Here you can access past articles from the AGC blog categorized by area of interest. If you have questions regarding the news archive, please contact Government Affairs Specialist Allison Koenker, 503-685-8307 or 800-826-6610.
Last week, AGC received this message from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality about a new funding opportunity through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Please continue reading for more information… CLEAN DIESEL FUNDING EPA is soliciting clean diesel proposals … Continue reading
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule on representation case procedures went into effect on April 30, 2012. Referred to as the “Quickie Election” or “Ambush Election” rule, would speed up the union representation election cycle to as little as … Continue reading
Wednesday, April 25 the US House of Representatives voted to meet with the US Senate to negotiate a bill funding federal highway and transit programs. House Members approved a motion to go to conference with the Senate (who moved to … Continue reading
ODOT has announced new Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program goals. You have two opportunities to learn about the changes ODOT is proposing and to comment (see below). Specifically, ODOT is proposing amendments to the DBE program waiver. This program waiver … Continue reading
AGC of America (AGCA) is announcing a new and significantly improved technology platform for ConsensusDocs contracts that is scheduled for release next week. AGCA will do a soft, phased launch to current subscribers starting on April 17, with a full … Continue reading
NOTE: This item was originally posted by the AGC Inland Northwest Chapter in an email sent April 9, 2012. __________ The Washington State Supreme Court recently took the position requested by three AGC Chapters in a recent court case and … Continue reading
AGC of America recently alerted local chapters that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a new template for stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs). The SWPPPs are site-specific documents required by EPA to control construction stormwater runoff to waters … Continue reading
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled in late February in Cortez v. Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc. that the exclusive remedy provision of the workers’ compensation law does not protect the individual members of an LLC from tort liability. This … Continue reading
On Monday, March 19th the state published the most recent revenue forecast for the State Highway Fund. The December 2011 forecast shows a 2.2% drop in future revenues in comparison to the September 2011 forecast. The forecast includes revenue projections … Continue reading
From AGC of America: A 90-day extension of current transportation funding would create “havoc” for cities and states trying to plan their transportation projects, said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), speaking of House Republicans’ plan for a short-term funding extension instead … Continue reading
Governor Kitzhaber, along with State Attorney General John Kroger and Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan, launched the Governor’s Regulatory Streamlining and Simplification Project in 2011 to create a plan for simplifying the state’s regulatory and permitting system. As part of … Continue reading
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is offering a number of free training sessions for operators of heavy duty diesel trucks and buses. If you operate heavy duty trucks pulling a 53-foot box van or refrigerated trailer, or any other … Continue reading
March 5th marked the end of the 2012 Oregon legislative session. To access AGC’s report on the session, please click here. If you have questions, please contact Government Affairs Specialist Allison Koenker.
Oregon DEQ has announced they may have nearly $300,000 remaining from older grants that will be made available for non-road diesel engine repowers. Here is the information DEQ has shared with AGC: DEQ is soliciting project ideas to repower older … Continue reading
This morning, AGC Government Affairs Director John Rakowitz briefed the Board of Directors on the results of the 2012 legislative session to date*. Click here to access the PowerPoint presentation that was shared with the Board. *NOTE: The legislature remains … Continue reading
The Oregon Legislature just completed work on HB 4034, a bill that will amend Oregon’s prompt pay statute. AGC actively supported this bill for a variety of reasons. This blog post will provide in-depth background on the bill and discuss … Continue reading
February 14 marked an important day on the 2012 legislative calendar. In most cases, any bills that did not come out of policy committees in their chamber of origin died. This means that of the original 270+ bills that were … Continue reading
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed David Andersen, president of Andersen Construction Company, Inc. and AGC past president from 2001, to the Workers’ Compensation Division’s Management Labor Advisory Committee. Once David Andersen expressed an interest in serving on this influential committee, AGC’s … Continue reading
In a show of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 85-11 to invoke cloture on its two-year, $109 billion surface transportation legislation. This places a time limit on consideration of the bill and thus precludes a filibuster that may have delayed consideration … Continue reading
Committees in the United States Senate have completed action on Federal transportation reauthorization legislation. The US Senate will begin action on the floor tomorrow with a parliamentary procedure called a “Motion to Proceed.” As its name implies, before Senate debate … Continue reading
Yesterday the state’s economists released their most recent economic and revenue forecast. The general fund budget for this biennium is now expected to come in at $14.8 billion, approximately $35 million below the third quarter forecast of $14.83 billion.This margin … Continue reading
Readers may recall that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California unique authority under the federal Clean Air Act to adopt emissions standards, which resulted in the state developing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The California LCFS … Continue reading
Yesterday marked the start of the first official annual legislative session, which was approved by Oregon voters in 2010. Prior to this year, the Oregon Legislature regularly convened biannually; past short sessions were experimental. By law, the short session can … Continue reading
Here is a repost of a blog entry from AGC of America’s Tamika Carter about a proposed federal rule that may place significant additional cost and administrative burdens on your company: On Dec. 9, 2011, the Office of Federal … Continue reading
For those of you who are interested in the Oregon Department of Transportation and general transportation news throughout the state, you may enjoy reading this introductory article from the new Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) chair Pat Egan. In “The case … Continue reading
Here are a couple of links to some recent news stories (some good, some not-so-good) affecting our industry: Oregon universities win $3.5 million federal grant to study sustainable transportation. Vestas slashes jobs in Portland area … Continue reading
The Oregon Employment Department recently published two articles focused on Oregon’s economy, with special focus on the construction industry. For those of you who have some free time over the weekend and an interest in the recent history of construction … Continue reading
The US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a final rule that restricts the use of hand-held mobile telephones by interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers (CMV) and interstate hazmat drivers beginning January 3, 2012. The … Continue reading
The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) publishes Oregon state prevailing wage rates in January and July of each year. A second publication, Definitions of Covered Occupations for Public Works Contracts in Oregon, contains the important occupations definitions that are … Continue reading
One of AGC’s core policies is to advocate for industry sensitive environmental regulations and to oppose any new environmental regulations that will impose a financial burden on the industry. The Government Affairs team works closely with Oregon state agencies and … Continue reading
In a recent blog post at oregonbusiness.com, Oregon economist Bill Conerly analyzes the state of the real estate sector. His conclusion: the past isn’t necessarily prologue. In past economic downturns, property owners and developers at the low end of … Continue reading
This past Monday, I attended the 2011 Oregon Leadership Summit in Portland. It was attended by about 1,200 business leaders, government leaders, and others from around the state. The Summit is important for several reasons: It’s an opportunity for folks … Continue reading
One of AGC’s major victories during the 2011 Legislative Session was the passage of House Bill 3362. AGC, along with industry allies, successfully secured a $2 million grant program earmarked for career and technical education (CTE) opportunities. The bill, which … Continue reading
