CONNECTICUT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION, INC Annual Report on Legislative-Lobbying and Government Relations Activities

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1 CONNECTICUT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION, INC Annual Report on Legislative-Lobbying and Government Relations Activities With a budget deficit for the current fiscal year projected at the end of 2008 to exceed $300 million and approaching $6 billion over the next two fiscal years, the Governor and state lawmakers ended the year confronting a fiscal crisis that the state had not experienced in almost two decades. Gov. Rell indicated she will present a very austere budget in February with significant cuts in state spending. Not all was negative, however, for the state or the construction industry. The General Assembly met in November to begin to address the crisis. The Governor called for a second special session in early January. The State Bond Commission met in December and approved funding for several transportation construction projects, fully funding at $75 million the Fix-it-First program for maintenance of roads, bridges and highways across the state. A new President takes office in January. And Congress was considering a federal stimulus package that would amount to the biggest investment in the nation s infrastructure since President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the interstate highway system a half-century ago. Much of legislative-lobbying and government relations revolves around the legislative session. The 2008 legislative session should be viewed in context of the 2007 special session, which continued well into the fall and resulted in several significant bonding measures that will benefit the industry for years into the future. Now that 2009 is here, it should provide some historical perspective on what the industry can expect, even as we enter what is viewed by many economists as one of the most challenging economic times our state and nation have ever experienced. Some highlights of construction projects approved in special session by the legislature at the end of 2007 include: $864 million for transportation-related projects, including $150 million for a "Fix-It-First" program to repair state roads and bridges, CONNDOT capital improvements and highway resurfacing projects; $950 million for major renovations and improvements to the Connecticut State University System over 10 years ($95 million a year for 36 projects); $415 million in Clean Water Funding (mostly in the form of loans to cities and towns) plus $180 million in grants to upgrade sewage treatment plants; and

2 $1.31 billion in funding for local state-funded school construction projects, plus an additional $30 million over 2 fiscal years for interest subsidy grants to cover costs incurred for school construction during the summer of 2007, before the bonding legislation was approved. While many of the projects authorized still require approval by the State Bond Commission, they will provide funding for work for the industry for years to come. During the 2008 legislative session of the Connecticut General Assembly, CCIA supported a number of bills, some of which it presented for the legislature s consideration. While CCIA and several of its divisions were successful in advocating for or opposing several bills and made significant progress on others, some measures will have to return in future sessions before they become law. A controversial competitive bid requirement for construction managers on school construction projects, adopted in 2007 without a public hearing and the benefit of industry comment, was amended. Associated General Contractors of Connecticut (AGC/CT) worked with a school construction coalition comprised of cities, towns, design professionals and others to successfully support the amendments. Several AGC members actively participated in the efforts by testifying on bills and attending meetings with legislators and coalition meetings. A state false claims act, introduced by amendment late in the session, was successfully opposed by CCIA. CCIA mounted a campaign to vigorously oppose the measure, enlisting members in a grass roots initiative to urge legislators to reject the bill. The bill passed in the Senate but was not acted on by the House of Representatives. While CCIA achieved several important victories, many challenges lie ahead for business and industry was an election year the first year under which all candidates for election to the General Assembly were able to participate in public financing of their campaigns. Many incumbents, several considered friendly to industry, did not seek reelection and a number of new freshmen lawmakers were elected. A new Speaker of the House took office in January, The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned its 2008 regular legislative session on Wednesday, May 7, Lawmakers chose not to make adjustments to the second year of the biennial state budget adopted in

3 Priorities for legislation CCIA supported bills on the following subjects, which were passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor: Competitive bid requirement on public school building projects. CCIA and AGC/CT supported legislation to resolve unintended consequences for cities, towns, design professionals and construction managers created by Public Act , which required contracts for architectural and construction management services on state-funded public school building projects to be awarded to the lowest responsible qualified bidder only after a public invitation to bid. Senate Bill 402 (PA ), the school construction bill, eliminated the more traditional competitive bid and allows owners to select design professionals and CMs on the basis of qualifications specified in the solicitation for proposals. Under the new process, beginning July 1, 2008, owners can advertise for interested parties to submit qualifications, solicit proposals and select the successful bidder from no more than the four most responsible qualified firms. Highway work zone safety. CCIA supported legislation to create a Highway Work Zone Safety Council, which includes a representative of CCIA, to make ongoing recommendations to improve safety for workers, public safety officers and motor vehicle operators in a "highway work zone. Public Act , An Act Concerning Highway Work Zone Safety, also established the offenses of endangerment of a highway worker and aggravated endangerment of a highway worker. Construction safety training. CCIA supported expanding the OSHA 10- hour training requirement to any public works project for repair and renovation of $100,000 or more and new construction projects of $400,000 or more. The scope of the law is expanded to include workers in all crafts that are in classifications under the prevailing wage statutes on all public work, including sewage and water treatment plants, site work, road and bridge work, parking lots, and drainage systems. Under Public Act 08-83, An Act Concerning Construction Safety, mine safety training may be substituted for the OSHA 10-hour training. Public service company employees and commercial vehicle drivers delivering or picking up cargo from a project site are exempt as long as they only load or unload the cargo. The new law, which became effective January 1, 2009, and applies to contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2009, removes the requirement that the proof of training be sent to the Labor Commissioner; it must be sent with the weekly certified payroll form for the first week each employee begins work on the project, 3

