Congratulations on another successful CRA Tabletop Trade Show! Thanks to everyone who participated, especially Kelly Woods, Stephanie Clark, and Debbie Hathorne for a wonderful job of organizing the event; and of course, thanks to Larry Reinhard for emceeing. He always brings his "A Game".

Speaking of "A Games", the politicians are working endlessly espousing their political views and attributes. Many are in full damage control as they try to spin the negative comments which could hurt their chances in each new upcoming primary. With the advent of the internet and the smart phone, we can be anywhere in the world and still get up-to-date information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Times have certainly changed since I was a young man.

I remember I was on my way out the door one hot August day. I was eagerly anticipating pursuing my two favorite pastimes-chasing girls and chasing girls-when my dad stopped me and made me watch as Richard M. Nixon resigned the office of the presidency. He told me that I most likely would never witness an event like this again. So far, he has been right. I have always voted; but I have never watched any debate, contributed to any campaign, participated in any primary, or wrote to any of my elected representatives. Until the past few months, the most political thing I ever did was watch that press conference on August 9, 1974.

Our State Registration Committee worked tirelessly drafting a bill that would protect the consumer. We all anxiously anticipated the outcome. The bill was sponsored and had made it through the second reading when it was killed on the floor. The Republican Party made it into an immigration issue instead of the intended consumer protection law. Ironically, one of the representatives who was leading the charge to kill the bill was my state representative. I immediately fired off a letter to him; to this day, I have never received a response back. The Committee has recommended that we put re-introducing the bill on hold. The Board has accepted their recommendation and we will revisit it in the fall. This is by no means a dead issue. We will continue to fight until the bill is passed.

We are witnessing the most toxic political climate of our lifetime. Both parties have forgotten what is important and right. The Constitution states. . . . ."we the people" (our elected representatives) . . . . . "for the people" (us), yet there is no regard for the people. We all should become more educated and more involved, and write to our representatives to voice our opposition or support on important issues. It's time "we the people" take back our country.

Dan Zahtila
Black Roofing, Inc.
CRA President
dan@blackroofing.com

P.S. Please join us on February 16th for CRA's 11th Annual Awards Dinner. See details in this newsletter.

We are excited to invite you to our 11th Annual Celebration of the CRA Awards Dinner - an inspiring evening where we all can take the time to congratulate each other and ourselves on the difficult, complex, dangerous and exciting work we do every day!

This year's dinner is being held on February 16, 2012 at the Omni Interlocken Hotel located at 500 Interlocken Boulevard in Broomfield, CO. Cocktails at 5:30pm and Dinner at 7:00pm.

Click here for your invitation. We encourage you to join us on this night of celebrating the past eleven years and the Best in Colorado's roofing industry. The dinner has become a premier event to recognize the talent we have and great work we do. A night of honoring and sharing the exceptional "people and projects of the CRA" will be reenergizing and an inspiration to all!

Questions? Please call Debbie Hathorne today at 303-484-0549 or email her at debbie@coloradoroofing.org.

The Colorado General Assembly convened on January 11, 2012 under the gold-plated dome at 5,280 feet in elevation, where our elected officials will be working their hearts out until adjourning on my birthday, May 9th.

As members may already be aware, the CRA has opted this year not to pursue the Roofer Registration bill that DORA supported and we forwarded with Senator Tochtrop in 2011. It was agreed that an effort to push for more regulation during an election year would most likely not be productive. The legislation held sound principles that would have put in place a uniform process to ensure that roofing contractors were operating under a minimum set of professional standards, as well as protect the public from those who did not meet those criteria or who chose to operate in unscrupulous ways.

Our sponsor, Senator Tochtrop, felt strongly enough about the bill's consumer protection aspects, that she has decided to sponsor a re-worked version of our bill in the form of SB12-038. Requirements in this new legislation cover residential roofing contractors and some specific contract language. A written contract including scope of work, materials to be used, cost of same, the contractor's contact information, cancellation policy & a rescission clause would be required. The bill also enforces that roofing contractors cannot promise to pay, waive or rebate an insurance deductible if the roof is being completed through an insurance claim. Please review the bill itself for specifics.

The CRA will support Senator Tochtrop's bill as a stepping stone to (or from) the efforts which we had in place last year. Our GR/Registration Committee will re-visit the idea of pursuing Registration as 2012 progresses.

