Page 8 - Builder Brief January 2023

2023 PRESIDENT
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I am excited to serve as your 2023 President. It is an honor and a privilege to be elected to this office. We have an amazing group of individuals serving on the 2023 GSABA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. We are actively seeking members to serve on key committees and councils. If you have a desire to serve, we have a spot for you. You can go to www. sabuilders.com and get the Committee Council Sign-Up Form.
I had the opportunity to attend several state and national committee meetings this last year. Did you know that your membership in GSABA also includes membership in the Texas Association of Builders (TAB) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)? These organizations are working for each one of us to better our industry.
TAB’s efforts at the state level help limit legislation that is detrimental and burdensome to our industry and brings forward legislation that benefits our industry. There were countless bills proposed last session that would have had a negative impact on our industry that never made it out of committee for a vote due to TAB’s lobbying efforts.
In 2023 TAB’s top legislative priority Residential Construction Liability Act and Statute of Repose reforms to reduce the liability risk to homebuilders and remodelers. The reform to RCLA would require actual damages as opposed to technical errors in construction where no damage has occurred. The Statute of Repose reform would reduce the current Texas law that mandates a 10-year warranty (and allows homebuyers to sue up to 10-years after the sale) to six years for new homes. These legislative reforms will benefit all GSABA members by reducing frivolous lawsuits that have a detrimental impact on the whole industry.
At the beginning of the pandemic, NAHB worked to ensure that residential home building and remodeling remained on the list of essential workers so that we all could keep building homes. NAHB continues to work on our behalf in Washington and together we have taken on many battles the past few years.
The U.S. Department of Labor just published a proposed rule updating the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. NAHB submitted formal comments opposing the proposed rule, which is intended to combat employee misclassification, and would alter the test for independent contractor status under the FLSA as last articulated by the prior Administration. The executive summary of the proposed rule notes: "[Workers who] are in business for themselves ... play an important role in the economy and are commonly referred to by different names, including independent contractor, self-employed and freelancer. This proposed rulemaking is not intended to disrupt the businesses of independent contractors who are, as a matter of economic reality, in business for themselves."
NAHB, and many other groups, argue that the language of the new test introduces new, undefined, vague terminology, and would reclassify legitimate independent contractors – including those with their own businesses – into employees, and threatens to impact many industries (like ours) that rely on the subcontractor business model. We will be closely
SHAD SCHMID
monitoring this issue as well as a case before the United States Supreme Court, Sackett v. EPA, challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their interpretation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The Clean Water Act establishes federal jurisdiction over ‘navigable waters’ and the Supreme Court has addressed the definition of WOTUS multiple times. Oral arguments were heard in October and a decision should be forthcoming on this issue in early 2023 and the timing of a decision and the EPA’s expected rulemaking will be critical to watch — a negative outcome could affect our industry.
The government affairs program is what got me involved in GSABA. It is how I try to give back to an industry that has given so much to me and my family. Kristi leads and coordinates an amazing group of individuals who are working with our local cities and counties to help ensure regulation placed on our industry has minimum negative impact. We take a commonsense approach, provide substantive feedback, and we have earned a seat at the table in jurisdictions across our 22-county area. We will continue this work into 2023 and beyond.
GSABA is a wonderful organization but something we lack are women in leadership roles. Immediate Past President Mike Sowry and I will endeavor to create a Professional Women in Building Council (PWB) in San Antonio. I have asked Tammy Zink with Bella Vista Homes to chair this new council and invited Molly Sowry with Virtuoso Builders to be co-chair. Stay tuned on our next steps and kick off meeting.
If I can be of service, please call me at any time. My cell phone number is (210) 882-6800 and my email address is shad@kingfishtx.com. I hope to see you at the next GSABA event!
8 JANUARY 2023 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION