Heading Down the Home Stretch
The 2010 regular session of the Alabama Legislature will enter the final ten days when they return from Spring Break on March 23rd. The tone of the session has been low key thus far, with tempers under control and little controversy to mention. When they return, the top priority will be getting the budgets passed and to the Governor. Both chambers will be back in action on Tuesday, March 23rd for the twenty first Legislative Day. Remember, you can contact your House and Senate members in Montgomery by calling the House operator at (334) 242-7600 or the Senate operator at (334) 242-7800, or writing to them via the State House Office Building, Montgomery, Alabama 36130. You can also visit the Legislature's official web site at http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/ACASLogin.asp.

Registration Board Bill One Vote Away from Governor's Desk
SB 59, by Sen. Larry Means (D) of Attalla, has passed the Alabama Senate and HB 156, by Rep. Marcel Black (D) of Tuscumbia, has passed the House. Both bills are now pending final approval in the opposite chamber. We are hoping to get a final vote on either one next week. Once approved, the bill will go to Governor Riley for his signature into law.

Interior Design Bill - Must Be Changed!
HB 440, by Rep. Marcel Black (D) of Tuscumbia, would make major changes to the Interior Design Law in an effort to more clearly spell out who is required to be licensed and what activities they can perform. Several members of the Alabama Council's Legislative Committee have met with representatives from the interior design profession over the past couple of years in an effort to craft a bill that we can live with. We reached an agreement with them and have remained neutral on the bill. 
In an effort to appease the decorators and kitchen and bath designers, the bill was changed. In our opinion, the current version of the bill would allow virtually anyone to design up to 2,500 square feet within any size building. This is contrary to the Architect Registration Law and we will oppose the bill unless this language is corrected. 

The bill was scheduled to be considered by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (see below) on Tuesday, March 23rd. The Alabama Council is requesting a Public Hearing on the bill to express our concerns. In the interim, please contact any of the members of the committee listed below to express your opposition to the bill. If you would like a copy of the bill, please call or email the Alabama Council Office or visit the Legislature's web site.

Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Wendell Mitchell, Chair, Zeb Little, Jabo Waggoner, Scott Beason, Kim Benefield, Linda Coleman, Bobby Denton, Larry Dixon, Priscilla Dunn, Vivian Figures, Larry Means, Myron Penn, Jim Preuitt, Quinton Ross and Harri Anne Smith 

All Senators can be reached at 334.242.7800. Please call now.

Residential Energy Code Approved
As expected, the Home Builders Association of Alabama was successful in their efforts to update Alabama's energy code for residential building. For the past several years, the HBAA has led an effort to pass legislation that would have created a statewide building code authority. That legislation had a broad scope and had the support of most groups in the design and construction profession. Unfortunately, those efforts drew opposition from the fire chiefs and fire marshalls and some local governments who said they didn't have resources for enforcement or compliance. 

The bill renames the Alabama Residential Energy Code Board to the Alabama Energy and Residential Codes Board and adopts the 2006 Edition of the International Energy Conservation Code, ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 for commercial buildings and the 2006 International Residential Code published by the International Code Council. The bill adds four additional members to the Board, two appointed by the Governor and two appointed by the Chair of the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Energy Policy. 

The Alabama Council has a position on the Board, currently occupied by AL Council Past President Linda Snapp.