Political Action Committee?

General Inspection Topics Legislation, Licensing, Ethics & Legal Issues
#1

Posting in this section as well as members only section:

Just thinking out loud here and looking for some input. As many trade associations have their own political actions committees that look out for proposed legislation and laws that may be harmful to their membership, why can’t NACHI develop a Political Action Committee that’s purpose is to inform and organize the membership to rally against any laws or legislation that may be harmful to our profession? We know that NACHI has the data base to be able to quickly reach out to the membership in any given State to inform them of potentially harmful legislation. Why not leverage that data base to send out a “call to action” -(just like the realtors and other professional associations do) when harmful legislation pops up in any given state? Here in Florida, we are constantly fighting off special interests who introduce harmful legislation every year to try and kill the home inspection profession. It would be very helpful to have our association supporting us in fighting off harmful legislation.

Looking for some support and meaningful discussion. I believe that we could leverage NACHI’s resources (data base) to be a formidable advocate for our profession in the legislative arena.

#2

Probably because if you have a PAC then Inachi won’t be able to do what they want to do.

Steve you have to remember Internachi is a business like any other business that is self-serving

Sometimes serving the greater good of the members is the way they want to go and sometimes it’s not

When a vendor such as Pro Lab can make Nick do whatever it wants to do, is that the kind of organization you want to control your PAC?

How about you start up a PAC and I will definitely contribute to it in any way that you need.

In my opinion you should keep organizations out of it and individuals in it all freethinking all different ideas all different agendas even but as long as this for the betterment of the profession the more diversity the better

#3

It is too big of a job for me at this time. That is why I was hoping for the big boys a NACHI to step up to the task.

Planet InterNACHI… resistance is futile. Right?

#4

I’m totally lost with this thread Steve. Let’s take your state of Florida for example:

When licensing was adopted in Florida, I met with numerous FL legislators personally. I attended every public licensing meeting held by your state. I met with the Governor of your state, Charlie Crist, twice. I met with your House Majority Leader. We got the 10 square foot exemption for home inspectors. We got our members grandfathered. We got InterNACHI’s exam approved for licensing. We got our Wind Mit course DBPR and CILB approved. We got our pre-licensing curriculum approved by FL DBPR. We got our online courses approved. We got our instructors approved. We got our classroom courses approved. We got our mold courses approved for mold assessors. We got Owens Corning to launch their roof inspection partnership with us in Florida. We got dozens of our courses approved for continuing education. We got our proctored exam approved for licensing. We set up a system with your state to notify them every time a member completes a course. We pushed through a Bill, signed into law by your Governor, Rick Scott, that exempts licensed home inspectors from having to have mold assessors license. We got our courses approved for real estate agents in Florida.

What the heck more do you want?

You mentioned “other associations.” They have trouble getting anything approved. InterNACHI’s powerful political strength is one of the reasons we have 1,755 members in Florida.

#5

Yes, we all know how much you have done for us as you take every opportunity to tell us. I am truly thankful and impressed with the things that you have done - especially in Florida with the continuing education. Now let’s leverage NACHI’s powerful political strength and do more to prevent special interests from attempting to gut the home inspector profession. For the record, I was not speaking of just Florida. I was also not speaking of just home inspector associations- but rather - trade associations in general. Many trade associations have legislative committees or someone on staff that looks out proactively for harmful legislation that may negatively impact their members across the country- not just a particular state. You obviously have the resources, political clout, connections, and data bases at your disposal to be the watchdog for our association. When something pops up legislatively in any given state, you would be able to use your resources to quickly rally/notify the membership with a call to action to fight any harmful legislation. Oh, and you are never lost.

#6

ASHI has a PAC.

#7

If I remember correctly, they also have a lobbyist at the Federal level. I do not believe that they have any effective tracking of legislation at the state level. I do know that they were no help to us here in Florida with any legislation.

#8

That’s because ASHI doesn’t do anything. Remember the IR patents I purchased for members? ASHI formed a task force that has yet to have their first meeting. What will be the topic of that meeting when they finally hold it? InterNACHI bought the patents… pass the peanuts.

Steve, you tell me what you want and I can get it (proven track record) a lot quicker on my own than I can with lobbyists (who often work against us) and PACs. I don’t need lobbyists, I’m a lobbyist. I don’t need PACs, I have money. Just tell me what you need and I’ll try to get it for you.

#9

I’m kind of butt hurt from this thread Steve. You of all people (you shut down your ASHI chapter and converted it into an InterNACHI chapter last year) should understand that we’re successful because we’re lean, fast, and get things done. Why should I copy some loser Society that lost to InterNACHI after having a 20-year head start and do what they do? Makes no sense.

