ACCA Now September/October 2020

Capitol Insights By Martin Hoover

Why Join ACCA-PAC?

few years and we may need different certifications, among other things. I certainly don’t want to be working in an explosive environment and I don’t want to be the guy that can’t sell a new air conditioner because I’m not certified or licensed to handle the new refrigerant. I don’t want to be in the dark about these issues and I want ACCA – our national trade association – to have a seat at the table when public officials are discussing these issues. The PAC helps ensure we have a seat at the table and enables staff to share with us well in advance what’s going on in Washington D.C. They protect us from getting blindsided with the next rule change or regulation. Every contractor needs to do their part and participate in ACCA- PAC so our team will have the tools and wherewithal to represent us and be our voice. Every now and then the Advocacy Committee may reach out and ask that you contact your Senator or Congressman. When they do you need to do it! Don’t sit around and think “oh well somebody else will do it”. You need to be in the game and step up to do your part. If you don’t, you sure don’t have any right to complain when things don’t go your way. I certainly don’t want to sit around and let folks that know nothing about my business and my customers make rules and policies that I have to abide by. Martin Hoover is president of Empire Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. in Decatur, GA, Member of the ACCA Board of Directors, Chairman of ACCA's Membership Committee, and ACCA-PAC Leadership Committee Chairman.

W hen I first learned of ACCA’s Political Action Committee (PAC) I was a bit put off and felt frustrated that I would have to pay to be part of the political process. I quickly got over that as I learned that being part of a PAC has big benefits well beyond contributing money to candidates for public office. As an HVAC contractor, politics has a big impact on business. For instance, the Department of Energy can decide what products I can offer, OSHA tries to tell me how many people I need on a job if we’re in a confined space, the Department of Labor tells me who can be on salary and who has to be hourly. The government also decides how pay has to be calculated and accounted for, what records I need to keep, and what funds are available to assist in training. The list can go on for pages and pages. Being involved with ACCA-PAC gives me a seat at the table when these issues are first being discussed. It gives me an opportunity to speak to politicians in more intimate settings and educate them about what life is like in our industry, how their deci- sions impact my business, and what’s best for our industry. We all know how crazy it was there for awhile with rules changing all the time and refrig- erant prices jumping all over the place. How about when it was being decided what efficiency equipment would be able to be installed in which zone of the country? Or the debates and misinformation about what mini- mum efficiencies should be? We are also in the stages of creat- ing the next refrigerant phasedown and discussing the future of refrig- erants. Most likely there will be a mildly-flammable refrigerants in a

What is ACCA-PAC? Established in 1977 ACCA-PAC is a voluntary, nonpartisan political action committee (PAC). The PAC allows ACCA members to pool per- sonal, voluntary financial contribu- tions to support candidates seeking elective office at the federal, state and local level, who support issues important to our members. ACCA-PAC is a great way to give back to our industry and the first step to doing that is signing your ACCA-PAC prior approval form. You can sign it online at https://acca-pac. mmp2.org/welcome/prior-approval. By signing it, it does not obligate you to contribute to ACCA-PAC, it just means that we can share infor- mation with you about ACCA-PAC Activities. If you have questions about ACCA-PAC email Alyx Simon at alyx.simon@acca.org. Join Me By Signing Your Prior Approval Form

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020