What’s News… September/October 2011 Building Insight Quick closure of injured workers’ claims improves R.O.I.I. Select program Page 4 How you can increase your value in today’s market Page 6 Local HBA events spur membership activity Page 7 Your Call to Action is needed on L&I proposed rate increases Page 9 BIAW workshop examines 2012 session, elections “ ” This workshop offered BIAW members the opportunity to address and discuss legislative and political issues facing the homebuild- ing industry in today’s volatile economy. —BIAW President Patrick McBride Legislative Session 2012 B IAW leadership, members, local as- sociation representatives and staff met in SeaTac this month to participate in a first-of-its-kind Legislative and Po- litical Workshop. BIAW’s political strat- egy, the upcoming 2012 Legislative Ses- sion and the November elections were the focus of the day-long session. The workshop focused on BIAW’s political direction and its united front to promote the best interests of its members and the building industry. 2012 Legislative Overview Legislative Policy Commit- tee (LPC) Chair Chris Deasy led members in discussions on setting BIAW’s 2012 legisla- tive priorities. Members heard from BIAW lobbyist Tom Kwieciak on possible high pri- ority issues including associa- tion health plans, the State En- ergy Code and workers’ comp reform. Continuing BIAW lobbying ef- forts have helped defeat a proposed war- ranty bill from being introduced this ses- sion. BIAW Chair Deasy also requested volunteers for a task force to review, update and amend the LPC Legislative Policy document. Recommendations for BIAW’s top legislative priorities and leg- islative policy updates will be forwarded to the LPC meeting scheduled during the Fall BOD in Yakima for further in-depth review and approval. Washington Affordable Housing Council BIAW’s political action commit- tee, the Washington Affordable Housing Committee (WAHC) Chair Hugh Hall gave a brief overview of the purpose and policies of the WAHC. The WAHC has played an important role in Washington State elections by donating resources to those candidates who are pro-hous- ing, pro-small business and support the homebuilding industry. Discussion also focused on possible amendments to the WAHC bylaws and procedures. 2012 Elections Workshop attendees were briefed by BIAW lobbyists Steve Gano and Bill Stauff- acher on statewide and legisla- tive races. They presented an analysis of the state’s redistricting pro- cess and its possible effect on the 2012 elections. Statewide candidates with competitive races including the Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, and Secretary of State as well as those districts with an- nounced candidates were reviewed. To further influence and engage vot- ers to elect BIAW-friendly candidates, BIAW will employ online social media platforms to garner voter information, making it easier to create targeted mes- saging and applying it where needed. “This workshop offered BIAW mem- bers the opportunity to address and discuss legislative and political issues facing the homebuilding industry in today’s volatile economy,” said BIAW President Pat Mc- Bride. “The turnout was impressive, too,” he added. For more highlights, see page 3.
Transcript
What’s News…
September/October 2011
Building Insight
Quick closure of injured workers’ claims improves R.O.I.I. Select program Page 4How you can increase your value in today’s marketPage 6Local HBA events spur membership activityPage 7Your Call to Action is needed on L&I proposed rate increases Page 9
BIAW workshop examines 2012 session, elections
“”
This workshop offered BIAW members the opportunity to address and discuss legislative and political issues facing the homebuild-ing industry in today’s volatile economy.
—BIAW President Patrick McBride
Legislative Session
2012
BIAW leadership, members, local as-sociation representatives and staff
met in SeaTac this month to participate in a first-of-its-kind Legislative and Po-litical Workshop. BIAW’s political strat-egy, the upcoming 2012 Legislative Ses-sion and the November elections were the focus of the day-long session. The workshop focused on BIAW’s political direction and its united front to promote the best interests of its members and the building industry.
tee (LPC) Chair Chris Deasy led members in discussions on setting BIAW’s 2012 legisla-tive priorities. Members heard from BIAW lobbyist Tom Kwieciak on possible high pri-ority issues including associa-tion health plans, the State En-ergy Code and workers’ comp reform. Continuing BIAW lobbying ef-forts have helped defeat a proposed war-ranty bill from being introduced this ses-sion.
