OSHA's 10 regional administrators have been directed in a memo by OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels to revise how the current penalty calculation system contained in the Field Operations Manual is being used in enforcement proceedings. The administrative penalty changes are scheduled to take effect over the next several months.

The overall goal of the agency is to provide an adequate deterrent to employers using increased penalties.  The average penalty for serious violations will be increased from $1,000 to an average of $3,000 - $4,000, according to the changes.  The following are the most significant changes to the calculation system:

• An employers' history of violations will expand from three years to five years.
• 10 percent increase in their penalties for employers (up to the maximum) for employers who have been cited for any high-gravity, serious, willful or repeat violations, or have been cited for a failure to abate notice in the previous five years.
• The time period for repeated violations will be increased from three to five years.
• Area directors are authorized to offer up to a 30 percent penalty reduction to employers at an informal conference.
• Where circumstances warrant, at the discretion of the area director, high-gravity serious violations related to standards identified in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) will no longer need to be grouped or combined, but can be cited as separate violations, each with its own proposed penalty.
• No size reduction will be applied to employers with 251 or more employees.
• 10 percent reduction for employers with a strategic partnership agreement will be eliminated.

AGC is greatly concerned about the impact of these administrative changes on its members and is working to inform AGC members of these changes. We will continue to have discussions with OSHA to gather more information on the changes and convey the impact they will have on the construction industry.

To view a copy of the OSHA memorandum, click here.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is launching a pilot program seeking to partner with building inspectors in 11 cities to reduce injuries and fatalities at construction sites.  The pilot program was initially announced during the April 14 - 15, 2010, Latino Worker Health and Safety Summit held in Houston, Texas.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has sent letters to the mayors of the selected cities, proposing that OSHA work with and train local building inspectors on hazards associated with the four leading causes of death (falls, electrocution, being crushed or caught between objects, or being struck by moving machinery or objects) at construction sites.

Under this program, building inspectors would notify OSHA when they observe, during the course of their work, unsafe work conditions. OSHA, in turn, would send a federal agency compliance officer to that workplace for a safety inspection.

OSHA seeks to partner with building inspectors in the following cities:

 AGC encourages Chapters and their members in the selected cities to meet with their local building inspectors to discuss the proposed partnership and express their concerns with this approach to policing safety.  Meanwhile, AGC will continue to monitor OSHA activities as they pertain to this issue. 

To view a copy of the letters click here.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing Thursday on the Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2010, the first new legislation reauthorizing the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) since the program's inception in 1996. The legislation authorizes $12.7 billion over five years for drinking water-related infrastructure - a significant increase over historical funding levels. This legislation contains similar funding and provisions to AGC and WIN Coalition-supported legislation S.1005, The Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009, which is currently awaiting a vote by the full Senate.

In addition to reauthorizing the drinking water state revolving fund, the legislation also provides technical and financial assistance for disadvantaged communities, favors preventative infrastructure investments, and aims to replace aging facilities, among other key features.  Additional features of the legislation relevant to the construction industry include the addition of Qualification Based Selection criteria (QBS) for A/E services for certain populations and Davis Bacon prevailing wages for construction funded by the SRF.

To view additional information, including full legislative language and video of the hearing, click here.

On May 6, 2010, Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced the 2010 Federal Contracting and Oversight Act. The bill is designed to prevent contractors with poor performance records from receiving government contracts and give members of Congress and federal agency contracting officers more information about companies by expanding the reach of the recently enacted Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). The legislation would double the length of time contractors' past performance records remain in a government database and broaden the types of information stored from five to ten years.

The bill would condition the award of a federal contract on fulfillment of the reporting requirements for the FAPIIS database. It would also require federal agencies to submit:

• An annual audit of the contract files required under the Clean Contracting Act of 2008 to ensure that federal contracting officials are appropriately consulting and considering the FAPIIS database prior to making contract award decisions.
• An annual report on overlap between companies that have been suspended or debarred and those that are receiving federal contracts.
• An assessment on the need and feasibility of developing a new, more effective system of uniquely identifying federal contractors.
• An assessment of the feasibility and possible approaches to integrating and consolidating the wide range of existing contracting information databases into a single searchable linked network for contracting officers, members of Congress, and appropriate government officials.

