By MIKE MEANS
OSHBA Executive Vice President
Oklahoma's home builders descend on the state Capitol Wednesday afternoon to "walk the halls" in a show of support for issues impacting the construction industry.
Mike Means
We have overcome the first hurdle - House passage. Now, on to the Senate.
Let me give you a little history, as you ready to join us in this annual OSHBA event,
We have had our Certified Professional Builder program for several years. It was put in place to avoid licensing or registration at the time.
However, as issues in the world have progressed and changed -- I will leave to you to decide if for the better -- OSHBA members have looked at licensing or registration as a way to promote the industry.
We have polled our directors each year and the number has moved from a small majority to a great majority in favor of this.
This past year, we took a poll of our members and found that 78 percent support this. So the Board voted to initiate legislation. We modeled our bill after our existing CPB program, complete with continuing education requirements.
House Bill 1828 is our vehicle. It passed the House committee by a vote of 7-1. The "no" vote was by a legislator who felt it was just more government intrusion. We took it to the floor of the House where it met some stiff opposition -- believe it or not -- over the amount of required continuing education. The bill failed by a vote of 34-47.
Rep. Scott Martin kept the bill alive procedurally and we struck the Title to the bill. The bill was reconsidered and barely passed.
The bill now awaits hearing in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. It is to be scheduled for this Thursday morning.
I have developed a few ‘talking points’ for our membership. Look for that upcoming blog.
And as always, thank you for your support on this issue as the Voter Voice request will make the rounds soon. Check your email box.
