[News & Insights](https://hbrama.com/news-insights)# Koopman Lumber Hosts HBRAMA at Contractor Expo

September 18, 2026      [Hot Topics](https://hbrama.com/hot-topics) 

HBRAMA's executive officers spent Thursday under the vendor tent at the Koopman Contractor Expo, and we want to start with the simple part: thank you to the entire [Koopman Lumber](https://koopmanlumber.com/) team for making room for us.

President Susan Kadilak, President Elect Matt Teague, and Vice President Tony Chiarelli staffed the association's table alongside a tent full of manufacturers and suppliers. We were the only table in the tent not selling anything, which made for a different kind of conversation. Thanks to Koopman for making space for it.

## What we talked about.

Most of the day was conversation, which is the whole point of an event like this. Builders and remodelers from across Massachusetts stopped by, and the questions were the ones we hear everywhere: permits that sit, zoning relief that takes a year, code changes that land without warning, utility connections that hold up a finished house.

Those conversations are the reason HBRAMA's Government Affairs Committee (GAC) exists. Every permit delay and every zoning denial starts somewhere, and it is usually the State House.

Our GAC testifies for and against housing legislation, works directly with state agencies to clear the regulatory chokepoints that stall projects, and carries member-driven ideas from the job site to the floor.

We also got to talk about what that advocacy has already delivered: the sales tax exemption on multifamily building materials, more flexible variance standards, expanded scope for pre-existing non-conforming structures, a longer statutory zoning freeze for approved projects, and a favorable rent control decision at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

## What's next on the list.

Duplexes allowed as-of-right, YIGBY, site plan review standardization, bigger incentive payments for smart growth districts, the Permit Extension Act, adaptive reuse zoning changes, and training requirements for land use boards.

## Take the handout with you.

We handed out our Government Affairs Committee one-pager all afternoon. If you missed us at the tent, or you want to pass it along to someone on your crew, you can download it here:

[HBRAMA Government Affairs Committee, 2025–2026 Legislative Session (PDF)](https://spaces.dative-cdn.com/hbrama-craftcms/Files/HBRAMA-Membership-Flyer-koopman-event.pdf)

## Membership is how this work keeps happening.

Joining HBRAMA isn't buying a directory listing. It funds the testimony, the agency meetings, and the relationships that decide what you're allowed to build next year, and it comes with education, networking, and member savings programs on top of it.

[Join HBRAMA→](https://hbrama.com/join)

Thanks again to Koopman Lumber for a well-run expo and a good crowd. We'd be glad to be back.

Keep reading

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