BIAW Chair Deasy also requested volunteers for a task force to review, update and amend the LPC Legislative Policy document. Recommendations for BIAW’s top legislative priorities and leg-islative policy updates will be forwarded to the LPC meeting scheduled during the Fall BOD in Yakima for further in-depth review and approval.
Washington Affordable Housing Council
BIAW’s political action commit-
tee, the Washington Affordable Housing Committee (WAHC) Chair Hugh Hall gave a brief overview of the purpose and policies of the WAHC. The WAHC has played an important role in Washington State elections by donating resources to those candidates who are pro-hous-ing, pro-small business and support the homebuilding industry. Discussion also focused on possible amendments to the WAHC bylaws and procedures.
2012 ElectionsWorkshop attendees were
briefed by BIAW lobbyists Steve Gano and Bill Stauff-acher on statewide and legisla-tive races.
They presented an analysis of the state’s redistricting pro-cess and its possible effect on the 2012 elections. Statewide candidates with competitive races including the Governor,
Attorney General, Auditor, and Secretary of State as well as those districts with an-nounced candidates were reviewed.
To further influence and engage vot-ers to elect BIAW-friendly candidates, BIAW will employ online social media platforms to garner voter information, making it easier to create targeted mes-saging and applying it where needed.
“This workshop offered BIAW mem-bers the opportunity to address and discuss legislative and political issues facing the homebuilding industry in today’s volatile economy,” said BIAW President Pat Mc-Bride. “The turnout was impressive, too,” he added.
}{Although the economy is still lackluster and on the forefront of everybody’s mind, members who were in attendance expressed a never-say-die attitude…
Building Insight | September/October 2011
During the fall months,
many local as-sociations host
leadership retreats to assist incoming elect-ed and volunteer positions with collec-tive planning and team building. I have at-tended several, as well as local association general membership meetings and special events around the state and am amazed at the positive energy they generate.
Although the economy is still lackluster and on the forefront of everybody’s mind, members who were in attendance ex-pressed a never-say-die attitude and proclaimed a “we can get through this together” motto.
New programs, special events and non-dues revenue generating ideas were circulated and discussed. The participants’ mindset was a firm com-mitment to their association’s con-tinued well being and to dedicate the upcoming year to strengthening their membership, promoting common in-terests and networking with the com-munity. It’s like the old cliche…when the going gets tough, the tough get go-ing!
Legislative & Political WorkshopBIAW hosted its first-ever Legislative
and Political Workshop late last month. Builder and associate members, local as-sociation executive officers and staff came together to discuss the upcoming Legisla-tive Session, November elections and fu-ture political undertakings.
BIAW lobbyists Steve Gano, Bill Stauf-facher and Tom Kwieciak presented strate-gies to strengthen our coalitions with like-minded partners that support the building industry community and promote common conservative causes; support and recruit BIAW-friendly candidates; and continue
to build upon the solid foundation that has been diligently established.
BIAW Member ChallengeBIAW concluded the workshop with a
directive to all BIAW members: To help state legislators and local officials under-stand the bureaucracy and red tape home-builders face each and every day. BIAW has offered a challenge to all BIAW mem-bers: Invite your legislator or local official to your worksite. Let them see, firsthand, what obstacles you face. Get to know them.
Talk to them. Tell them they can help you build houses better, faster, and more af-fordable by reducing taxes and regulations. This face-to-face will help make a connec-tion with the legislator, the industry and you the voter. To find out more about the challenge see page 3.
Homes Are a Basic NecessityOne topic I would like to highlight is the
very important role that homebuilding and land developers bring to each of their indi-vidual communities in which they reside. Their talents and skills “create housing” (shelter). Shelter is one of the fundamen-
tal requirements which sustains human life. Along with food and water, shelter has sus-tained human life through history and has been fundamental to human existence. As the homebuilding industry association, we need to focus on how vital a role housing plays in the success of our families, our communities, our state and our country.
Homebuilders, like school teachers, are occupations that help transform our children into healthy, responsible adults, and good neighbors. Homebuilders create neighborhoods we all reside within, and
are the necessary building blocks to the healthy communities of tomorrow. Neighborhoods grow into commu-nities with farmers’ markets, restau-rants, shops and parks.
