The Building Industry Association of Washington or BIAW is a Washington State section 501 non-profit organization formed in 1966 to represent the housing industry in the state of Washington. The largest trade organization in Washington State, BIAW's membership comprises about 8,000 member companies, home builders, trade contractors, suppliers and industry professionals.
Background
BIAW is the 3rd largest state association affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders. The Building Industry Association of Washington is the voice of the housing industry in the state of Washington. The association is dedicated to ensuring and enhancing the vitality of the building industry for the benefit of its members and the housing needs of the citizens. To accomplish this purpose, the association's primary focus is to educate, influence and affect the legislative, regulatory, judicial and executive agencies of Washington's government. The Building Industry Association of Washington will offer its membership those services which can best be provided on a statewide basis and will disseminate information concerning the building industry to all association members and the public.
BIAW maintains a for profit arm, BIAW Member Services Corporation is a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of BIAW formed in 1993. Their largest program, ROII Select: https://biaw.com/ROII, a Department of Labor and Industries' Retrospective Rating Program, known as Return on Industrial Insurance Program or Retro. Through Retro, participating employers can recover a portion of their workers' compensation premiums if they are able to reduce injury rates and lower associated claim costs. Of the 40-some Retro programs in the state, BIAW has the largest. Additional program offerings from BIAW and BIAW MSC include: Education: https://biaw.com/Education Health Insurance: https://biaw.com/Health_Insurance Legal: https://biaw.com/Legal Codes & Regulations: https://biaw.com/Codes Building Industry Insurance Program:https://biaw.com/BiiP
Campaign Financing
The BIAW uses PACs to fund various campaigns. BIAW has several PACs including the Washington Affordable Housing Council, "It's Time for a Change" and "Walking for Washington". The same legal contact information appears for all BIAW PACs. BIAW’s political action committee, the Washington Affordable Housing Council plays an active role in Washington state elections: investing time, energy, and money into promoting pro-business and pro-housing candidates. Electing supportive state officials is imperative to the building industry and the continued economic growth of our state. The BIAW has given funds to its local affiliates including the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, and the Home Builders Association of Kitsap County.
Legal challenges
In 2008 a letter to Attorney GeneralRob McKenna and three county prosecutors accused the BIAW of amassing $3.5 million in an illegal secret fund for its campaign to defeat Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. It also claims that the builders associations failed to properly register as "political committees" or report where the money is coming from. The accusation comes from a group led by two former Democratic state Supreme Court justicesFaith Ireland and Robert Utter. The group said it would sue if the government attorneys do not take action against the BIAW and two local builders associations. AG McKenna filed suit against the Building Industry Association of Washington’s Member Services Corporation for violating the state’s campaign finance disclosure law, which was settled September 24, 2010. Under the terms of the settlement filed in Thurston County Superior Court today, the BIAW-MSC was fined $584,000. The settlement requires BIAW-MSC to pay $242,000 in fines and an additional $50,000 in attorney fees within 30 days. As is common in these types of cases, the remaining $342,000 was suspended. BIAW MSC would have had to immediately owe the suspended amount if it is found to have committed any new campaign law violations between now and Dec. 31, 2016, which did not occur. BIAW MSC has paid its fines and the matter is settled.
BIAW Government Affairs exists to defend affordable housing for the citizens of Washington state. BIAW’s highly qualified staff and experienced team of lobbyists work on behalf of members to pass pro-housing and pro-business legislation, as well as defeat regulations harmful to the housing industry. BIAW works year-round to engage in relevant builder activities and provide regular participation in rule making and agency task forces. Through our grassroots alliance, BIAW has access to timely information and resources to help us be more successful advocates for our members. BIAW publishes a biennial “How They Voted” guide, a voting record of each legislator’s support for, or opposition to, issues important to the building industry. The guide is distributed to every BIAW member, making it a valuable resource in determining how their elected officials performed on housing.
