Our Membership is Our Strength

BAM: Advocate and Watchdog Article III, Section II

“Our Membership is Our Strength”

The Builders Association of Minnesota (BAM) had a successful Day at the Capitol, with our friends from the MN Association of Exterior Specialists (MNAES). On January 25, 2017, over 60 association members had meetings with their individual legislators to discuss ongoing policy priorities for Minnesota’s building industry, including increasing penalties for unlicensed builders, and changing to definition of the townhome from two-connected units, to three. In meetings with their legislators, members were able to gain support for these important initiatives. The relationships our members have with their legislators are vitally important to BAM’s success at the Minnesota State Capitol.

​BAM’s grassroots network is strong, and the support for our bills following Day at the Capitol is clear evidence of this strength. In follow-up conversations, legislators praised the professionalism, knowledge, and integrity demonstrated by BAM members, and joined in support of our bills. In the week after BAM’s Day at the Capitol, eighteen representatives signed on to BAM’s townhome definition bill (HF792/SF578), carried by Tama Theis (R, St. Cloud) and five Senators signed on to the Senate bill, carried by Sen. Rich Draheim (the maximum for the Senate!). Our membership is our strength, and the impact of your grassroots advocacy can’t be overstated.

​Day at the Capitol is just the beginning. Throughout the session, we encourage members to join us at the Capitol for more days of advocacy, and to maintain contact with their legislators. When bills are heard in committee and on the floor, we will need your to contact your legislators to encourage support. We aim to build as much political capital as possible with legislators, and having our members at the Capitol is a great way to do so. Day at the Capitol 2017 has come and gone, but the work is just beginning. Thank you, BAM members, for your ongoing involvement. It’s vital to our continued success, and essential to achieving our mission – to be the most respected industry in Minnesota.

​Be sure to stay in touch with your legislators throughout the session and year! If you’d like to find out who your legislators are, call the BAM offices at 651-646-7959, or log on to the Minnesota legislative website, and click “Who Represents Me?” Also, you can contact your local Executive Officer, or call the BAM offices to access the full delegation list for your association.