Hands On Disaster Response is looking for design professionals immediately to volunteer in Leogane, Haiti to perform building damage assessments. Needed: - architects or designers with ATC training (or other relevant experience) - structural engineers
Architects Without Borders-Seattle is gathering a team from the Pacific Northwest to volunteer for the 1-2 week trip organized by Hands On Disaster Response. The projected departure date is no later than May first. There may be some monetary and organizational support for the team, but volunteers should be prepared to cover their own travel expenses to and from Leogane.
If you have read through the information from the links above and are still interested, please contact either: Rachel Minnery - rminnery@gmail.com (architects) or, Scott Douglas - sdouglas@dci-engineers.com (engineers) In a similar vein, Minnery noted, with the earthquake in Chile concerns have arisen about the adequacy of current building codes in the Pacific Northwest. You can read an enlightening New York Times article on the topic here.
SB 5529, modernizing Washington’s architecture licensing laws, will be signed into law by Governor Gregoire today.
It has been 25 years since the architecture law last saw major revisions. A lot has changed in the practice since then. This new law will bring the architecture law into the 21st Century. The bill itself is the product of over 6 years of work. The first drafts and reviews of the law started in 2004, shortly after I first came to work for the AIA|WA. Over the next few years a task force was formed, concepts discussed and the bill drafted. A bill was first introduced in 2008 during that year’s 60 day legislative session. During three legislative session the bill was refined. Remarkably, the final law will look very similar to the bill that was introduced back in 2008. There were a few tweaks here and there, but the core framework remains.
AIA|WA is working on a detailed summary of the new law. An update will be sent to the membership in the coming weeks. Right now, we are focusing on finishing the special legislative session that is ongoing in Olympia.
There are a lot of people who deserve credit for this law. At the risk of not mentioning everyone, we would like to acknowledge a few who did yeoman’s work on the bill.
First, Jeffrey Hamlett, AIA, took the lead early on to work on drafting the bill and leading the discussions. He researched most every state’s laws to find provisions that we should emulate in Washington. In 2005, he led a member workshop on the licensing law during the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Conference in Seattle. He has remained involved for the duration of the effort.
Second, Peter Rasmussen, FAIA, provided legislative testimony and negotiated changes with other organizations. As a former chair of the state’s licensing board and NCARB officer, his knowledge of licensing laws and practices was invaluable during the process (especially when we ran into roadblocks).
Third, Dave Huotari, AIA, and his colleagues at AIA Spokane did outstanding work in heading off problems that arose from that area of the state. They were able to remove a major roadblock by working a key legislator to garner his support for the bill.
Fourth, the members of the Board for Architects (licensing board), were very supportive and helpful in providing feedback on the needs to be addressed in the legal reforms and input as to the feasibility of implementing its provisions.
Next, there have been many officers and board members cycle through the AIA|WA in the last few years and members of the AIA|WA Practice Resource Group who have contributed to the ultimate framework and success of this new law. They are too many to mention, but we thank them all for their input, guidance and advocacy efforts.
Finally, AIA|WA thanks the legislative sponsors. Former Senator Fred Jarrett worked very hard for this bill during his tenure. He took another position as Deputy King County Executive this year, but stayed in touch as the bill progressed. When he left the Senate, Senator Curtis King stepped in as the other Senate cosponsor to move the bill through the process.
We had a House companion to this bill, too, HB 1634. Representative Scott White was the prime sponsor there. He worked very hard on this bill over the last two years. We asked him to sponsor a bill that at the time had no opposition and was to be a nice easy bill for a freshman work on. As it turned out, problems kept popping up. He met every challenge and worked tirelessly with us to resolve concerns and keep the bill moving.
And, we also appreciate the work of the other House cosponsors: Jim Jacks, Christine Rolfes, Bruce Chandler, Reuven Carlyle, Marko Liias, Larry Crouse, Hans Dunshee and Steve Conway.
Of course, we should also mention the hundreds of AIA members who responded to our action alerts over the last 3 legislative sessions. Their grassroots support of the bill made it easier to lobby for in Olympia. An association is only as good as its members. We have some great members and their efforts will last for many years in the form of the new law.
Again, thank you to everyone who helped to craft and pass this new law. While this part of the effort will conclude tomorrow, the next phase is beginning. We will start working with the licensing board on the rulemaking necessary to implement the bill. Some of the bill’s provisions will take effect this year, some next year and a few in 2012. Look for a detailed review soon.
Ideas to Repurpose Vacant Urban Spaces To what creative uses can we put vacant or underutilized buildings? Can partially constructed projects contribute to, rather than diminish, our neighborhoods?
AIA Seattle’s Forum magazine is seeking illustrated ideas that repurpose or rethink underused or vacant spaces of all kinds for an upcoming issue. Designers and artists are urged to think boldly about innovative approaches to underutilized land, buildings or infrastructure.
Submittal Instructions Send a 72dpi jpeg with a 100 word synopsis to Isla McKetta at imcketta@aiaseattle.org by the deadline below. Jpegs should be at least 8.5”x9”. The magazine cannot accept previously published images.
National Architecture Week 2010 is April 11–17. The AIA focus this year is - Design Matters: a yearlong conversation about the power and legacy of architecture and architects’ contributions to their communities.
AIA National is launching an Architecture Week 2010 Facebook page, on April 1, that will be the hub for online discussions about why design matters, accompanied by videos posted to the AIA National YouTube Channel, the AIA Shape of America Web site, and occasional live chats on Twitter. You are invited to post your own images, videos, and comments and encouraged to share the invitation with your clients, colleagues, and community!
