Advocating for You and the Profession
Architecture is a highly legislated profession, find out what the Local Advocacy Working Group and AIA Ohio have been up to advocating for you and the profession.
Our day-to-day professional lives are filled with pursuing the project, being awarded the project, designing the project, and building the project. With all of this going on, we often forget or don’t really understand that architecture is a legislated profession. The decisions that are made in Columbus greatly affect what we can and cannot do, how we run our businesses, and even how we design our projects. Often these decisions are being made by legislators who really don’t understand what architects do and how our practices are different from those of engineers, interior designers, developers, and contractors. They often don’t understand that we are compensated to provide a service, not a product, and rarely consider the fact that our cause is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the general public.
To help them better understand our profession and all that separates us from other practices, we need access to our legislators. AIA Ohio uses the Ohio Architects’ PAC in a strategic way to support those statewide elected office holders who are identified as able to further advance our legislative priorities. Our donations are bi-partisan and determined in consultation with AIA Ohio’s lobbyist. Targeted legislators include State of Ohio House and Senate leadership (both majority and minority), as well as members of committees that are hearing legislation that AIA Ohio wants to impact.
The AIA Ohio Architects’ PAC is one tool that we use to advocate on your behalf for legislation that will improve the practice of architecture in Ohio. But we can’t do it without your support. Last year less than 7% of AIA Ohio members contributed to the PAC (and only 4% of AIA Cincinnati members). Your contribution will make a difference, and more importantly, ensure architects have a stronger voice in Columbus. Your contribution does not need to be sizable. Even $5 or $10 will make an impact. Help ensure the future success of your profession. Donate online and get answers to your questions about the PAC.
Current legislative efforts at the Ohio Statehouse impacting architects include:
Support sensible building codes and requesting that the Ohio Building Code and Ohio Fire Code be exempt from the requirements of recently approved SB9. SB9 requires administrative rules in each state agency be reduced by 30% and is impacting the adoption of the new International Building Code and how the Ohio-specific language is applied.
Support sustainability and resiliency by adopting updates to the building codes that incorporate improved energy efficiency requirements and by incentivizing building owners to reuse and upgrade existing buildings to reduce carbon footprints
Oppose SB131 and HB203 which would allow out-of-state licensed design professionals and contractors to obtain an Ohio license automatically, but without reciprocally granting the out-of-state license to an Ohio resident. This changes the current rule requiring reciprocity.
Support expanding affordable housing opportunities through increased funding and incentives to renovate and construct more housing
Support SB225 to expand the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program to ensure that Ohio’s historically significant buildings, sites and structures are preserved for future generations
As an AIA member, you are encouraged to engage with advocacy efforts at the national, state, and local levels.
If you’d like to get involved with AIA Cincinnati’s local advocacy working group, they meet monthly on the second Tuesday at 8:30am via Zoom. They’ve been meeting with local elected officials and reaching out to candidates at the municipal and county level on issues impacting architects. They also reach out quarterly to the nearly 200 municipalities in the nine counties served by AIA Cincinnati. You can get the Zoom info by registering through the newsletter, or emailing Advocacy Chair Chris Patek or AIA Cincinnati Executive Director Julie Carpenter.
Thank you for being part of AIA Cincinnati.
Sincerely,
Krutarth Jain, AIA, ACHA Chris Patek, AIA
AIA Cincinnati President AIA Cincinnati Local Advocacy Chair