Roofing in a deregulatory era

By Emma Peterson. 

Trent Cotney breaks down key policies and regulations that are changing how contractors operate.  

From OSHA and the Department of Labor to the EPA, a lot of federal regulations have shifted or changed in the last couple of years. To dive into the big changes that contractors should know about, we hosted Trent Cotney, a partner at Adams and Reese law firm who specializes in roofing litigation and arbitration, for an episode of Contractor Outlook.  

The first thing that Trent highlighted was that we are in a deregulatory environment. He explained what that means, sharing, “On a federal level, a lot of the regulations that could have potentially impacted contractors have diminished and that tends to be a positive for contractors because less regulation is less admin cost, less concerns over that kind of thing.” A great example of the benefits of this is the federal removal of taxes on overtime and tips.  

However, like most things in life, deregulation isn't all upsides. One of the biggest roofing sectors feeling this is solar. Trent explained, “We’re seeing Section 179 expensing and the Section 179D energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction evolve under recent tax changes, some for the better like 179 and some for the worse like 179D while separate Inflation Reduction Act provisions—like the 45 and 48 energy credits—are being updated negatively for solar and other renewables.” This reduction of federal incentives is another hit to solar, which has already been facing challenges like financing. But this does not mean that solar is a bad market to be in. Trent emphasized that the deregulatory environment he is talking about is on a federal level. He explained, “States can still offer a variety of incentives. For example, in California there's still a ton of incentives to have solar. So it's not dead. You have to understand the game right now.”  

The other big thing that Trent talked about was the growth of workforce development programs. He pointed to changes to multiple savings programs, like 529, that now enable them to be used to pay for CTE and other trades trainings. He shared, “There's a lot of opportunity to get into the trades and you're seeing a lot of CTE assistance that was not only put in federal bills but also promulgated by various states.” 

Overall, looking at the current state of the roofing industry from a legal perspective, Trent’s main advice is to consult with your legal/financial team about changes to your taxes and get involved with the people making these policies. He elaborated, “Getting involved can be as simple as knowing your local representative and senator on a federal level and on a state level or local level. Getting involved with associations is a great way to do it because they act as a mouthpiece for everyone out there... Overall, it is our responsibility to make sure our voices are heard and that we're doing our best to affect positive change in the construction industry.” 

Listen to the entire conversation or Watch the recording to learn more from Trent about the current state of the roofing industry.