The path to creating these neigh-borhoods and communities is a tur-bulent process homebuilders face ev-eryday. Changing codes, redundant bureaucracies, strangling taxes and fees are just a few of those daily chal-lenges. The construction industry is a huge economic engine that provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue to state coffers and cre-ates thousands of family wage jobs. The homebuilding industry is crucial
to our state’s economic recovery and it needs a healthy environment to thrive, with less taxes, fewer restrictions and more bal-anced regulations.
Simply put, the homebuilding industry is vital to our communities’ and state’s eco-nomic well being. The American Dream of homeownership should continue to be within the reach of all our state’s citizens and not just a fleeting memory.
3Building Insight | September/October 2011
Workshop attendees take pulse of state’s political climate
2012 Legislative Session January 9, 2012 — March 9, 2012
Sign up for the BIAW Lawmaker Review
Receive timely emails on BIAW priority bills and issues
Contact your ROII Select Claims specialist at 800-228-4229
ROII Select Update
Frank RomeroInsurance Programs
Administrator
ROII Select claims staff works hard for you
Claim Company Name Specialist Begins With
BIAW is now three months
into the plan year of its new retro-spective rating
ROII Select program and something in-teresting appears to be happening. And that something is a sharp decline in time-loss claims and disability awards. So, what could this mean for you?
For the past five years, roughly twen-ty-five percent of the claims filed by em-ployees of companies participating in the ROII program involved time loss and dis-ability awards. Time-loss and disability type claims are the more expensive Wash-ington State Department of Labor & Indus-tries (L&I) claims. More expensive in this case has a direct correlation to lower ROII Select refund money returned to the group.
Fast forward to the present. As of October 2011 (the first three months of the 2011-2012 ROII Select Plan Year), time-loss or disability
claims have dropped to less than five per-cent of our total L&I claims. This is fantas-tic news but it’s too early to say if we have a new trend.
If you have followed the ROII Program the past few years you have seen that ROII program participants’ refunds have been slowly declining. Part of this is due to the economic melt down that has hit the con-struction industry hard. Of course major changes that L&I made to the retro program haven’t helped group retrospective rating plans like the ROII Select program either.
Restructuring ROII Select ProgramEarlier this year BIAW made several
important and positive changes to restruc-ture the ROII Program. One component of the new ROII Select program is a strict-er enrollment criteria for companies who pay less than $10,000 in annual L&I pre-miums. Other changes include a require-ment for all ROII participants to pay the first 30 days of wages when an employee is injured and unable to return to work at the job of injury, Kept on Salary, (KOS) and offering light duty work to employees injured on the job who are not able to re-turn to their regular positions immediately after an injury. There’s a huge benefit and faster recovery period when an injured worker is able to remain a productive part of the company’s workforce.
We realize that paying full wages to an injured employee and then providing modified work until they can return to full duty can be expensive.
While it is too early to say there are some indicators that the KOS and light duty work requirements may actually be reducing the number of workplace injuries by employees of participating members.
When you think about this correlation it makes sense—employers that want to avoid KOS and light duty expenses can do so by preventing workplace injuries in the first place. Fewer injuries often mean low-er L&I premiums paid by members and larger ROII Select refunds. Claims that don’t happen, don’t cost anything.
Another major policy shift was made in the way the ROII Select Claims Staff manages claims. In the past, the claims department’s philosophy was based on a passive/reactive output approach. Today we use a proactive outcome based model and are aggressively pursuing the closure of all claims, especially the most expen-sive ones.
Changes Produce Positive ResultsThe effectiveness of the restructuring
of the ROII Select Program and claims de-partment will continue to be evaluated and analyzed. However, based on the results so far, the ROII Select program and its future is looking brighter.
The BIAW New Home Council’s Third Annual recognition and sales
rally, “The INNOVATORS of New Home Sales” on October 6th, was a first-rate achievement. The event brought together industry peers to recognize the outstand-ing efforts of residential sales profession-als who work the front lines in selling new homes.
The room was filled with sales profes-sionals and builders as the sold out event
kicked off with new home sales trainer Jeff Shore.
With two decades of new home sales and Fortune 500 executive experience, Shore’s seminar, Deal With It! Five Ways A Tough Market Helps You Excel, com-bines steps to refocus and implement new strategies for today’s challenging new home sales market with a mixture of hu-mor, insight and wit.
