Author: agcnews

State Licensure Requirements, Local Hiring Preferences, Registered Apprenticeship Goals & More AGC is working to block several amendments to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill that would negatively impact military construction contractors. Among other things, these amendments—if included—would: require prime contractors and subcontractors to be licensed in the state of the military construction project; establish local hiring preferences; impose subjective criteria into the suspension and debarment process that would make it easier to blacklist contractors; and require contractors to exceed a 20 percent registered apprenticeship goal. Congress has passed the NDAA for about 60 consecutive years and it…

House Republican Leadership & Progressive Democrats Unite Against Bill The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, or Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which passed the Senate over a month ago, is set to be voted on as early as September 27. Action is needed before the current one-year extension of the FAST Act surface transportation law expires September 30. If the bipartisan infrastructure bill does not pass before September 30, the federal-aid highway and transit construction programs will expire, causing a slowdown and eventual end to federal payments to states for transportation construction projects already underway. House Republican Leadership also announced that they are…

On September 18, AGC put forth a bevy of concerns for OSHA to consider as the agency works on regulations requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or mandate that any workers who remain unvaccinated produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis. AGC and its members have encouraged voluntary COVID-19 vaccination for their employees since the vaccines became available. The construction industry has proven throughout the pandemic that it can work in a safe and essential manner. OSHA has previously deemed many construction activities as low exposure…

The Associated General Contractors of America and Procore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: PCOR), a leading provider of construction management software, are launching a new scholarship program to assist African American and disadvantaged minority students who are studying construction fields at historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. The new scholarship is being made possible thanks to a $250,000 challenge gift from Procore that the association will now fundraise to meet and exceed. “We don’t want to price future leaders out of their opportunity to shape the construction industry,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “These new scholarships will…

Bipartisan Measure Includes Many of Former President Trump’s Infrastructure, Regulatory and Labor Priorities; Republicans Risk Wasting a Chance to Get them Enacted, Construction Officials Warn The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement today that the House Republican leadership will encourage its party members to vote against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill: “The House Republican leadership’s unfortunate decision to encourage its members to vote against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill puts at risk legislation that President Trump would have proudly signed when he was in office. This…

Massman Construction Co. Wins Associated General Contractors of America’s Construction Risk Partners Build America Grand Award as Well as Top Prizes for the Design-Build Civil and a Merit Award for Partnering Excellence ORLANDO – Louisiana, Mo.’s Champ Clark Mississippi River Bridge replacement was the most significant construction project of 2020, the Associated General Contractors of America announced today. As a result, the project’s contractor, Massman Construction Co., received the association’s Construction Risk Partners Build America Grand Award, as well as the award for the best design-build civil and a Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence Merit award. “These awards are a much-deserved tip of the hat to exceptional construction projects from the past year and the outstanding firms that completed them,” said Bob Lanham, the association’s president and president of Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc. in Houston, Texas.  “The award recipients have demonstrated skill, vision and…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) must reconsider its newest ruling on the rights of certain employees to access private property to engage in activity on behalf of a union, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit directed in an August 31, 2021, decision in NLRB v. Local 23, American Federation of Musicians. If the Board changes its holding on remand, it will be the third time the policy on access to private property has changed in the last 10 years. This case comes to the NLRB at a time opportune for change. The court…

The Administration released general details of President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan and two Executive Orders that will require all federal employees and federal contractors and subcontractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Executive Order impacting federal contractors requires the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force provide further guidance and a draft contract clause by September 24th. The Federal Acquisition Regulation will be amended to include these requirements in a contract clause in federal solicitations and contracts. Direct federal contracts can expect this new contract clause to appear in all covered federal contracts, extensions, and renewals by October 15th. The E.O. essentially requires all direct federal contractor and subcontractors…

On Sept. 13, House Democrats released legislative text detailing significant tax increases to pay for their upwards of $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill. Those tax increases include but are not limited to: (1) increasing the top rate to 26.5% from 21% for corporations with incomes of $5 million; (2) creating a new 3% surtax on individuals/pass-through businesses with modified adjusted gross income exceeding $5 million; (3) increasing the top tax rate for pass-through businesses to 46.4 percent (39.6 percent top individual tax bracket + 3.8 percent net investment income tax (NIIT) + 3 percent surtax); (4) increasing the top capital gains…

On July 9, President Biden unveiled his Path Out of the Pandemic Plan, which implements a six-pronged national strategy to combat the surge of the Delta variant. One of the key aspects of the plan is a requirement that OSHA issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)—reportedly within a matter of weeks—that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. While there are few details to make a completely informed decision…