additional proposed changes to the rule include a requirement for remodelers to give the home owner a compliance checklist document to add to their home records for passing on to future owners. The checklist would describe the sections of the home renovated and details on rule compliance.

The window for comments to EPA on the proposed amendment to the rule is extremely short, yet is it is very important remodelers submit comments for the official record. NAHB is also submitting an official comment letter.

NAHB has created a member-only customizable letter to adapt and send to EPA by the comment deadline of November 27. The letter is accessible only to members and can be downloaded and tailored with comments and cost estimates.

The full proposed amendment was published in the Federal Register and can be downloaded in PDF format. Learn more about the current lead paint rule and how to prepare at  www.nahb.org/leadpaint.

Remodelers: Action Needed!

EPA estimates that compliance with the Lead: Renovation Repair & Painting Program increases the cost of each job by $35. Remodelers have expressed to NAHB the concern that $35 is well below the costs a firm will incur in working in pre-1978 homes. NAHB asks that you let EPA know the true costs of complying with the Lead Regulation.

Please send EPA a letter during the during the brief comment period, following the recent proposal to remove the opt-out provision and tell EPA how much it really costs to follow the regulation. Write and send your own letter or customize the member-only downloadable letter from the NAHB website with your story using the worksheet to estimate both the initial costs (certification, training, etc.) and the cost incurred for each job.

Questions? Contact remodel@nahb.org.

EPA Releases Initial List of Lead Paint Trainers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released its initial list of four EPA-accredited training organizations that will provide required training for remodelers and renovators under the EPA’s Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule governing the work of professional remodelers in homes where there is lead-based paint. (One of which is in Seattle YEAH!!)

The EPA is also reviewing additional applications for training providers that prepare remodelers for implementation of the rule and certification.

To view the current list, visit www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/trainingproviders.htm.

The rule, which will take effect on April 22, 2010, addresses remodeling and renovation projects disturbing more than six square feet of potentially contaminated painted surfaces for all residential and multifamily structures built prior to 1978 that are inhabited or frequented by pregnant women and children under the age of six.

When the rule takes effect, firms working in pre-1978 homes will need to be certified by the EPA and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. The fee for a firm’s certification is $300.

Along with the firm certification, the rule specifies that, for work done in pre-1978 homes, an employee will also need to be certified as a certified renovator and be responsible for training other employees and oversee work practices and cleaning on the job.

The training will be conducted during an eight-hour class and include two hours of hands-on training.

The certification of a firm and a certified renovator will be valid for five years. A certified renovator will be required to take a four-hour refresher course to be recertified under the rule.

HBA’s Efforts Protect and Help Remodelers: Advocacy strength unmatched in Portland and Oregon

When it comes to legislation, regulation and public policy issues that impact the remodeling industry, no association in Oregon is stronger and more productive than the Home Builders Association. We work to promote the professionalism of the building industry – new construction and remodeling – and have been doing it longer than anyone else in the state.

In fact, six years before a smaller Oregon remodeling association was even formed, HBA worked with the state legislature to create the Construction Contractors Board (CCB), a proactive step at that time to establish licensing and push for professionalism in the industry. An HBA member was the first CCB Chair, and now, 38 years later, an HBA member is currently serving in that same position and guiding CCB’s efforts to maintain and increase excellence in the industry through continuing education requirements for all licensed contractors.

The list of issues that HBA, at our local and state level, has engaged in that help remodelers is long and important. Tree codes, design review, green building policy, allowable setbacks, environmental standards, permitting delays, low voltage regulations, and building codes are just a few of the areas that HBA handles – not just in 37 jurisdictions across the metro Portland region, but with the support of OHBA and local HBAs across the state, in every jurisdiction statewide and at the state legislature.

A great example of what the HBA does for remodelers was our influence in creating the Portland Field Issuance Remodel (FIR) program. Spearheaded by members of the HBA’s Professional Remodeler’s Organization (PRO), the FIR program allows inspectors to issue permits for many remodeling projects in the field.  This program is a model the OHBA and other organizations are pushing throughout Oregon.

Another benefit to remodelers is our well respected Government Affairs staff.  No other remodeling association, or construction association for that matter, can boast two staff members fully committed to local affairs (Portland Metropolitan Area), two more professional lobbyists in Salem and many more throughout the state via our local HBA Associations.  No other association has close to the financial ability to fight unfair or illegal jurisdictional actions than the HBA does (a Legal Fund approaching $500,000, and growing).

