News
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
AGC supports employer immunity from suit in Supreme Court appeal
By John Riper Ashbaugh BealA pending lawsuit against The Boeing Company threatens to impose new liability on Washington contractors whose employees have been exposed to toxic or harmful substances on a jobsite. The case involves employer liability for asbestos exposure 28 years ago but the outcom...
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
Surge in AGC membership applications
AGC of Washington has seen a significant increase in membership applications in recent months as area businesses look to reinforce their bottom line. For 2013 as a whole new-member applications grew by about 14 percent over typical years. 2014 however is off to an even busier start with the chapt...
Posted on 02/17/2014
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 Elects 2014 Officers and Board Members
AGC of Washington elected a new group of officers at its 2014 annual convention held Jan. 24 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. The association welcomed Joe Simmons Joseph S. Simmons Construction as president; Gary Smith Lease Crutcher Lewis as first vice president; Mark Seaman Abbott Construc...
Posted on 01/31/2014
AGC 2014 Annual Convention highlights
AGC of Washington once again featured a wide range of events and happenings at its day-long annual convention at the Seattle Four Seasons Hotel on January 24. These included the convention’s kick-off luncheon with guest speaker Jeff Shoaf AGC of America’s Senior Executive Director for Government ...
Posted on 01/31/2014
Loren Pease named AGC's 2014 Contractor of the Year
Loren Pease of Pease Construction in Lakewood was presented with the AGC of Washington’s 2014 Contractor of the Year award at the AGC’s annual convention held on Jan. 24 at Seattle’s Four Seasons Hotel. Additional annual awards were announced including Subcontractor of the Year presented to Ken D...
Posted on 01/31/2014
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
Washington construction industry sends every worker home in 2013
That’s right in Washington State in 2013 there were ZERO worker fatalities. ZERO.Rewind the clock about five years and the industry average number of annual fatalities was 18. We have seen a steady drop in our fatality counts each year and this year we got to celebrate the best outcome possible. ...
Posted on 01/20/2014
AGC EF announces inaugural lean certification graduates
Congratulations to the first graduating class of the AGC Education Foundation’s new Lean Construction Certification Program (LCCP)! Thirteen students completed all six modules of the program which taught participants new lean techniques and approaches that reduce costs reduce schedules improve ...
Posted on 01/07/2014
Defense bill boosts local military construction
The $526.8 billion defense budget signed by President Obama during the holidays includes $153 million for projects at JBLM and $85 million for facilities at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. The local projects funded in the defense bill are:• $79 million for a new Army aircraft maintenance hange...
Posted on 01/06/2014
Workers' Comp Rates will Increase 2.7% in 2014
Premiums for workers’ compensation insurance next year will increase for the first time in three years the Department of Labor and Industries announced this week. The average 2.7-percent rate increase for 2014 premiums is an increase of less than two cents per hour worked.
L&I confirmed the ...
Posted on 12/02/2013
AGCEF Helps Students Transition from College to Work
The AGC Education Foundation is helping students from our state universities transition from their education into the industry. AGCEF sponsored and designed a mentorship program that allows construction-management students from CWU UW and WSU to network with former scholarship recipients donor...
Posted on 12/02/2013
MBDA Helps Connect GCs with M/W/DBEs
The following info is provided by the Seattle MBDA Business Center.
Hello AGC members! I’m Rhonda DeVito a business consultant at the Seattle MBDA Business Center and I’d like to invite AGC members to use our services.
Never heard of the MBDA? The Minority Business Development Agency is funde...
Posted on 12/02/2013
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.
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Posted on 12/02/2013
Washington's 2014 Construction Forecast Positive Across Many Sectors
Click here for the full 2014 economic-forecast presentation.
With Washington State among the country’s healthiest economies 2014 looks promising for healthy growth among most of the state’s construction sectors according to Cliff Brewis of McGraw-Hill. Brewis was the featured speaker at Novemb...
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...