AIA LEGISLATIVE DAY 2003

AIA Ohio will once again coordinate a Legislative Day for the Ohio House and Senate at the Statehouse on Tuesday May 20, 2003. It is highly recommended that as many members as possible plan to attend this event.

WHY?

As many of you are aware, one of the highest priorities of the state society is legislative activity. With term limits in place, many of the legislators are new and need to be exposed to our concerns and issues. Because we are a relatively small group with a less than impressive Political Action Committee presence, we need to impress upon the legislators our concerns and issues in a strong unified manner. Legislative Day is the single, most effective way of achieving our goal.

HISTORY

For many of you who attended this event in the past, this was a very well attended program. According to our lobbyist, David Field, the 2001 Legislative Day had the largest single event turnout of architects in memory. The Eastern Ohio Chapter was well represented with probably the highest percentage of our membership attending compared to other chapters. We feel it was a productive day and event and would like to continue the efforts started two years ago.

WHEN

The program will be held at the Statehouse with an instruction and orientation session to be held prior to the actual meetings with the legislators. The orientation session will be held at the Adams Mark Hotel, which is adjacent to the capital square. The program will start at 10:00 a.m.

OUTCOME

Because we, in general, do not have significant access to the legislative process, we need to impress upon the legislators our concerns and issues. Attendees will be provided with “talking points” to discuss with your local legislators. These points will include items that we feel are important to the practice of our profession in the State of Ohio. The event will conclude with a lunch that all legislators will be invited to attend.

Please plan to attend this important event. Mark your calendars for Tuesday May 20, 2003.