Here are some recent examples of items the HBA is currently working on that directly affect the remodeling industry:

State Level

Creating Remodeling Incentives: OHBA spearheaded a statewide effort to promote energy efficiency and green building. HB2626 would provide additional funding from state, private (investment dollars) and federal sources for weatherization of homes and other energy efficient remodels.  If passed, this bill would create a large number of job opportunities for remodelers throughout Oregon.

Pushing for Remodeling Tax Credits: HB3095 would provide a tax credit for residential and commercial remodeling. Along with HB 2626, these are the only two bills currently moving through the legislative process which actually create jobs in the short-term. This is worth noting since both refer to remodeling and were crafted in part by the OHBA.

Fighting Small Business Taxes: The state legislature has its designs on increased fees and taxes for just about anything right now that could help out its $4.4 billion deficit. Chief among these are corporate minimum tax increases, which are likely to increase significantly. The OHBA is fighting on behalf of the entire industry to minimize the impact of new taxes and fees on homebuilding and remodeling.

Local Level

Securing Permit and Fee Extensions: The HBA is working with several jurisdictions to secure permit extensions, which would help members avoid additional fees for permits that have not been picked up prior to their expiration dates. This effort was born out of a request from remodelers who were running into job cancellations midway through completion due to a lack of continued funding. Several local jurisdictions have agreed to honor expired permits as long as no code changes have occurred during the expiration period.

Pushing for Freezes on Fee Increases: The HBA asked all jurisdictions to take a break from increasing fees for inspections and services during this economic period. The response thus far has been fairly encouraging, with most increases only occurring on SDC’s (typically not a remodeling cost).

Better Together

While there are obviously differences between new construction and remodeling, both in practice and in business operation, there are also a lot of common areas. Most of the companies in both sectors are small businesses and entrepreneurs, share similar concerns, and have a common passion for building homes.

One of the benefits of the HBA is that it brings new construction builders, remodelers and other industry professionals together onto a common ground where we can learn from each other, help each other, and collectively have a stronger voice than we would separately.

Oregon bill encourages energy efficiency upgrades

Leaders of the Professional Remodelers Organization attended a press event  today in support of HB 2626.  Read more about the bill below.

Dave Nielsen, Senator Jeff Merkley, Tom Skarr, Mitch Stanley, Jon Chandler

From KGW.com
Oregon lawmakers hope to encourage property owners to invest in energy efficiency upgrades by expanding a state loan program.

A bipartisan group of legislators announced their plan Wednesday, saying the move would help combat climate change while also creating jobs throughout the state by dramatically increasing the number of efficiency projects each year.

The program would allow property owners to take out loans and grants, financed through state bonds, to help fund upgrades. They could repay the loan at a low interest rate over a long period time through their utility bills.

Sponsors said property owners would see an almost immediate decrease in their utility bill, even with the loan payment tacked on.

“We know that energy efficiency and renewable energy projects are good investments in the future,” said state Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, one of the bill’s chief sponsors.

The legislation does a number of things to encourage financing these products, including offering simplified payment options, a point of contact that helps plan and implement the projects and increased bond funding.

Bailey said tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects could be funded through the program if approved, the added benefit of which would be economic stimulus to the state.

The bill has attracted both Democratic and Republican sponsors. One of them, state Rep. Tim Freeman, R-Roseburg, called the plan “the most cost-effective way to meet the challenges of climate change.”

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., was also on hand to support the program, which he said could become a national model.

“I will be watching very carefully what these gentleman and their colleagues do,” Blumenauer said. “I think the work that they’re going to be doing can have broad national implications.”

What is a PAC? What does a PAC do?

Q. What is a PAC? What does a PAC do?

A. PAC is an acronym for Political Action Committee. It is supposed to conjure up visions of activists sitting in a room and crafting grand political manifestos and then strategically determining how best to fund them. In reality, it’s a sub-set of former or current political hacks (the HBA PAC is the exception of course) relegated to interviewing candidates and determining whether or not what they are saying is true and/or good for our industry.

Q. What do we get for giving candidates and measures money?

A. Politics is often about two things: money and power. Elections cost money and candidates/measures need to raise cash to fund them. Theoretically, cash spent on candidates is so they will remember your group and allow you access to them once they have become an elected official (thus having power). This is mostly true, except when it isn’t, which makes political giving a bit of a risk.

