AGC of NH News
NOTE: For those not familiar with AGC of NH, this section of news is a supplement to our biweekly newsletter and used for attachments that could not be included with that publication.
Important Reminders
Flagging Requirements
The new flagging requirement becomes effective on all new projects beginning October 1st, 2008, which is the beginning of federal fiscal year 2009. The requirement states that upon request by the contract administrator, the contractor or subcontractor shall provide verification of training within 48 hours. A certificate stating the individual has been trained by a designated trainer in flag training procedures with the date of the training and the trainer's signature is acceptable. For your convenience, download a certificate template available for you to use. The template is sized for the Avery standard labels #8372, which produces 2" H x 3.5" W business-card sized certificates. Flagging Card Template
AGC Update Available by E-Mail
For those of you who may not like papers cluttering your desk, AGC is helping to clear the clutter away! The AGC Update is now available by e-mail, to those of you who like the convenience of digital mail! AGC promises to bring you the same quality news and information, just in an easier one-click format. If you are currently receiving our newsletter and would like to begin receiving a digital copy of the AGC Update, simply email your request. Please include your company name and address as membership information is sent by mail.
July 2009
Do You Have the Right Poster?
If you’re working on a stimulus funded project, make sure you have the correct “whistleblowers” poster on your jobsite. The State of New Hampshire also requires a whistleblower poster, which is similar to the stimulus one, however on stimulus funded jobsites both posters are required. This will become a Labor Compliance inspection item.
The Stimulus whistleblower poster is titled “Know Your Rights Under the Recovery Act!” You may download the poster here Whistleblower+Poster.
New DES Blasting Best Management Practices Draft
AGC of NH has received the newest draft of the Potential Impacts of Blasting Activities on Water Resources from the DES. This draft is a follow up from the October 2008 document. AGC of NH and its Environment Committee had several concerns with the October version, namely:
- No scientific data that supports the supposition that there are negative impacts on wells from blasting
- Proposed requirements are unnecessary and redundant
- Potential cost of compliance would be unreasonable and burdensome
The Environment Committee will review the new draft in detail at their next meeting on August 6th. Once reviewed, they will make recommendations as to what action AGC of NH should take.
You can read the new draft here DES Blasting Draft.
June 2009
Department of Labor Answers AGC of NH’s OSHA Call
On May 18th, AGC of NH sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) Commissioner, George Copadis about OSHA requirements. It is AGC of NH’s understanding that 10-hour OSHA only applies when there are state funds involved. AGC of NH was forwarded a response that the DOL had been given by the Assistant Attorney General, Anthony Blenkinsop.
AGC of NH’s Board of Directors had reviewed the response, but is unsure if the letter is providing the answer AGC of NH needs. The letter responds to several questions that AGC of NH did not ask, and does not directly answer the one question AGC of NH did ask. The Board of Directors will look at it further at their next meeting. Click here DOL Response Letter June 2009 to read the letter.
House Budget includes Registration Fee Increases
See complete story in our legislative newsletter dated June 29, 2009. The following is a pdf file of that portion of the budget with the registration fee increases. HB 2
Mid-Session Legislative Update
As reported in the final legislative report issued in the June 29, 2009 newsletter, the association did not include legislation that was finished by the mid-session legislative update. The newsletter stated you could get that report here on the website. This is that report - April 2009 Crossover Leg. Report
Update on Administrative Services New Labor Compliance Requirements
Last issue AGC of NH ran an article on the new Labor Compliance Enforcement requirements proposed by Administrative Services for 2010/2011 projects. These new requirements have sparked interest and concern among our members. The AGC of NH Building Committee reviewed the PowerPoint Presentation given by Mark Nogueira from Administrative Services, which described the new requirements.
They had issues with several of the new requirements, namely:
- Require subcontractors to list the general contractor as “additional insured” on Workers’ Compensation policy
- Require general contractors to maintain a daily “log-in” sheet of all personnel entering job-site and verify they are on the master list
- Require general contractors to provide a notarized affidavit, swearing to compliance with all applicable labor laws, along with monthly payment requisitions
The Building Committee questioned the legality and feasibility on these points. As a result, AGC of NH and the Building Committee will be writing a letter to Administrative Services stating their concerns. It is hoped that from the letter, a meeting can be set up with Administrative Services so that more practical requirements can be reached. Once the meeting has been scheduled, AGC of NH will invite all building contractors to participate.
