Thursday - April 13, 2017 Legislative Update After 60-days at the Roundhouse, New Mexico legislators came away with little to show for their efforts

   
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Thursday - April 13, 2017

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Legislative Update

After 60-days at the Roundhouse, New Mexico legislators came away with little to show for their efforts. Governor Martinez vetoed 52% of all bills passed in the House and Senate sent to the fourth floor for her signature. A special session will most likely be called to deal with a required balanced budget for the state; we are hearing it may be as early as the end of this month.

In the positive, the extension to 2023 of the Architecture Act which was up for sunsetting was signed into law, assuring that the licensing board for architects will continue to operate (House Bill 330). AIA New Mexico raised awareness of the importance of architecture and architects when Senate Memorial 53 proclaimed February 7th as New Mexico Architects Day. (See AIA NM E-Bulletin of 2/22/17). Later in the session Senate Memorial 141 was read in honor of John Gaw Meem, FAIA.

Some of the bills we supported did not fare as well. Bills to extend the solar tax credit extension failed as did bills to reform the capital outlay process (including SB41, HB61, and SB262). Of special note was the governor’s pocket veto of Senate Bill 456 which would have created a practice act for interior designers allowing them the privilege of sealing documents that they could then submit for building permit. There is little doubt that variations of all these bills will reappear in upcoming legislative sessions in one form or another. AIA New Mexico will be ready to study their ramifications and act in accordance with our members’ best interests.

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Grassroots 2017

2017-18

On the national advocacy scene, our delegation of New Mexico architects met with New Mexico legislators in Washington, DC, on March 8th at the start of the Grassroots Conference. We advocated for AIA federal legislative issues in meetings with top legislative staff in the offices of Senators Udall and Heinrich, and Representatives Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ben Ray Lujan. We also had the opportunity to speak personally with Sen. Udall at his weekly coffee reception for visitors from the state and by bumping into both Sen. Heinrich and Rep. Lujan Grisham in the halls of their office buildings providing an opportunity for impromptu discussions of our issues.

Udall 2017
2017-7
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Save These Dates!

AIA New Mexico Convention – “Recast: Architecture is Transformative” – will be held on September 22nd with an additional lecture the evening of September 21st. The convention will be presented by AIA Santa Fe under the chairmanship of Gayla Bechtol and Barbara Felix. Full details will be forthcoming in future AIA New Mexico E-Bulletins and at www.aiasantafe.org/recast.

We are excited to announce that the 2017 AIA New Mexico Design and Honor Awards Gala will be a separate event this year and will be held on Saturday evening, October 28th. Look for the Call for Entries for the Design Awards and the Call for Honor Awards nominations in early August. This is a “not to be missed” gala! Watch for details coming soon on www.aianewmexico.org.

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WMR Executive Committee Positions

There are five openings for positions on the AIA Western Mountain Region Executive Committee –

• 2018 WMR Senior Director (1 year term, appointed position to fill the remaining term of Patrick Panetta who is running unopposed for AIA Treasurer)
• 2018-2019 WMR Regional Associate Director (RAD). This is a 2-year term appointed position
• 2018-2019 WMR Young Architects Regional Director (YARD). This is a 2-year term appointed position
• 2018-2019 WMR Secretary (2-year term elected position)
• 2018-2020 WMR Director (3-year term elected position)

Are you interested in stepping up to a WMR leadership position? For full information about the nomination process, timeline, and descriptions of each position, go to: https://aiawmr.org/regional-affairs/upcoming-appointments-elections/

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AIA NM Emerging Professionals Blog

Ashley Hartshorn is the 2017 AIA New Mexico Associate Director and would like to welcome everyone to the new AIA New Mexico Emerging Professionals Blog, a place for all of us to communicate, share, learn, and grow from each of our insights and experiences. No matter where you are on your own professional path, or what goals you have for the future, it is Ashley’s personal goal to help us all succeed.

Entries are welcome from all YAF, Associates, and AIAS members. Please contact her directly at ashley.hartshorn@bjfelix.com.

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AIA 2016 Annual Report

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Click here to see the AIA Annual Report for 2016 distributed at the Grassroots Leadership Conference.

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