Wood Seeks Favoritism in California Construction

Words: Julie TrostGet used to hearing about AB 2842. On February 16, 2018, this bill was introduced in the California legislature.

The especially troubling language is bolded for emphasis:
  • This bill would require GO-Biz [aka the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development] to work with state academic institutions and certification organizations to perform additional product testing that accelerates the development, use, or commercialization of new wood products, as provided.
  • This bill would require the [California Building Standards Commission] to work with local planning offices, developers, and architects to consider the feasibility of expanding the use of wood and mass timber in California buildings. The bill would require the commission to identify additional seismic, fire, or other testing of mass timber that is necessary for the use of mass timber in building construction.
  • This bill would require the [Department of Forestry and Fire Protection] to develop the California Wood Innovations Small Grants Program to provide grants and low-interest loans or loan guarantees, upon appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes [purposes such as employment in rural and urban areas and economic development for rural communities], to entities that expand the use of wood products and increase in-state wood product processing and manufacturing, as provided.
  • This bill would appropriate $20,000,000 to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development for purposes of providing grants, loans, and loan guarantees for projects that add mobile or stationary sawmill capacity for the in-state processing and production of wood products from forest and vegetation management projects that are intended to reduce the risk and intensity of wildfires.
The bill's author (Assembly Member Bigelow) and coauthors (Assembly Members Gallagher and Mathis) represent Republican districts in northern and central California in which agriculture and/or forestry are prominent industries.

We are rallying the troops to combat this measure. Washington and Oregon states have been down this road, and we are working with the masonry experts that were involved in those efforts. Our national association, the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA), has already offered their voice.

AB 2842 is tentatively scheduled for its first hearing on March 19, 2018. Be prepared to lend your voice to this fight by telling your local district legislators how it stands to hurt your business opportunities and could pose public safety concerns especially in the area of fire protection.

We will keep you updated.
About: Legislative
 0
MASONRY STRONG Podcast, Episode 24 Recap: Gary Hensley, VP of Sales at Oldcastle Adams
July 2025

On this episode of the MASONRY STRONG Podcast, Gary Hensley joins Justin in Indianapolis to talk about his story within the masonry industry, how he got started, how he's seen it evolve, and where he sees it going. Why the Masonry Industry? Concrete and

Justin Stengel
Read More
The Enduring Power of Structural Masonry
July 2025

Masonry has been holding its ground for millennia — literally. And thanks to the simple brilliance of arching action, it continues to do so with strength, style, and surprising efficiency. In an era of advanced modeling and fast-moving schedules, one time

Shayne Sanders
Read More
Building More: Slow, Fast, or Consistent. What is Tempo?
July 2025

It was a drizzly midweek day when I rolled up to the project we were working on just outside of town. The foreman paced the scaffolding, rain hood half-zipped, barking at two laborers who were sprinting bricks like they were late for a flight. Forty feet

Corey Adams
Building More
Read More
Marvelous Masonry: Belém Tower
July 2025

The Belém Tower in Lisbon, Portugal, stands as a testament to stone construction's enduring artistry and technical prowess. Erected between 1514 and 1519, this iconic structure served as a defensive bastion at the mouth of the Tagus River and as a ceremon

Cass Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More