You may view the entire PowerPoint presentation by clicking here Labor Compliance PowerPoint.
Senate Bill 78 Passes House Committee
Senate Bill 78, which refers to contractor accountability and disclosure, was voted ought to pass with amendment by the House Public Works and Highways Committee during the Executive Session on May 26.
The bill requires all general contractors who are awarded a contract for a state project by any state agency through a competitive bid process to create a list of all those involved in the project. This includes the names, addresses, CEOs, CFOs and other LLC principals for each subcontractor. The list must be posted in both a visible location on the job-site, and on the awarding agency’s website. The House committee amended the bill to address several concerns. Where the bill had originally stated that the required list must be updated weekly, it will now be updated monthly. Also, where originally work would have stopped if an unlisted subcontractor were found on the site, the general contractor will now have 36 hours to post their information on the list.
After much discussion, the committee voted 10-6 ought to pass with amendment. With the committee recommending the amended bill pass, it is likely that the House will vote in favor, and that the Senate will concur.
To see the amended version of the bill please click SB 78 Amendment.
Unemployment Trust Fund’s Balance Affects Employers
As unemployment continues to rise, New Hampshire has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of eligible people requesting unemployment compensation. Unemployment claims of this magnitude have not been seen since the early 1990’s. The rapid increase has forced the Department of Employment Security, who is estimating the projections for this year, 2009, to pay out $265 million.
Currently the tax structure is based on an $8,000 taxable wage base, which leads to approximately $81 million in collections. The taxable wage base has not increased since 1992, if it had been steadily increasing, inflation would put the taxable wage base at $14,000 today. Last year, the trust fund had a positive balance of more than $100 million, now it is below $100 million. It is projected that the unemployment rate will jump dramatically in 2010, which will lead the trust fund into the negative by next April. If the trust fund falls into the negative, New Hampshire will have to borrow from the government, and this will affect the federal rate that employers pay.
Through meetings with the Department of Employment Security and the Governor’s office, it is clear that significant legislative changes will have to take place over the next month. About a year ago, a subcommittee for the unemployment advisory council was formed, which AGC’s Gary Abbott participated on, to look at ways to fairly and equitably balance positive and negative balance employers.
The subcommittee for negative balance has recommended:
- Add a new table 3, which amounts to an additional ½ % for those firms who have been in the negative for the preceding three years. Where the current range is 2.8% - 6.5%, it will become 3.3%- 7%
- Create a trigger for the trust fund
- If the balance falls below the trigger, $325 million, there will be an increase in the tax rate in table 2 and 3 by ½ % - 1 ½ % depending on the balance
- The additional fixes to the fund balance because of the rise in benefits is to:
- Increase the taxable wage base will increase from $8,000 to $14,000 in $2,000 increments over the next 3 years
- The increases will not be enough to sustain the fund, which has lead to a proposed 1% surcharge for three year
- The surcharge would apply to all employers
- Recommend a one-week waiting period before collecting benefits
- Addresses the furlough problem and would save $20 million
The unemployment trust fund will come to light in the coming weeks as both the House and the Senate work on this comprehensive solution. The changes will be effective January 1, 2010, so keep in mind that this will dramatically increase unemployed taxes for seasonal employers.
If you would like to learn more, click here Taxable Wage Base Chart
to read the proposals and spreadsheets from the meetings on the unemployment trust fund.
To view the table on taxable wage base increase, click here Taxable Wage Base Amendment.
Please click here to read Senate Bill 129 SB 129 Amendment
, which has been amended to include the reforms to the unemployment trust fund.
To read the Department of Employment Security’s report, please visit: http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/pdfzip/TrustFundReport.pdf.
February 2009
Effluent Limitation Guidelines Proposed for Construction & Development Industry
On February 20th, AGC of NH sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding their proposal for tighter controls on effluent limitation guidelines (ELG). The proposed rule would cost the industry nearly $2 billion annually, which amounts to about $7,000 per acre, according to EPA estimates.
Once finalized, the new regulations would be incorporated into all state and federal stormwater permits for construction activities. The rule would have a direct significant impact on virtually all aspects of the construction industry.
