Page 8 - GSABA Builder Brief September 2021 Issue

2021 PRESIDENT
WORKING FOR YOU
On the Local, State and National Levels
Every month, I try to share things I am most proud of with you. I talk a lot about the work we do in the government affairs arena and our advocacy work in City Hall’s across our 22-county jurisdiction. Your leadership team and numerous GSABA members interact with our elected officials, key city leaders, and their staff almost daily on the local, state, and national levels. We truly make a difference in effecting change and being the voice of our industry.
On Tuesday, August 17th, over 85 GSABA members met with several department heads with the City of San Antonio’s Development Services Department (DSD). GSABA meets with Michael Shannon, Amin Tohmaz, and the
DSD staff team leaders to discuss our challenges, opportunities, website portal issues, and code issues every other month. We talk about the City’s performance on residential permits and inspections and how we can work better together.
A critical issue discussed at the August 17th meeting was licensing requirements. Every plumber, electrician, mechanical, HVAC, fence, roofing, and pool contractor has licensure requirements. They must have licensed workers on site (other businesses may need licenses-regulations and fees are on the DSD website).
We have been notified several times over the past three months that the City of San Antonio’s strike team has issued not only citations but have also suspended contractors’ licenses for up to 90 days for a few of our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors. These suspensions hurt all of us. Reach out to Kristi Sutterfield if you would like a copy of the handout provided during this joint meeting and visit your contractors about the requirements.
At the same meeting, our members had an opportunity to talk with Bexar County officials to discuss stormwater permitting requirement issues in the County. Robert Brack and Zaid Subhi spoke to the group of builders, contractors, associates, and vendors at the meeting to answer questions andhelpwithcurrentissues. WewillstartmeetingquarterlywiththeBexar County staff to discuss issues in the County.
On the State level, the second special session is winding down as we go topressontheSeptemberBuilderBrief. Thefirstspecialsessionconvened on July 8th and began and ended without much legislative progress. The House Democrats broke quorum to prevent election reform legislation from passing. Immediately following the conclusion of the first special session, Governor Abbott called a second special session that began on August 7th. This special session has a more expansive list of issues for consideration. Kristi provided additional information in her article of the Governor’s issues in this edition of the Builder Brief. I want to encourage you to get involved
ED BERLANGA
because we will need you and your voice in the third special session.
I recently had
the opportunity to
spend time with
Congressman Tony
Gonzales with whome
GSABA supported in
is recent election.
Congressman Gonzales is interested in our critical issues like the shortage of building materials, the lumber crisis, supply chain issues and housing affordability. We will keep him informed of how critical the residential construction industry is to our local, state, and national economies.are already working to help Tony get reelected.
We have also been in touch with our Washington, D.C. delegation several times this year. We encourage all GSABA members to reach out when they have an issue with a local municipality, a state, or a federal agency.
Our Government Affairs Committee and Task Forces are very proactive and effective in assisting our members with issues, challenges, or opportunities.
Thankyouforyourmembership. Weneedyour support of the upcoming 3 PAC event on Thursday, October 7th. You will find additional details on page 15 of this Builder Brief. Please join us at the next GSABA/DSD meeting on Tuesday, October 21st, at 1:30pm.
Sincerely,
8 SEPTEMBER 2021 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION