Canada
Region II Day on the Hill
Region II Day on the Hill
Region II GGAC organized the 2nd Canadian ASHRAE “Day-On-The-Hill (DOTH) event to inform government Ministers, Members of Parliament, department leaders and other influential Ottawa agencies about our activities. During the 2018 Ottawa DOTH event Chapter members met with more (5 total) Members of Parliament than the previous year, had more success with in depth discussions and received better information that can be used in future. Additionally a list of MPs interested in ASHRAE related activities has been created to help with the outreach process. They believe that ASHRAE could be helpful in meeting Canadian government climate change objectives in three areas:
- Research activities about use of flammable refrigerants to meet the agreed UNEP protocols from the recent Kigali conference.
- Reducing energy consumption in existing buildings by referencing our Standard 100.
- Improved building operations by using ASHRAE Building Energy Quotient (Building EQ) Program. This methodology has been translated into French and will be available for use in the market shortly.
United States
California Day on the Hill
Left to right: Kurt Rapp, Jon McHugh, John Say, Ryan Porter, Mark Bender, and Antash Najib
Chapters in California held their Day on the Hill on Tuesday, May 22. 24 ASHRAE members volunteered to meet with state legislators. Included in this number were five Region X GGAC Chairs, one Chapter President and two Presidents-Elect as well as student members, YEA members and Women in ASHRAE members. Volunteers met with over 60 members of the California legislature, provided packets on ASHRAE and answered questions legislators had about ASHRAE, energy efficiency and the built environment.
View a YouTube video of the California Government Outreach Day
Georgia (Atlanta Chapter) Day on the Hill
By Meghan McNulty, GGAC Chair, Atlanta Chapter
The Atlanta Chapter held its second annual Day on the Hill on Tuesday, February 20, 2018.
Read the Full Report
Indiana Chapter Day on the Hill Highlights
Andy Cheung, GGAC Chair, ASHRAE Central Indiana Chapter; Jim Arnold, GGAC RVC, Region V; Indiana State House Member Carey Hamilton; Doug fick, ASHRAE Board DRC Region V and Indiana Resident
By Andy Cheung, GGAC Chair, ASHRAE Central Indiana Chapter
The ASHRAE Central Indiana Chapter held a Day on the Hill (DOTH) event at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday, February 21st, 2018. It was Indiana’s first Day on the Hill event. Because it was not feasible to meet all 150 legislators in a day, the DOTH efforts were directed to only those legislators that were involved with utility and/or environmental committees. With a more focused approach, we were able to make 45 phones calls and setup approximately 12 appointments with Senators and Representatives of both parties.
Some of the highlights of the day were:
- House Minority Leader Terry Goodin met with ASHRAE volunteers and asked for 30 copies of all of our handouts in order to distribute to the entire Democratic House Caucus.
- Senator Jim Buck provided a contact in the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) that could be of help on legislative issues. The LSA is comprised of lawyers whose job it is to research information on subjects the legislators are unfamiliar with. By knowing how information is passed to Representatives and Senators, ASHRAE can be more effective at being a resource to the people who have the ears of the Indiana legislators. Senator Buck also suggested we focus on the public heath committees for our next visit.
- Representatives Sue Errington and Carey Hamilton were very happy to meet us and asked many questions regarding how we operate and what we do. Representative Hamilton, in particular, had worked in a related field prior to joining the state legislature so she was quite familiar with building energy issues.
- Representative Randy Frye could not attend our meeting, but we were able to meet with his Legislative Assistant (LA). His LA sits on the Utilities Committee and was more than happy to pass our information along to the committee members.
The first Indiana Day on the Hill event went well. We were able to pass along the ASHRAE message and have our presence known. Next year, we will plan earlier and target different committees while making sure we make a point to talk to specific LA’s and interns. That way they will be more receptive for every subsequent DOTH hereafter. The only follow up with the senators and representatives completed was a personalized thank you letter. However, there were follow up items that came from the DOTH coordination, including contacting the LSA, writing a DOTH report and debriefing with the rest of the Central Indiana Chapter board members.