In other corners of the Capitol…

Rumor has it that there may be a new Construction Defect bill surfacing this session. Such legislation will probably seek to provide for the payment of attorneys' fees to homeowners and homeowners associations who are involved in construction defect litigation.

In light of the failure of our Registration bill last year, it will interesting to watch House Bill 1137, an attempt to register Music Therapists. And HB12-1210 would allow professionals from out of state who are in good standing, to practice their profession for up to 1 year in Colorado without getting registered, certified or licensed as required in our State. They would have to apply for the license or registration within 30 days of 'engaging in practice' in Colorado, but this legislation is deemed to be 'necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health & safety'.

HB12-1111 is an effort to require photo ID for voting, while SB12-50 would prohibit photo red-light ticketing and last but not least, HB12-1147 is a push for the Western Tiger Salamander to the become the State Amphibian!

It's amazing what you discover when you peruse the General Assembly website, which is currently hovering around 350 new bills for legislators to fight about. Best of luck to them, and please remember to do your part and BE a part of the process! Let them hear from you - and as always, I'm happy to hear from you anytime with questions or concerns!

~Amy Hawkins

# # # # #

CRA Government Relations Committee
Amy Hawkins, Boulder Roofing, Ph: 303.443.4646 / Email: amy@boulderroof.com
Dave Green, Black Roofing, Inc. Ph: 303.49.51767 / Email: dave@blackroofing.com
Rick Rosendahl, B&M Roofing of Colorado, Ph: 303.443.5843 / Email: rrosendahl@bmroofing.com

CRA ITEMS TO NOTE

IRS Issues Guidance on W-2 Reporting, D&D Receives Honors from Carlisle, Correction: Smartvent Approved for Use in Boulder

IRS Issues Guidance on W-2 Reporting

On January 3, 2012, the IRS issued additional interim guidance on the W-2 reporting requirement that is part of health care reform. In this guidance, the IRS confirms that employers filing fewer than 250 W-2s are not required to report the value of health benefits. This guidance extends that relief until further guidance is issued.. We recommend you check with your CPA to see how these interium requirments will affect your company.

Carlisle Honors D & D Roofing, Inc. for 1,000 “Perfect 10” Roofing Installations

Carlisle, PA – D & D Roofing, Inc. was recently honored by Carlisle SynTec Incorporated for achieving the third tier of Carlisle’s Hall of Fame Quality Recognition Program, the completion of 1,000 “Perfect 10” roofing installations. This acknowledgement of roofing achievement was awarded during a recent presentation in Lakewood, CO. The event was attended by representatives from D & D Roofing, Inc. (Bill Barnes, John Beckham, Sean Beckham, Chris Frey, Rob McReynolds, Mike Ortega, Jeff, Roy, Ken Schmitt, Kerry Schmitt, Brian Walters, and Mike Weaver); Allied Building Products (Slate Baker, Greg Ham, Terry Leavitt, Gladys Mueller, and Jack Walker); and Carlisle SynTec Incorporated (Chuck Pruitt, John Souders, and Joe Stassi).

To be eligible for Hall of Fame status, Carlisle contractors must complete at least 250 “Perfect 10” single-ply roofing installations. Prior to the issuance of Carlisle’s membrane system warranty, projects must be inspected by a Carlisle technical representative. Each project is thoroughly reviewed for conformity to specifications, details and workmanship. At the inspection’s conclusion, the technical representative rates the project’s roofing installation on a scale of 1 to 10; 10 being virtually error-free.

Four tiers exist in Carlisle’s contractor Hall of Fame: 250 “Perfect 10s”; 500 “Perfect 10s”; 750 “Perfect 10s”; and 1,000 “Perfect 10s”. Carlisle SynTec Incorporated, which has more than 2,700 authorized applicators, recognizes the Hall of Fame as one of the most distinguished awards earned by a roofing company.

Correction - Smartvent is approved for use in Boulder

For a few days last month, the January 2012 Newsletter had an article posted that Boulder did not allow the use of SmartVents. This was inaccurate information and was removed from the newsletter. Here is the revised noticed that went out to contractors from the City of Boulder in October 2011 allowing the use of the DCI Smartvent.

