The Home Builders Association of Massachusetts has been busy at the start of the new legislative session, with public hearings on two Senate bills under its belt and more to come in the next few weeks.
The association has set forth an ambitious and diverse legislative agenda this year, involving everything from education requirements for builders to Title 5 issues. First up were public hearings at the State House last week on two bills endorsed by HBAM.
The first, Senate bill 1198, involves continuing education for building officials and licensed construction supervisors. If passed, the bill would institute three changes in the building industry in the state, making continuing education a condition of license renewal.
First of all, the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards would have to approve continuing education courses for construction supervisors and building officials. A seven-member advisory board would be established to assist in developing the continuing education program, deciding questions such as how many hours of training would be required each year.
Lastly, and perhaps most contentiously, 10 percent of the fees builders pay for licenses would be set aside in a retained revenue account earmarked solely for the continuing education program.
Since the early 1980s, homebuilders have been required to be licensed by the state. Licensed homebuilders can retain their licenses as long as they pay the renewal fee.
But debate over the past five to 10 years has centered on whether builders should be required to stay up on changes in codes and regulations as a condition of license renewal. Previously, homebuilders were against the idea. Now, however, industry leaders have agreed with the proposal and support the bill, according to HBAM legal counsel Benjamin Fierro III.
“It’s unusual to have a regulated industry say ‘regulate us some more,’ but I think it’s a good thing,” Fierro said. “It’s noteworthy that the industry is doing this.”
Paul J. Moriarty, former assistant building commissioner for the city of Boston, has been an attorney and construction code consultant for the past 15 years. About six years ago, Moriarty proposed regulations to require continuing education, he said. The initiative generated broad support, but at the last minute the proposal fell through; the BBRS said it didn’t have the money to support program expenses.
To address that stumbling block, the new bill proposes establishing funding of educational programs by diverting 10 percent of the money collected from licensing fees for that purpose. Builders each pay $150 every three years to renew licenses, Moriarty said.
“If this is passed, $15 would be kept by the BBRS and earmarked for the special purpose only of educating builders and building inspectors,” he said.
The Legislature is generally not supportive of retained revenue, noted Fierro, as it takes money away from the general state fund. That issue may become the trickiest part of getting the bill passed.
However, Moriarty is optimistic.
“I think we have a better than 50 percent chance,” he said.
The second bill heard last week, Senate bill 378, seeks to establish a home improvement contractor council. Both the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Consumer Affairs regulate home improvement contractors.
To bridge the gap between the two agencies, the bill would establish a seven-member council including representatives from the division of inspection, the residential contractor’s guaranty fund, the attorney general’s office, a consumer group, homebuilders and remodelers.
The contractor’s guaranty fund is a pool of money gathered from contractors’ registration fees, designed to help homeowners recover at least some of the damages suffered from an unscrupulous contractor, up to $10,000 per consumer.
Years ago, a home improvement advisory board did exist under the Department of Public Safety. That board, created in the early 1990s, reviewed arbitration cases involving consumers and contractors. But, for undetermined reasons, the board was abolished by the Department of Public Safety.
“Now there’s no place where the various people involved can meet. It’s all done behind closed doors,” said Harry Smith of Weymouth-based H.F. Smith Construction Co. and a former member of the old advisory board.
“This legislation reinstates the board and gives all the parties involved a place to meet – all to the benefit of the consumer,” he added. “A lot of what we did made the consumer aware that they should be doing business with registered contractors, otherwise they would not be eligible to collect [damages] from the fund.”
Title 5
At the top of HBAM’s agenda is a public hearing this week on Senate bill 1063 involving Title 5 septic system regulations that seeks to establish a uniform sewer-and-water code across the state. The hearing will be held at the State House on April 5 at 10 a.m.
“This is the single most important issue on the hill this year,” Fierro said. “It’s a significant barrier to new housing construction, and is one of the most important factors in the high cost of housing.”
Often, communities adopt regulations even more stringent than the state’s Department of Environmental Protection Title 5 requirements, sometimes in response to unique geographical features, other times as a zoning or anti-development tool, some builders contend.
The proposed bill would allow cities and towns to adopt tougher regulations only after the municipality can prove the need for such rules through engineering and scientific data.
The governor’s special task force on barriers to housing development is focusing, in part, on overly stringent Title 5 regulations.
Also up this week is a public hearing for House bill 1242, set for Tuesday, April 2, at 11 a.m. The bill would mandate that towns justify building moratoria and adopt a master plan before implementing development restrictions.
A public hearing will be held on April 24 at 11 a.m. on House bill 2008, which calls for planning boards to hold a single consolidated hearing on both a special permit for a subdivision and the subdivision plan itself, consolidating the permitting process for builders.
And on May 8 at 11 a.m., a public hearing is scheduled for Senate bill 1101, relating to the use of land transfer of development rights. That would permit communities to authorize special permits for the transfer of land development rights within and between zoning districts of a community, a move that could ease constraints on builders.
Builders are being realistic about the chances of survival for the many bills they are backing.
“It has never been more difficult to get legislation passed at the State House. Even a bill that enjoys widespread support and no opposition is difficult to get enacted,” Fierro warned.
However, Fierro noted that Gov. Paul Cellucci’s vocal support of housing issues, and his filing of bills relative to the industry, may help building initiatives navigate the twisting corridors of the State House.
“We’re very supportive of the governor’s legislative agenda on housing, and we will be working very closely with the administration to get their bills passed,” he said.
In particular, Fierro mentioned House bill 3903, which seeks to establish a housing supply incentive program.
“This is trying to reward communities who remove barriers to housing. We’re extremely grateful that the governor had the political courage and leadership to file these bills,” Fierro said.
The association will also be focusing major effort on opposing measures designed to weaken the Chapter 40B “anti-snob” zoning comprehensive permit law, including one proposal to decrease the state’s 10 percent affordable housing mandate to 8 percent. On May 16, the Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Development will conduct a public hearing on the issue.