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White House Launches Accountability System to Track Environmental Approvals

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released a new memorandum (Memorandum M-18-25) establishing a brand new “accountability system” to track and score federal agencies performance in meeting the President Trump’s two-year timeline for completing environmental reviews and authorization decisions on “major infrastructure projects.” The memo requires, and outlines the procedures by which, all agencies that have a role in environmental approvals for infrastructure must regularly track and measure their performance in meeting a list of goals that aim to expedite and improve infrastructure permitting.  Agencies must submit tracking information to OMB and the Federal Agency Portal of the “Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard.” OMB will score each agency’s performance, issue reports, and “consider each agency's performance during budget formulation and determine whether appropriate penalties... must or should be imposed.”
The guidance, intended to further implement Executive Order 13807, and related government actions are consistent with and complement AGC’s focus and recommended reforms for improving federal environmental review and permitting.  For further details, click here.
For more information, contact Leah Pilconis at (703) 837-5332 [email protected].

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CBO Reports on Infrastructure Spending and Financing

On Oct. 17, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued two report detailing public spending and financing tools on transportation and water infrastructure from 1956 to 2017.  The spending report showed that public spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure has been fairly consistent as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at about 2.3 percent, which is below the 3.0 percent peak in 1959.   The finance report illustrates that more than half of state and local spending on transportation and water infrastructure has been financed through bonds that provide federal tax preferences or through federally supported loan programs.
The reports provide information on six types of infrastructure: highways, mass transit and rail, aviation, water transportation, water resources, and water utilities.  Public spending – federal, state, and local governments – on transportation and water infrastructure totaled $440 billion in 2017.  The majority of that spending came from state and local governments, providing $342 billion, while the federal government accounted for $98 billion.  Of the state and local government spending, 30 percent was for capital expenditures and 70 percent was for operation and maintenance. While most federal spending – 73 percent – went towards capital expenditures and 27 percent went to operations and maintenance.
AGC will continue to advocate for increased infrastructure investment at all levels of government.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at [email protected] or (202) 547-8992.

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AGC Releases Latest State-Specific Construction Industry Data

AGC’s economic team recently updated its construction industry fact sheets for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each fact sheet presents: US and state construction industry wages and salaries; a table showing the five most numerous construction occupations in the state and their median pay relative to all employees in the state; several data points on US and state construction spending put in place and starts; graphs, a table and bullet points on US, state and metro construction employment history and recent trends; and more. You can access those state-specific fact sheets here.
For more information, contact Ken Simonson [email protected] or Allen Chen or [email protected].

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AGC Releases Latest State-Specific Construction Industry Data

AGC’s economic team recently updated its construction industry fact sheets for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each fact sheet presents: US and state construction industry wages and salaries; a table showing the five most numerous construction occupations in the state and their median pay relative to all employees in the state; several data points on US and state construction spending put in place and starts; graphs, a table and bullet points on US, state and metro construction employment history and recent trends; and more. You can access those state-specific fact sheets here.
For more information, contact Ken Simonson at [email protected] or Allen Chen or [email protected].

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OSHA Clarifies Position on Drug Testing and Safety Incentive Programs

In line with AGC recommendations, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an  October 11 memorandum clarifying the agency's position that its rule prohibiting employer retaliation against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses does not prohibit workplace safety incentive programs or post-incident drug testing. The agency expressed a belief that many employers who implement safety incentive programs and/or conduct post-incident drug testing do so to promote workplace safety and health. Any action taken under a safety incentive program or post-incident drug testing policy would only violate OSHA's anti-retaliation rule if the employer took the action to penalize an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness rather than for the legitimate purpose of promoting workplace safety and health.
For more information, contact Kevin Cannon at (703) 837-5410 or [email protected].

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Your Time is Now: JLT Build America Awards Applications due October 24, 2018

The deadline to apply for an JLT Build America Award is quickly approaching, but it’s not too late! These awards honor AGC members who build the nation's most impressive construction projects ranging across the building, highway and transportation, utility infrastructure, and federal and heavy divisions.

If that sounds like you, we encourage you to apply online for some much-deserved recognition for your outstanding projects. As an added bonus, all entry fees are donated to the AGC Education and Research Foundation to impact young constructors across the country. Apply by October 24, 2018, for full consideration. Learn more about AGC of America's awards programs at www.agc.org/awards.

