Armando Walle
TEXAS STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 140

State Rep. Armando Walle is serving his eighth term in the Texas House of Representatives. First elected in 2008, Rep. Walle represents Texas House District 140, which consists of portions of north Houston and unincorporated portions of north Harris County — including parts of the Northside and Aldine communities, where he grew up, graduated from MacArthur High School, and still resides.

During his time in the Texas Legislature, Rep. Walle has worked on many issues important to him and his constituents, with a particular focus on improving the health, safety, and economic well-being of working families. Rep. Walle, raised by a single mother and the oldest of five children, was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. The experiences and lessons of his humble upbringing have informed his legislative priorities. Rep. Walle has authored a variety of bills toward those priorities, including providing water utility customers recourse for nonexistent water service and helping to establish the Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas.

Rep. Walle is currently a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, serving as chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Articles 6, 7, 8 covering natural resources, business and industry, and regulatory entities.

Earlier this year, Rep. Walle was instrumental in the defeat of Texas House Bill 2689, which would have moved more than 5 million Texans off the Uniform Plumbing Code in favor of a less effective alternative. The one-size-fits-all approach of HB 2689 would have been detrimental to the plumbing industry and the communities it serves, stifling innovation and flexibility in plumbing practices.

Rep. Walle’s leadership on the issue and stalwart support for the UPC played an integral role in defeating the prospective legislation and maintaining the protections provided by the UPC for the jurisdictions currently utilizing it and those recognizing the advantages of adoption in the future. For his contributions to this successful fight, we honor Rep. Armando Walle with a 2023 Legislator of the Year award.

“I want to thank a couple of folks,” he said. “President Gans and CEO Dave Viola, I appreciate this recognition. And my good friend, John Mata, and the Lords at UA Local 68.”

Referencing IAPMO’s recently published coloring book, “My Mom is a Plumbing Superhero,” Rep. Walle said, “My superpower, being a Democrat in a Republican controlled legislature is my relationship building. Being able to operate in that environment allows me to be able to deliver, sometimes not by passing legislation but by killing legislation, especially when it’s detrimental to an industry like yours that provides safe drinking water and sanitation.”

Shelia Oliver
FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY

Sheila Oliver served the state of New Jersey as lieutenant governor since 2017 and also as the state’s commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, in which role she led efforts to expand and strengthen initiatives for fair and affordable housing, community revitalization, homelessness prevention, and local government service that support New Jersey’s 564 municipalities.

Together with Gov. Phil Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Lt. Gov. Oliver was a driving force behind the incredible effort to replace all 23,000 lead service lines in the city of Newark at no cost to residents — and in less than three years, an amazing result given the project was projected to take 10 years to complete. Rather than resting on their laurels for their marvelous achievement, Lt. Gov. Oliver and her team moved forward with a new project for more state-of-the-art improvements to filtration, electronic controls and monitors, and pumping and drainage systems.

And in a major victory for every resident of the Garden State, Lt. Gov. Oliver thoughtfully considered the invaluable benefits of the National Standard Plumbing Code, the industry’s strong support for it, and the devastating implications of replacing it, ultimately making the decision to continue to adopt the NSPC — the code that has been protecting the public health and safety of New Jersey for nearly 45 years.

Tragically, Lt. Gov. Oliver passed away suddenly on Aug. 1, shattering her family, friends and colleagues, and halting a truly distinguished and productive career of public service. United States Rep. Frank Pallone described her as a trailblazer in every sense of the word who always fought for what was right.

We are honored to have worked with Lt. Gov. Oliver for the benefit of her constituents and IAPMO honors her memory and legacy by posthumously awarding her a 2023 Legislator of the Year Award.

Dina Titus
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, NEVADA—1ST DISTRICT

United States Rep. Dina Titus has served Nevada in the House of Representatives since 2013 and been a vocal supporter of IAPMO and the plumbing industry during her decade of work in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Titus is an exceptional example of the kinds of elected officials who are a vital cog in the mechanisms that ensure the safety and wellbeing of citizens across the United States through the adoption and maintenance of IAPMO’s codes and standards. We deeply appreciate our allies serving on city councils, local plumbing boards, in statehouses, and in offices at the U.S. Capitol.

Over the past year, Rep. Titus has written letters to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fight for proper recognition of IAPMO’s codes within FEMA’s guidance documents and successfully championed language in various appropriations bills that have supported IAPMO and the plumbing industry in Nevada and across the country.

For continually being a powerful ally for IAPMO in our nation’s capital, IAPMO is pleased to present Rep. Dina Titus with a 2023 Legislator of the Year Award.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to President David Gans, CEO Dave Viola, the IAPMO Board of Directors and your membership,” Rep. Titus said. “It’s been a pleasure partnering with you on many important initiatives over the years, especially as your organization continues to be a recognized leader providing expertise on critical water issues on the local, national and international levels.

“As some of you may know, in Congress I serve as the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee that oversees FEMA. I’ve been fighting to ensure the agency recognizes and gives equal treatment to the Uniform Plumbing and Mechanical Codes, which are followed by 17 states, including Nevada and Hawaii. As we have seen from the devastating impacts of recent weather events, the flooding the Hurricane Idalia in Florida and the fires in Maui, it is critical for FEMA to provide a level playing field for codes and standards that are already widely recognized for helping these communities rebuild and become more resilient to potential disasters. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel where experts know what works in their communities.

“I was also proud to have worked with House Appropriators this year to include report language encouraging FEMA to include both of these codes in its recover policy, and I’ll ontinue to work with you all and members on both sides of the aisle to get that job done.”