NCBPA Members Garner Strong Policy Support at Last Week’s Industry Lobby Days

Last week, NCBPA members and staff spent two days at the Capitol educating legislators about our industry and lobbying for their support of energy efficiency and building performance policies that benefit all industry companies and professionals.  This work is critically important to improving our current business climate and securing a strong future for our industry.

Over the two long days, members and staff garnered support and bill sponsorship from nearly two dozen legislators on our industry’s most pressing policy issues.  With limited time and few opportunities available to advance new legislation during this very short session, our members focused on one immediate policy improvement for performance contracting and five new policy recommendations that NCBPA seeks to enable via legislation in the 2019 long session.  Our policy asks included:

1. Support amending the state’s public buildings energy and water savings goal from 30% to 40% by 2025 and change the reporting period from two years to one year.
2. Support policies that prioritize “Energy Efficiency First” through workforce development, regulatory and other opportunities.
3. Support our plans to introduce a bill in 2019 funding an “Energy Efficiency Potential Study”.
4. Support our plans to introduce a bill in 2019 that establishes a goal of at least 2% net utility energy efficiency savings by 2023.
5. Support adding an Energy seat to the NC Building Code Council.
6. Support enabling Commercial PACE Financing in the 2019 session.

Lobby Day participants included experienced policy advocates and first-timers that used their personal ties in legislators’ districts to secure meetings and support for our issues.  NCBPA extends a sincere thanks to these member professionals and companies who volunteered their time to participate in this important work:

• Alysa Watkins and Graham Lewis of Schneider Electric
• Tim Gasper of Siemens
• Craig Rushing of Ingersoll Rand
• Rushang Shah of UNC Charlotte (student)
• Eric Stabasefski of JJ Wade & Associates
• Aaron Hope of Southern Energy Management
• Abby Coulter, Emily Bulla, Madeleine Guyant and Ryan Miller of NCBPA

“It was a good day for all that attended Lobby Day.  Clearly NCBPA has carved an advocacy niche that is badly needed in North Carolina.  Good dialogue with our Legislative Leaders will lead to better policy and more Performance Contracting work that state and local governmental units desperately need.  Thank you for the opportunity to participate.” – Tim Gasper, Energy Solutions Team Leader, Siemens

NCBPA would like to thank the following legislators for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with our members and staff:

• Rep. Dean Arp (R-69)
• Rep. John Autry (D-100)
• Rep. John Szoka (R-45)
• Rep. David Lewis (R-53)
• Rep. Jason Saine (R-97)
• Sen. Tommy Tucker (R-35)
• Rep. Susan Fisher (D-114)
• Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-57)
• Rep. John Bradford (R-98)
• Sen. Rick Gunn (R-24)
• Rep. Mark Brody (R-55)

Wednesday’s legislator meetings were capped off with a workforce development meeting where our members and staff presented workforce needs and opportunities to representatives from NC Department of Commerce, Governor’s office, NC Community College System, NC Works, NC Business Committee for Education and Apprenticeship NC.  The meeting resulted in strong state-level support of NCBPA’s growing workforce development program and a wealth of follow-up needed to create new career opportunities and resources for our industry’s current and future workforce.  Industry participation will be vital to our establishment of career paths, apprenticeship programs and improved resources for faculty teaching the next generation of worker for our industry companies.

NCBPA members will receive a detailed report and list of action items via email later this week.

Become a member to receive that report and join our Policy & Legislation Committee to participate in the next wave of activities to push this and other policy work forward in 2018 and beyond!

Lobby Day Photos: