AIA Louisiana 2014 Legislative Session Recap/Political Update
The 2014 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned sine die on June 2nd. This year's session was considered general in nature (as opposed to fiscal sessions, which occur in odd-numbered years); that means legislators could file as many general bills as they wanted as long as the measures weren't designed to increase or decrease state tax revenue nor impact tax credits, deductions, exclusions, etc.
Legislators filed some 1,969 bills plus hundreds of resolutions; by midway point in session AIA-LA was tracking 101 pieces of legislation. A total of 887 bills made it through the legislative process and were sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal for his action. After all was said and done, the governor signed 875 of finally passed bills and vetoed 12. Five hundred fifty-one (551) new laws took effect on August 1, 2014.
Following is an overview of a few of the key bills AIA LA was heavily involved with over the course of the session: Full Story
|
Public Bid Law Seminars
In this year's legislative session, AIA Louisiana along with LAGC and ACEC, rewrote the Public Bid Law to provide more clarity to definitions of terms in the law. The partnership met with over 40 public owners to ask for their input into law changes. In an effort to educate our industry on the changes, we will be going around the state with a Public Bid Law Seminar over the next few months. Steven Loeb, with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, has put together an excellent presentation explaining the numerous changes. These seminars will include the contractors, engineers, and local officials that you work with every day. For dates and locations go to aiala.com/public-bid-law/
|
AIA Louisiana Member Appointed General Counsel of Energy Committee  The Chair of Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee,U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today announced that trusted Louisiana natives will join her Energy Committee staff. The additions include former Landrieu staffers Herman "Bubba" Gesser of New Iberia, who will serve as General Counsel, and Elizabeth Weiner of Metairie, who will serve as Senior Professional Staff. These two individuals will head up the committee's efforts to support the Gulf Coast. Baton Rouge natives Renae Black and Clayton Allen, Bruly native Kristen Granier, Catahoula native Luke Theriot, and Covington native Afton Zaunbrecher, who all currently serve on Sen. Landrieu's staff, will join them. Sen. Landrieu announced the senior members of her team to lead the Committee. Full Story |
AIA's State Government Network Talks Business
For the past 24 years, AIA's State Government Network members (a national group of architects and Component Executives) have come together to discuss and strategize legislative and regulatory trends. This year's June 5-6th meeting location was Seattle, Washington and proved to be one of the best ever, with almost every AIA Component represented. AIA Louisiana was represented by Lynn Robertson, Executive Director.
The meeting was kicked off by Yvonne Castillo, Director of State and Local Government Relations, with an overview of relevant legislative trends and a demonstration of the voice-over "What Architects Do" digital tool (with a sample script) for AIA Components to use with elected and appointed officials. "This pdf gives members a visual tool to talk about the scope of architectural services succinctly, without overwhelming the viewer with technical-speak" said Castillo. Full Story
|
We are proud to partner with the largest sustainable building event in the US as it marches into New Orleans! Join us this October for Greenbuild 2014 and help us show the world why the Crescent City is the perfect setting for the green movement. For more information and registration go to greenbuildexpo.com
|
|
