Government Affairs Committee Functions
Committee Members And Organization The Committee Chair shall be appointed by the Section Chair. The Vice Chair shall be appointed by the Committee Chair with the advice and consent of the Section Chair Elect. The Vice Chair may succeed the outgoing Committee Chair subject to the approval of the Section Chair. The committee shall consist of the Committee Chair, Committee Vice Chair, a liaison to the Maryland Board of Certification, a liaison to the Delaware Board of Certification, and a minimum of three (3) other members to be selected by the Committee Chair. The Committee Chair shall also serve as a member of the Section's Publications Committee.
Committee Functions
The committee shall keep abreast of impending Federal, State and Local legislation that may be introduced or that is being actively considered in the various legislative bodies within the Section boundaries that could have a significant impact on the water works industry. The committee shall also keep in contact with and cooperate with the AWWA Director of Government Affairs covering the federal government activities on water. The committee shall report on such legislation to the Section Officers and Board of Trustees and make recommendations through the Section Chair for appropriate action.
Duties involve establishing lines of communication with the various elected officials, legislative committees and staff to enable prompt access to information on impending legislation and providing expert testimony at public hearings on matters affecting the water supply industry, including operator certification.
The committee shall also be responsible for promoting operator certification and for monitoring legislative matters pertaining to operator certification in the Section. It shall be the particular responsibility of the committee liaisons to the state boards of certification to attend as many of the meetings of these Boards as possible to represent the interests of Section operators in certification matters. The liaisons shall also be responsible for tracking regulatory actions involving operator certification and seeing that these actions are published in the Section's newsletter.
The committee shall, in cooperation with the Publications Committee, prepare an annual legislative newsletter and/or any appropriate newsworthy article for publication in the Section's newsletter. The Government Affairs Committee Chair shall serve as the co-editor of the legislative newsletter.