Full Report
Kentucky Day on the Hill
SSRC 90.1 member Christian Taber provided testimony to the Kentucky Housing, Buildings, and Construction Advisory Committee on August 22, 2017 in opposition to attempts to roll back the state's commercial energy code to an earlier version of IECC. Jim Scarborough, Manager of Grassroots Government Affairs for ASHRAE, was in attendance to provide technical support.
Michigan Day on the Hill
Michigan Rep John Reilly with ASHRAE Member Kevin Bushroe
May 23 was the date of the first Michigan Day on the Hill. Seven ASHRAE volunteers, including an ASHRAE Board member, met at the Michigan Capitol with the primary focus of targeting members of the House Energy Policy Committee and the Senate Energy and Technology Committee. The visits were successful, meeting with a mix of legislators and legislative staffers. Future plans include targeting the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules in Michigan, which is responsible for recommending Building Code changes.
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New Mexico Day On the Hill
By Alex Quintero, GGAC Chair, New Mexico Chapter
As a first year Grassroots Government Advocacy Chair, the Day on the Hill of January 25, 2018 was an awesome experience. This is the best opportunity we have as part of ASHRAE to communicate our goals to legislators and others involved in adopting or updating our energy efficiency, indoor air quality and any other Standard promoted by ASHRAE. From my personal experience at the Santa Fe Capitol in New Mexico, it was an honor being able to speak to the decision makers for which new bills are passed, mainly for the benefit of our state which ends up contributing to the conservation of our country as a whole.
Many of the legislators were familiar with ASHRAE already, which made it easier to advocate about our goals for the future. Arizona House member Bill McCamley offered an interesting comment. He noted that the state will be changing Governors and there will be new legislators that may or may not be aware of ASHRAE. As the great organization we are, we must be there to advocate for who we are, what we do and where we stand.
New York Day on the Hill
16 ASHRAE volunteers from six New York ASHRAE Chapters came together to hold the first Day on the Hill event on June 6 in Albany. Senator and Assembly members were targeted for visits based on their service on the Senate Energy and Technology Committee and the Assembly Energy Committee. Visits were made with 23 legislators and/or their staff members. Additionally the day was concluded with a meeting at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). NYSERDA has been tasked with implementing new energy efficiency initiatives promoted by Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) in his State of the State Address earlier this year.
North Carolina Day on the Hill
Left to right: Adam Sippel, Tim Ashby, Greg Mills, Rob Armstrong, Billy Austin, Bryant Cornett, Alex Gasper, Natalie MacDonald
June 7 was the day selected for the 2nd Day on the Hill event at the North Carolina General Assembly. For this second annual visit, ASHRAE volunteers, including and ASHRAE Board Member, targeted the leadership of the Assembly as well as the House Energy and Public Utilities Committee. Over fifty meetings were held with legislators and/or legislative staff including senior staff from the office of the Speaker of the House, the House Majority Whip Jon Hardister (R-Guilford County), and House Energy and Public Utilities Committee Chair Dean Arp (R-Union County) who is himself an engineer. Having ASHRAE volunteers from last year who were able to help again this year was quite advantageous as specific legislators were targeted and in helping to schedule meetings.
Ohio Day on the Hill
Left to right: Robert Laneve, Rep Michael O'Brien, Coral Pais
By Jim Arnold, GGAC RVC, Region V
On March 21st ASHRAE volunteers held their Ohio Day on the Hill and it was a great success. The event started the night before by awarding the ASHRAE Region V Legislator of the Year Award to Representative Tim Schaeffer (R-Lancaster), Chair of the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee. This is the fi
The following day, ASHRAE volunteers were able to meet many legislators and pass along the ASHRAE packets to Senators and Representatives. ASHRAE members from multiple chapters were involved in scheduling and speaking with lawmakers. ASHRAE was also recognized from the floor of the House of Representatives and entered into their record as being in attendance that day.