RE: DCI Smartvent Continuous Intake Vent (under shingle)

A letter produced by our office on August 24,2011 referenced wind speed and fire classification limitations of the International Code Council (ICC) Evaluation Service, Evaluation Report to specify that the above-referenced vent product was not approved for use in Boulder since the local wind speed and fire classifications are beyond the approval scope of the evaluation report.

Further research of the acceptance criteria for attic vents has shown that the scope of attic vent approvals are limited to maximum basic wind speeds of 100 miles per hour (mph) and locations not requiring a fire-resistance rating. Since there are so few ventilation products evaluated and approved for wind speeds greater than 100 mph or for fire-resistance rated roofs we have had to reconsider the policy of referencing evaluation report limitations for determining if a vent is approved for use in Boulder.

The Smartvent manufacturer has provided independent test reports evaluating dynamic water penetration (Dade County Protocol PA100), ice-damming and self-ignition temperature. The test reports support the vent manufacturer's request to allow the vent product to be approved for use in Boulder. Based on a thorough review of the test reports the city has decided to allow the use of the Smartvent Continuous Intake Vent.

Respectfully,
Kirk Moors
Acting Chief Building Official
City of Boulder, Colorado

TRADE SHOW - Recap

CRA's Annual Tradeshow sets record attendance for 3rd year in a row. . .

On Thursday, January 19th, the CRA hosted over 645 people for the CRA Trade Show and complimentary luncheon. What a crowd! Attendees included contractors, consultants, homebuilders and building owners from all across the state. Exhibit tables were maxed out and we've received positive feedback from the majority of vendors as well.

This year, we featured a seminar in conjunction with the Trade Show entitled "Residential Fall Protection," a pre-show seminar presented by in conjunction with the Denver Area OSHA Office. Over 90 attendees sat in on the seminar that focused on practical ways to stay in compliance, including information about new residential fall protection products and technologies. Feedback was good and attendees were pleased with the presentation. We thank OSHA for a job well done!

Thank you to our exhibitors who showcased their products and who make our Trade Show a success each year. The product and service information along with the fun give-away items are always enjoyed and appreciated.

Once again, we would also like to thank those of you who took the time to fill out the member questionnaire. Your responses are helpful in looking at the year ahead and valued for the importance of gaining knowledge on what's working and not working. Those who filled out the surveys were entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $100 Gift Certificate to Bass Pro. We are pleased to announce that Mike Gardner with WJE was the lucky winner.

Finally, thank you to our Trade Show Committee who organized this year's Trade Show -- Kelly Woods, RSG; Stephanie Clark, ABC Supply, Dan Zahtila of Black Roofing and Jeff Sykes of ACH Foam Technologies.

The Trade Show is the first of many "positives" we hope that 2012 will bring to Colorado's roofing industry. We thank you for attending and look forward to repeating it all again next January.

Debbie Hathorne
CRA Executive Director

NEW MEMBER BENEFITS ... Adding Value through membership.

The Colorado Roofing Association is proud to announce a new value added membership benefit. . . Discounted Credit Card Processing & Payroll Processing. Through this new preferred vendor partnership with Heartland Payment Systems, the CRA has pre-negotiated rates that will provide our members with special pricing, thus reducing your costs and adding to your bottom line.

Credit Card Processing

• Fair Full Disclosure Pricing - 5 Basis Point Savings
  - No Surcharging
  - Interchange Pass-through pricing
  - 100% of the Durbin Debit Card Savings Pass-through
• Processing of all major card brands with next day funding
• Free - Easy Account Management with On-Line Merchant Center $99.00 Annual Value
• Free - Waived Annual Fee - $99.00 Value
• Free - Waived Application Fee $99.00 Value
• HPS-Connect Web Interface - Process cards in the field - Special $99.00 Save $50.00
• Equipment provided to members at cost
• Evergreen - Two sided contract guaranteeing our processing rates for continued savings
• Mobuyle Payments- Charge your customer's credit card from your smart phone while you are on site. Secure Encryption. Call for a detailed list of smart phones and phone service providers. Special pricing for CRA members.