For additional information, please contact Nahee Rissi at [email protected], or 703-837-5348.

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AGC Holds Reverse Industry Session for the U.S. Army Corps

On Oct. 9, AGC members met with leaders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Headquarters and field offices from across the country for the agency’s first ever interactive training session with the construction industry in Washington, DC.

AGC members explained the importance of early communication by USACE, gave incites on the type of information that industry seeks in order to qualify an opportunity, and the value associated with certain types of USACE engagements (e.g. RFIs, one-on-ones, partnering, industry days).

AGC members spoke about how different factors might influence the decision towards either bidding or not bidding (e.g., costs of competition, risks, acquisition strategy, past acquisition practices of customer, competitive analysis, etc.).  AGC frequently engages in training sessions with federal agencies and remains dedicated to further educating federal agencies on construction process.

For additional information, contact Jordan Howard at [email protected] or (703) 837-5368.

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AGC Releases Paper on the Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion in the Construction Industry

AGC’s report, The Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion in the Construction Industry, outlines six reasons why diversity and inclusion are strategically valuable in generating corporate/industry innovation, increasing profitability, and ensuring a positive and sustaining legacy of progress for your firm.

The conventional understanding of diversity has evolved over time. What started as a focus on compliance of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action requirements has moved into a critical and necessary part of doing business as a way to achieve greater financial success. As the population of the U.S. becomes more diverse, construction companies will need to reflect the changing demographics in order to find workers and remain competitive. The arguments for a company including diversity and inclusion as a key business strategy go beyond the moral imperative of “doing the right thing” and focus on the measurable financial results that can be achieved.

For additional information, contact Brynn Huneke at [email protected] or (703) 837-5376.​​ 

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AGC Continues to Push for Fix for “Retail Glitch”

On Oct. 9, AGC joined industry allies in urging Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to have the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issue interim guidance to correct a drafting error from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that accidentally changed the depreciation period for certain commercial real estate improvements to 39 years, instead of 15 years—or even less.

During the drafting of TCJA, the tax writers consolidated the restaurant, retail, and leasehold improvements (essentially the interior improvements to commercial property) depreciation schedule into a new category, now called qualified improvement property (QIP).  Unfortunately, in doing so, they cross-referenced the incorrect section of the tax code that changed the depreciation schedule from 15-years (and eligible for temporary 100 percent bonus depreciation) to 39 years.  This was clearly a drafting error that would normally qualify as a “technical correction” but a political stalemate has prevented passing a technical corrections bill.

As a result, those industries and companies affected by this glitch, including the construction industry, have called for Treasury to issue interim guidance to correct the problem while Congress fixes the statutory language.  In August, AGC co-signed a letter to Treasury requesting action from Secretary Mnuchin on this issue, and on Tuesday followed up with issuing formal regulatory comments for a Treasury’s proposed for bonus depreciation.

For further information, please contact Matthew Turkstra at [email protected], or (202) 547-4733

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AGC Asks for Construction Exemption from Trucker HOS Rules

AGC submitted comments this week, individually and as part of a construction coalition, to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requesting that construction industry drivers be exempted from hours of service (HOS) rules.

The comments pointed out that the type of driving undertaken by industry drivers does not create the same demands or fatigue concerns as long haul drivers. Because of the seasonal nature of construction and demands on contractors to complete projects under tight time limits the HOS restrictions have significant negative and unnecessary impacts on construction. Congress and FMCSA have acknowledged this problem by providing a variety of exemptions from HOS requirements for some construction operations and materials. However, these limited exemptions, while somewhat helpful, create confusion in implementation and enforcement.

Should FMCSA decide to not offer a broad exemption, the comments made a numbers of specific recommendations that would make the current rules less onerous, including: expanding the short haul exemption to 150 miles and making it uniform, eliminating the return to work location requirement, allowing for additional driving hours when adverse weather conditions occur, and allowing for flexibility in use of sleeper berths to meet off-duty requirements. The comments pointed out that these recommendations can be implemented without undermining driving safety.

FMCSA solicited input as it considers a rule making to address the growing number of criticisms of the existing rules from drivers in many impacted industries. AGC and eleven of our construction industry allies jointly filed comments to demonstrate a strong unified voice in calling for reform of the rules. AGC’s individual comments added additional information and background in support of the coalition’s position.

For additional information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected] or (703) 837-5319.

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