Q. Where does the money for our PAC come from?

A. From your donations. No dues or assessments associated with the HBA are used for PAC expenditures. Each year, the HBA holds fundraisers and cajoles dollars from member’s pockets through begging and shame tactics. This is a fairly successful method, but the largest contributor to the PAC is PAC House.

Q. What is a PAC House?

A. The PAC House is a home generously built and sold by one of our builders each year. The builder dedicates the after expense profits to the PAC, providing the Association with funds for its political endeavors. This is an extremely generous way of supporting the Association, especially in the current marketplace.

Q. WOW! They just give you the profits? What about all the contracting work and stuff? That’s a lot of time and effort on behalf of the Association!

A. It is, but typically the HBA tries to lend a hand by asking contractors to contribute in kind products and services in order to get the house built for cheaper. This way, we maximize profit and have more to spend on “access to elected officials.” Jeff Fish of Fish Construction has built the last five PAC Houses, but we need to find another generous builder for future construction.

Q. How can members get involved in the PAC?

A. Contribute to the PAC and then join our monthly meetings. PAC meetings on the second Thursday of every month, typically at 9:30 a.m. We welcome any and all members who are interested.

Don’t forget to vote!

Then reward yourself with ice cream….

Department of Human Services may soon regulate lead-based paint activities

From the Home Building News by Scott Barrie, OHBA

The Oregon Department Human Services (DHS) plans to introduce a bill in 2009 that would move certification and enforcement authority for lead-based paint activity from the Construction Contractors Board (CCB) to, you guessed it, the DHS. They believe this transfer of authority is necessary due to the increase in the number of contractors who will be required to be certified to do lead-based paint work under new rules adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Currently contractors engaged in lead-based paint activities must be certified by DHS and licensed by the CCB. Under new renovation, repair and painting regulations from the federal EPA, the agency may begin administering programs for the new regulations as early as April 2009 in states that are not applying for a state-run program. In addition, new training standards must be approved and accredited by the EPA for state run programs by April of 2010. Contractors and training providers must also be certified and accredited by April of 2010.

OHBA is working with the DHS to come up with a training program that makes sense for contractors while protecting the consumer. However, we would like to see any potential education approved by DHS received by the CCB like all of the other continuing education requirements that begin in 2010.

In addition, the DHS would like to administer an enforcement program around unauthorized lead based paint activities. As the new rules from the EPA add certain renovation, remodeling and painting tasks, DHS sees its potential new role in enforcement increasing dramatically.

OHBA is concerned that DHS enforcement authority just adds one more group of folks to the already crowded field on potential inspections and work stoppage issues on a jobsite. It may make more sense to train local building departments or CCB enforcement individuals who already visit the jobsite rather than a whole new group of inspectors.

What we do know is that there will be changes coming in the area of renovation, repair and painting of residential and commercial structures built before 1978 in the next year and a half. We will do our best to keep you informed as the issue moves forward.

If you missed the NAHB Audio Seminar on Oct 28th in regards to the EPA’s new Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule information can be found here.

Press Release: Home Builders oppose Oregon Ballot Measure 63

The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland’s Political Action Committee recently voted to oppose a measure on this year’s ballot that would put Oregon homeowners at risk.

Measure 63 would allow homeowners to perform up to $35,000 in remodeling in a single calendar year without a permit.

“There simply are innumerable ways in which this proposal puts homeowners at risk,” said Steve Heiteen, president of Steven Heiteen Construction and a long-time leader of the HBA’s Remodeler’s Council. “This level of renovation to a home could very likely include work on the home’s plumbing and electrical systems, or even its structural integrity. The idea of removing oversight at that scale is a huge mistake.”

Heiteen said Measure 63 would create an enormous liability risk for homeowners, because it makes the homeowner directly responsible for all changes they make during renovation. Even if the home was sold, any future problems connected to the remodeling work would be the responsibility of the owner who commissioned the work. Worse, the measure would present health and safety risks from problems like electrical fires, burst plumbing, or even structural collapse.

Other home builders associations around the state are anticipated to join in opposing the measure as the election nears.

“As an organization, the HBA and its members fight battles regularly with government to reduce the red tape and unnecessary costs associated with home construction or improvement,” Heiteen said. “But we’ve never questioned the need for all builders to adhere to the state’s building code, and building permits represent the system to make sure everyone is doing their work in accordance with the code. Opposing this ballot measure is a no brainer.”

To learn more about Oregon Ballot Measure 63 see previous post.

