Suing the government over regulations run amuck,
NAHB is challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District for its overzealous rule that treats all ditches as "waters of the United States" that are subject to strict permitting requirements.

Our complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia just before presstime. At the heart of NAHB's argument is the contention that the Philadelphia District has implemented a new policy on the Army Corps' jurisdiction concerning upland drainage ditches without having engaged in the proper rulemaking process required by the Administrative Procedures Act. Prior to the Philadelphia District's unlawful rulemaking, the Corps did not consider upland drainage ditches to be "waters of the United States" for purposes of the Clean Water Act's definition of regulated "navigable waters." NAHB is therefore asking the court to: a) declare that the Philadelphia District's actions exceed its statutory authority under the Clean Water Act; b) declare the rule unlawful and set it aside, and c) remand the rule to the Corps for rulemaking proceedings that are consistent with Administrative Procedures Act requirements. Contact: Felicia Watson, x8229.

NAHB is seeking to rein in permitting regulations that are unnecessary, inconsistent with previous interpretations and extremely costly to home builders. This effort, and our latest litigation, is part of our overall strategy to address the many difficulties with "the developmental/permitting process" which collectively were rated the No. 1 most challenging issue for home builders in NAHB's most recent Critical Issues Survey.

Resources for HBAs in areas hit by recent tornados and wildfires
are available online at www.nahb.org/disasterresources, and we're getting the word out to as many of our affiliates as possible throughout the affected seven states. Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma and Arkansas have suffered the blows of devastating tornados in past weeks, while raging fires have engulfed parts of Texas and New Mexico. In an effort to help, NAHB is providing general talking points for dealing with the media as well as links to important information from FEMA, the Red Cross and the Small Business Administration. This free data is aimed at helping our HBAs in their efforts to assist both local consumers and building industry members. In addition, NAHB's Public Affairs staff will be available to help with Public Service Announcements that warn consumers against unscrupulous, fly-by-night contractors. For more information about community outreach or to discuss your local concerns, please contact Kym Kilbourne at x8447.

Membership in your local HBA gives you instant access to NAHB's staff experts and resources in both good times and bad. This is an important member benefit to be aware of when devastating events occur within your local jurisdiction. [return to top]

Reviving an effort to provide affordable health insurance options
for small businesses, a previously deadlocked bill on Association Health Plans (AHPs) seems to finally be advancing in the Senate. Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee took up the issue of whether bona fide trade associations should be allowed to offer health plans to members across state lines. The idea has been alternately debated and ignored by the Senate for more than a decade, during which time the House of Representatives has passed related bills numerous times. The Senate's new companion bill, called the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act, bears a slight resemblance to NAHB-supported AHP legislation that the House passed in 2005. However, many differences remain between the two versions, and NAHB is hopeful that the Senate's bill can be refined as it moves forward. Even so, this latest advancement is encouraging, given AHPs' past position on the Senate's back burner. HELP Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced the legislation with cosponsors Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). At this point, the new bill is expected to be considered on the Senate floor sometime during the end of April or early May. We'll let you know what happens and when; in the meantime, contact Jenna Hamilton (x8407) or see the March 20 edition of NBN Online for more info.

NAHB-favored AHP legislation would allow small businesses to band together across state lines to negotiate favorable prices and obtain affordable health coverage for their employees at a time when health care premiums are soaring out of control. NAHB's efforts are aimed at ensuring more choices, better access and greater stability in health insurance plans on behalf of our many small-business members.  [return to top]

An orderly cooling process for the single-family housing market
appears to be taking hold following a stronger-than-expected start to the new year. The latest evidence of this came with Thursday's Census Department report on February housing starts, which showed a nearly 8% decline overall (single-family starts alone were down 2.3%) following January's 16% jump that was attributed to some of the warmest conditions on record nationwide. Also, NAHB's monthly builder confidence gauge, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), showed a one-point decline on March 15. This gauge has now remained within a narrow two-point range for four consecutive months, indicating that stability is taking hold in the market for newly built, single-family homes. NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders attributed the HMI's slight downward movement primarily to eroding affordability tied to strong house-price performance and rising interest rates — but also mentioned the apparent departure of some short-term investors that  "is helping restore equilibrium between supply and demand." See our housing starts and HMI press releases online. HMI tables are at www.nahb.org/hmi. Contact: Rose Quint, x8527. [return to top]

An updated Housing Facts, Figures and Trends report
is now available for downloading free of charge from www.nahb.org. Commonly referred to as our "media backgrounder," this online-only publication provides a snapshot of various aspects of the housing market, including new home starts and sales, characteristics of new homes, homeownership rates and more. We get hundreds — if not thousands — of requests for this information every year, from the media and members alike. And in response to something many of you have asked about, this time around the publication is offered as both a PDF and Word Document. Contact: Jackie Jackson, x8062.  [return to top]

Green building "advocates of the year"
and other industry superstars were honored at NAHB's National Green Building Conference in Albuquerque, NM last week. Congratulations to: 

Builder Advocate of the Year                 
Ron Jones, (Santa Fe, NM)

Remodeler Advocate of the Year                          
Bill Asdal (Chester, NJ)

Individual Advocate of the Year  
Jennifer Languell, (Naples, FL)   

Group Advocate of the Year
The Sustainable Building Industry Council (Washington, DC)

Please see NAHB's press release for a complete listing of the 12 award recipients, including Production Home Builder of the Year, Custom Home Builder of the Year, Multifamily Home Design of the Year, Remodeled Home of the Year and Green Homes Marketing Program of the Year. Contact Calli Barker Schmidt (x8132) for more info.

NAHB's National Green Building Conference and associated awards help spotlight market-driven innovations in environmentally sensitive home building as well as those who are helping to advance these technologies and products in the mainstream. Ultimately such advances will help reduce energy consumption, save home owners money and improve builders' marketing niche among an increasing base of consumers who appreciate (and demand) green-built attributes within their homes.   [return to top]

A new study on U.S. homeownership trends
is due out from the Center for Housing Policy this week. Findings will be covered briefly in the next edition of this report, and more thoroughly in an upcoming edition of Nation's Building News Online. They will include homeownership rates for minority and white working families with children, as well as data for regions, central cities, suburbs and non-metro areas. The Center for Housing Policy is the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. The report will be released on Wednesday, March 22, and should be available on the NHC Web site at www.nhc.org. The NHC contact person is Michele Anapole, at 202-466-2121, x226. Stay tuned! [return to top]