AIA National will be compiling all the submissions to build a compelling showcase of multimedia presentations that prominently feature all of the public celebrations and conversations taking place around the nation about the impact of architecture on our lives.
Specific information about how to post to the Facebook page will be included in the March 17 issue of Component NewsFlash. Mark your calendars now for Architecture Week 2010, April 11-17. Plan to join the conversations and add your examples of why Design Matters.
The legislature is still planning to raise B&O taxes on AIA/WA members. There are 37 hours left in the 2010 Legislative Session. Lawmakers must be told about the impact the proposed tax increases will have on your firms.
Unemployment Rates Soar for Architects Architects have been hit hard by the current recession. Engineering News Record reports unemployment rates for design and construction were up to 25% in January. Washington State has lost over 4,400 design jobs since 2008, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Revenues - Lowest Since 2006 Quarterly architecture and engineering (A&E) firm revenue has fallen by $434 million, and has not been this low since 2006. And, revenues are continuing to fall.
In the Architecture Billings Index any number under 50 means declining revenues. The latest number is 42.5 and falling. National data shows “...architecture firms have lost almost 51,000 positions.”
New Taxes on Firms that are Barely Surviving? The state is facing difficult decisions but architecture firms have made harder decisions – to let many people go. Recently an AIA/WA member’s firm, one with originally more than 100 employees and 2 offices, closed its doors. They stated that projects simply ran out.
The state should take steps similar to what private sector businesses have done to keep their budgets balanced in these difficult economic times.
This proposed B&O tax increase will not come out of profits. There are no profits right now for Washington architecture firms. This tax will be paid by more people being laid off, by salaries being cut and by benefits being reduced.
After a nearly unanimous, concurrence vote in the Senate (42-5), the architects licensing bill, SB 5529, has been sent to the Governor. It is now very likely that the bill will become law. The last day of the 2010 Legislative Session is March 11. After the final day of session the Governor has twenty days to sign, veto or partially veto the legislation that has been delivered to her.
Given that it has been 25 years since changes have been made to WA architectural licensing laws, the passage of this bill is a great achievement for state architects! The new law will stop illegal plan stamping, modernize licensing standards that have significantly changed, simplify corporate registration and more.
For more information on this important legislation you can read the AIA/WA issue brief here, check out the AIA/WA blog coverage of this bill, or contact Stan Bowman, AIA/WA Executive Director, at 360.943.6012.
At noon yesterday, two bills were introduced that would cause severe difficulties for the profession. Parts of these bills make it expensive for firms to operate and pay their bills; while they also make firm employees personally liable for taxes if the firm fails! Then, without any public hearing or opportunity for public input, legislators rushed the bills through committee.
The first bill, Substitute House Bill 3191 (SHB 3191, part 12) will make it difficult for Washington firms to recruit and retain qualified employees by making firm officers and employees liable for unpaid taxes “regardless of fault or whether the individual was or should have been aware of the unpaid tax liability.”
Part 20 of this House bill increases the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax rate to 2.0% for environmental consulting services. Architects act as the prime consultant on design projects by bringing together different disciplines under a single contract to provide a complete set of services. It’s nearly impossible to separate out environmental consulting services from the other services provided in the contract.
The second bill, Substitute Senate Bill 6143 (SSB 6143, part 7) also creates new personal liability for corporate officers and key employees for unpaid taxes. Under current law, the state may go after business owners for unremitted sales tax but cannot go after employees who did not know or could not have known about the tax liabilities. This law changes that.
Part 20 of this Senate bill directly increases the B&O Tax rate for architecture firms to 1.75%. Architectural firms already pay the highest B&O tax rate of 1.5%. Increasing the tax burden on the service sector may bring unfortunate yet predictable results – architectural firms relocating out of state. This part also unfairly targets small firms as large multi-state firms already have the option to outsource projects; small and medium firms do not.
The AIA/WA is currently working to get harmful parts of these bills removed and to have legislators vote against them if they are not removed. You can find your legislator here, and let them know your concerns with SHB 3191 and SSB 6143.
Today, March 3, ESSB 5529, the architects licensing bill, was passed out of the House unanimously. The 98-0 vote is proof of the broad support this legislation now has.
Due to the efforts of many AIA members who have contacted their legislators, and responded to our action alerts with calls and emails, ESSB 5529 now stands a good chance at passage this year!
Now the bill will return to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate may concur with the amendments proposed by the House, negotiate alternative language or the bill will end up in dispute.
If agreement cannot be reached on a bill in dispute, a conference committee consisting of members from both chambers can be appointed and, eventually, a conference committee report prepared. If the report is approved by the Senate and the bill is passed, then it may be considered by the House.
At this point, the report for the bill is either accepted or denied. If accepted, it moves on to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
The deadline for concurrence is this Thursday, March 11.
This is important legislation for state architects. It has been 25 years since changes have been made to WA architectural licensing laws but in the meantime new technologies and modern practice methods have significantly changed the practice. This legislation will clean up confusing provisions, update qualifications standards, and simplify corporate registration.
Please look for an email update on the status of this significant bill, and other highlights from the 2010 Legislative Session, at the end of this week.
Hands On Disaster Response is looking for design professionals immediately to volunteer in Leogane, Haiti to perform building damage assessments. Needed:
