HUB / PAC

Nearly 380 people have registered to lobby West Virginia's Legislature in 2010, nearly three times the number of House of Delegates and state Senate members. More than 480 businesses, associations and special interest groups are represented and sixteen lobbyists started the session without being affiliated with any particular employer.

Contractors can feel confident in the fact that the CAWV and its political action committee, HUB/PAC (Highway-Utility-Building Political Action Committee) are at the Capitol making sure that among all the chatter, the construction industry is heard.

Government regulations and reliance on state and federal funding levels are nothing new for this industry. HUB/PAC works to ensure candidates are elected which will give contractors a fair hearing on industry issues.

“Of the numerous groups that are represented before the WV Legislature, some are totally aligned with our ideology, others are in partial agreement with our industry, but some are totally adverse to our position,” said HUB/PAC Board of Trustees Chairman Jim Ahern. “HUB/PAC, which represents only the viewpoint of the state’s construction industry plays a major role in activities at the Capitol.”

For many years, it was believed that it was “good business” to stay neutral in political issues. Just “hoping” that construction receives adequate funding levels is not enough. HUB/PAC, which began 30 years ago, works to ensure that construction is adequately funded by providing a unified voice to contractors’ issues at the state Capitol.

By working to ensure that candidates are elected to the legislature by making contributions to their campaigns, HUB/PAC makes it a little easier for them to run for office. Because of the support HUB/PAC receives from association members, the influence and impact that it has at the Capitol has grown over the past 30 years.

“Funding is a big issue in our industry,” said Mike Gianni, The James White Construction Company, Weirton. “Without money to pay for the sewer jobs, road jobs and development jobs there are no construction jobs. With the support of CAWV members, HUB/PAC has an opportunity to support candidates who will listen to us when funding is available so our industry is getting our share of it.”

The committee was established in 1980 following the West Virginia Election Reform Law which included a provision allowing organizations and corporations to establish PACs to solicit contributions from stockholders, executives and administrative personnel and their families. When HUB/PAC was formed, it was one of the first PACs to organize in the state. It is now one of nearly 400 PACs which are contributing to candidates running for seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate.

“In the 2008 General Election, HUB/PAC contributed $55,000 to West Virginia’s legislators,” Ahern said. “Legislators backed by HUB/PAC were mostly successful in their bids to the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. In Senate races, HUB/PAC won all but one of the seats it endorsed (17 out of 18 races). In the House of Delegates, 88 percent of the candidates supported by HUB/PAC won election (61 out of 69 races). That is a pretty good track record, and it only happened because of the financial support of CAWV members” he noted.

In addition to an impressive election record, HUB/PAC touts a respective list of accomplishments that have shaped the construction industry and positioned it to weather economic storms. Accomplishments include:

Passage of legislation to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund by raising the wholesale gas tax rate calculation floor and preventing a loss of $23 million, allowing the transfer of $27 million allotted to the WVDOH by the WV Legislature and eliminating the 2013 expiration date of the “temporary” 5 cent tax component that began in 1993 keeping it at a permanent 20.5 cents per gallon.
S.B. 297, which passed during the 2008 regular session, allows the School Building Authority of West Virginia to use their pay-as-you-go lottery funds as debt service on nearly $200 million in bonds adding over $1 billion to the state’s economy. This effort stopped the boom-bust cycle of school construction by generating a predictable and regular construction program for the state’s schools.
The Infrastructure & Jobs Development Council (IJDC) was created to establish a revolving loan fund for development of water, wastewater and economic development projects through the issuance of bonds. The IJDC is a clearinghouse for distribution of the money in the fund to water infrastructure projects statewide.
Creation of the School Building Authority in 1989 to facilitate and provide state funds for the construction and maintenance of school facilities to meet the educational needs of the people of the state in an efficient and economical manner.
Had integral influence over crane operator certification requirements, ensuring that regulations are workable for West Virginia’s contractors and do not impose undue burdens on the industry.
Ensuring that environmental rules and regulations are balanced with the needs of the quarry industry throughout the years, including a rewrite of regulations and updates to various rules.
Funding for higher education, regional jails and state parks have all been influenced by HUB/PAC along with rules pertaining to competitive bidding, Design-Build, Public Private Partnerships, Construction Management, Abandoned Mine Lands, State Purchasing rules and procedures, Workers’ Compensation, drug and alcohol testing and tax reform.

“Our industry is directly affected by the legislative process,” said CAWV President David Alvarez. “We have got to remain vigilant and invested in the political system so that we can have an impact on the future of construction and infrastructure investment in the state of West Virginia.”

HUB/PAC is governed by a Board of Trustees who determine the political candidates, organizations, issues and activities the group will support or oppose in the upcoming elections.

“We look for candidates who are knowledgeable about the issues which influence businesses in West Virginia,” said Ahern. “Each candidate is reviewed carefully to determine who will receive HUB/PAC support.”

For incumbent legislators running for re-election, past actions and voting records are reviewed. For candidates who challenge an incumbent legislator, or in races where there is no incumbent, support is based on other indicators.

“Our goal is to elect people we can contact when faced with legislation that will have either positive or negative impact on the industry,” said Alvarez. “Today=s political climate makes it imperative that we help elect candidates to the West Virginia Legislature whose overall philosophy reflects the understanding that investment in infrastructure is crucial to future economic development and jobs.”

The Political Action Committee is gearing up for the 2010 election cycle which will occur in May and November. There will be many new candidates as some of the industry’s long-term supporters have announced plans to retire.

“We have already begun the process of examining each candidate’s record and choosing who to endorse and support,” said Ahern. “HUB/PAC will play a major role in this election if we can raise enough money to support the candidates who will, in turn, support us.”

The PAC can contribute up to $1,000 per candidate per election cycle.

Members can contribute to HUB/PAC and make suggestions about candidates to support throughout the year. Every stockholder, executive and administrative personnel and their families can donate to the political action committee. The only restriction is that contributions must be made by personal check. No corporate checks can be accepted.

For more information on donating to HUB/PAC contact Mike Clowser at 304-342-1166.