MISSION
The Government Affairs Committee (GAC) is a standing committee of AIA Colorado. Per the bylaws, the GAC "...advocates the interests of the architecture profession to the State of Colorado and regional governments while supporting local governmental efforts. GAC strengthens collaboration with allied organizations and with public officials and agencies to maintain an on-going liaison, and facilitates legislative relationships that support the architecture community in promoting public health safety, and welfare. GAC assists in shaping and communicating policy positions and issues to the AIA membership."
LEGISLATION
Accomplishing this mission takes the GAC in many different areas. Each year the Legislative Subcommittee tracks individual bills as they are introduced and then taken through the legislative process, reporting to the GAC. The GAC then brings developing issues to the AIA Colorado Board and president to define an official position. On key issues, the GAC may testify at legislative hearings. The committee also works with our lobbyist to develop relationships with legislators, to encourage AIA Colorado members to become involved with legislators in their own districts, and to identify and work with those in the state House and Senate who support our positions on key issues.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: AIA Colorado Board Voted to Support HB 10-1331
The AIA Colorado Board of Directors voted to support House Bill 10-1331. The bill creates a green building incentive pilot program. Specifically, the bill directs the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) to create a pilot incentive program for home buyers to make improvements to increase energy efficiency to a primary home. The pilot program is intended to be for both new construction and retrofitting of existing homes. The bill also states that the funds for this program are to be from federal funds that GEO already has received, but has not yet allocated. For more information about this bill, click here.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: AIA Colorado Board Voted to Support HB 10-1181
The AIA Colorado Board of Directors voted last week to support House Bill 10-1181. The bill deals with matters relating to the administration of state government entities andd professional services solicitation. Specifically, the bill would raise the solicitation limits for professional services, including architectural services, for state agencies up to $100,000, to be in alignment with the limits for institutions of higher education.
Since this legislation was originally enacted in 1998 as part of Qualifications-Based Selection, the solicitation limits have always been the same for state agencies and institutions of higher education. This bill would once again allow that to happen, so that there would not be two different selection processes for the state. For more information about HB 10-1181, click here.
LEGISLATIVE ALERT: The Repeal of Continuing Professional Competency will Soon Move to the Senate
House Bill (HB) 10-1148, which repeals continuing professional competency for architects, passed through the Colorado House of Representative’s House Appropriations Committee on Friday, Feb. 19 and is scheduled to be on the calendar for house floor discussion on Friday, Feb. 26. AIA Colorado has obtained 38 committed yes votes out of the 33 needed for the bill to pass the House, and is projecting no fewer than 50 yes votes on HB 10-1148 after the bill's final House reading. Once the final reading vote goes through the Colorado House of Representatives, the bill will then move onto the State Senate.
Please make sure to contact your state senator about HB 10-1148 this week and ask them to vote "yes" on HB 10-1148. It is important that our state senators hear from architects about this bill. Be sure to customize your e-mail to your state senator, rather than just copying and pasting the talking points. Both e-mails and phone calls work well when contacting your senators.
Don’t know who your state senator is? Visit www.votesmart.org, type in your zip code plus four-digit geographic segment code (zip+4) to get the list of federal and state elected officials representing YOU. If you don’t know your zip+4, visit www.usps.com . To find specific contact information for your state senator, visit www.leg.state.co.us, click on “Legislative Directory,” and then click on the name of your senator.
Thank you to all of the members who contacted their state representatives on this issue. The grassroots campaign really helped the lobbying effort. AIA Colorado would also like to thank bill sponsor, Rep. Cheri Gerou, AIA, who has done a terrific job on this bill so far. Gerou will also be an asset in the Senate working closely with our Senate sponsor, Sen. Abel Tapia, an engineer.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: AIA Colorado Voted to Oppose HB 10-1192
In late January 2010, AIA Colorado voted to oppose HB 10-1192 because it modifies state regulations to allow software renewals and upgrades of 12 months or less to be defined as personal property and therefore taxable as such. The board feels that this will cause further hardship to architecture firms. Unfortunately, because of the state budget crisis, the bill was signed into law in late February. For more information, click here.
Senate Bill 08-029
AIA Colorado is excited to announce the signature by Gov. Bill Ritter of Senate Bill 08-029, "Concerning a Requirement That an Architect Obtain Continuing Education Prior to the Renewal of the License to Practice Architecture in Colorado, and Making an Appropriation in Connection Therewith." This act will require that architects demonstrate completion of continuing education (CE) as a condition for renewal of a license to practice architecture in the state of Colorado. The enactment of this bill is the culmination of the efforts of AIA Colorado over the past three years to get our state to be on par with the 38 other states with similar requirements, including six of the seven states that surround Colorado.
The implementation of the act is the next step, and AIA Colorado will work with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) during the rule-making process that must be completed by Dec. 31, 2008. Questions still to be answered during this process will include the number of hours required during a licensing period and the method by which the licensee must "demonstrate" retention of the knowledge learned in the CE. The act also includes language sponsored by DORA that will establish a future program of "Continuing Professional Competency," which is likely to be a model for other regulated professions in Colorado.
AIA Colorado 2008 President Chris Stumm, AIA, said "The learning necessary to practice our profession is changing rapidly. AIA Colorado looks forward to working with the Department of Regulatory Agencies to develop the rules that will implement a program that ensures the health, safety and welfare of the public in an effective and direct system that draws upon the lessons learned by others. We are committed to an outcome that will lead to enhancement of the variety and depth of continuing education programs offered to our membership."
To learn more about Senate Bill 08-029 and to review its history, please click here.
For a list of frequently asked questions regarding implementation of Senate Bill 08-029, click here.
LICENSING
Every seven to ten years, our licensing statute comes up for "Sunset Review". This two-year process began for us again in the early summer of 2004, with the formation of a Sunset Task Force of the GAC. The GAC focused on laying the groundwork for a successful outcome when a Sunset Bill was introduced in the legislature in early 2006. After months of meeting with legislators and DORA, AIA was able to successfully fight to keep the term "Architect" protected. DORA recommended un-protecting the term "Architect" and instead protecting "Licensed Architect," which could potentially open up anyone with a drafting certificate to call themselves an Architect. If this had gone though, Colorado would have been the only state in 54 jurisdictions to not protect the term architect.
We also fought to keep the name of our new board: "The Board of Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors" as opposed to the Board of Technical Professions. A more generic board name could have the potential to allow additional professions to join our board, thus further watering-down the board.
HB1196, Sunset of Architects' License, was signed into Law by Gov. Owens on Monday, May 1, 2006. Congratulations! The next effort will be in supporting the new rules and regulations of the Board, including the national AIA concern of timing of the ARE.
AIA is the ONLY organization that has worked to have a voice in this process. We are the ONLY organization that has fought to protect the interests of architects in this process. We continue to fight every day on issues of importance to this profession.
OTHER EFFORTS
Other GAC efforts involve working with our Allied Organizations in the engineering, consulting and construction fields. The GAC chair sits on the AIA Colorado Board and is also on the Board of ARCpac. The GAC is an energetic group that meets on the first Friday of each month, from 1 - 3 p.m., in the AIA Colorado office. Participation from all of the AIA Colorado components is critical, and all AIA Colorado members are invited to join us and see what the GAC is about.