Following the Shore seminar, a 90-minute social mixer provided food, drink and networking prospects as well as the opportunity to contribute to the New Home Council Rebuilding Togeth-er™ Seattle fundraising campaign.
Finally, the main event of the evening —the Tribute! Award Ceremony—rec-ognized new home sales professionals and teams for their innovation, creativity and tenacity in selling new homes over the past year. Motivational speaker, Pat-rick Snow, enter-tained the near-ly 200 attendees with his thoughts and insights on
creating your own destiny.
In its third year, the annual Tribute! Awards highlight not only a commit-ment to sales ex-cellence but also the extraordinary individual con-tributions made to the new home sales community.
For more in-formation on
Builders Choice Chris Yoyer ...........................TeamBuilder John L Scott, Village Life
Close on First Visit Stuart Sargent ...................................................................DR Horton
Highest Conversion Zach Hill .............................................. Rick Burnstead, Delaney Park
Highest In-House Sales Ratio James Harple ......TeamBuilder John L Scott, Edgeview Lungren Company
Rising Star Scott Wasner .............. Four Seasons Private Residence, Realogics
Innovator of the Year Laura Gumnick .....................................................................Camwest
Sales TeamAndread Friedland & Jennifer Wen ... The Burnsteads, Highland Park
Salesperson of the Year (outside King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties)
James T. Colgate III, Clark County ..................... Tamarack Homes
Salesperson of the YearJan Cadice ................................................. American Classic Homes
Tribute! Legend Award Bill Hurme .................................................TeamBuilder John L Scott
Tribute! Awards honor outstanding contributions
New Home Council Update
Louis HowardNew Home Council
Chair
how you can be-come involved with the New Home Council, contact me at 800-228-4229.
2011 Tribute! Award Winners
Tribute! Legend Award winner and past New Home Council Chair Bill
Hurme proudly displays his award while flanked by 2010 Legend Award
winner (l) Jolyn Davis and 2009 winner Suzanne Britsch.
6 Building Insight | September/October 2011
Education Update
Amanda FieldsEducation Program
Assistant
Hiring a build-er or remod-
eler is a major undertaking and a huge financial
commitment. You wouldn’t just search the internet and hire the first contractor you come across. Potential customers are look-ing for quality builders and remodelers who have the experience and reputation that project profes-sionalism, honesty and compe-tency.
Another must, is being up-to-date on the current building codes and requirements, state-of-the-art products and supplies, leading edge build-ing techniques, and well informed on in-dustry-related training and education.
The BIAW Education program offers many types of classes, workshops and sem-inars designed to give our members the ability to standout and attract customers.
With different types of continuing ed-ucation, such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) professional designation classes and Real Estate clock
hours, to Green Building and the state-mandated Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead (CESCL) classes, mem-bers and non-members alike can receive the information and preparation from BIAW and its local homebuilders associations across the state, to allow them
to gain the compet-itive edge needed in our industry.
Invest in your professional growth and the suc-
cess of your business by earn-ing a designation, attending a workshop, or simply taking a course or two.
If you would like more in-formation regarding the BIAW Education Program or current classes scheduled, click on Ed-ucation under the BIAW Pro-grams tab at www.BIAW.com. Or call me at 800-228-4229, ext. 114.
Dear BIAW Education Instructor Cary Butler,
I attended your CAPS [Certified Aging in Place designation] classes back in November of 2009 and keep thinking I will call you for that extra advice you offered me (and I’m sure I need) maybe more now than ever. I was the guy in the class that when you asked, “How long do you expect it to take your new business to become profitable,” I answered, “Sixty days or I am dead.” I have been on the edge ever since. However, last Friday [October 14] during the NAHB Remodelers Convention in Chicago, I received the NAHB “Homes for Life” awardfor the Best Single Space—a bathroom. I hope to get some great press coverage out of it. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate all your help.
Thank you. Bart Millar, CAPSBIAW Education Program attendee,HomeCare Design and ConstructionSanta Barbara, California
BIAW Education Program Attendee Testimonial
Editor’s Note: The NAHB Homes for Life awards recognize Certified Aging In Place Specialists (CAPS) designees for excellence in aging in place design and/or accessible home modifications in a remodeled home. These homes offer specific design or prob-lematic solutions that aid the individual resident(s) to continue living in the house as they grow older and/or face physical challenges.
