BUILD-PAC

LOCAL NEWS HBA ADVOCACY MATTERS AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT

The Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa is the primary advocate for the residential construction industry in the Tulsa metropolitan area. Association advocacy takes place in the municipal, county, state, and federal levels, and is categorized as follows:

Regulatory Advocacy

includes working with regulatory staff for positive change. Examples of regulatory advocacy includes working with code officials and inspectors on code interpretation, or advocating for reasonable regulations with the various local, county, state, and federal agencies and bureaucracies (planning and zoning, EPA, etc.)

Legislative Advocacy

includes working with elected officials to change, defeat or adopt ordinances or laws that are favorable to the residential construction industry. It includes engaging elected officials who are responsible for writing or re-writing the law and lobbying those who cast the votes. Examples of legislative advocacy includes lobbying elected officials in federal or state capitols or with members of city councils or county commissions to adopt or modify codes, statutes, ordinances, or laws.

Political Advocacy

consists of effective advocacy in the electoral process to elect pro-housing, pro-business candidates to public office by campaign contributions, volunteer efforts, campaign management, and more. Specifically, the Association’s non-partisan political advocacy involves efforts to elect officials at the municipal, county, state, and federal levels who understand the importance of residential construction and remodeling to our economy and quality of life. Through its political action committees, HBA PAC and NAHB’s BUILD-PAC, the HBA advocates and supports candidates for public office on the basis od how the candidate aligns with the priorities of the residential building industry. The HBA believes that political advocacy is chief among the forms of advocacy in which HBA engages.

Legal Advocacy

is when an unfavorable or abusive law or enforcement method must be challenged in court by a lawsuit. The Association’s legal advocacy is the last line of defense for the residential construction industry. In cases when all other forms of advocacy fail, regulations that are detrimental to the industry may be adopted or implemented over the objections of the best arguments of the HBA and subject to legal challenge. In such cases, the HBA may, along with other organizations or entities, file suit against the offending government body. Legal advocacy is extremely expensive and highly unpredictable. That is why the HBA engages in regulatory, legislative, and political advocacy. There are times, however, when legal action may be the only recourse. In those times, the HBA remains the chief advocate for its members and the residential construction industry.

Heed the Call

Now when many are working remotely and most communication is conducted electronically, it’s easy to overlook a CALL TO ACTION from NAHB, OkHAB, or HBA. This, however, is not the time to ignore a CALL TO ACTION. While staff advocates on members’ behalf, it is the HBA member who is the voting constituent at the federal, state, and local levels whose opinion is critically important. Elected officials are listening to what YOU have to say and are paying attention to your phone calls, emails, and letters about the issues affecting the housing industry today. Please answer the next CALL TO ACTION from NAHB, OkHBA, or HBA when they are delivered in your Inbox so that your business and our industry is not adversely impacted by bad decision-making.