2015 Legislative Priorities

Every year, nearly 1,500 pieces of legislation are introduced to be heard during the legislative session. AIA members, lobbyists and staff review pertinent legislation that could impact the profession, your business and/or the health, safety or welfare of the public.  We determine a position and advocate on your behalf to the General Assembly and leaders at the State.  Below are just a few examples of legislation introduced this year.

Questions? Contact Ashley Cates at 615.255.3860 or ashley@aiatn.org.


 

1. Why Architects Matter

Architecture profoundly affects people.  The work of architects is essential to human well-being.  Architects are motivated by education and ethics to offer their specialized knowledge, skills and experiences to enhance Tennessee’s built environment…an intriguing challenge as design, construction and society undergo constant change.
Architecture in the Community

Architects provide spaces to live.

  • We’re not just talking about houses – we spend 95% of our lives in buildings. Through architecture, those buildings and the environments in which we live, work, play, and shop are designed to provide for a healthier and more enjoyable experience.

Architects make sure the community is safe.

  • From advocating for increased accessibility through building codes to rebuilding communities following natural disasters, AIA members facilitate ways of working together to help communities instead of the patchwork of policies that hold back real progress.

Architects are visionaries.

  • AIA members continue to work to have an increasingly imaginative, sustainable and technically sophisticated approach to designing our world. As the public looks up to our buildings, we are looking forward to ways to improve the environment in the future.

Architecture in Business

Architects invest in the workforce.

  • They do so by hiring great talent, driving economic development by producing good design and creating buildings that will last for generations. Our members are business owners, employers and taxpayers.

Architecture firms are small businesses.

  • Approximately 95 percent of U.S. firms employ less than 50 individuals. By working with architects, state & local governments are boosting their local economies.

Architects are collaborators.

  • AIA architects work together with a wide range of design and construction professionals to achieve results desired by clients, public and private alike.

 

2. Fire & Building Code Legislation

Building codes are sets of regulations governing the design, construction, alteration, and maintenance of structures. They specify the minimum requirements to adequately safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants. The purpose of nationally recognized model building codes is the protection of lives. Building codes are updated periodically as the direct result of information learned from structural collapses and other failures.

Just as construction practices have evolved over time, so have the regulations that govern the design, construction, and occupation of the built environment. AIA opposes the following legislation due to major changes in the law that can ultimately affect the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants and the public at large.

  • SB474 (Bell) / HB787 (Williams). Although this bill states “townhouse shall be built according to local and statewide adopted building codes” it REMOVES any requirement for fire sprinklers in townhouses. It also defines “townhouses” and requires them to be considered a separate building with independent exterior walls separated by two-hour fire resistance rated wall assembly.
  • SB620 (Tracy) / HB628 (Littleton) exempts local jurisdictions that have an established codes department from audit of its records and transactions by the state fire marshal. It REMOVES the provision of law stating that state building codes supersede all less stringent provisions of municipal ordinances. 
  • SB1346 (McNally) / HB1261(Ragan) enables counties and municipalities to OPT OUT of the International Energy Conservation Code standards applicable statewide to buildings classified for certain industrial or storage uses.
  • HB842(Windle)/ (no senate companion to date) permits certain student residences housing a small number of students at public higher education institutions to be occupied although the RESIDENCES DO NOT HAVE SPRINKLERS. 

KEY POINTS

  • Architects are obligated to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Building codes have successfully protected people and property. Any reduction in fire or building codes may place citizens of TN and property in greater risk. Building codes are minimum standards designed to save lives, not to protect property investments.
  • FEMA disaster assistance funding levels are tied to building codes that are in effect at the time of a disaster. Increased funding is available to disaster communities which adopt qualified building codes.

ACTION REQUESTED

Please OPPOSE the above legislation and any other attempts to weaken codes requirements in design and construction.


3. Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Act

SB1153 (Tate) / HB1237 (Miller) establishes a tax credit for an owner of a certified historic structure that incurs qualified rehabilitation expenditures for the rehabilitation of that structure.

The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Act will facilitate the restoration and preservation of the State’s historic buildings and structures.

Restoration and preservation of the State’s historic buildings and structures fosters civic beauty, revitalizes and renews communities, expands the State’s economy, creates new employment, retains existing employment and promotes education, recreation and welfare.

 

Tax Credit Allocation is addressed in Section 4 (a) and Section 4 (b):

  • Any owner that incurs qualified rehabilitation expenditures for the rehabilitation of a certified historic structure shall earn a tax credit against any state premium tax liability in an amount equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures; provided, that the rehabilitation shall meet standards consistent with the standards of the secretary of the United States department of the interior for rehabilitation, as certified by the commission, and the qualified rehabilitation expenditures associated with the certified historic structure shall exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
  • The entire tax credit shall be earned in the year in which the certified historic structure, or portion of the structure, attributable to the qualified rehabilitation expenditures is placed in service; provided, that the tax credit shall be claimed in three (3) equal installments beginning with the year in which the certified historic structure, or portion of the structure, attributable to the qualified rehabilitation expenditures is placed in service. The total tax credit claimed for any taxable year, including the amount of any carryforward tax credit claimed, shall not exceed the claimant’s state premium tax liability due. Any unused portion of any installment of the tax credit may be carried forward for the five (5) years following the year in which the installment could be claimed.

KEY POINTS

  • Historic rehabilitation investment drives economic development, creates jobs and spending, brings vacant buildings back into active commerce, causes real estate values and real estate tax revenue to appreciate, and revitalizes main streets and downtowns.
  • Of equal importance is the opportunity to bring new life to a historic building, while preserving features which convey its historical, cultural and architectural values. Having more of this activity across Tennessee would be a very positive development.
  • Has the potential to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment to the state in both rural and urban areas

ACTION REQUESTED – Please SUPPORT SB1153/HB1237.


4. State Procurement Legislation

SB95 (Norris) / HB84 (McCormick) authorizes public institutions of higher education and the department of general services to participate in, sponsor, conduct or administer cooperative purchasing agreements for the procurement of services relating to the transfer or management of real property; the procurement of construction, engineering or architectural services; or the procurement of construction materials with other states or local governments.

The state of Tennessee, government entities and public institutions of higher education are required by law to use Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) for procuring professional design services for public projects. We believe this legislation as it currently written will be in conflict with Qualifications Based Selection (QBS).

QBS provides owners with a selection process that is not only straightforward and easy to implement, but is objective and fair. It recognizes that design professionals play a critical role in the public building process. As QBS is predicated on the notion that qualifications, not price, should be the determining factor in selecting an architect, it places fee negotiation at the end of the selection process. While price may have its place within the selection process, it alone should not be the determining factor.

The reason for this is clear: Projects that are contracted solely on price do not take into account the myriad additional factors that go into architectural design. Architectural design is an evolving process and much goes into it after the drawings are signed, sealed and delivered. In fact, one of an architect’s principal duties is to ensure that the construction process goes smoothly.

It is an architect’s experience, expertise and ability to resolve unforeseen problems creatively that will keep a construction project moving forward. These intangibles are common throughout the process. As a result, owners who rely only on a submitted bid as the project cost may be placed in a difficult position if the final cost is significantly higher.

QBS helps resolve the projected vs. final cost dilemma by negotiating the project’s cost with the most qualified firm among the applicants. QBS also fosters a collaborative environment, so the roles of all stakeholders are known, documented and understood. Finally, because the selection process is well-documented, decisions the owner makes are more likely to stand up to public scrutiny.

KEY POINTS

  • The state of Tennessee, government entities and public institutions of higher education are required by law to use QBS for procuring professional design services for public projects.
  • It is an architect’s experience, expertise and ability to resolve unforeseen problems creatively that will keep a construction project moving forward. These intangibles are common throughout the process. QBS helps resolve the projected vs. final cost dilemma by negotiating the project’s cost with the most qualified firm among the applicants.
  • of General Services has proposed amendatory language that we support that REMOVES architectural and engineering services from the legislation.

ACTION REQUESTEDOPPOSE HB 84/SB 95 enabling cooperative agreements for professional design services UNLESS it is amended to delete the words “engineering, or architectural” in Section 1 (a) (2)


 

Questions or Want to Get Involved?

Join our Government Relations Committee.  Every Friday during the Legislative Session, the committee has a conference call to review important legislation affecting the profession and determine next steps.  Contact Ashley Cates at ashley@aiatn.org or call 615.255.3860 to learn more about the Committee and/or legislation.

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