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One night,eight winners, ten
dollars... outstanding
design
The AIA|WA
Civic
Design
Awards
MAY 14,
2009
5:30 - 8:00 pm
the ACT Theater,
Seattle
Hosted Hors d'oeuvres
&
cocktails by
Apulent
Cost:
$10 |
| Heard What's Going on?
The best way to keep
track of what the AIA|WA is doing for memebers
is to check out our
blog! |
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2009 Legislative Session
Wrap-Up
This year the legislature worked right up
until the midnight deadline on April 26. The
Capital Budget passed the Senate at 11:45 p.m.
and then passed the House at 11:47
p.m.
This year several high
priority bills passed that dealt with
sustainability and several bad bills that
threatened the viability of the profession and
the profitability of state firms were stopped.
Here is a quick overview of some of the year's
high profile
issues.
Taxes:
Despite
a record $9 billion budget gap, the profession
avoided any new taxes being levied directly on
architects or their firms. There were numerous
fee increases passed, but none that targeted
architects.
Sustainable
Development:
The AIA|WA was
extremely successful in promoting sustainability
principles this year. The state has now passed
what will be the most aggressive goal for energy
use reduction in buildings in the nation. SB
5854 will reduce net energy use in WA
buildings by 70% by 2031. The law includes
regular and steady reduction annually until that
goal is met.
Budget:
State
architects will feel some unfortunate
consequences from the budget process. The
capital budget passed with limited pre-design
and design funding. The legislature took $777
million out of the capital budget to put into
the operating budget which lowered funds
available for capital projects. The Senate
focused on funding "shovel ready" projects and
cancelled nearly all pre-design and design
projects.
Residential
Construction Liability:
Early in the
year it looked like a damaging expansion of
liability for residential construction was
inevitable, HB
1393. But, by being proactive and putting
forth a positive alternative (the Haugen
Amendment), AIA|WA was able to stop the
legislation in the Senate.
Licensing:
The
bill to update Architect Licensing standards, SB
5529, made it through the Senate and House
policy committees. Unfortunately, the bill died
in the House Rules Committee without getting a
vote before the full House.
Procurement:
The
biggest effort late in the session was to stop
SB
5760 which would have exempted the UW and
WSU from state construction procurement laws.
AIA|WA had it stopped several times. However, on
the last night of session the senate held
another bill in an attempt to trade
its passage for the passage of SB 5760. In the
end the AIA|WA was able to get the support
needed to stop the bill.
This is a
condensed version of the 2009 legislative
session. There were many other issues that were
considered which will be covered in future
e-news Updates. In addition, e-news
Updates to come will give more details
and insight into what happened during the
session highlighting issue by
issue. | |
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