As a construction professional, you know that providing the highest level of service to your clients is sometimes challenged by of the evolving nature of building codes.
Every 18 months, we expect to see some level of code change based on State legislative activity (see my review of the CALBO legislative event below).
Failure to keep current with the code evolution can be costly to you and your client, which can translate into unhappy clients and lost opportunities.
My staff and I deal with building codes all day long; it’s our job. We’re here to help. Call me or email me if you have any questions or need assistance. – Sincerely, Charles “Russ” Russell
I have recently had the opportunity to attend the California Building Official Organization (CALBO) Leadership and Advocacy Day at the California State Capitol. It was a privilege to be selected to attend this two day event that culminated with face-to-face meetings with members of the State Senate, Assembly and members of their staff.
During the two days which comprised the CALBO Leadership and Advocacy Day, attendees reviewed all current state laws with which building officials are required to comply. We also met with the CALBO Legislative Committee to review the list of bills the committee is currently tracking.
The Legislative Committee is very active in reviewing, identifying, and tracking all proposed legislation that may impact the CALBO membership.
Working in collaboration with the two full-time Government Affairs staff, the Legislative Committee communicates with the authors of the state legislation on the merits and challenges posed by pending bills. Meeting with the Legislative Committee prepared the CALBO Leadership and Advocacy Day attendees for our meeting with state legislators.
Our meeting with state legislators afforded us a vehicle for introducing CALBO and its 400+ members to the legislators and allowed us a chance to educate them on the services provided by building officials to the communities they serve.
We were also given the opportunity to discuss CALBO’s support of AB1612, opposition to AB 1801 and present the reasons for our opinion on each of these legislative bills.
Additionally, we were able to offer the expertise of CALBO on any future legislation that may impact the job performed by building officials.
Although we were only allotted 15 minutes with each legislator due to the demand for face-time with them, it was enlightening to see the interest they took during our brief presentation on the pros & cons of the two selected bills. I was very impressed by the level of knowledge displayed by the legislators and their staff. They were able to quickly conduct research and provide us with an instant update on the status of any given bill.
If you are interested in the legislative bills that CALBO is currently tracking, you can view them here: http://www.calbo.org/Documents/2012BillsofInterest.pdf. Should you have any questions regarding the CALBO’s position on any of the pending legislation, you can contact them via email (Info@calbo.org). I hope you will use CALBO as a resource to review pending bills and as a means for providing your feedback on pending legislation.