November 11 ...................................................................... Project Management MBA of Pierce County Office, Tacoma November 15-16 ...........................................Advanced Green: Building ScienceMBA of Pierce County Office, Tacoma November 17-18 .................................... Advanced Green: Project ManagementMBA of Pierce County Office, Tacoma November 29-30 ................................. Green Building for Building ProfessionalsBIA of Clark County Office, Vancouver December 1 ..................................................Avoiding Risks in Employment LawOlympia Master Builders Office, Olympia December 1 ........................... Business Management for Building ProfessionalsBIA of Clark County Office, Vancouver December 7 & 8........................................ Certified Aging In Place (CAPS) I & IIMBA of King and Snohomish Counties Office, Bellevue
BIAW Education Class Schedule
Set yourself apart from the rest
7Building Insight | September/October 2011
Local HBA Events Around the State
The Master Builders Career Connection, a philanthropic arm of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish
Counties, has awarded its largest grant to the Edmonds School District in support of a 36-year building program in danger of be-ing discontinued due to lack of funds.
Working with the Lynnwood Rotary Foundation, the Edmonds School District has offered a house-building program to give its high school students hands-on experience in the home building trades. This year, due to cuts in the school budget and the prob-lems in the housing market, the program ran into major financial difficulties threatening this distinguished program.
The MBA grant of $18,000 will allow this long-established program to continue, helping to cover the cost of a qualified teacher.
According to MBCC Executive Director, Cathy Feole, the average age of today’s construction worker is ap-proximately 47. Feole points out that without educating today’s youth about the multitude of rewarding careers available in the field of residential construction, a severe construction labor shortage is on the horizon.
The Master Builders Association of Pierce County held its first annual Chili Cook-Off during its September General
membership meeting on September 20 at the MBA offices.The meet, greet and network-themed Associate
Appreciation event turned the MBA offices into a chili tast-ing convention, complete with prizes and raffles awarded throughout the night. MBA’s seven local committees and councils each crafted a special chili recipe along with a host of Membership Benefit Partners joining the foray.
The night proved a success and a second Chili Cook-Off is planned for 2012.
The Olympia Master Builders hosted its 2011 Poker Party Membership Drive at its office earlier this month. Cur-
rent members, lapsed members and potential new members stopped by for bbq lunch and to check out the table top dis-plays heralding the benefits of membership. Staff from OMB, BIAW and NAHB and the BIAW Health Insurance program were on hand to provide answers to any membership benefit questions.
8 Building Insight | September/October 2011
Arecent Washington State Supreme Court opinion will make it more diffi-
cult for rural housing developers to secure water rights for their projects.
In the July/August issue of Building In-sight, we reported on the decision of the land use issues in the recent Kittitas Coun-ty v. Eastern Washington Growth Manage-ment Hearings Board lawsuit. In a recap of that decision, the Court held that Kittitas County violated the state’s Growth Man-agement Act by failing to protect water resources when it passed a revised com-prehensive plan that allowed developers to develop rural land without disclosing common ownership of side-by-side subdi-visions. Thus, the total group groundwater use in a residential development must be considered, rather than the separate use of each residential lot, for purposes of deter-mining if use is in excess of Washington’s 5,000 gallons per day permit exemption.
As a result of this decision, the Wash-ington Counties will need to reevaluate their role in determining whether they are protecting water resources, and the Wash-ington Association of Counties is again planning to introduce a bill in the upcom-ing Legislative Session that would restrict “exempt wells” to one per forty acres.
The Sun Peak Estate and Fisher-Carpen-ter Basin Washington State Department of Ecology water moratorium in south Skagit and north Snohomish Counties is another matter that exposes the exempt well issue spreading throughout the state.
In this case, the rural subdivision was approved, as well as exempt wells for each lot installed. It has now been deter-mined there is not adequate instream flows in nearby Carpenter Creek. As a result, the counties have refused to issue building per-mits for these approved lots.
BIAW will continue to monitor these court decisions that will have an impact on BIAW members throughout the state.
Ecology issues final draft for stormwater permits
AberdeenAlgona Anacortes Arlington Auburn Bainbridge Island Battleground Bellevue Bellingham Black Diamond Bonney Lake Bothell Bremerton Brier Buckley Burien Burlington Camas Centralia Clyde Hill
Covington Des Moines DuPont Duvall Edgewood Edmonds EnumclawEverett Federal WayFerndale Fife Fircrest Gig Harbor Granite Falls Issaquah Kelso Kenmore Kent Kirkland Lacey
Western WAPhase II Counties*Cowlitz • Kitsap • Skagit • Thurston • Whatcom
Ecology has released its formal draft per-mits for Phase I Municipal Stormwater
and Phase II General Permits in Western and Eastern Washington.
The biggest change requires low impact development (LID) in Western and Eas-ter Phase II jurisdictions “where feasible.” (LID is already required in Phase I jurisdic-tions.)
The goal of LID is to mimic natural hydrology by infiltrating rain on site, pre-venting dirty runoff and preserving healthy stream levels. Some approved methods of mitigating LID include pervious pavements, bioretentions, rainwater harvesting, vegeta-tive roofing systems, and planting drought resistance native vegetation.
These methods have been proven to be very effective in meeting stormwater regu-latory quantitative and quality requirements. When properly integrated in site design,
these methods will often reduce net devel-opment costs.
While BIAW favors encouraging LID, the association is opposed to mandatory LID because it is site specific, can be extremely expensive and time consuming, particularly because of government confusion and delay.
The public review and comment period for the draft permits is open through Febru-ary 3, 2012. Ecology expects to issue the fi-nal permits in summer 2012.
In addition, the new draft permit elimi-nates the one acre threshold and lowers the threshold for required mitigation, treatment and flow control of stormwater runoff.
BIAW will continue to advocate for rea-sonable and standardized stormwater runoff requirements.
To follow this issue click on Low Impact Development under Builder Issues at www.BIAW.com.
Lake Forest ParkLake Stevens LakewoodLongview LynnwoodMaple Valley Marysville Medina Mercer IslandMill Creek MiltonMonroe Mountlake TerraceMount Vernon MukilteoNewcastleNormandy Park Oak Harbor OlympiaOrting
PacificPort Angeles Port Orchard Poulsbo PuyallupRedmond RentonSammamish SeaTacSedro-Woolley Shoreline Snohomish Steilacoom Sumner TukwilaTumwater University PlaceVancouver WashougalWoodinville
Counties CitiesSnohomish • King • Pierce • Clark Seattle, Tacoma
Eastern WAPhase II Counties*Asotin • Chelan Douglas • SpokaneWalla Walla • Yakima
Phase II Cities AsotinClarkstonEast WenatcheeEllensburg KennewickMoses Lake PascoPullman RichlandSelah Spokane Spokane Valley SunnysideUnion Gap Walla WallaWenatchee West Richland Yakima
Phase II Cities
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink
*Phase II county permits apply to urban areas around permitted cities.
Phase II
Phase II
9Building Insight | September/October 2011
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has pro-
posed raising 2012 industrial insurance rates by an average of 2.5% —with a 6% average rate increase for construction com-panies. Despite actuarial analysis that indi-cates a 0% rate increase would be neces-sary to maintain the solvency of the state fund, L&I Director Judy Schurke has de-cided that a 2.5% increase, although unnec-essary, is needed to re-build L&I’s contin-gency reserve fund.
L&I’s press release astonishingly spins the nice-to-have, but unnecessary rate in-crease as follows:
“To help save jobs in the state’s strug-gling economy, L&I is proposing a 2.5 per-cent average increase.”
L&I admitted that the workers’ com-pensation reforms passed at the urging of the business community during this year’s legislative session had negated the need for increased rates in 2012. Incredibly, L&I is proposing to raise rates anyway, at the worst possible time for businesses and workers.
BIAW lobbyist Tom Kwieciak testified against the proposed L&I 2012 rate in-crease at the L&I rate hearing in Tumwater on October 28. Approximately 100 other concerned citizens and business owners at-tended the hearing – with every person who testified being strongly opposed to the rate increase.