Oklahoma Day on the Hill Held on March 27
By Chad Smith, GGAC RVC, Region VIII
The Central Oklahoma and Northeastern Oklahoma chapters held their Day on The Hill event on March 27, 2018. This was the fifth consecutive year these chapters have collaborated together to provide a statewide presence at the capitol. GGAC chairs Todd Lester (NEOK) and Byron Hughes (COK) coordinated their respective chapters’ attendance, created the necessary handouts and put together the talking points for all the attendees to discuss with their legislators. This event had the highest attendance yet with 19 ASHRAE members present, but it also represented the most meetings with legislators for this event in the five years the chapters have been participating.
With this being the fifth consecutive year of the DOTH visits, many of the legislators are beginning to recognize ASHRAE member faces but, more importantly, beginning to remember ASHRAE. Legislators were given an updated snapshot of ASHRAE as a Society on the international level, at the Federal level and, most importantly, at the state and municipal level. Legislators were also provided a bigger picture of the HVAC industry in the state of Oklahoma. From industry groups, the Chapters conducted their own research and estimate the number of jobs related to the HVAC field with respect to contractors, consultants, manufacturers, facility operators and engineers in Oklahoma amounts to well over 50,000 people and growing. The Chapters will be following up with all the legislative contacts that have been made to continue to keep them involved with ongoing communications and so as not to lose this momentum that has been built over the last five years.
Photos from the Oklahoma Day on the Hill
Pennsylvania Day on the Hill
The final Day on the Hill event for this Society Year was help at the legislature in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania during High Performance Building Week. The primary focus for these six ASHRAE volunteers, including an ASHRAE Board member, was holding sit-down meetings with the members of the Senate and House Environmental Resources and Energy Committees including the Republican and Democratic Chairs of the House ER and E Committee Representatives John Maher and Mike Carroll. ASHRAE volunteers noted our particular thanks to the PA legislature for making changes to the state law that allowed for the recent updates to all of the state's building codes including the Energy Code.
ASHRAE Puerto Rico Chapter & the Puerto Rico Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Alliance Day on the Hill
Jorge Molina, GGAC Chair of the Puerto Rico Chapter.
The ASHRAE Puerto Rico Chapter & the Puerto Rico Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Alliance presented comments and recommendations to "Camara de Representantes de Puerto Rico" in public hearing for the Puerto Rico Building Codes Revision & Update project. Pictured: Jorge Molina, GGAC Chair of the Puerto Rico Chapter.
South Carolina Chapter Day on the Hill
Left to right: Hunter Wilson, Paul Gazda, Ricky Espinosa, Cooper Collins, SC Attorney General Alan Wilson, Pete Confoy, Randy Jones, Sam Bernstel
By Hunter Wilson, GGAC Chair, South Carolina Chapter
ASHRAE Chapters in South Carolina held their second extremely successful Day on the Hill. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined ASHRAE members for lunch and was helpful in giving his insights on talking with elected officials. ASHRAE member Randy Jones contact with a legislative agent provided good direction once everyone was in the State House. Senator Stephen Goldfinch from Georgetown recognized Mr. Jones and all of the ASHRAE members from the Senate Floor.
Individually ASHRAE members spoke with eight Senators on the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry (LCI) Committee. Senators were very receptive of us being at the Capitol. A second group of ASHRAE volunteers went to the Blatt House Office Building and spoke with a number of Representatives in their offices. Each Senator and Representative was provided an ASHRAE folder of materials in their office. An individual meeting was also held with House LCI Chairman Representative William Sandifer in his office. Representative Sandifer was receptive to our message and agreed that codes and standards are very important in the commercial sector.
Virginia Day on the Hill
By Brian Derby
The Virginia Day on the Hill visit went well, but legislators had limited time due to the fact that they were in session. Because they were in session, legislators were interested in hearing about specific topics. After speaking with individuals in the Code Commission office, they explained how to use a few online tools such as http://townhall.virginia.gov to help track regulatory changes. In addition, we learned that one can request changes to building code online through the Department of Housing and Community Development website. Having a better understanding of the lawmakers’ process, we are looking forward to acting on future legislation by utilizing our area of expertise. A monthly meeting would be helpful to stay abreast of current legislation and keep ASHRAE’s membership informed as necessary. For future visits, we hope to reach out by phone or email and prepare knowledge on a specific topic for pending legislation.