Payroll Processing

• No Fees for Employee Additions or Deletions
• Web- Hosted access to payroll via secure encrypted technology
• Dedicated, skilled account reps are assigned directly to your account and are available through our U.S. based Help Desk
• Detailed Reporting
• Quarterly and Annual State and Federal Tax Filings
• No Fees for Direct Deposit of payroll checks
• No Fees for Visa Payday Card - Any employee who wishes to have their payroll check deposited onto a Visa Payday card - reducing the employees cost of cashing paper checks - entitles employees immediate access to their funds
• Members will receive a 30 % discount for payroll services when they make the decision to use Heartland Plus One Payroll

Click here for an informational flyer or to receive more information or a free no hassle pricing quote, contact Debbie Jacobs of Heartland Payment Systems by Cell 303-587-7793 or Fax 303-771-1476.

Safety Corner:

Avoid On-the-Job Injuries with Slips, Trips & Falls Prevention Toolkit

CRA Safety Group members met in January and as would be expected from our industry, "Slips, Trips and Falls" tops the list of workers' comp injuries reported last year. Here is our reminder to all of our members to brush up with a Safety Talk on Slips and Falls. For those members who use Pinnacol Assurance, here is a toolkit that you can benefit from.

In the American workplace, accidents involving slips, trips, and falls account for approximately 300,000 disabling injuries per year. Pinnacol Assurance offers a comprehensive safety awareness program to help employers hold the line on slips, trips, and falls throughout the year. Our "Slips, Trips, & Falls Prevention Toolkit," which is available on the Resources section of Pinnacol.com, contains tools and tactics you can use year round to prevent slips, trips, and falls in your workplace.

The toolkit contains a variety of helpful materials, including:

• Discussion leader's guide - This guide provides step-by-step instructions to help you prepare for safety meetings with your employees. It is designed for use with the one-page Safety Talks included in the toolkit.
• Safety Talks - There are 12 different Safety Talks for use at safety meetings. The first page of each Safety Talk provides tips on facilitating the meeting. On the back of the talk are management recommendations.
• Safety incentive program tips - Information on setting up safety incentive programs that make a difference.
• Facilities checklist - This checklist will help identify slip, trip, and fall hazards in your workplace so they can be eliminated.
• Employee PowerPoint presentation - This presentation, suitable for all employees, is contained in the Loss Prevention CD, which is part of the toolkit.
• Facilitator's guide for employee presentation - There also is a facilitator's guide in the toolkit to help you present the PowerPoint to your employees.
• Posters - Four posters are included in the toolkit - one for each quarter of the year. The posters cover some of the same topics as the Safety Talks.
• Paycheck stuffers - There are 12 of these for inclusion with employees' paychecks. Like the posters, the information in the stuffers reiterates the messages contained in the Safety Talks.

Everyone benefits from a safer work environment. So be sure to get your toolkit and use it to decrease work-related injuries from slips, trips, and falls, increase employee morale, and reduce workers' compensation insurance costs. Go to www.pinnacol.com or contact your worker's comp representative today.

SEMINAR OPPORTUNITY: OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Seminar

OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Seminar

ITEMS TO NOTE . . . FROM ACROSS THE NATION

The construction economy continues to send mixed signals as we approach the traditional start of the roofing season. Consensus is that commercial and industrial roofing grew about 12 percent in 2011 compared with 2010 with prospects for a slightly better 2012.

FMI, a leading industry forecaster, projects an increase of 6 percent in nonresidential construction, which includes construction of all types, not just buildings. FMI also sees a 12 percent increase in residential construction though much of that is led by multifamily building.

There appear to be several reasons for an improving housing market. Houses are more affordable; mortgage rates remain at historically low levels; foreclosure numbers are beginning to level off; investors are looking to acquire rental properties; and there has been an increase in foreign investors-especially where price erosion has been the greatest.

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) predicts private construction spending will advance on the heels of declining public construction spending. "The first half of 2012 may be particularly challenging, a reflection of the soft patch in economic activity experienced in much of the first half of 2011," an ABC spokesman says. ABC believes the driving force for construction spending will be the energy sector followed by manufacturing and health care; spending in the education sector is expected to decline.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports construction employment totaled about 5.5 million in 2011, up just less than 1 percent on an annual basis but still 2.2 million (28 percent) below the April 2006 peak.