The bill would direct the Office of Management and Budget to integrate and consolidate nine government-wide contractor information databases into a single searchable and linked network. Such databases include: USASpending.gov, which tracks all contract spending; Federal Business Opportunities, which lists contracts up for bid; and the Excluded Parties List System, a site of all suspended and debarred firms.

AGC is especially concerned that this legislation would double the length of time such information would be retained in the FAPIIS and expand the database to include information concerning all administrative proceedings against contractors. We are also concerned that the database would be required to track federal-aid contracts as well as federal contracts. AGC will continue meeting with members of Congress and other key procurement leaders to relay these concerns and explain the impact on the construction industry.

As AGC prepares for the upcoming November election, the answer as to which party will take the Congressional majority is still a mystery.  Regardless of which party wins the majority in November, the 2010 election cycle has already proven that significant changes are ahead.

Last week, following the anti-incumbent movement, Utah Republican Convention attendees denied three-term Senator Bob Bennett (R) a place on the ballot as the party's nominee for Senate .  Earlier this week, West Virginia Rep. Allan Mollohan (D) became the first House incumbent to lose a primary.

 A special election will be held in Pennsylvania next week to decide a replacement for the late Rep. John Murtha.  Senator Arlen Specter (D) faces a tough primary challenger in Rep. Joe Sestak (D).  The polls say the race is still too close to call.  In addition to Specter's competitive primary election, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) faces strong competition as Lt. Governor Bill Halter (D) continues to poll a close second to Lincoln.  Both the Arkansas and Pennsylvania primaries will be held next Tuesday along with Oregon's and Kentucky's.

Log on to www.agc.org/vote for more election information to prepare for the November election, just 173 days away.

AGC PAC had an exceptional week at the annual AGC Federal Contractors Conference.  The goal for the conference was $15,000, and we are pleased to announce that nearly $15,400 was collected over the four-day conference. 

At the opening general session, PAC Co-chair Doug Pruitt of Sundt Construction, Inc., kicked off AGC PAC's latest fundraising campaign "$210 in 2010."  In this important election year, we are asking all members that have contributed to give an extra $210 to expand our influence on Capitol Hill.  For those of you that have not contributed, we ask that you give $210 more than you typically give.  Remember that 100 percent of your contribution goes to supporting federal candidates that support our industry. 

Please also consider giving at one of our higher contribution levels: the AGC PAC Capitol Caucus ($2500 annually) or the President's Congressional Caucus ($5,000 annually). Every dollar counts.

Madison, Wisconsin OSHA area director Kim Stille warned Daily Reporter that her agency is unprepared to enforce the Protecting Americas Workers Act, and that it would undermine productive relationships the agency has built with construction firms that have helped cut the construction fatality rate nearly in half over the past decade.

Read the article here.

Annual Meeting with Major Construction Agencies Makes Major Advances
 

The 2010 AGC Federal Contractors Conference was another major success, highlighting the excellent relationships that AGC maintains with the federal agencies on behalf of its members. The meeting was held April 26-29, 2010, in Washington, D.C. Government representatives from over 20 federal construction agencies participated, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration and Air Force.

