Jeff Johnson Comic Series, July 1956

Texas Architect magazine debuted the "Jeff Johnson, Architect" comic in April 1956. The comic, which was based on an architect, was created by David C. Baer, II, commercial artist and son of TA's former editor, David C. Baer. Patrick J. Nicholoson, consultant to TSA, collaborated on the series. Architectural Forum ran the cartoon in its publication in the fall of 1956.

The comic will appear once a month on the TSA blog until the end of the series. Enjoy!

July 1956

Advocacy Update

David Lancaster

TSA Senior Manager of Advocacy

Since we’ve been posting a lot lately…because there has been a lot of action the past two weeks…the "news” portion of this will be only briefly bulleted. Here’s the status of our priority legislation as of 4 pm Friday, May 27:

• HB 2284, the A/E scope-of-practice “peace bill”—passed 5/25, headed to Governor
• HB 628, the Alternative Project Delivery consolidation bill—conference committee report written, awaiting placement on the Items Eligible list for approval in both chambers…its prospects are good
• HB 51, High Performance Building Standards bill—passed 5/27, headed to Governor
• HB 1728, Energy Performance Contracts bill—passed 5/26, headed to Governor
• HB 2093, the bill amended to include a prohibition against broad-form indemnification clauses—conference committee report written, awaiting placement on the Items Eligible list for approval in both chambers…its prospects are improving

(You can also read Yvonne Castillo's article in CheckSet next week for more detail about general categories of legislation we impacted, and we’ll follow up with a complete report shortly after this session adjourns Sine Die on Monday.)

Now…for the editorial part of this report. I have either reported on or been a lobbyist in every legislative session since 1977, and I’m here to tell you the 2011 edition was truly “unique”…to be euphemistic. (Think Chinese proverb, “May you live in interesting times”…and how that can mean anything.) Yesterday, I watched something unfold that I never expected to witness in my lobbying career—a direct hit on the “Go Along-Get-Along, Good Ol’ Boy” culture of the Texas House.

Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest serving female member of the House made a personal privilege speech that shook the House. (Want to watch it, check out this YouTube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKf-6WiBq_Q). When it was over, she received supportive comments from a number of her House “sisters,” then the (male) head of the Democratic caucus announced the creation of a task force of male Ds to address Miss T’s concerns and invited the Republican caucus to identify several male members of that group to join the “D-men” in coming up with solutions…and quickly.

We’ve noted in previous posts that there has been more tension this year than in previous sessions, whether from the strain of a huge budget shortfall, more partisanship due to the Republican’s super-majority in the House (not to mention a 19-12 margin in the Senate and all the statewide offices), or trying to protect their electoral futures during re-districting. Gender politics wasn’t the radar screen, though, until yesterday…but it arrived in a big way. It was certainly bi-partisan, so it looks like it’s here to stay, if not all, at least in part.

I’ve seen many changes over the last 30+ years, most of them significant improvements. Now, I believe I’ve seen them all! Check out the video…you will, too.

(Despite the jokes we like to tell on ourselves to maintain our “wild and wooly ballot-box-packin’ reputation,” our government is arguably the most open, fair and transparent in the nation. And even with increases in partisanship over the past decade, I honestly believe we’re affected less by it than most others.)

Texas Architect Contributor: Paul Lodholz, AIA

Paul Lodholz, AIA is a senior principal with Ziegler Cooper Architects and heads its Worship Place Studio, which revolves around numerous religious and non-profit clients. A resident of Houston since 1976, Paul is a former partner with Gerald Tackett and a former assistant professor at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. With his wife, Joetta, he has enjoyed the many blessings of life in Houston, including raising four wonderful children and settling into being a grandparent, which is easily the most fun of all the fun one could have. See his Backpage article on page 80.

Advocacy Update

David Lancaster

TSA Manager of Advocacy

The 134th day of our 140-day session was almost a spectacularly successful, historically memorable one…what with the Senate passage of three priority items—HB 2284, our “A/E resolution” bill, HB 628, the Alternative Project Delivery consolidation bill, and HB 1728, which includes the IRS 179D tax credit amendments limited to K-12 facility waivers. Rep. Rick Hardcastle has already said he will encourage his House colleagues to concur with the Senate changes to HB 2284; the same is true of Rep. Jim Keffer, the author of HB 1728.

A controversial amendment (two really) was added to HB 628. This bill will definitely be going to a conference committee to work out the differences...although, worst case scenario, at least one of the parties that's been involved throughout the negotiations may just walk away from the table and focus on simply killing the bill from this point. It will take a lot of work for HB 628 to wind up on the Governor's desk. 

However, concurrence looks like a much better possibility for HB 2284 and 1728...and (hopefully) HB 2093, too. That last one is where Sen. Robert Duncan added most of what was in SB 361, a bill providing indemnification protections for the design and construction industry that we've been supporting all session.

(HB 2284 is, of course, the AE "Peace" bill that passed the Senate today and now awaits concurrence in the House. We believe it is likely to be on the Governor's desk before the session ends.)

