2020 Advocacy Actions

Through advocacy, AIA Seattle promotes a well-designed, sustainable city with opportunities for all and creates opportunities for architects to impact public policy and civic issues. Here are some of the ways we advocated for architects this year:

Local

State

  • We monitored Governor’s Inslee’s proclamations on construction and professional service work during COVID-19 and provided resources to members.
  • We held a Climate Comprehensive webinar to recap AIA’s work on climate issues across many policy levels – including AIA National’s Big Move on climate.
  • We participated in rulemaking for Washington’s Clean Buildings Act (HB 1257, 2019), which required the Department of Commerce to develop a state energy performance standard for commercial buildings greater than 50,000 square feet. We provided a webinar session for members to learn about the program.
  • We commented on the draft 2021 State Energy Strategy to support the state’s goals related to climate.
  • We passed and supported the rollout of Washington’s C-PACER program, which will provide a private financing mechanism for building owners to complete deep green retrofits and resiliency improvements.
  • We protected architect licensure from legislative attempts to weaken licensing requirements.
  • We supported housing legislation to facilitate more ADUs, help increase housing affordability, and stem the tide of homelessness.
  • We successfully opposed legislation to weaken predesign requirements in state contracting.
  • We continued to advocate against the B&O tax structure for professional services with large subcontractor payments as part of the state’s overall taxation system reform.
  • We supported efforts to address embodied carbon in building materials for state-funded projects.
  • We defended the state energy code and the State Building Code Council’s mission and structure.

National

  • We opposed a Trump Administration proposal to designate “classical” architecture as the preferred style for federal buildings.
  • We supported the YIMBY Act (HR 4307), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would address the country’s affordable housing crisis by streamlining affordable housing production and zoning for high-density single-family and multifamily housing.
  • We sent a letter to AIA National’s Board of Directors in support of a proposal by AIA’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct prohibiting members from knowingly designing spaces intended for execution and torture, including indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement.
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