News for Legislation
AGC's 2014 Legislative Recap
The following bills passed the Legislature in 2014.
E2SHB 2192 – AGC’s position: SupportState agency permitting: In response to recommendations from a recent performance audit by the Washington State Auditor’s Office this bill requires agencies to keep track of and public report the amount of ti...
Posted on: 04/14/2014
ACT NOW: With the clock running down, full-court press on transportation package
With the clock running down in the 2014 state legislative session AGC and others are putting on a full-court press to secure passage of a comprehensive transportation package.
AGC members are strongly urged to contact their legislators – even if they already did so earlier this year – and urge t...
Posted on: 03/04/2014
Bill that reduces L&I claims processing times passes Senate
AGC is supporting legislation SB 5112 to allow Retro plans to schedule independent medical examinations (IMEs) and vocational rehabilitation assessments facilitating faster processing of claims.
“Labor and Industries’ caseloads are triple the industry standard” testified AGC Group Retro Direct...
Posted on: 03/03/2014
Ask Your State Senator to Restore Funding for Public Works
An important public-works bill has passed the House. Act now to urge the State Senate to act!
The House passed SHB 2244 a bill to restore funding for the Public Works Assistance Account a key source of financing for local governments for the acquisition construction repair replacement or improve...
Posted on: 02/20/2014
Senators announce $12.3B transportation funding plan
Last week Sen. Curtis King co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee unveiled a new transportation funding package. Sen. King was joined by several other members of the Majority Coalition Caucus in announcing the 12-year $12.29 billion proposal which includes an 11.5-cent-per-gallon gas...
Posted on: 02/17/2014
AGC working on several labor-related bills
Several labor-related bills – some opposed by AGC some supported – are still alive in the current legislative session. Below is a recap; for additional information contact Van Collins at 360 352 5000360 352 5000.AGC supports:SB 5125 – Changes the statutory definition of occupational disease so th...
Posted on: 02/17/2014
ACT NOW to support infrastructure construction
Feb. 14 -- At any moment the State House of Representatives will be voting on a bill to restore funding for the Public Works Assistance Account a key source of financing for local governments for the acquisition construction repair replacement or improvement of bridges streets and roads; water sy...
Posted on: 02/14/2014
Bill changes GC/CM for heavy civil projects
HB 2208 is legislation that would specifically allow changes to the current self-performance limitations and allow for part of the project to be negotiated when a project is “heavy civil” in nature. The bill changes the current 30 percent limit on negotiated work to 50%.
The Capital Projects Rev...
Posted on: 02/03/2014
AGC testifies on a flurry of labor bills
AGC opposes bills to increase apprentice utilization mandate paid vacation leave and mandate certified payrolls on public projects and supports bills to clarify independent contractor rules.
Apprentice UtilizationHB 2526 would make any bidder “non-responsible” that does not meet apprenticeship u...
Posted on: 01/31/2014
AGC to Legislature: Restore funding for public works construction
AGC is supporting legislation to restore funding streams to the Public Works Assistance Account which helps fund hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of local construction projects. Local governments and special purpose districts are eligible to apply to the Public Works Board (PWB) for low-int...
Posted on: 01/31/2014
Can a contractor be forced to pay twice for a subcontractor's employee benefits? Washington Supreme Court to decide (again).
By James R. Lynch Ahlers & Cressman PLLC(Editor’s note: Oral arguments can be viewed on TVW here.)In the first case of its Winter 2014 term the Washington State Supreme Court is considering whether an employee benefits trust may use the Washington public works bond and retention statutes to p...
Posted on: 01/21/2014
Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Would Have Negative Impact on Construction
Washington State is considering the implementation of a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS). While some of the effects of such a policy on the construction industry are unknown because it has yet to be tried anywhere the things that are known about the policy are not good.
The push for a low-carbon ...
Posted on: 12/02/2013
AGC Testifies in Support of Senate Transportation-Funding Measure
The Senate proposal includes a phased-in 11.5-cent per-gallon gas-tax increase (the House-passed bill included a 10.5-cent increase). The gas-tax increase combined with other fees and bonding authority would bring spending to about $12.3 billion. Here’s the list of revenues and expenditures.
