February 10th will be a busy day for the Government Affairs leadership at AIA Pennsylvania.  We will be testifying at two public hearings scheduled for that day. 
 
The House Professional Licensure Committee will be holding a hearing on HB1521, the title and practice act for interior designers.  AIA Pennsylvania remains opposed to the bill and to a proposed amendment that would amend the Architects Act to include the interior designers.  This amendment can be interpreted to narrow the scope of the "practice of architecture" in the Commonwealth. The bill's current language seeks to give interior designers the ability to stamp and seal drawings.  AIA holds that only architects and engineers licensed through examination, and who must meet rigorous education requirements, posess the necessary education, training and experience requirements to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public in building design.  Other individuals may posess useful skills in designing the built environment, but fragmentation of responsiblity for the building design process endangers and misleads the public as to respective areas of competence and expertise.  John R. Hill, AIA, 2008 AIA Pennsylvania President and current chair of our Licensure Committee will testify on behalf of AIA Pennsylvania at the hearing. 
 
A. Stevens Krug, AIA, AIA Pennsylvania President, will be testifying on behalf of AIA Pennsyvlania at a hearing of the Senate Education Committee on the potential renewal of the PA Department of Education Mandate Waivers Program, which is scheduled to sunset in June. Under the School Mandate Waivers program, a school entity may apply for a waiver from the Separations Act requirement to utilize single prime contracting.   AIA Pennsylvania believes that school districts should be allowed to choose the most cost-effective project delivery system(s) to be used for the erection, construction and alteration of schools.  There are often costs associated with construction that are not reflected in the bids such as those associated with liability exposure, contractual disputes, project delay claims by contractors, the proejct's day-to-day budget, schedule, and scope.  These sorts of issues make a direct comparison of bids based on delievery method difficult to do.  This is particularly true given the complexity of construction today.  Therefore, it should not be a requirement for school districts to obtain single prime bids before receiving a mandate waiver.