#10

And another thing: InterNACHI members need to worry about feeding their families. We don’t need to be hitting them up for political donations. I’m doing fine without a PAC. Members should spend their money on their inspection brochures… or fishing rods.

#11

I was not looking for $ or donations or dues. Just extra eyes to watch out for harmful legislation. Then when something pops up, using your data base to quickly inform membership to get them to rally to block anything that may be harmful to our industry. Right now, there are a handful of guys in Florida (me included) that try to keep track of legislation that may be harmful to our profession. We are all full time inspectors and I admit that I do not track legislation as closely as I would like. Maybe I am just looking for help in tracking legislation. I would speculate that members in other states would like someone looking out for them as well. In Florida, we currently have multiple bills in process right now that have harmful language to our profession. We are also constantly fighting DBPR in the rule making process to prevent them from implementing rules that make no sense and are harmful to inspectors.

Of course I understand that you are lean and can move much faster than ASHI. You also know why I left ASHI (i no longer saw any value in membership). I am also not asking you to copy anything that ASHI has done as that would not make sense for any of us. Don’t be so sensitive. You are misunderstanding me if you think I am finding fault with what you have done. Again, I am simply looking for a way to better track harmful legislation to our profession- not just in Florida - but across the entire country. I don’t know what it would take to make that happen- that is why I posted the thread for discussion. Maybe a full time staff member to focus on legislative issues. Maybe volunteers in each state to keep watch and then feed that info to you to get out to the membership.

#12

One more thing: Someone once told me that NACHI is like Disney World. Once you pay the entrance fee into the park, all the rides are free. (marketing support, logos, education, education, education, education, and the list goes on and on. You have done an incredible job with the model and deliver incredible value. However, if you want to be Walt Disney, you have to keep adding new rides to the park. The patrons are never satisfied and we want more, more, more. I guess I am just looking for another new ride.

#13

OK. I misunderstood. I’m not comfortable asking members for money. Do we need a PAC to do what you are proposing though? This message board has a lot of eyes on the front-line. What specifically would we ask members to do in addition?

You didn’t see value in ASHI membership because their isn’t any.

#14

Maybe PAC was the wrong word. I don’t know the answer. Maybe volunteers in each state to try to keep track of legislation and then report back to NACHI so that NACHI can then mobilize quickly to get the word out to membership. For example, the realtors effectively rally their membership against harmful legislation. NAR actually effectively utilizes technology to send out canned emails for their members to send to the legislators for a given issue. I know that you have the capability to do the same. Take Florida for example, if you leveraged the 1700 members to have them each target at legislator that has sponsored harmful legislation to our industry and that legislator’s office got 1700 emails in a day on a specific issue, it would likely be more effective than the 4 guys that are currently carrying the load. Take a look at the realtor’s model for political action and see if we can copy or at least borrow from it to be more effective.

#15

Gotchya. O.K., here is what I can set up by next week. You find a legislator that needs to be bombarded with letters over some proposed legislation, and I’ll send a legislative packet to every member in your state which will include a letter from me, talking points for a letter from them, the address of the politician to send it to, and postage stamps.

#16

I don’t think you need to send the stamps- but you are on the right track. There may be a way to fully automate the process. We develop the talking points and letter and it gets sent to the members, they sign their name to it electronically and then click on a link that automatically delivers to a targeted legislator or multiple legislators. We could also provide phone numbers of legislator’s offices and encourage members to call to voice their concerns over a given bill or law. This could be done for all States with little or no cost - assuming you already have the technology in place.

#17

Yes. We want snailmail though. One snailmail letter = 5,000 emails in politics.

#18

Steve, you have to do the work yourself. We did here in Kansas, and got the HI laws out. They were worthless, and actually hurt home buyers. Any HI law is a basic minimal standard. That is what the RE’s want; basic, minimal, cheap inspections. They are getting them in most all licensed states, including Texas.

Nick raises the standards, when he pushes his CE’s. It is good to keep our industry educated and high in information, so our profession becomes more professional. If we did not have this, our industry would be very basic, cheap, and out of business.

Nick should be complimented for doing his work, presentations, and endless energies on promoting our profession.

Anytime you get a PAC involved, all they listen to is the sound of money. Period.

#19

Gotta call B S on you here Gary! Apparently you have no idea what is required of HI’s in Texas. We have some lowballers just like everywhere else. Licensing has squat to do with lowballers. Try doing a report on the TREC form and follow their SOP at the same time…NOTHING minimal involved.

#20

Thanks, Nick!