Here is your weekly legislative update. And yes, the legislature is still in session so things can be very scary! Don't forget to keep your doors and windows locked and your children closely guarded....as well as your checkbooks! After all, Monday is Tax Day. Don't let the IRS find you unprepared!
Well, one more deadline has come and gone and our list of bills to watch keeps getting smaller. We still have one more deadline, April 26th, where floor action in the opposite house must take place for a bill to either remain alive, go to the Governor, or it will be dead.
This week was an up and down week. A meeting was held at the Capitol to discuss our fire sprinkler bill. After the meeting I was pretty confident that we would end up with a 5-year moratorium on cities being able to mandate sprinklers. This would have allowed plenty of time to thoroughly research the products, what options were available, and let technology catch up. As with everything there are technological advances every day. However, it appears now that our bill will be amended and there will not be a moratorium. Things are still very fluid but in the end I do believe our industry will have some protection. I will keep you posted.
All of our other key legislation continues to progress. Many of you have been reading the papers, I'm sure, and are probably noticing the discussions on income tax reform continue to evolve. I am cautiously optomistic that our energy efficient tax credit will survive. I would not change my business strategy at this point, but be prepared to assist in an ACTION ALERT if needed!
The latest update is attached here. Hope everyone has recovered from the chocolate high following Easter. HE is risen!
Mike Means
State EO
