Hello HBA Members!
This week saw another deadline pass. This deadline was for a bill to get out of this house of origin. So if a House bill was not voted on by the House, then it is dead. Same goes for Senate. The good news, there are a whole lot less bills to worry about. The bad news, a few got out that we hoped would not.
Here are some that did not get out which turned out to be good news:
HB 2445 - this was another bill that was going to detrimentally affect CompSource.The actuary said it would at a minimum raise rates 10%.That is all we need at this time, higher costs to operate! The bill did not get a hearing so is dead.We need to monitor the bills that are left to insure this language doesn't get resurrected somewhere else.
HB 2479 - this bill set definition of what constituted an employee.I had several concerns about this bill because it appeared to make our subcontractors employees.Luckily we weren't alone as several other groups had the same concerns.The bill did not get a hearing on the floor so is dead.
The bill that did make it out which wasn't good news (at least in the eye of this beholder):
HB 2621, HB 2978, HB 3061 and SB 1623 - these are all the tax reform bills.I like the idea of reducing the income tax.However, instead of a straight cut in rates, the method seems to include doing away with credits.If someone loses a credit that means their taxes go up.So the game seems to be trying to pick appropriate winners and losers.In the end, it may be good.But in the meantime, these bills really bear worth watching.
HJR 1089 is a bad bill.This sends to a vote of the people the issue of transferability.Is this wise?I have faith in the voting public to pick the right candidate most of the time. But I have real concerns when it comes to an issue this complex that I have yet to see a good news article explain.
The real good news - all of our initiatives are still alive. I do expect to see some more publicity on our fire sprinkler issue. Be ready for a Call to Action. We need everyone to help.
In the meantime, have a great Spring Break and keep building. The regular report is attached.
God bless,
Mike Means
