PDIS legislative update
Phoenix -- Political junkies feasted on a wide range of legislative topics during a presentation by the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) officials at the 2009 ProDealer Industry Summit.
One takeaway, according to NLBMDA president Michael O'Brien, is to stay in front of legislators -- every e-mail helps to shape policy that affects LBM dealers.
O'Brien joined the NLBMDA's Colleen Rocha Levine, director of legislative affairs, in the presentation titled: "NLBMDA Washington Update and a Look Ahead to 2010," which produced the following highlights:
On the home buyer tax credit
The first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 is due to expire Nov. 30. O'Brien predicts the tax credit will be extended. "I feel pretty confident we're going to get an extension," he said.
Not everyone agrees it should be extended.
"I've received e-mails from dealers who oppose the first-time tax credit, thinking that we're just perpetuating the problem of what transpired [during the boom years.] But what I've tried to point out is that giving someone a tax credit now in this lending environment is very different than giving one during the wild lending periods of the last several years."
Another objection is that some people feel that the provision simply robs sales from the future.
"The tax credit is helping speed up bringing the inventory back to equilibrium," said O'Brien. "That's my opinion, and there are lots of other opinions out there."
On health care
There is a lot of legislative work to be done, and healthcare reform remains a vague idea.
"There is a lot of talk in the House that Republicans are opposing progress on healthcare reform, but really the Democrats are doing a pretty good job of fighting among themselves to keep it from moving forward," said Rocha Levine.
When a question from the floor touched on the possibility of tort reform as a way to control healthcare spending, Rocha Levine responded: "The Senate bill has a program where some of the states will propose a cap on lawsuits, but it’s designed not to have a lot of teeth to it."
On the Employee Free Choice Act/Card Check legislation
"This has been a top priority of the unions, obviously," said Rocha Levine. "We continue to work with some of those moderate Democrats to help ensure that they're opposed."
There are reports that legislators are beginning to support reform that keeps the secret ballot in union formation intact, but introduces mandatory arbitration between union and management to determine contracts.
"I think the reality is that the Mandatory arbitration is what organized labor really wants, far more than just the card check provision," said O'Brien. "But we are not going to rest on this issue."
On 1099 form proposal
O'Brien identified a goods and services tax provision of the Baucus bill as a "sleeper issue" and a "ridiculous paper exercise." He explained it this way:
In Congress, "there is a belief that there is huge underreporting of income being generated by [sales of] products and services that would help pay for healthcare reform. This is a proposal to require every business to provide a 1099 to anybody from whom you purchase more than $600 a year in business services.
"Think about it. If you book $600 worth of airline tickets, you have to send United a 1099. Federal Express, the same thing. It is a humongously ridiculous paper exercise, all in the guise of some unproven belief that there is mass underreporting of taxable income in this country."
On the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act
The Innocent Sellers Fairness Act is designed to protect innocent sellers of materials that are used improperly by some party farther down the supply chain. "We were able to get it reintroduced this spring," said Rocha Levine. "Obviously with all the big ticket items on the agenda, it's hard to get a lot of traction in this area. We need to keep working on it -- it's probably more of a 2010 issue."
On boom trucks
New OSHA regulations on tower cranes on construction sites included boom trucks -- an inclusion that could cause significant impact on dealers who use boom trucks to deliver supplies to construction sites.
"We have been working with OSHA and providing reams of data that show boom trucks do not pose the same hazards as tower cranes and other large cranes," O'Brien said.
On lobbying
O'Brien recommended personal contact as the most effective way to communicate with lawmakers, and he pointed to the NLBMDA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., March 15 to 17. Another good idea is to invite lawmakers to your yard.
"Generally, you can use e-mail, use faxes, use Build the Vote. There are a lot of different levels of contact," he said. "And don't think that even an e-mail is not valuable, because it is."