After thinking it was dead because it hadn't been reported as coming out of committee in time, we now know that HB 51 is still alive. This is the High Performance Standards bill, and it includes our "comprehensive" 179D tax credit amendment that includes all levels of government. Our primary focus tomorrow will be helping ensure Sen. Hinojosa is recognized to bring it up for a vote...because tomorrow is the last day for the Senate to pass a bill or resolution (for the first time).

Soooo...if we can strip the bad amendments from 628 (and the "wavering" negotiators don't switch their focus to just killing It)...and we get HB 51 out of the Senate...we may well be on our way to an incredibly, spectacularly successful session! Until this year, I never thought we'd ever approach the success achieved in 1989, when we got both our practice act and lien law...but even that could be surpassed this year.

The next 3-4 days will decide how this session will rank in TSA history, but it has to be considered a success regardless given our AE resolution, plus the likelihood of the tax credit language and indemnification protections being added. (BTW...we may get another "business" bonus if SB 1811 isn't amended to strip an amendment that would disallow state entities from using sovereign immunity as a defense in breach of contract suits. That will be a more difficult change to keep...but it's not impossible.)

Hope this isn't too much "inside baseball" jargon...if it is, please forgive me. Questions? Call us, but be prepared to hear even more technical terms, acronyms, etc. We've been living and breathing this stuff--intensely--for the last two weeks, so be patient...and ask lots of questions.

Week 18: Advocacy Update

Yvonne Castillo
TSA General Counsel

Last week we activated our grassroots efforts twice on (1) a proposal that would have consolidated the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners with the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and (2) another proposal that would have created a statewide stock school plans program. Thanks to those of you who participated in our grassroots alert! You voice made a difference and helped us defeat both…at least for now. There’s a week left in the Session and anything could happen.

On another note, we’ve been successful in getting some favorable language added to three separate bills that will help design professionals who choose to pursue federal tax deduction opportunities that were authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. One of which, I’ll admit, surprised me – House Bill 51 – the sustainable design bill. I personally didn’t think that the bill had a chance this Session because of past fiscal concerns and the dire economic budget climate, but indeed the bill has passed the House and the Senate Committee and is moving to the Senate Floor for the full Senate’s consideration.

Lastly, Senate Committee Substitute for HB 2284 is 91% through the process of passage. This is the bill that has been negotiated between the Texas Society of Architects, Texas Society of Professional Engineers and the Council of Engineering Companies. It was voted out of the Senate Committee on Saturday morning (May 21st) and will likely be passed out of the Senate Local Calendar very soon. This bill attempts to clarify the demarcation between architecture and engineering and creates a one-year window for engineers (licensed as of January 1, 2011) to apply to the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners to be on a list of engineers who are authorized to practice architecture without regulatory oversight of the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners.

For information on any of these bills or issues, don’t hesitate to contact me, David Lancaster (Sr. Manager of Advocacy) or Ted Kozlowski (Administrative Assistant for Advocacy) at 512-478-7386.

2011 Gulf Coast Green

Gulf Coast Green 2011

Leading in a Challenging Climate

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

United Way of Greater Houston 

50 Waugh Drive

Houston, TX

Up to 6 AIA CEU credit hours available.

Details and Registration

ONLINE REGISTRATION CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT

2011 TSA Design Awards Announced

2011 TSA Design Awards Announcement Sponsored by

www.pharrandcompany.com

Twelve of 257 entries were selected for 2011 TSA Design Awards on May 20. Winning projects will be recognized at a ceremony in Dallas during the TSA Convention, Oct. 27-29. 

Jurors were David Salmela, FAIA, of Salmela Architects in Duluth, Minn.; Steve Dumez, FAIA, of Eskew+Dumez+Ripple in New Orleans; and James S. Russell, FAIA, architecture critic for Bloomberg News in New York City. Awarded projects will be featured in the September/October issue of Texas Architect.

A special thank you to Blackson Brick, the 2011 Design Awards Jury sponsor.

2011 Design Awards:



• Arizona State University Polytechnic Academic Building (Mesa, Ariz.) by Lake/Flato Architects and RSP Architects

• Armstrong Oil & Gas Heaquarters (Denver, Colo.) by Lake/Flato Architects and Bothwell Davis George Architects

• Arthouse at the Jones Center (Austin, Texas) by LTL Architects

• Brockman Hall for Physics (Houston, Texas) by Kieran Timberlake

• Brown Residence (Scottsdale, Ariz.) by Lake/Flato Architects

• Cabin on Flathead Lake (Polson, Mont.) by Andersson Wise Architects

• Cutting Horse Ranch (Cross Timbers Region, Texas) by Lake/Flato Architects

• Full Goods (San Antonio, Texas) by Lake/Flato Architects in association with DHR Architects

• Rainwater Court (Mahiga, Nairobi area, Kenya) by Dick Clark Architecture in association with Architecture for Humanity

• Sam Houston Tollway Northwest Main Lane Plaza and Exit Toll (Houston, Texas) by RdlR Architects

• Singing Bell Ranch (Hunt County, Texas) by Max Levy Architects

• Sisters' Retreat (Austin, Texas) by Mell Lawrence Architects