BASE Governmental Affairs Director Part of Panel Discussion at the Fourth Annual Shape of the Coast

Wilmington, N.C. – Tyler Newman, governmental affairs director of the Business Alliance for a Sound Economy (BASE), recently took part in a panel discussion at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law’s Fourth Annual Shape of the Coast. The program was co-sponsored by the North Carolina Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center and the North Carolina Sea Grant Program and was held on October 23 at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern, N.C.

The Shape of the Coast is an annual program featuring 5.5 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit focusing on coastal issues including programs on the hydrology of coastal N.C., future regulation of water use, coastal insurance issues and the future of water-based wind energy. Newman joined Donald Hornstein, Aubrey Brooks Professor of Law at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and recently appointed member of the NCJUA (Beach Plan) Board of Directors, and Rose Vaughn Williams, Legislative Counsel for the N.C. Department of Insurance, on a panel to discuss coastal insurance.

During the discussion, Newman presented the coastal perspective on the homeowner’s insurance issue, covering the increases that led to action by the 20 coastal counties on both legal and legislative fronts and BASE’s lobbying efforts on the issue. He explained how crucial affordability and availability of homeowners insurance and wind insurance is for coastal citizens and the necessity of statewide equity in homeowner insurance rates. Newman, who was the lobbyist most intimately involved in the bill’s successful passage, also reviewed the positive changes to the Beach Plan that were finalized in the legislation known as HB 1305, which passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor in August.

“My role on the panel was to identify the ongoing issues faced by coastal homeowners and property owners and the legal implications. While the finances of the Beach Plan have been solidified and a number of extremely positive provisions were added, there still needs to be action on statewide equity in homeowners rates,” said Newman. “Part of HB 1305 was a legislative study to look at a number of insurance issues in N.C. It remains BASE’s hope that the legislators will enable the formation of this study group to facilitate more conversation on these issues,” he added.

BASE (Business Alliance for a Sound Economy) is a coalition of trade associations and numerous independent businesses, formed to take collaborative action on issues of concern to their broad membership engaged in residential and commercial real estate sales, home building, land development, economic development, finance, property management and leasing.  BASE represents numerous independent businesses and the approximately 12,000 members of the Brunswick County Home Builders Association, the Brunswick County Landowners Association, the Pitt County Economic Development Partnership, the Topsail Island Association of REALTORS® and the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association.