Roofing Bill Could Create Jobs, Promote Energy Efficiency

ELMIRA, N.Y. — Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., hopes to create 40,000 construction and manufacturing jobs while improving energy efficiency through a new law that would shorten the amount of time before businesses can install new roofs.

Reed visited Evans Roofing Company in Elmira on July 2 to promote his Roofing Efficiency Jobs Act of 2014. Under the bill, the depreciation schedule for commercial roofs would be reduced from 39 years to 20 years. The National Roofing Contractors Association has long argued against the current depreciation schedule, saying it’s not a realistic measure of the average life span of a commercial roof, and the tax treatment for roof replacement is a disincentive for owners to replace a failing roof.

The average lifespan of roofs is only 17 years, according to a study from industrial research firm Ducker Worldwide. If a building owner chooses to replace his or her commercial roof before 39 years have elapsed, the owner must still carry that roof on the books even though it no longer exists. Ducker also found that when building owners choose to replace their roof, 90 percent choose more energy-efficient systems.

“It’s common sense to fix the unfair and outdated depreciation schedule for taxpayers so that we’re supporting construction and manufacturing jobs while encouraging energy efficiency,” Reed said. “It doesn’t make sense to put off money-saving upgrades when we can help local businesses replace their roofs sooner with newer, more energy-efficient technology.”

Reed argues that by making energy efficient roofing systems more accessible, energy consumption in the United States could be reduced by as much as 11.4 trillion BTUs, and cites Ducker’s study that claims reforming the depreciation schedule for commercial roofs would spur demand and create an estimated 40,000 jobs.

Reed’s bill is backed by a wide range of manufacturing, energy efficiency, labor and construction organizations, including the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC); Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing (CEIR); Joint Roofing Industry Labor and Management Committee; National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA); and the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers.

“I want to thank Congressman Tom Reed for his leadership in sponsoring reform legislation in Congress that will help create an estimated 40,000 new jobs within the roofing industry,” Duane Musser of the National Roofing Contractors Association said in a statement. “The Roofing Efficiency Jobs Act would remove an obstacle in the tax code to job creation and achieving greater levels of energy-efficiency in the commercial building sector. The National Roofing Contractors Association has worked for many years with allies in both industry and labor to advance this bipartisan proposal.”