EPA is considering three regulatory options:
Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls (i.e. best management practices- BMP’s).Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls plus a numeric turbidity standard for construction on certain larger sites that meet rainfall and soil-type conditions.
Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls plus a numeric turbidity for all sites that disturb at least 10 acres.
The AGC of NH strongly opposed options 2 and 3, as they would establish a numeric effluent limit and mandate active treatment systems. The Association also disagreed with EPA’s assumption that all sites are always 90% disturbed and without any erosion and sediment controls for 9 months at a time; our experience is these factors vary drastically depending on the type of construction. Major construction projects are often thirty acres or greater in size, and on any given project, generally no more than 20% of the site is disturbed at any one time. To protect the environment, we implement erosion and sediment controls.
AGC of NH also stated in the letter to EPA its concern that EPA lacks the industry and site-specific data and analyses needed to develop an appropriate ELG, since they bypassed the typical industry information collection process normally associated with ELG rulemakings. Lacking good data, EPA has overestimated both the portion of a jobsite likely to be disturbed at any one time and the likely duration of the disturbance, thereby exaggerating the amount of sediment runoff from active sites. In addition, EPA has not accurately accounted for the erosion and sediment controls that construction professionals currently use on their jobsites. Due to these errors, EPA’s model overstates the environmental benefits that would result from the proposed ELG, skewing the cost effectiveness analysis. The Association expressed its support for option 1 and urged EPA to ensure that the final ELG fits within the existing construction storm water general permit (CGP) framework.
If you would like to see the complete letter sent to EPA, click here EPA Letter- Effluent Limitation.
January 2009
AGC of America Releases Details of Stimulus Package
On January 15, the House Democratic Leadership announced details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees released details of the $825 billion package. The total package consists of $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts and $550 billion in targeted investments, coupled with several unprecedented accountability measures. AGC estimates that approximately $150 billion of the spending proposed in this bill would benefit the construction industry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said today that she hoped these Committees would take up the bill late next week, with the goal of sending a final product to the White House by mid-February. According to House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI), this package would create and save 3 to 4 million jobs and jumpstart our economy. In many instances, funds would be distributed through existing formulas. How funds are spent, all announcements of contract and grant competitions and awards, and formula grant allocations must be posted on an open government web site. Governors, mayors or others making funding decisions must personally certify that the investment has been fully vetted and is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.
A Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board would also be created to review management of recovery dollars and provide early warning of problems. Federal and state whistleblowers that report fraud and abuse are protected. Finally, there are no earmarks in this package. The House Ways and Means Committee’s $275 billion tax package would provide tax, health, and other benefits to American families, as well as incentives for businesses to grow and create jobs.
Highlights in the package benefiting the construction industry include:
- One-year deferral of the 3 percent withholding law from 2011 to 2012
- Bonus depreciation
- 5-year carry-back of net operating losses
- Extension of increased small business expensing
- Repeal AMT limits on new private activity bonds
- School construction bonds
- Remove repayment requirement on $7,500 first-time homebuyer credit
- Tax exempt and tax credit bonds to “recovery zones” (i.e., areas of high unemployment, foreclosures, or poverty)
- Various energy efficiency tax incentives and bonds
AGC’s CEO Stephen Sandherr released a statement indicating that the newly released details of the proposed stimulus package provide encouraging signs that Congress is willing to make significant, but essential, investments needed to rebuild our aging infrastructure and inefficient public buildings while repairing America’s ailing economy. However, he pointed out that in an environment where almost 900,000 construction workers have lost their jobs, the construction community has the capacity to do even more work than is currently being considered. AGC is continuing to meet with House and Senate leaders to identify every possible avenue to increase the proposed investments in infrastructure in the draft package and enact the bill as soon as possible.
Click on the name to view the following documents:
House Appropriations Stimulus (1-15-09) ARRA Summary
House Stimulus Overview House Stimulus Overview
Recovery Bill (1-15-09) Recovery Bill
Recovery Report (1-15-09) Recovery Report
Chairman Rangel Outlines Economic Stimulus Package Rangel Outlines Recovery
2008 Annual Report
The AGC of NH published it's 2008 Annual Report.
Click here to view a pdf. version. 2008 Annual Report