The Conference broke new ground by expanding to three tracks of meeting sessions for contractors based on the type of work procured by the federal government: federal facilities, water infrastructure, and highway and transportation infrastructure. Agencies participating in those sessions included the Federal Highway Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Federal and Heavy Construction Division Chairman Dan Fordice welcomed such honored guests as Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, Commander and Chief of Engineers for the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); Rear Admiral Greg Shear, NAVFAC Commander and Chief of Civil Engineers; Major General Tim Byers, the Air Force Civil Engineer; and Small Business Assistant Administrator Joseph Jordan. Additional guests included Major General Bo Temple, Deputy Commanding General;  Robert Slockbower, Director of Military Programs, USACE; Joseph Gott, Chief Engineer, NAVFAC; and Assistant Commissioner of Capital Improvements William Guerin of the General Services Administration. Other agencies represented included the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Forest Service, Small Business Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Energy, Coast Guard, Agency for International Development, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, Rural Utilities Services, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Federal Lands Highway, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The AGC Federal Owners Advisory Council held its annual meeting at the Conference as well. The Council's membership includes key decision makers from 19 federal agencies, as well as AGC Federal and Heavy Division leadership and committee chairs. This year's session featured robust discussions on implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Obama Administration's final rulemaking on Project Labor Agreements, long-term goals for the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), and achieving small business participation goals. Additional topics of discussion included developing a consistent process for administrating past performance ratings, and new federal workforce development initiatives.

Conference attendees also received a special address from Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp. His presentation was followed by the signing of a new AGC-USACE Partnering Agreement, the first signed since 2001.  AGC president Ted Aadland welcomed LTG Van Antwerp and signed the agreement as well (pictured above). In addition, AGC NAVFAC Committee Chairman Tex Barnhart presented RADM Shear with the Division's Federal Construction Excellence Award, commemorating his distinguished career with NAVFAC and the agency's successful partnering with the AGC.

Finally, Federal & Heavy Construction Division Members launched an all out offensive on the legislative front during the meeting. As part of a series of organized Capitol Hill visits, AGC members participated in providing information on a range of issues, including comprehensive immigration reform, reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act, legislation to repeal the imposition of the three percent withholding tax on government contractors, legislation authorizing the creation of a Clean Water Trust Fund, and passage of a new transportation authorization bill.

Presentations from the conference will be available online soon.

Movement on a top AGC priority occurred this week as Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) held a hearing a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) on May 6, 2011. AGC Past Federal and Heavy Construction Division Chairman Mitch White of Manson Construction Co. in Long Beach, California, called on Congress to pass a new WRDA bill on schedule to meet the nation's economic, safety and transportation needs.

WRDA reaffirms the government's pledge to authorize, modify, and improve projects, programs, and policies protecting the nation from floods and keeping our waterways open to navigation. Regular authorizations of water resources development projects fulfill these important missions. AGC's testimony stressed that waterways programs foster economic development, facilitate trade and commerce, aid international competitiveness, stimulate employment, provide water recreation opportunities, enhance agricultural and industrial productivity, and augment our national defense. In addition, a new WRDA bill would serve as a key component of turning around the severe unemployment in the construction industry, which is currently hovering at 25 percent.

AGC is continuing to work with water resources and infrastructure investment champions in Congress to support passage of the legislation in the 111th Congress.  House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) has also stated his commitment to passing this important water infrastructure authorization in a timely manner.

The AGC co-chaired Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Coalition sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee members urging their support of and inclusion of S. 3262 in a $10 billion-plus package of small-business incentives, which the Committee may consider as early as next Wednesday. On May 5, Senators Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mike Crapo (D-Idaho) sent a "Dear Colleague" to the rest of the Senate urging their support for this bi-partisan legislation.

S. 3262 is the Senate companion to H.R. 537, a bill authored by Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) that passed the House in March as part of the Small Business and Infrastructure Tax Act.  AGC, along with the National Association of Water Companies and American Water, led the coalition effort in seeking the introduction of the Senate bill. The legislation will remove state volume caps on private activity bonds for water and wastewater projects and lead to the investment of billions of dollars in private money flowing into our nation's water infrastructure. AGC and coalition partners have been working to garner additional support for the Senate bill and include it in broader tax legislation. Based on water and financial industry estimates, the bill would facilitate at least $2 billion worth of private water investment in 2010 and up to $5 billion or more annually as the market matures.

To learn more about this legislation, visit the AGC Legislative Action Center.