Author: agcnews

On Feb. 17, the newly revised 2022 construction general permit (CGP) for stormwater discharges from construction activities took effect. The CGP applies to operators of construction sites in a few areas where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permitting authority. More importantly, NPDES authorized states that oversee their own stormwater permitting programs use it as a model for their permits. AGC supports the use of general permits as an effective tool to streamline the permit process and reduce administrative burdens for those projects with minimal impact. (Individual permits are available for larger-scale impacts.) AGC engaged in…

Over the past two months, AGC of America, working with a coalition of other industry stakeholders, has worked with Congress to pass an extension of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) through the fourth quarter of 2021. The ERTC was originally extended to run through the end of 2021 but was retroactively repealed for the fourth quarter after passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), to expire after September 30. Because of the delay in passing IIJA some construction firms already claiming the credit in October 2021 face a potential tax penalty when they file their 2021 tax…

Joins the Growing Chorus of Bipartisan Opposition to the Memo Republican House Members, led by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO.), wrote to Secretary Buttigieg asking that he rescind the controversial Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance memo that would, among other things, limit a state’s ability to add new highway capacity. You might remember, AGC was one of the first to object to FHWA on this same memo back in January. As a reminder, AGC recently wrote of opposition by Republicans in the Senate. In addition, a group of Democrats in the Senate also voiced concerns with the policy. The FHWA memo promotes the…

Earmarks Also Set to Return after a Decade Hiatus Congress is again faced with an impending deadline to fund the government by March 11. The House of Representatives has passed a full fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding package that would set new spending levels for the year after multiple continuations of funding at prior year levels. Since it is so close to the March 11 deadline, they also passed a stopgap measure to fund the government until March 15 just in case the Senate does not have the chance to consider and vote on the full year funding bill before…

Contractors Association Urges Washington Officials to Boost Funding for Career and Technical Education, Open More Apprenticeship Opportunities to Attract and Prepare Workers for Careers in Construction Construction employment climbed by 60,000 jobs between January and February as hourly pay rose at the steepest pace in nearly 40 years, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association leaders urged officials in Washington to boost support for career training and education to enable more workers to pursue high-paying construction careers. “All segments of construction added workers in February,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s…

Association Officials Note Congress Has Yet to Fund Promised Increases in Infrastructure Funding Outlined In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, While Administration Adds Restrictions Congress Didn’t Put in the Law Construction spending increased in January compared to both December and a year ago, with strong gains in private nonresidential and residential construction but mixed results for public spending, according to an analysis of federal spending data the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association leaders urged Washington officials to speed the award of funds promised by the Bipartisan Infrastructure law. “Private nonresidential construction, especially for manufacturing plants, has rebounded sharply in…

Good legal writing is simply good writing. Construction contracts written in legalese confuse rather than clarify performance expectations. “Gotcha clauses” buried in a contract leads parties to distrust one another. ConsensusDocs standard construction agreements are written in clear and concise language. This helps the parties understand, administer, and interpret the contract. One distinguishing feature in ConsensusDocs is the integration of the general terms and conditions into the agreement. This allows parties to complete an agreement with one document instead of two, which has many benefits. There are three main benefits with integrating your terms and conditions into the agreement: These…

Construction employment in December remained below levels reached just before the start of the pandemic in more than half the states despite widespread gains last month, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said employment hasn’t recovered fully because most firms report difficulty finding workers, according to the association’s recent survey predicting the industry’s hiring and business outlook. “Even though employment has risen in more states recently, so has the number of job openings as contractors struggle to find qualified workers in an increasingly tight labor market,” said Ken Simonson, the…

On February 22, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced nearly $450 million in newly available grant funding for port-related infrastructure projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). This announcement represents a historic level of funding for this program that awards competitive grants to projects that improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods into, out of, around, or within a port. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act significantly increased the funding levels for this program, as it has awarded no more than $293M per year since its conception in 2019. Past project awards include rail enhancements, container capacity and…

AGC Continues to Push Back on “Fix-it-First” False Narrative On Feb. 18, Republican Senators, led by Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), called on Secretary Pete Buttigieg to rescind or substantially revise the controversial Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance memo that calls for, among other things, limiting a state’s ability to add new highway capacity. You might remember, AGC provided feedback to FHWA on this same memo back in January. The FHWA memo promotes the same narrative that some external stakeholders and Members of Congress already pushed, that state DOTs should focus exclusively on maintenance and repair work on…