In his testimony, Tom reminded L&I that the construction industry was actually scheduled for a 6% rate increase under the proposal; yet another crippling blow to an industry that has been hit worse than any other by the recession. Tom also pointed out that the rate increase is not necessary to maintain the solvency of the L&I state fund – it is an unnecessary tax increase in the midst of an economic downturn.
Now is clearly not the time to raise taxes on small businesses, especially if it’s only to build a “rainy day fund” for L&I. The time to build reserves is when the economy is in good shape, not when it’s struggling.
Compelling testimony was also offered by several small business owners, espe-
n Clearly, now is not the time to saddle struggling small businesses with additional costs that are not necessary to maintain the health of the L&I State Fund.
n Reserves should be built up during good economic times for use in bad times, not the reverse.
n Average rate increase for construction companies (the worst-hit indus-try in the state) is 6%, not 2.5%.
n According to L&I’s own researcher, Kirsta Glenn, Construction employ-ment is expected to grow at about half the rate as total employment in 2012 – a 6% rate increase will only make this situation worse.
n According to L&I’s own statistics, new L&I claims from the construc-tion industry are down 16.4% versus 2007-09, yet we still need a 6% rate increase?
Below are some talking points that local association representatives and BIAW members can use when writing to L&I. These talking points are only guidelines and meant to provide information that BIAW members can use in creating their own letters. Without exception, the most compelling testimony comes from BIAW members’ own personal stories and experiences; no one knows the effects that L&I rate increases will have on your business like you do. Personal letters (and faxes) are your opportunity to let someone in charge at L&I know the true impact of their decisions.
Let L&I know how an industrial insurance rate increase of 6% impacts you. Write, email or fax before the proposed 2012 rate increase is officially adopted.
Send Written Comments ToDouglas Stewart, Employer Services Program ManagerP.O. Box 44140, Olympia, WA 98504-4140
Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2011.
BIAW MEMBER CALL TO ACTION
cially from the logging industry, whose proposed rates for 2012 are an incredi-ble $19.10 per hour! The common theme among all who testified was “we just can’t absorb any more tax increases”.
BIAW will continue to monitor and keep members updated on the status of the rate increase proposal.
More information regarding the rate pro-
posal is available at www.rates.lni.wa.govThe final rates will be adopted in early
December and go into effect Jan. 1, 2012.Your input matters, remember to include
your legislator and the Governor with your written, emailed or faxed comments.
If you have any questions,contact Art Castle at BIAW at 800-228-4229.
10 Building Insight | September/October 2011
11Building Insight | September/October 2011
CUT HERE AND FAX
12 Building Insight | September/October 2011
BIAW & NAHBMeetings2011-12
BIAW ...................Nov. 9-11 ................ YakimaFall BOD ............................Yakima Conv. Ctr.
International .......Feb. 8-11 .........Orlando, FLBuilders Show
BIAW ..................Feb. 27-29 ..............OlympiaWinter BOD ...............................Red Lion Inn
NAHB .................. June 6-9 ........... Wash., DCSpring BOD
BIAW ................. June 28-30 ................ PascoSummer BOD ............................Red Lion Inn
NAHB ................Sept. 12-15 .........Austin, TXFall BOD
BIAW ....................Nov. 7-9 ...................BlaineFall BOD .........................Resort Semiahmoo
B I A W Tip of the Month
Did you know?
As a Regence BlueShield member you’re eligible to receive prescriptions via mail? That’s right; you could be receiving your regular prescriptions at home! The kids are back in school and we all know what that means, extracurricular activities, sports, carpools, and no extra time to worry about having to pick up a prescription.
Regence members have access to the Postal Prescription Service (PPS), a mail-order service that can be refilled over the phone, online, or via mail. PPS delivers a 90-day supply of medication for your convenience.
The process is simple. Just send an order form and your new prescription along with your co-pay amount to the address listed on the mail-order service form. Allow up to two weeks for delivery.
If you’re a Regence member and would like more information on receiving your prescriptions through the mail, go to www.regencerx.com/prescriptions/mailOrder/index.html
Do you have health insurance through BIAW? If you’re not sure or if you would like more information about the BIAW Health Insurance Program and how you can join, please call EPK & Associates at (800) 545-7011 ext. 6 or visit their website at www.EPKBenefits.com.
