The Illinois Landscape Architecture Registration Act (SB 214) was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on August 6. While this Act took effect immediately, the regulatory rulemaking process will need to take place before SB 214 can be fully implemented. The State Government Affairs team will continue to work closely with the Illinois Chapter to support this effort, particularly on any needed comments to proposed draft rules.
The State Government Affairs team hosted a free two-day virtual state advocacy summit, AMPLIFY, August 24-25, for current and emerging chapter advocacy leaders. AMPLIFY brought together chapter leaders and members to learn about the current political and legislative environment of occupational licensure and to be inspired to increase chapter efforts on climate change advocacy and in local policymaking. Chapters were encouraged to invite up to ten chapter members to attend.
On August 10, the U.S. senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a trillion-dollar, bipartisan infrastructure deal, by a 69-30 vote. This legislation includes language and priorities advocated by ASLA Government Affairs and ASLA members. The legislation moves on to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. Congress is working on additional infrastructure legislation as well and ASLA Government Affairs will continue to advocate for provisions that promote and use the expertise of landscape architects.
Active Transportation - This legislation includes the Transportation Alternatives Enhancement Act (H.R. 463, S. 614); the Safe Routes to School Expansion Act (H.R. 386); and the Complete Streets Act of 2021 (H.R. 1289, S. 425), which improves, enhances, and provides additional funding for the most critical active transportation programs for landscape architects.
Water - This legislation reauthorizes the Clean Water State revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). Many landscape architects access these funds for water infrastructure projects. The legislation also codifies the existing requirement that ten percent of the CWSRF is set aside provide additional assistance to disadvantaged communities and increases from six to twelve percent the same requirement for the DWSRF. It also provides grants for water infrastructure resiliency and sustainability measures and encourages the use of natural and green infrastructure solutions.
Reconnecting Communities - This legislation creates a brand-new program to reconnect communities that were divided by highways and other infrastructure. By funding planning, design, demolition, and the eventual reconstruction of street grids and parks so that the many communities-mostly urban and underserved-that were torn apart by highways can be stitched back together.
Climate - This is one of the first major infrastructure bills to include significant climate provisions. This includes funds to help communities build resiliently to protect against wildfires and floods, remediate brownfield and Superfund sites, build new resilient power transmission lines, and increase funding for weatherization programs, among other initiatives.
As of Tuesday, August 17, 2021, thirteen states remained convened for legislative session. Staff has tracked over 200 occupational licensing bills. Occupational licensing legislation continues to largely focus on reducing mobility barriers to occupations that require a license to practice. The greatest concern of these legislative proposals are the one-size-fits-all "universal licensing" bills. In July ARPL held a CEO briefing outlining recent activities and successes, as well as previewing future advocacy and communication strategies.
ASLA Licensure and State Government Affairs Committee Chairman, EJ Bolduc III, FASLA, along with State Government Affairs Director, Elizabeth Hebron, participated in the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Board's (CLARB) second work group session to help develop recommendations for a Uniform Standard for Licensure. Information about the recommendations will be shared with ASLA members in various presentations throughout the fall, and the recommendations will be formally voted on by the CLARB membership in 2022.
Recently, ASLA Government Affairs met with staff from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) to discuss how ASLA and landscape architects may partner to advance the Urban Waters Program, which helps urban and metropolitan areas, particularly those that are underserved or economically distressed, improve and connect with their waterways.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, recently signed Senate Bill 49 into law. This law creates lien authority for Ohio's landscape architects if unpaid while under written contract to perform design services. The signing ceremony for Senate Bill 49 was attended by the Ohio Chapter's Doug Boyer, VP of Legislative Affairs (pictured below with Governor Mike DeWine). The Ohio Chapter undertook three years of chapter advocacy efforts to produce this win! The chapter's Advocay Committee is particularly thankful to Senator Hottinger ( R) and Senator Sykes (D) for their sponsorship and support of this bill, as well as chapter lobbyist Luther Liggett and design partners with AIA Ohio and ACEC.
Does your chapter have legislative and advocacy successes you'd like to share with other chapters and ASLA advocates? If so, let the ASLA Government Affairs team know by sending submissions to - governmentaffairs@asla.org.
The LWCF Coalition, of which ASLA is a founding member, kicked off a new webinar series called "LWCF on the Ground" on July 15. The webinar series will inform individuals on how to access Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) funding and how to partner with organizations and agencies. The first webinar focused on federal land conservation projects and included presentations from the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The next webinar is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, September 16and will concentrate on the U.S Forest Service (USFS) and the Federal Land to Parks Program (FLP).
If you missed the U.S. Access Board's webinar, Accessible Pedestrian Trails and Shared Use Paths, you can now access the webinar recording and presentation materials in the archives.
Registration is open for the 2021 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Nashville, November 19-22. Take advantage of more than 100 education opportunities, allowing attendees to fulfill their professional development requirements in four days. See the seven education tracks which focus on subjects important to you - Design and the Creative Process; Design Implementation; Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Leadership, Career Development, and Business; Planning, Urban Design and Infrastructure; Resilience and Stewardship; and Technology. Register now to take advantage of the advance rate deadline which ends October 14. ASLA is excited to be able to have this event in person and connect members again! See ASLA President Tom Mroz, FASLA start his run to Nashville here.
