At the meeting, Rep. Frank and the other members of Congress who accompanied him agreed that such services are crucial to ensuring that persons with limited English proficiency have access to HUD-assisted housing programs. However, they also agreed that placing the burden of translating the documents on property owners would be significantly costly and could lead to many private property owners opting out of HUD programs. The other members of Congress in attendance also said that relying on individual property owners for such services would not guarantee standard and accurate information.

NAHB and its industry partners have been seeking Congressional support for placing the responsibility for translating vital documents and providing interpretative services on HUD since the final Guidance was announced, and this is a significant step forward in resolving the issue. The civil rights groups that also attended the meeting—who were concerned HUD might rescind its Guidance without an adequate alternative in place—were in agreement with Frank’s plan, which includes a HUD-funded hot-line to provide oral interpretation services.

Frank asked HUD to provide him with an estimate of the costs to translate HUD’s vital documents and selected property-specific documents. He asked NAHB and the other housing industry groups to provide HUD and his office with a master list of selected property-specific documents that would need to be translated. (Property owners still would have some responsibility for translating miscellaneous documents they use for individual properties.)

Reps. Joseph Baca (D-CA), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) attended the meeting with Rep. Frank, who serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

For more background on this issue, view this page.

In doing so, the Commission agreed with the principal arguments NAHB made in its friend-of-the-court brief in the case of Secretary of Labor v. Summit Contractors in October 2006.

In that case, Summit Contractors had been cited by OSHA for failing to ensure that employees of a masonry subcontractor at its work site used fall protection devices when working on scaffolds more than 12 feet high. OSHA cited Summit Contractor for the violations under its "multi-employer citation policy," claiming that because Summit "controlled" the work site, it had a duty to detect violations by subs and compel them to correct violations. Summit challenged both the citation and the legality of OSHA's multi-employer policy, and the OSHA commission agreed with them—and the position of  NAHB, which had joined with the Texas Association of Builders and the Greater Houston Builders Association in filing an amicus brief in the case.

Read more in NBN Online, or contact Calli Schmidt, 800-368-5242 x8231, if you have questions. You can view the full decision here. [return to top]

View this link for more information or to order: NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook, English-Spanish; or Fall Protection Video, English-Spanish. [return to top]

• Age-Qualified Community Associations: Common Pitfalls

For many builders and developers, building an age-qualified community is the easy part. Launching the community association and getting it up and running represents a whole new set of challenges.

Find out what not to do when operating your association during a special program hosted by the NAHB 50+ Housing Council’s Advocacy, Legislative and Rental Seniors Housing Committee at NAHB’s Spring Board event in Washington, D.C. The program, titled “Community Associations: Avoid the Pitfalls in Starting and Operating an Association within an Age-Qualified Community,” will take place from 2:30–4:00 p.m. Thursday, June 7, at the Washington Hilton.

E-mail Jeff Jenkins or call him at 800-368-5242 x8292 for more details on the program.

• More “Buy Now” Money Available

NAHB’s effort to boost local markets affected by the housing downturn received immediate and enthusiastic support from local builders' associations. Responding to that success, and to the continuing need, the Executive Board approved an additional $2 million in funding for the program.

To learn more, including which areas qualify for this P.R. assistance, view this story in Nation’s Building News. For local association application information, visit this link. For further questions, contact Niki Clark at 800-368-5242 x8061.

• National Membership Day—May 22

If your HBA doesn’t have a local Multifamily Council, start one on Membership Day and qualify for great prizes! For more details, view this page, or for answers to specific questions, e-mail Lawrence McFadden or call him at 800-368-5242 x8550.

• AARP–NAHB  Livable Communities Awards Deadline—June 1

The Livable Communities Awards will recognize creative and unique home and community projects that improve the daily comfort, ease and safety of their residents and highlight the critical elements needed for a livable community.

The new AARP & NAHB Livable Communities Award will be presented annually to the three professional groups—builders, remodelers and developers—for projects that incorporate such aspects as:

• Design elements that accommodate the needs of all residents with all levels of physical ability from children through grandparents
• Easy access to community services and features such as retail, restaurants, medical, social and cultural activities, as well as viable transportation options
• Improved energy efficiency and enhanced site design
• Better communication with key stakeholders

Applications for the first Livable Communities Awards will be due June 1. 

Winners will be announced in the 2008 January-February issue of AARP The Magazine, the largest-circulation magazine in America.  For more information, e-mail Blake Smith, or call him at 800-368-5242 x 8583. To apply, go to www.aarp.org/livablecommunitiesaward and click the links for guidelines and application forms.

• Spring Board—June 5-10

All the information you need to plan your trip to NAHB’s Spring Board of Directors’ meeting in Washington, DC, is now live on NAHB’s Web site. There are schedules, online registration, information on air fares and details on the annual Legislative Conference and grassroots lobbying effort. To get it all, view this page.

• Grassroots Lobbying at the Legislative Conference—June 6

Take your issues and concerns directly to your elected representatives with the other participants in NAHB's LegCon — one of the most effective grassroots efforts on Capitol Hill. To learn more, and to register for a satisfying day of hands-on participation in representative democracy, view this page.