Oregon Ballot Measure 63

Oregon Ballot Measure 63 has been getting some play in the local media in the last couple of days including a story on KATU last night featuring our own Steve Stolze of SLS Construction. It is an initiated state statute that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Oregon. It allows homeowners to make improvements costing less than $35,000 to their home/real estate without first obtaining a building permit.  The measure’s chief petitioners are Alan Grosso and Bill Sizemore.

Learn more at ballotpedia.org and follow the links there for full text of the initative and recent Oregonian coverage.

HBA – Home of the Remodeling Industry

May is National Home Remodeling Month, so this seems like a great time to talk about all that HBA does to be the strongest advocate, promoter and overall home for the remodeling industry in the greater Portland market.

Legislative and Regulatory support – second to none

First, it is an absolute fact that the governmental affairs and lobbying staff and efforts done by our local HBA, combined with our state (OHBA) and national (NAHB) legislative support, are the best in Oregon, and are almost single-handedly representing remodelers and fighting off unreasonable regulations, fees and other burdensome requirements. Locally, we are the only association that is active in every jurisdiction in our region, fighting unreasonable SDCs, permit fees and other regulations that add costs to remodelers and their clients. We spearheaded the Portland FIR program (fast-tracking permits) for remodelers, are actively working to stop the City’s proposal to penalize contractors who build to code by charging them a “carbon pollution fee”, and are collaborating with the City of Portland and other jurisdictions to find green building initiatives that make sense.

Our main state lobbyist was ranked as one of the top in the State Legislature in terms of respect, clout and influence. No lobbyist from any other remodeling association even made the top 35. And we’re not simply testifying on issues at a hearing – we’re working behind the scenes to shape policy and stop bad legislation before anyone else even knows it exists.

Another example of our strength is the way NAHB was able to kill the onerous and unnecessary lead based paint abatement requirements proposed by the EPA . No other remodeling organization in the country had the financial resources or legislative clout to go fund the studies, participate in the studies, and lobby Congress and the EPA on this issue. Without your HBA, these burdensome proposals and costs would have become mandated for all of your projects.

Contractor Quality – improving standards for all

The entire building community suffers from contractors who aren’t ethical, aren’t properly trained, and who leave homeowners high and dry. HBA and OHBA were the only organizations representing remodelers on the Construction Claims Task Force, put together last year to make recommendations on how to strengthen contractor quality. While we ultimately couldn’t support some of the bills that came out of the legislature last year because they had parts added to them that would have been too burdensome for good contractors, we didn’t let this stop the original intent of our efforts. We have been working with the CCB for the last six months to develop ongoing education requirements for all contractors – ones that will meet the legislature’s concerns, be fair for good contractors, and help the entire industry become stronger.

In addition, we are the only organization representing remodelers that helped create, fund and continues to support the Northwest College of Construction. NWCC is a phenomenal educational institution right in our own Portland backyard that provides hands-on training for specialty trades skills in addition to supervisory management and other needed skill sets. We invested almost $200,000 to make this dream a reality, and the payoff will be huge. We now have an accredited training insitution for those wanting to work in the building and remodeling industry or those who are already employed and need to enhance their skills. On top of that, HBA members get discounts on the course fees for their employees.

New Home and Remodeling Construction – uniting the industry

While it’s very true that there are differences in how new home contractors and remodeling contractors operate their businesses, there are also many things all contractors have in common. There are also many things that we can all learn from each other – ideas that can help production builders, infill builders, custom builders, high-end project remodelers, and smaller project remodelers do business better. That’s why HBA (over 1,400 members), OHBA (over 5,000 members) and NAHB (over 225,000 members) work hard to unite the industry.

I have sat in committee meetings and been at informal networking functions where remodelers and new home contractors were asking questions about each other’s businesses, learning from each other, and building up our industry. Even a simple question, like “How much is the traditional mark-up?” is viewed as an opportunity to help educate and improve the industry further. That’s one of the reasons we have a single Excellence Awards program each February – where the industry comes together and the best in new home construction, remodeling construction, and sales & marketing are collectively recognized and celebrated. It’s also why our Board and other leadership groups are made up of a diverse mix of new and remodel construction contractors.

Bottom line

While there are smaller building organizations that fill special niches, and do a good job in certain areas, no other organization has the financial capabilities, staff size, and industry resources to truly represent the residential construction industry – new homes and remodels – like HBA does at the local, State and National levels. And in a time like we’re facing now, with the housing market downturn affecting all of us, there’s no better reason to join, renew or become more active in the one association that makes the biggest impact to our industry, bar none.