After meeting with a group of builders/developers in Birmingham, Senator Blackwell expressed his concerns that the bill would hurt small businesses and that a change needed to be made.  Representative Clouse mirrored those sentiments.  The HBAA and the Alabama Bankers Association have committed to work together to craft a compromise. 

The HBAA would like to thank Senator Slade Blackwell, Representative Steve Clouse, and our members in their districts for their leadership in bringing both sides together to find a more agreeable solution to the right of redemption issue. 

The HBAA has been working closely with Representative Steve McMillan (Bay Minette) to promote improvements in building codes along the Gulf Coast.  Although limited in its regulatory oversight in Mobile and Baldwin counties, the Alabama Residential and Energy Codes Board may serve this cause.  The HBAA is advocating that the Board adopt the ICC standards that address hurricane damage issues.   The adoption will be more guidance than enforceable regulation at first, but hopefully communities in Baldwin and Mobile counties will adopt this prescriptive standard as a means of addressing wind related damage.   

Established last year as part of the HBAA's comprehensive statewide building and energy code effort, the Board adopts codes for residential construction as well as energy standards for both residential and commercial.  The Board's authority in relation to building codes (not energy) is limited to areas where there is no formally adopted code and to those communities that chose to adopt it. 

Already facing tough economic conditions, the added burden of high insurance premiums (if available at all) for home owners has further restricted the economic recovery of our coastal counties.  The HBAA will continue to work closely with the legislative delegations of Baldwin and Mobile counties to address these issues. 

Under provisions of the bill, the State Fire Marshal will develop a training module for plumbers that would certify them for limited installation of residential sprinkler systems.  Unlike the commercial systems, potable water systems run off the same water supply feeding all of the other plumbing fixtures in a dwelling.  The goal of the bill is to ultimately bring down the cost of installing sprinklers and making them a more attractive option for would-be home buyers.  Alabama law prohibits any governmental entity from mandating the installation of residential sprinkler systems.

Some areas of the state allow sprinkler heads in the garage for the purpose of meeting the separation requirements of the code.  The HBAA raised a concern last year that such a bill could limit a "non-certified" builder/plumber from installing a sprinkler head/heads in the garage.  The Fire Marshal provided the HBAA with written assurance that a license is not necessary in that situation.  In his letter dated March 23, 2010, Ed Paulk writes:

            "The installation of a sprinkler head or heads in an attached garage does not meet the requirements of the Fire Protection Sprinkler System as defined in Title 34-33-1, Code of Alabama, 1975, and does not require licensure."

The HBAA supports the efforts of the State Fire Marshal to find ways to reduce the cost of sprinkler installation in residential dwellings, including allowing plumbers, who so choose, to install potable water fire sprinklers.

HB 56 (Hammon, Decatur) is on the calendar for consideration by the House on Tuesday, April 5. The proposed legislation would require all contractors to be held liable for the hiring practices of any of their subcontractors. Both the general contractor and subcontractor could be subject to losing their business licenses and other penalties as a result.

The HBAA and other business groups are preparing amendments to the bill that will address this issue and others that pose unnecessary hardships to small businesses.

Alabama Small Business Protection Act ( S.B. 184-Sen. Ben Brooks (R-Mobile)/ H.B. 251-Rep. Wes Long (R-Guntersville): Product liability suits provide a cause of action to consumers against manufacturers of defective products that cause injury or death.  But often these suits join Alabama retailers, wholesalers, and distributors as defendants even though they did not participate in the manufacture or design of the product.  This is done in some instances solely to allow the plaintiff to file suit in counties favorable to plaintiffs and keep an out-of-state manufacturer in an Alabama state court and out of federal court.  These suits nevertheless cost Alabama businesses time and money while the true target of the suit is the manufacturer or designer of the product.    If, on the other hand, the suit is brought against a retailer or distributor because the manufacturer is unknown and the retailer or distributor is needed in order to provide discovery concerning the manufacturer's identity, the bill provides a mechanism to accomplish this in a reasonable manner so that suit can then proceed against the appropriate manufacturer.

Post-Judgment Interest (S.B. 207-Senator Cam Ward (R-Alabaster)/H.B. 236-Rep. Greg Canfield (R-Vestavia Hills):  Under current Alabama law, if a defendant loses a lawsuit and chooses to appeal, he must begin paying 12% post-judgment interest on the amount the court or jury awarded the plaintiff, creating a significant financial deterrent to appealing an unjust verdict.  This bill would tie the post-judgment interest rate to the one-year Treasury bill (currently less than 1%), the system currently being used in federal courts.  This helps prevent the cost of money from dramatically impacting a defendant's decision whether or not to appeal a verdict.  The proposed bill cuts both ways-in a high interest rate environment like in the 1980's the rate could be well above 12%.   A survey of states in the southeast demonstrates that Alabama's rate is out of step with the 10 states surveyed.  Five (5) had flat rates like Alabama and Alabama's 12% is the highest.  Five (5) used variable rates similar to the federal standard and are substantially lower than Alabama's 12%.

Wrongful Death Venue Reform (S.B. 212-Senator Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville)/ H.B. 228-Representative Ron Johnson (R-Sylacauga):  Prohibits "forum shopping" of wrongful death actions by requiring that a suit can be brought only in the county where the decedent could have filed suit. This will prevent the current practice of finding a personal representative in a plaintiff-favorable county solely for purposes of obtaining venue there due to the residency of the personal representative.  For example, if a person lives in Shelby County and dies in Shelby County, the bill would require a wrongful death lawsuit to be filed in Shelby County.  Under current law, the family of the deceased could retain a lawyer in Macon County to be the personal representative of the deceased and the suit could be filed in Macon County.

Expert Witness Reform (S.B. 187-Senator Ben Brooks (R-Mobile)/H.B. 239-Rep. Steve McMillan (R-Bay Minette): Requires application in Alabama of the federal expert witness rule enunciated in the Daubert case. Alabama is one of a minority of states that has not adopted the rule, even though in 1993 the U.S. Supreme Court mandated its adoption in all federal courts.  Instead, Alabama continues to use the Frye standard from 1923 which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected when adopting the Daubert standard. A stricter standard for admitting expert testimony helps business, and indeed all litigants, in insuring valid scientific and other technical expert testimony has a solid foundation and basis.  For example, Alabama already requires that DNA evidence in criminal cases meet the standards for reliability established in Daubert.  This bill will simply take the next logical step of requiring all expert testimony to meet the Daubert standard.