BAM Monthly Column
July 2014
2014 Session Report
Session is over, and the dust has settled. As part of your membership with the Builders Association of Minnesota you get access to a complete 2014 Legislative Report on what happened at the Capitol and what you need to know about the laws that have changed.
The 2014 Minnesota Legislative Session concluded May 16, 2014, and this year’s adjournment meant the end of two years in which the legislative and executive branches were controlled by one party. That has not happened in Minnesota since 1990. This fall, the Governor and House of Representatives are up for election, and we may see a different political alignment starting in 2015. We hope it will be one that will help advance the interests of the residential construction industry.
“Unsession” was the buzz word this session. Coined by the Governor, his website states, “The Unsession is a first-of-its-kind effort to make government, faster, simpler, and more efficient for the people.” BAM members will likely benefit from the unsession repeal of the business-to-business sales taxes and some of the expedited Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Department of Natural Resources rulemaking directives.
Introduced in the Minnesota House were some 3,396 bills along with 2,992 in the Minnesota Seante. Of those, the Governor acted on a mere 169 bills. Bills introduced during the 2013 or 2014 sessions that did not see the light of day are now dead and will need to be reintroduced in order to be viable in future years.
BAM’s 2014 Legislative Report includes information about the session in general, and how BAM and the residential construction industry fared including an in-depth report on the sprinkler issue and industry wins. Also included is information on new laws, how your business may be impacted, and laws of interest. A detailed bill-by-bill report can be found along with links to the bills, and, for those that made it into law, links to the new laws. Rounding out the report is a discussion about the future of industry regulation, and an introduction to each member of BAM’s rockstar legislative team.
The members-only 2014 Legislative Report can be found online at www.bamn.org/legislation.
The next change that will affect your business is the host of new codes going into effect January 2015. BAM is busy working on several code guides that can be used in the field to help you and your business comply with the new codes. Look for that later this summer.
Until then, check out the 2014 Legislative Report online.
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