CAL SMACNA’s 2019 ‘Day at the Capitol’ Recap!

SACRAMENTO — On February 25th CAL SMACNA welcomed its members to the 13th Annual ‘Day at the Capitol’ (DAC) event. More than 30 CAL SMACNA members traveled to Sacramento to meet with their Legislators and discuss issues important to the industry.

On Monday evening, CAL SMACNA Members attended a Reception with Senator Brian Jones (R-Santee), Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron (R-Escondido), Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), and Senator Ling-Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar). Attendees also heard an analysis of current California politics from the Sacramento Bee’s former political columnist and author Dan Walters.

On Tuesday morning attendees gathered to learn about the DAC Issues and learn more about future school facility bonds from the Chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach).

Overall, CAL SMACNA members completed meetings with 43 legislative offices (20 Senators and 23 Assemblymembers). These meetings serve both an informational and relationship building purpose. Ultimately, we want legislators to think about our members and local businesses when they are voting on measures impacting the sheet metal and HVAC industry.

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL ATTENDEES!! And, for all those members who couldn’t make it to the DAC event in 2019 – we look forward to seeing you in 2020.

A summary of the discussed issues:

School Facility Bonds — California needs to build new schools and modernize existing facilities to meet the educational needs of our state’s students in K-12, as well as, meet our climate change goals. AB 48 (O’Donnell) will authorize two school facility bonds for voter consideration in 2020 and 2022. These bonds could provide anywhere from $10B to $20B in new state funds for school facility construction projects.

Prompt Pay Laws / Change Order Payment Procedures — Contractors doing business with state and local government agencies expect and deserve to be paid in a timely manner for labor and materials provided. The Legislature has made findings and declarations that it is in the best interests of the state and its citizens to ensure that all construction business performed on a public works project in the state that is complete and not in dispute is paid in full and in a timely manner. The statutes adopted to effectuate this policy for change orders are scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2020 and need to be extended and made permanent. The passage of AB 456 (Chiu) makes California’s existing prompt payment laws for change orders permanent.

Energy Efficiency – Ratepayer Funds for HVAC Systems — The Public Utility Commission requires California ratepayers to spend more than $1.2 billion per year subsidizing energy efficiency projects including installations of energy efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Yet, the California Energy Commission has found that up to 85% of replacement HVAC systems are installed incorrectly resulting in a 20-30 percent increase in energy consumption. The high rates of poor installation outcomes for HVAC equipment can be tied directly to the use of poorly trained workers. SB 524 (Stern) would require the commission, if an energy efficiency program contributes $50,000 or more in ratepayer-funded incentives for certain energy efficiency projects within the same building, facility, or building complex, to require the energy efficiency program administrator or program implementer, as applicable, to ensure that work is performed by a skilled and trained workforce.