On May 15, 2019, the Sierra Chapter joined over 100 ACEC members from around the state for our 2019 Legislative Visit Day. This is our annual occasion to meet with our legislators and their staff to explain our views on various issues that impact our industry. In my opinion, this is one of the most important activities for ACEC since it provides direct access to the people that have such impact on our businesses. It is also a great opportunity to remind legislators how important the engineering and surveying industry is to the daily lives of every Californian.
The day kicked off with breakfast at The Citizens Hotel before we walked over to the Capitol for our morning meetings with Assembly members (or their staff) and Senate members (or their staff). During open time slots, members visited committee meetings and posed with iconic statues (see below).
Key talking points with legislators included the following:
· ACEC California Supports Building a Better California including support of SB 1, water infrastructure, state rail improvements, and housing development.
· AB 626 (Quirk-Silva): Design Professionals’ Continuity of Services – This is the Government Code 1090 legislation that is moving through House and Senate committees.
· Engineering Excellence Award Winners – ACEC projects were posted near the Governor’s office.
· SB 522 (Hertzberg): Sales Tax on Services – While this bill is tabled until next year, we let everyone know it has many problems.
· AB 5 (Gonzalez): Dynamex – We are trying to carve engineers and land surveyors out of this bill since it does not apply to our profession. Legislators were very sympathetic.
· Finally we promoted our Scholarship Winners, two of which were from UOP.
After a lunch break back at the Citizens Hotel, we continued afternoon meetings through 5:00 PM with legislators (or their staff). After the legislative meetings, everyone met up at Brasserie Capitale for a friendly reception that included legislators and their staff. Thanks again to the Sierra Chapter members who made this another awesome event!
