Builder- March 2009 - (Page 56) BEAT If you have never participated in one of our Legislative Conferences or haven’t participated recently, please consider joining us this year. We need you like never before and would be very pleased to have you in our ranks as we take housing’s concerns to Capitol Hill. Our annual Legislative Conference is scheduled for March 24, and unlike recent years, it will be held separate from the spring Board of Directors Meeting. This schedule change brings members to Washington early on in the 111th Congress and will provide a great opportunity for us to meet with lawmakers and discuss the state of the housing market and the economy and what it will take to move forward. In particular, we will be discussing legislative provisions and policies that will help stabilize the housing market, reduce foreclosures, and restore confidence in the credit markets. And we will be emphasizing that housing should be a priority in any economic stimulus measures that are considered. On the day of the conference, the NAHB staff THE NAHB will brief participants on these and other key issues. Then the bulk of the day will be spent in individual meetings with members of Congress and their staffs. Following these discussions, the NAHB’s grassroots advocates will meet with staff for a debriefing. There’s no doubt that when the grassroots speak, Congress listens. I’m hoping that on March 24, the NAHB speaks with its loudest voice yet and makes an indelible impression on Capitol Hill. Whether it’s your first Legislative Conference or your 20th, I’m looking forward to seeing you on March 24. We have a lot to accomplish. For more information about the NAHB’s Legislative Conference, visit www.NAHB.org/legcon or contact Molly Murray at 800-368-5242, ext. 8282 or mmurray@nahb.com. Even if you cannot get to Washington to participate in the Legislative Conference, you can still contribute to the effort by meeting with your senators and representatives when Congress recesses and lawmakers return home. Please contact Molly Murray for more information. B CENTER CORNER NATIONAL NAHB BRIEFS according to the latest NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI). RESEARCH The current market conditions indicator slid to 27.7, from 33.5 in the previous quarter. Future expectations of remodeling work plummeted to 19.6, from 27.7 in the third quarter. Both indices descended to historic lows since the start of the RMI in 2001. The Green Standard The National Green Building Standard has received ANSI approval. T he nation’s first con- sensus-driven standard for residential green building has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard (NGBS) provides a flexible and robust third-party rating system for residential green project certification, which will be used for the NAHB National Green Building Program (NAHB Green). “Builders and home buyers who have been confused by the many characterizations of green building in the marketplace now have clear, flexible, bona fide criteria defined under the NGBS,” says Michael Luzier, president of the NAHB Research Center. “Under the standard, there are options for bronze, silver, gold, or emerald levels of certification that provide builders with the flexibility to choose the certification level appropriate for their market and their customers.” As an ANSI-approved standards writing organization, the Research Center played a pivotal role in the development process for the standard. Prior to approval of the standard, the Center’s green home certification was based on the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which applied only to new single-family homes. With the new option of certification to the standard, developments, multifamily dwellings, remodeling projects, and additions can also receive National Green Building certification from the Research Center. Using the interactive Green Scoring Tool available on the NAHB Green Web site, builders, designers, remodelers, and home buyers can compile information about the practices and products that make a home green. The tool specifies points that are awarded per the criteria of either the guidelines (lot design, resource efficiency, energy efficiency, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, homeowner education, and global impact) or the standard (lot design, preparation, and development; resource efficiency; energy efficiency; water efficiency; indoor environmental quality; and operation, maintenance, and building owner education). Additional information about the National Green Building Program including the Green Scoring Tool, verification, and green project certification is available from www.nahbgreen.org or from the National Green Building Hotline at 877-NAHB-GRN (877-624-2476). Seeing Green T he NAHB Green network almost tripled in size when the NAHB National Green Building Program welcomed 35 new state and local HBAs and their green certification and education programs into the network in February. The new affiliates include long-standing green building programs such as Build Green of King and Snohomish counties in Washington, which has certified more than 13,000 homes since its founding in 1997, and new programs such as the green council formed by the Carbon Builders Association in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 56 ■ B U I LD E R m a rc h 2 0 0 9 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://www.NAHB.org/legcon http://www.nahbgreen.org http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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