...
Posted on: 12/02/2013
Brett Ferullo to Chair AGC's BUILD PAC
Brett Ferullo Northwest Construction was once again elected Chair of the Senior Council for AGC’s BUILD PAC with Dan Absher Absher Construction elected Vice Chair.“One of our immediate goals is to increase contributions to AGC’s BUILD PAC through the dues-renewal process that is underway right no...
Posted on: 11/18/2013
Senate Proposes $12B Transportation Package
In a bit of a surprise the State Senate’s Majority Coalition Caucus (comprised of all 23 Republicans and two Democrats) recently proposed a comprehensive transportation-funding package that would increase transportation spending by more than $12 billion.While the Senate proposal ups the ante comp...
Posted on: 11/18/2013
Is There a Carbon Tax in the Atmosphere?
Expect low-carbon fuel standards and a carbon tax to be on the agenda when the State Legislature convenes in January. These and other greenhouse gas-related proposals got a boost from Gov. Inslee on two fronts recently:• The Climate Legislative and Executive Workgroup (CLEW) created by legisla...
Posted on: 11/04/2013
AGC Chapter Leaders Visit D.C., Members of Congress
Earlier this month (just as the government was shutting down not incidentally) AGC chapter leaders from around the country descended upon Washington D.C. for its annual National and Chapter Leadership Conference. This conference is designed to bring chapter leaders together to discuss best ...
Posted on: 10/21/2013
AGC Submits Testimony to House Panel on Federal Contract Bundling
AGC of America has been working with Congress and federal agencies to help ensure that Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOCs) and Multiple Award Construction Contracts (MACCs) don’t unnecessarily limit competition for federal construction projects.
On Oct. 10 AGC submitted testimony to the...
Posted on: 10/21/2013
Renewed Push for Transportation Package
AGC and its partners in the Keep Washington Rolling coalition are implementing a campaign aimed at convincing the Legislature to pass a new transportation package in a special session or as soon as possible during the 2014 session.
Keep Washington Rolling (KWR) is a statewide group that includes...
Posted on: 09/10/2013
Inslee's Executive Order Impacts Contractor-Selection Process
Governor Inslee recently signed an executive order “requiring consideration of lifecycle and operating costs in public-works projects.”
The order requires agencies – when hiring an architect engineer GC/CM or Design Build firm for projects funded by the state’s capital budget — to consider the f...
Posted on: 09/09/2013
GCCM, DB, JOC Legislation Passes Senate Committee
Legislation to reauthorize and revise the State’s alternative public works contracting procedures has been passed out of the Senate Governmental Operations Committee with the support of AGC. The law authorizing the use of GCCM Design-Build (DB) and Job Order Contracting (JOC) on certain public p...
Posted on: 02/19/2013
Bills Expand Apprentice Quotas, Prevailing Wage to Some Private Projects
AGC opposes both HB 1023 which extends apprenticeship utilization quotas to certain private projects and HB 1025 which extends prevailing wage laws to some private projects.
Basically the bills redefine as public works those projects for which:
a party to the contract for the public work rece...
Posted on: 02/04/2013
Act Now: Senate Voting on Workers' Comp Bills Early Next Week
The State Senate will be voting on a package of workers compensation reform bills strongly supported by AGC. Please take a moment to urge your Senator to vote YES on all of these bills:
SB 5127 - Allows any worker regardless of age (currently only those 55 and older may do so) to accept structu...
Posted on: 01/30/2013
Support Senate Bill 5112: Granting Scheduling Authority for Qualified Retro Plans
Please ACT NOW! The Washington State Senate is expected to vote on Senate Bill 5112 early next week. Please send your Senator a message urging him to support 5112.
Bottom line: SB 5112 is a common sense bill that allows experienced Retro claims managers to schedule Independent Medical Examinati...
Posted on: 01/30/2013
AGC Opposes Covered Loads Bill
AGC is opposing covered loads legislation. House Bill 1007:
Requires that from August 1 2013 through June 30 2014 any vehicles operating on a paved public highway hauling dirt sand rocks or gravel susceptible to escaping must use a cover if the vehicle is equipped with a load cover.
Requires...