Happy New Year! As all of you are, I’m hopeful that 2010 will be a better year economically for all of our members than 2009 was. At TABA, we remain committed to doing our part to assure that when our builders are ready to build, the regulatory environment is the best it can be in hopes of making the building process as smooth as possible in that respect. In doing so, we continue to solidify our relationships with the rule makers. We continue to work with our government officials to make sure that new regulations are justified and implemented carefully. We also continue to review existing regulatory procedures for potential improvements.
Lead Paint Update
NAHB and TAB have been challenging the EPA's desire to remove the opt-out and record keeping provisions in the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program concerning lead paint. Currently homes without children under six and pregnant women residing in them may opt out of the requirement. If the opt out provision were removed, potentially 40 million homes would become subject to the rule. The proposal would require all homeowners to comply with the requirement to have a certified remodeler to oversee renovations of any home built pre-1978 homes. Our industry has apparently made some headway in challenging this rule, but to what extent is not known at this time. The EPA has said it will finalize a new proposal no later than April 22, 2010.
NAHB continues to state that remodelers should have one employee trained in the new requirements by April 2010. I am currently working to make this training available locally in the next month or so.
Upcoming Training Opportunity
A code seminar will take place at TABA on Monday, January 25th. This 1.5 hour session will educate our builders on changes to the building codes that have recently been adopted by the City of Temple. These will include the 2006 IRC, the 2008 NEC, and the 2006 IFC. Temple Fire Chief Wallace will also take this opportunity to introduce new Fire Marshall Mark Spivey to our community of builders, provide a video on proper placement of fire alarms in homes, and provide some information on one or more residential fire safety products he’d like to make our builders aware of.
