EXTREME MAKEOVER

BIAW EDITION EXTREME MAKEOVER

BIAW MEMBERS STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE, HELP SUPPORT INDUSTRY-FRIENDLY CANDIDATES

This spring, longtime Skagit/Island Counties Builders Association member and Washington Affordable Housing Council (WAHC) advocate Gary Wray presented a challenge to BIAW’s government affairs team they simply couldn’t resist. Wray offered to shave his

Before and after photos of Gary Wray during his extreme makeover. Immediately following the board of directors meeting, Gary Wray delivered on his promise to shave his beard and cut his hair if $10,000 was raised for WAHC. Above, BIAW members are in awe of Wray’s makeover transformation.

trademark beard and cut his hair during the summer board meeting if $10,000 could be raised for WAHC.

CHALLENGE MADE, GOAL MET

Wray, who recently ended his term as WAHC chair, is a huge proponent of the building industry and raising money for WAHC is just one of his many talents. Thanks to his courageous challenge and the generosity of many BIAW members, the $10,000 goal was met!

WAHC provides financial support to home building industry-friendly candidates. During the WAHC meeting, WAHC dollars were put to good use with a unanimous vote to support Representative Alex Ybarra (R-Quincy, Dist. 13) in both the August primary and November general election. Ybarra was appointed to fill the seat vacated earlier this year by Representative Matt Manweller and is on the ballot for a special election this year to retain the seat.

At the conclusion of the summer board of directors meeting, Wray stayed true to his word. With the help of hairstylist Jose Lopez of the Gentleman’s Barber Shop in Yakima, Wray’s facial and hairstyle were utterly transformed. Later, Gary’s wife, Moe, informed us that she had not seen him clean-shaven during their entire 47-year marriage. Needless to say, she was pleased with the end result.

While Gary is currently in the process of growing back his beard and locks, he is eager to see who steps up next to help out WAHC with a challenge of their own.

ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE

“Legislation and elections impact every BIAW member and their businesses every day and I’m happy to help out this cause,” said Wray. “I’d like to see someone top my efforts for the next fundraiser.”

If that someone is you—raising funds for a good cause—contact BIAW Government Affairs Director Jan Himebaugh at (360) 352-7800 ext. 135 or janh@biaw.com with your challenge.

A huge thank you to Gary and everyone who donated to make this one of the most significant WAHC fundraisers in recent memory.

//BUILDING INSIGHT | BIAW.COM CONTENTS //

// EXTREME MAKEOVER 2

STRATEGIC PLAN

// STRATEGIC PLAN 7 // BIAW FILES LAWSUITS 5

// COALITION BUILDING 8

// EIR WINNERS REVEALED 12

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

BITS AND PIECES

Perspectives from the road

// CHECKS DELIVERED 18

EVP VIEWPOINT

GOALS APPROVED

Board approves strategic plan, purchase of a new building 6

On the Cover: In tribute to BIAW’s Spike Party theme, A Night at the Movies, Spokane Home Builders Association members Deacon Band, Nick Scheel, Nick Barnes and Nick Gilliland bring to life the characters of the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. WHO WE ARE

The Building Industry Association of Washington is the state’s largest trade association and represents nearly 8,000 member companies in the home building industry.

Known as the “Champions of Affordable Housing,” BIAW is dedicated to ensuring and enhancing the vitality of the building industry for the benefit of its members and the housing needs of citizens.

2019 SENIOR OFFICERS

President

Rick Hjelm, CGR MBA of Pierce County

First Vice President

Sherry Schwab MBA of King & Snohomish Counties

Second Vice President

Chris Lockhart MBA of Pierce County

Treasurer

Tracy Doriot BIA of Clark County

Secretary

LouAnne Neill HBA of Tri-Cities

Immediate Past President

Kevin Russell, CGP North Peninsula Building Association

BIAW STAFF Executive Vice President Greg Lane Government Affairs Director Jan Himebaugh General Counsel Jackson Maynard Administrative Services Director Jan Rohila

R.O.I.I.® Select Director Mark Shaffer

Communications & Public Relations Director Jennifer Spall

CONTACT THE EDITORIAL STAFF Want to submit an article for publication? Have a story tip or suggestion? For consideration, please email

communications@biaw.com

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE BITS AND PIECES PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ROAD // RICK HJELM PRESIDENT As I write this, the fourth of July has come and gone. Like many of you, I hit the road to spend it with friends and family. My trip found me traveling through the beautiful the cities of: Jackson Hole, Wyoming where I experienced early-morning balloon races and an evening cattle-ranch supper show; Idaho Falls, where I enjoyed an incredible 40-minue fireworks display; and beautiful Park City, and many national parks in southern Utah. BEST PLACE ON EARTH The reason for my detailed travel dialogue is although all the destinations were amazing, the time spent on this trip allowed me to think about how lucky we are to live in this great country, in the land of the free, and to be afforded so many possibilities. These include being able to choose your profession, work in this profession, and for many of us, after a day’s hard work, enjoy the excellent views from our jobsites. MEMBERS VOTE FOR STRATEGIC PLAN, NEW BUILDING Due to having a little bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, (yes, acknowledging you have a problem is the first step) my thoughts wandered back and forth between the following: George Carlin’s advice: “If all holidays were observed on Wednesdays, we could have 9-day weekends.”; The NAHB Spring Leadership Meeting in Washington, D.C., the visits to members of ... the time spent on this trip Congress, and our private tour of the U.S. Capitol building (thanks again, BIAW Communications and Public Relations Director Jennifer Spall); allowed me to think about Mark Twain’s words of wisdom: “Patriotism is supporting your country how lucky we are to live in this great country, in the land all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”; The BIAW summer board meeting and the important work we accomplish—from the approval of the Strategic Plan to the emotional deciof the free... sion to move ahead with the purchase of a new building; and, The words of Stephen Covey who once said, “I am NOT a product of my circumstances, I AM a product of my decisions.”

GRATEFUL FOR BIAW MEMBERS

In closing, if you’ve ever watched the Pixar movie, Inside Out, you can see into how my brain works. The film shows how emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust work in a person’s mind.

What you don’t see, however, is my heartfelt thank you to our members for your decisions in bettering our industry, working so hard on all levels to making BIAW better, and our industry stronger.

DEFEND MEMBERS’ INTERESTS BIAW FILES LAWSUITS

LAWSUITS WOULD HELP MEMBERS PROTECT WORKERS’ COMP FUND, CLARIFY STATE AUTHORITY

STOP RAID OF WORKERS’ COMP FUND

BIAW filed a lawsuit last month against the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) and the Washington State Treasurer that aims to stop the use of workers’ compensation funds for purposes other than its intended purpose, to compensate injured workers.

“This session, the Legislature passed SB 5116, which was part of Governor Inslee’s package of environmental bills,” stated BIAW General Counsel Jackson Maynard.

“This is not a dispute over the policy in the bill. However, taking $625,000 from the Workers’ Compensation Fund (Medical Aid & Accident) for the bill’s implementation is not allowed under the state constitution.”

The $625,000 figure is a combination of the budget bill that provided the transfer of $313,000 from the accident account and $312,000 of the medical aid account to assist in funding the SB 5116 related to Governor Inslee’s clean energy plan.

The problem is that money from those accounts is required to be used for compensating injured workers and transfers in the state budget for the energy bill are not, thus making the them unconstitutional.

The Workers’ Compensation Fund, which was established in Article II, Section 31 of the Washington Constitution, also requires the Legislature to pass bills to protect workers. The Washington Supreme Court refers to the Workers’ Compensation Fund as a “trust.”

“We are seeking a court order to stop L&I and the Treasurer from spending these funds on anything other than worker safety,” continued Maynard.

“The Legislature has a fiduciary duty to protect injured workers in our state and the diversion of these funds for any other purpose is unlawful and unacceptable.”

CLARIFY AGENCY’S AUTHORITY

The second lawsuit, also filed in July, is against Governor Jay Inslee, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), and the State of Washington. The lawsuit alleges the governor and Legislature overstepped their constitutional authority in legislation that created new fines for builders. The governor violated the constitution by vetoing a small portion of a bill, specifically a subsection. Although the governor has the authority to veto parts of bills passed by the Legislature, he must veto an entire section rather than veto a single item or line. The Legislature violated the constitution’s single-subject requirement by passing a bill that had matters not reflected in the title.

“The process of adopting this bill raised a number of constitutional concerns,” stated BIAW General Counsel Jackson Maynard.

“First, the bill violated the single-subject requirement. Compounding the problem, the governor vetoed a subsection of the bill in violation of the state constitution’s clear requirement that a governor must veto an entire section of a bill, not subsections.”

As a result of these illegal actions, Maynard explained, there is confusion about the authority of WDFW to implement the bill through enforcement and rulemaking. The bill repealed the existing ability of WDFW to fine for violations and the governor vetoed the new authority. As a result, it is unclear whether and how the WDFW can issue civil fines at all.

“Actions by the governor have raised a number of questions on constitutionality, enforcement, and rulemaking authority that need to be cleared up as soon as possible, to give predictability and certainty to the process for our members,” concluded Maynard.

EVP VIEWPOINT GOALS APPROVED

BOARD APPROVES STRATEGIC PLAN, PURCHASE OF A NEW BUILDING

I would like to thank all our members who attended BIAW’s summer board meeting in Yakima. I sincerely believe we will all look back on that meeting as a historic one for BIAW.

STRATEGIC PLAN ADOPTED The first significant decision made by the board of directors at the meeting was the adoption of an aggressive and ambitious Strategic // GREG LANE Plan. Developed over the last six months with the involvement of EXECUTIVE members representing every local association, the Strategic Plan is VICE PRESIDENT a comprehensive document that reflects the mutual priorities of the membership. The five strategic priorities include: 1. Government and Legal Affairs 2. Communications 3. Workforce Development 4. Continuing Education 5. Thriving Association

Achieving the many goals outlined under each of those strategic priorities now becomes the focus of the entire BIAW organization. I look forward to reporting back to the membership on a regular basis on the progress we make toward achieving those goals. See page 7 for more information on our Strategic Plan.

NEW BIAW FACILITY The second major decision made by the board was to approve the purchase of a new building to house BIAW’s operations. As you may know, Member Services Corporation (MSC) directors and BIAW senior officers initiated a process last fall to evaluate the long term facility needs of the organization, as well as assess if BIAW’s current home, the McCleary Mansion, could meet those needs. After receiving a comprehensive independent report indicating that the Mansion does not meet BIAW’s office space needs and the task force determining a remodel would not be a viable option, they recommended purchasing a property located approximately one mile south of BIAW’s current location. The Parkside Building is located at 300 Deschutes Way SW, Olympia, WA 98501. BIAW is currently in the final stages of the feasibility process and will likely close on the purchase in August. Achieving the many goals outlined under each of those strategic priorities now becomes the focus of the entire BIAW organization.

SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 22-24, 2020 - SUMMER BOARD MEETING

In response to members’ requests for BIAW to host board meetings at family-friendly locations, we have secured the location of next year’s summer board meeting at Skamania Lodge. (The dates changed to a week earlier so as to not coincide with the July 4 holiday weekend.) BIAW also negotiated special pricing for members wishing to arrive early or depart later.

GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY

Finally, the board meeting also marked the one year anniversary of the board of directors voting to honor me with the privilege of serving as BIAW’s executive vice president. It was not lost on me that just one year later, the board chose to re-invest in the organization by purchasing a new facility. I will continue to work as hard as I can to deliver for all members a return on that investment by achieving the goals outlined in our Strategic Plan.