Transcript Slide 1

AGC REPORT
STEPHEN SANDHERR
CEO
FEBRUARY 6, 2014
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
CURRENT POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
• Partisanship will govern: election year
• Tea Party influence in GOP restricts us
• Mainstream GOP fears primary challenges
• Devolution gaining foothold w/conservatives
• Congressional agenda will be thin
• Senate: protect Dems from tough votes
• House: oversight/highlight health care failure
• Aggressive regulatory agenda
HIGHWAY FUNDING
• Sounding alarm bells on HTF: broke in 2014?
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Immediate problem: sequester cuts from GF transfer
CBO: need $15B/yr to remain whole
Received $ 56B in general fund $ last 5 years
Met w/ 70+ Senate offices to gauge support
Identifying additional sources of revenue
• Increase gas tax (budget/tax reform/reauthorization)
• Royalty on energy extracted on federal land
• Repatriation of foreign corporate profits
REAUTHORIZATION CHALLENGES
• Senate: MAP-21 was a 2 year funding bill/6 year
policy bill
• Boxer gave blood on environmental/policy reforms
• House: need to demonstrate taxpayer ROI to
get GOP support for more $
• Shuster has primary challenge May 20 which
restricts window of opportunity
WHAT IS AGC DOING?
• Working with coalition partners (other
construction assns, USCC, building trades)
• Enlisting general business support (BRT, NAM,
retail groups, travel industry, truckers, etc.)
• Door to door lobbying
• Public relations: central message in press
activities
• SOTU: infrastructure message
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
• FY 2014 Appropriations are flat
• Clean Water Trust Fund remains priority
• Private Activity Bond bill introduced: lift caps
• Potential to add $2-6 B to financing
• Tax free munis
WRDA
• Authorizes new port, flood control &
environmental projects
• Senate bill got 78 votes
• House passed 417-3
• Reprograms $ to address current needs
• Streamlines project review process
• Requires HMTF spending
• Trial run for Shuster and Boxer
IMMIGRATION REFORM
• AGC principles:
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Earned legalization for existing workers (10 YRS)
Workable guest worker program/future flow
No vicarious liability
Maintain “knowing” standard
Limit debarment as penalty/keep FAR stds
Federal preemption
E-verify for new hires
• Senate bill meets most except guest workers
POLITICS OF IMMIGRATION REFORM
• Senate: 14 GOP votes
• Recognition that system broken
• Demographics not favorable
• GOP rhetoric unwelcoming
• House GOP not anxious to move
• House GOP principles unveiled last week
• Not political winner (fear of primary challenge)
• Don’t trust Obama on enforcement
MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION REFORM
• AGC participated in multi-year, multi-industry
commission to address MEPP solvency
• Resulted in “Solutions Not Bailouts” plan to
push legislation
• Gives tools to improve financial status:
• Move to “hybrid” plan
• Permits benefit reductions for beneficiaries
• Political challenge on benefit reduction
• AGC working w/BCTD on PR & lobbying
OTHER LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
• Counting lower tier subs
• Passed by voice vote in defense authorization
• AGC will monitor regulatory implementation
• Tax Reform
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Effective construction tax rate is 31%
Fair Effective Tax Coalition
Corp & personal rates simultaneously reduced
Address infrastructure: HTF, INWTF, PABs, BABs,
tax free munis
REGULATORY
ACTIVITY
OFCCP DISABILITY/VETS RULES
• Rules require additional GFE’s to hire/promote
veterans and disabled
• Original proposal had numerous costly and
burdensome requirements
• AGC made 37 significant changes after
demonstrating that audits of federal contractors
yielded no pattern of discrimination: <0.1%
AGC MITIGATED DAMAGE
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Limited records kept from 5 yrs to 3
OK to reference not print clause in contracts
Periodic not annual review of job descriptions
No annual mtg; only train HR & hiring officials
No need for 3 linkage agreements/show GFE
2% sub goal for severely disabled removed
Can identify protected class if known/evident
Vets benchmark can be nat’l avg (now 8%)
DOT DBE REGS
• “Listening session” held in December
• DBE’s submitted in bid w/ $ amount & scope w/
written confirmation by DBE or no pay
• State DOT must give written consent to change
• GFE (detailed in writing) to replace w/ DBE
• Price not determinative of goal
• GFE documentation submitted w/bid if goal
short (include all sub quotes)
DOT DBE REGS
• States must include in contracts that failure to
carry out DBE commitments=material breach
• DOT now considers this “significant” rule
• AGC met w/DOT
• Make program work
• Reduce/eliminate inconsistencies
• Permit mentoring
• DOT doesn’t believe submitting bid info is
problematic
OSHA SILICA RULE
• 8/23 OSHA released highly anticipated rule
• New PEL of 50 micrograms/m3 (current is100)
• Employers conduct initial/periodic exposure
assessments of workers/air sampling
• Engineering/work practice controls/PPE
• No cost medical surveillance for employees
exposed to levels >PEL for 30+ days/year
• AGC created construction coalition
EPA WETLANDS RULE
• EPA seeking to expand definition of “navigable
waters of US” under Clean Water Act
• USSC: CWA jurisdiction can’t be based on
proximity to “navigable water” but confusion on
limit
• EPA: all tributary streams incl. perennial,
intermittent, and ephemeral are physically,
chemically & biologically connected
• Impact on permits: dredge, stormwater, oil spill
ELECTION OUTLOOK
• GOP should retain House
• Senate in play for 3rd straight cycle
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Dems defending 7 seats in states Romney won
NC, LA, MT, SD, WV, AR, AK
GOP needs net gain of 6 seats
GOP: 2 tough elections: GA and KY
Does Obamacare expand playing field?
• CO, MI, IA, VA, NH
INDUSTRY ISSUES
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
• AGC survey conducted last year
• 74% difficulty finding craft workers
• 53% difficulty finding non-craft workers
• AGC efforts
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Go Build Alabama/Georgia etc.
Build Wisconsin
VP task force on Apprenticeship/Job Training
AGC Workforce Development Plan: what policy
changes can we push at national level?
AGC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
• Immigration reform
• Modernize Perkins Act
• Give states flexibility to select training designed to
meet workforce needs
• Give states autonomy to pursue sector partnerships
• Improve Workforce Investment Act
• Allow apprenticeship programs to be designated as
“Eligible Training Providers” so students can use
Individual Training Accounts to pay for tools/supplies
AGC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
• Remove anti-trust barriers for non-union plans
• Encourage partnerships between
apprenticeship plans & community colleges
• Offer community college & tech education to
HS students for free (Kansas)
• Make it easier to establish construction charter
schools
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