4 presumably to the contracting agency paying for the prevailing wage project. Hours of labor on state bridge projects. CCIA successfully supported legislation to repeal Conn. Gen. Stat , which requires contracts entered into by the Commissioner of Transportation to include a provision limiting the work of employees on state bridge projects to no more than 48 hours in a week. The 60-year-old law, which was outdated, rarely enforced and limited work opportunities for employees, was repealed October 1, 2008 by Public Act , An Act Concerning the Department of Transportation. Major Issues Opposed and Defeated by CCIA. CCIA successfully opposed or played a major roll in defeating bills that would have: Adopted a state false claims act under several workers compensation bills, imposed unreasonable administrative burdens and costs on employers, reduced employment opportunities for workers and reversed reforms enacted in the 1990s required costly blasting regulations without any industry standards imposed burdensome limits on asphalt and concrete batching facilities in environmentally stressed communities changed the prevailing wage on certain municipal projects allowed local and regional school districts to participate in on-line auctions to procure construction management services, which would prevent towns from evaluating the experience and qualifications of CMs and reduce the quality of CM services on school projects required certain companies to provide paid sick leave CCIA supported several bills that were not passed, including legislation to: require a finding of a violation by the Office of State Ethics before an agency can find a contractor nonresponsible for violating certain state ethics and bidding laws allow general contractors to include subcontractor passthrough claims in a claim against the state allow employers to require employees who serve in highrisk or safety-sensitive occupations to submit to a random urinalysis drug test 4

5 Coalition partners. AGC/CT was an active member and participant with construction managers, architects, engineers, school building officials and representatives of cities and towns to form the School Construction Coalition. The coalition succeeded in advocating for legislation in response to changes to a competitive bid requirement adopted in 2007 for CMs and design professionals. CCIA and several of its divisions were actively represented in the Coalition for a Competitive Connecticut, which was led by CBIA to oppose changes that would have increased the cost of workers compensation insurance. CCIA and UCAC were active participants in the Clean Water Fund Investment Coalition, which was initiated by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and sought additional resources and bonding authority for Clean Water projects. CCIA and several of its divisions continued their affiliation with a diverse group of business, labor and public policy organizations and chambers of commerce as part of Keep Connecticut Moving, which seeks a first-class transportation system to improve the quality of life and business climate legislative session. Several issues are expected to return in the 2009 legislative session, which began January 7. Several proposals are expected in response to alleged problems with the state contracting system and to address the economic crisis confronting the state and the budget deficit. CCIA s Legislative Priorities for CCIA will continue its efforts to secure long-term funding for capital improvement programs and infrastructure projects, including transportation, school construction, and the Clean Water Fund, and oppose adoption of a state false claims act. In addition, CCIA plans to support the following initiatives: Relieve contractors from performing additional change orders when total pending construction change orders or directives exceed 5% of the original contract cost; An independent, third-party review of design and construction documents of certain public buildings in the state; Training on safe driving practices in highway work zones as part of driver education, and training of police officers in highway work zone safety; Allow an offer of compromise to be made during arbitration of construction cases and increase the amount of interest added to recoveries in construction cases if a plaintiff 5

6 recovers an amount equal to or greater than the plaintiff s offer of compromise; Adopt a definition of utility piping work ; and Require the Office of State Ethics to conduct a hearing and find a violation prior to a state agency deeming a contractor nonresponsible for a violation of certain state ethics laws to provide due process. CCIA Government Affairs appreciates the support and active participation of many members in the legislative process. Given recent changes in campaign finance reform, there will likely be more opportunities for grass roots support. A significant part of our success is due to members participation. 6