A storm water bill that would amend the requirement that the Secretary of Natural Resources issue a general permit for discharges of stormwater from impervious surface of three or more acres in size, (when the stormwater discharge previously was not permitted or was permitted under an individual permit or general permit that did not incorporate requirements of a stormwater management manual issued after 2002) made it out of the house and now sits in Senate Natural Resources. It isn’t up for discussion 

The Sunrise review to determine if home improvement contractors should be licensed is stalled in Senate Government Operations. The Homebuilders have been in preliminary discussions around the concept of positioning themselves as the source of education for the potential certification process. We will be meeting with the AG’s office and the Chair of Senate Government Operations soon to talk about this.

All independent contractor bills missed crossover deadline. We will continue to monitor for committee bills, but it appears as if we dodged all the truly terrible misclassification bills.

Facing little debate, the budget bill passed overwhelmingly in a vote 122-10. While representatives put four amendments on the table, none of them passed with the exception of a proposal by Rep. Kitty Toll D-Danville, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, who offered technical changes. The bill also incorporates $28 million the state will receive as a result of a tobacco settlement. About half of the windfall, $14 million, will be used to fund efforts to fight addiction. Of the second half of the funds, $10 million would be used to pay down teacher’s retirement obligations. Lawmakers say the additional payment on the unfunded pension liability could lead to about $30 million in savings on interest. About $2 million would be placed into the state’s rainy day funds, in part as a safeguard against a future economic downturn.The House proposal now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

We have been asked to help support the administration move a bill that would give tax credits to homeowners who rehabilitate their houses. We meet this week with members of the Scott team to talk about how we can best help them.

Now that the budget has passed, things will begin to speed up legislatively. We will offer weekly written reports again to track the busy end of the session.