November is
SpikeApprEciATion monTH
BIAW would like to congratulate the current Top Ten Spikes as of September 30.
Mike Kinnaman BIA of Clark County 28Patrick Hayes, CGP SICBA 27Bob Smith MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 25Beth Madden MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 24Charlie Brown MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 22Myra Williams MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 19Dennis Poppe MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 15Heidi Ihde MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 15Sherry Schwab, CAPS, CGR MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 14Kevin Kartak MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 13Gail Clark MBA of King/Sno. Cos. 13Ryan Zygar BIA of Clark County 13
13Building Insight | September/October 2011
Residential Building Permits IssuedAugust 2011 (in units)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau*Only counties reported are represented in state totals. For a complete listing of current and past years’ building permits, click on Online Resources at www.BIAW.com.
Total YTD Total YTD Single Multi- August TOTALS August TOTALS Family Family 2011 2011 2010 2010
education sessions +industry suppliers +net square feet of exhibit space
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15Building Insight | September/October 2011
What Others Are Saying
John Neff passed away at his home in Olympia on Septem-
ber 17, 2011 after six months of battling brain cancer. Neff was a City of Lacey Building Offi-cial for 23 years, retiring in May of 2010. Prior to working for Lacey, he served as the build-ing official for Douglas County and as a building inspector for
Chelan County. Before beginning his 32 years in government service,Neff was a carpenter in the Wenatchee area.
In addition to his work, Neff was a former board member of the Washington Association of Building Officials (WABO), former Chair of the State Building Code Council and was a member of the World Organization of Building Officials.
Neff was also a great friend of BIAW and the building industry and understood the many chal-lenges builders faced when changes to the build-ing code were necessitated.
In 2003, Neff was instrumental in the design of BIAW’s initial Building Code Update Class and served as BIAW’s go-to-expert on building code is-sues as Washington state moved from the Uniform Building Code to the International Resident Code. In addition, Neff also assisted with every revision of the building code update cycle offered through BIAW’s Education Program.
John will be greatly missed.
John Neff, friend of building industry, passes
The Washington Policy Center hosted its Annual Dinner on October 12th at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue. The din-ner featured Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, WPC’s 2011 Columbia Award recipient, former Ambassador to the UN John Bolton and Matt McIlwain, WPC’s 2011 Champion of Freedom Award recipient.
BIAW leadership were joined at the event by Wash-ington State Senator Tim Sheldon (D-Potlatch), recipient of WPC’s 2001 Champion of Freedom Award. Editor’s note: WPC is a non-profit, non-partisan, public policy organization with offices in Seattle, Olympia and Eastern Washington. Promoting sound public policy based on free-market solutions, WPC publishes studies, spon-sors events and conferences, and educates citizens on public policy issues facing our state.
(l to r) BIAW First Vice President Kevin Patrick, Skagit/Island Counties Build-
ers Association member Bob Johnson, Senator Tim Sheldon, and BIAW
President Patrick McBride enjoy WPC’s Annual Dinner festivities.
NAHB leadership decry Washington’s anti-housing policiesnAHB leadership and staff members
have called on Washington to end the anti-housing policies that are dampen-ing the economic recovery and they dis-cussed NAHB polling showing that Ameri-cans value homeownership. NAHB’s call to bolster housing appeared in the news in various large and small markets through meetings with business leaders and report-ers across the country.
Citing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s concerns over the lackluster housing recov-
ery, NAHB issued a press release calling on leaders in Washington to take action to ad-dress the problem and reverse anti-housing policies that are dampening demand and preventing a housing and economic recov-ery.
“The American people still strongly be-lieve that homeownership provides secu-rity, stability and a solid long-term invest-ment,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, referring to numerous polls that show over-whelming support for homeownership.
“Yet, policymakers are doing their best to put policies in place that reduce the Amer-ican people’s ability to purchase a home. Why? How long do we want to stay in a recession?”
NAHB reiterated the call to reverse anti-housing policies following the gov-ernment’s September employment report, which showed relative weakness, particu-larly as it relates to the residential construc-tion sector.
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