51����

Over the last year and a half, the Federal Government has initiated a fast-paced agenda for reviewing and revising environmental policies. 51���� has tracked and responded to relevant changes through the pre-proposal and proposal processes. The Fall Unified Agenda, released this week, signals that the agencies have no plans to slow their pace.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released a new memorandum (Memorandum M-18-25), in coordination with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, 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.”

51���� 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 cost of many products used in construction climbed 7.4 percent over the past year due to double digit increases in commonly-used construction materials, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new Labor Department data. Association officials noted that the cost increases come as many construction firms are already grappling with shortages of skilled craftsmen essential for projects but have limited ability to increase prices for their services.

Construction employment increased by 23,000 jobs in September and by 315,000 jobs over the past year, reaching a 10-year high, while the industry’s unemployment rate decreased more than half-a-percentage point to 4.1 percent from a year earlier, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Even as firms increase headcount and increase pay, a survey by the association suggests that this expansion is threatened by a lack of skilled craft labor.

Saxonburg, Penn.-based Brayman Construction and its affiliate, Advanced Construction Robotics, were named as among the most innovative construction firms in the country for creating an autonomous rebar-tying robot for bridge construction projects. Brayman Construction is a member of the Associated General Contractors of America (51����), and along with Sundt Construction and the 51���� Oregon-Columbia Chapter, was recognized as the first ever first-place winner of the 51����-Autodesk Innovation Awards announced today during the 51���� Centennial Celebration.

Construction spending increased 0.1 percent from July to August and 5.3 percent for eight months of 2018 combined, with continued year-to-date gains for major public and private categories, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that these spending figures showed strong demand in construction across the country but that growth in the construction industry still depends on contractors’ ability to find sufficient qualified workers, urging public officials to step up support for career and technical education and to allow employment-based immigration.

The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (JSC) is working on a legislative framework for addressing the multiemployer pension crisis. The committee has concluded its scheduled public hearings and submissions for public stakeholder input ended earlier this week. The committee has spent considerable time focusing on the solvency of large distressed plans and the financial solvency of the Pension Benefit Corporation. However, the committee has spent less time examining the impact on reform changes to healthy plans or creating a framework for a future, sustainable retirement plans in the future, such as the composite plans.

On Sept. 24, 51���� commented on three proposed rules that would significantly affect the applicability and implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed revisions pertain to regulations governing the listing and delisting of species and plants, the designation of critical habitat and the interagency consultations that are part of the approval process for projects that involve federal permits or funding. 51����’s comment letters (one, two and three) offered examples of why the current process is unpredictable and adds delay and cost to the permitting and construction of infrastructure projects nationwide.

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between August 2017 and August 2018, while 33 states added construction jobs between July and August, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials welcomed the job gains but noted that the numbers would have been higher if contractors could only find more qualified workers to hire.