And the Construction Labor Research Council reported first-year increases for construction union wage and fringe benefit settlements negotiated in 2011 averaged 73 cents, or 1.7 percent, compared with 80 cents, or 1.7 percent, in 2010 and $1.23, or 2.8 percent, in 2009. More than two-thirds of wage and fringe benefits are now only for one year.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published its Top 10 list of the most frequently cited violations for fiscal year 2011, covering the period of Oct. 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2011. The list:

1. Fall protection
2. Scaffolding
3. Hazard communication
4. Respiratory protection
5. Lockout/tagout
6. Electrical-wiring methods
7. Powered industrial trucks
8. Ladders
9. Electrical-general requirements
10. Machine guarding

During that period, OSHA issued 6,186 "serious" and 67 "willful" citations for fall protection. Contractors should be prepared for more roof-related fall-protection inspections with new residential fall-protection rules in place.

Another new federal regulation to be aware of: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, part of the Department of Transportation, has issued a final rule prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using handheld cell phones while operating vehicles. The rule, as NRCA understands it, applies to truck drivers who operate across state lines and those carrying hazardous materials within a single state. Penalties are severe: up to $2,750 per violation. And as you might imagine, the rule is complicated. As just one example, a driver may use a hands-free phone but may not reach for a phone.

NRCA won a small, but important, victory in January when the National Labor Relations Board announced it is postponing-until April 30-its new regulation that will require employers to post a notice of employee rights in the workplace. The rule originally was scheduled to take effect Nov. 14, 2011, but was delayed until Jan. 31 because of pending legal challenges, including a suit filed by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, of which NRCA is a member.

Some changes to keep in mind that may affect your 2012 tax bill:

• The maximum 401(k) contribution this year is $17,000-a $500 increase from 2011. If you were born before 1963, the number goes to as much as $22,500.
• The Social Security wage base is $110,100-up by $3,300.
• The estate tax exemption is increased, by inflation, to $5.12 million.

A new tax credit is available to companies that hire unemployed veterans. The size of the credit depends on the length of the veteran's unemployment; it's 40 percent of the first $14,000 of pay for veterans who were jobless for at least six months in the year before they were hired and 40 percent of the first $6,000 of salary for those out of work between four weeks and six months. The tax credit applies for veterans who began work between Nov. 21, 2011, and Jan. 1, 2013.

NRCA prepares to celebrate 125 years at their Annual Convention and International Roofing Expo (IRE) this month in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 20-24, 2012. And as part of NRCA's 125th anniversary promotion, they are offering IRE attendees the chance to win $125 in the NRCA Money Booth. Visit NRCA's booth, No. 443, to see what's new from NRCA.

NRCA will be introducing two important new publications at the IRE. The first is NRCA Guidelines for Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems, which provides best practices for the design and application of asphalt shingle roof systems. The second is Guidelines for Energy Code Compliance for Roof Systems, which includes a step-by-step guide for complying with new codes.

OSHA announces training providers for online courses

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced its selection of 10 OSHA authorized training providers to deliver 25 online courses as part of its Outreach Training Program. Click here for more details.

Register for NRLRC's code compliance webinar

And the National Roofing Legal Resource Center is offering a webinar entitled "Liability for Code Compliance: Who is Responsible?" Wednesday, Feb. 15, beginning at noon CST. The webinar will last 75 minutes; it is free to NRLRC members and $75 for nonmembers. Topics to be addressed include changes to existing codes, design liability risks and a contractor's potential liability when a job has been negotiated directly with an owner. To register, visit www.nrlrc.net or call Anne Schroeder at (847) 299-9092. . Click here for full details.

The Colorado Association has partnered with NRCA, one of the construction industries oldest and most respected trade associations to bring you the latest roofing publications, DVDs, educational webinars and other NRCA products. CRA receives a commission on items purchased through the "CRA Bookstore" which in turn will help fund the CRA educational opportunities and pin-point seminars we provide to you, our members, each year.

NRCA Construction Details CD

NRCA has made available The NRCA Construction Details CD -- 2012. With 573 customizable details from The NRCA Roofing Manual, the CD can be used with AutoCAD software to customize plans to fit your specific project needs. It contains construction details included in The NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep-slope Roof Systems -- 2009; The NRCA Roofing Manual: Architectural Metal Flashing, Condensation Control and Reroofing-2010; The NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems -- 2011; and The NRCA Roofing Manual: Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems -- 2012.

The NRCA member price for the insurance guide is $295, and the retail price is $395.

Click here to purchase or for more details on the publication or contact NRCA's Customer Service Department at (866) ASK-NRCA (275-6722).