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…Construction Employment Hits Two-Year High in January But Industry’s 17.7 Percent Unemployment Rate Remains Double Overall Rate

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The Idaho AGC has a lobbying team with a combined 75 plus years in professional lobbying at the state, local, and federal levels as well as significant regulatory experience.

Idaho AGC committees work to affect public policy as well. Our key committees that work on public policy matters are the:

• Legislative Committee
• Highway Committee
• Building Committee

In 2011, the Idaho AGC through our lobbying team and our committees has held meetings with a variety of state level public entities including but not limited to:

• Idaho Department of Administration
• Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
• Idaho Department of Insurance
• Idaho State Tax Commission
• Idaho Public Utilities Commission
• Various committees of the Idaho Legislature
• The Division of Building Safety
• The Idaho Transportation Department
• The Idaho Division of Public Works
• Office of Governor Butch Otter

The Idaho AGC is also a key player in various industry groups from chambers of commerce to the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry where Idaho AGC representatives serve on the influential IACI Public Policy Committee, the IACI Environment Committee, the IACI Tax Policy Committee, and the IACI Health Care Subcommittee.

Obviously, the Idaho AGC is engaged in transportation funding as well as working on ways to increase funding for other public works projects.  However, in addition to those initiatives, during the 2011 Legislative session, the AGC was actively engaged in a diverse set of issues impacting our members including but not limited to:

• Unemployment Insurance
• Health Care Exchanges
• Personal property tax reduction
• Covered load regulations
• Killing a sales tax on construction-related services
• Degradation of water quality
• Public works contracting
• Wind energy construction

Throughout the summer of 2011, the Idaho AGC has been a key participant in a variety of health care meetings including IACI and the Department of Insurance to assure the interests of contractors are taken into account and protected.

In addition to these state level activities, the AGC engages on a local level as well including meetings with cities, highway districts, counties, and chambers of commerce throughout the state.

On a federal level, the Associated General Contractors of America has consistently been listed as one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the nation’s capitol. The Idaho AGC partners with the AGCA to work with Idaho’s four members of Congress on key federal issues. For example, after three Idaho AGC members met with our four members of Congress in Washington DC in September, all four officially sponsored efforts to repeal the 3% withholding penalty. It was not until the Idaho AGC weighed in that our delegation was 100% sponsors.

Some other organizations claim to be engaged at every level of government; however, in reality, only the Idaho AGC is truly looking out for the broad interests of the construction industry.

So, when making decisions about membership and who truly effectively represents the broad public policy interests of the construction industry, accept no substitutes or pretenders. Expect the best and look to the Idaho AGC!

To reach its 2011 fundraising goal of $90,000, the JWJF’s operating division, Idaho Youth Education Recycling Partnership (IYERP), needs your scrap metal.  If you have not participated in this impactful recycling program, you can drop off your scrap metal at any Pacific Recycling center statewide and designate your recycling donation to benefit the John William Jackson Fund.  It will be a tax free donation.  Additionally, you can contact “Action” Jackson at 208-890-8503 or email him at iyerp2010@gmail.com.    For more information, you can go to their website:  www.johnwilliamjacksonfund.org.

Thanks

“Action” Jackson

890-8503 (c)

–
The Idaho Youth Education Recycling Partnership (IYERP) is a collection of individuals and corporations with a mission to raise recycling awareness and improve recycling at the community level.

100% of the recycling proceeds coordinated via IYERP are donated to Idaho youth programs via the John William Jackson Fund – a Boise, Idaho based donor advised non-profit organization & member of the Idaho Community Foundation.  The mission of the John William Jackson Fund is to advance academic scholarship, performing arts and outdoor sporting for Idaho youth.

For more information visit www.johnwilliamjacksonfund.org & click on the Recycling Program link.

Mailing Address:
Idaho Youth Education Recycling Partnership
P. O. Box 4711
Boise, ID 83711-4711

Phone:
208-890-8503 (for Bill “Action” Jackson)
208-484-4173 (for Ben Blaine)

This year has been particularly important in various ways including setting the stage for both 2012 and 2013’s political season.

During 2011, the Idaho AGC worked with the Associated General Contractors of America securing support among Idaho’s four members of Congress to repeal the “3% Withholding” law. In September, 2011 I was joined by 2012 Idaho AGC President Paul Saucerman (Saucerman Construction) and 2013 Idaho AGC President Garry Mattson (Idaho Sand and Gravel) on a trip to Washington DC where we explained this onerous federal law to Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch along with Representatives Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador.

Beginning January 1, 2013, federal, state, and local governments will withhold 3 percent from each and every payment to contractors for goods and services. This requirement applies to all government entities with total budgets of at least $100 million such as cities, counties, highway districts, universities, and the State of Idaho. Construction contractors are not alone. This affects payments for all goods and services under government contracts, as well as payments to any person for a service or product provided to a government entity, even Medicare and certain grants. The withholding Applies to the Total Contract, Not to the Net Revenue Generated from a Project. 3% Withholding is More than the Profit Margin on Most Construction Contracts.

Congressman Simpson was an original sponsor of the repeal, and, after the Idaho AGC visit, the other three Idaho members of Congress signed onto the repeal as well.

The 3% withholding issue is only one issue among many federal issues the AGC organization addresses on our members’ behalf. From infrastructure funding, to commercial lending reform, to the impact of health care reform on construction companies, the Idaho AGC and the AGCA are actively engaged with our federal delegation.

On a state level, the AGC was active at the Legislature. During any session, there are often close to 1,000 pieces of legislation introduced and, in any given year, 300 to 500 become law after the complicated legislative process.

The Idaho AGC Legislative Committee and the AGC lobbying team evaluate all bills to gauge their impact on construction. In 2011, the AGC was involved in 15 bills impacting the industry. During my visits with members and potential members, a common theme was “I thought all the AGC cared about was GARVEE.”

Certainly GARVEE funding is critical to the Idaho AGC, and we have been champions of securing GARVEE funding for transportation as well as advocating for more effective transportation funding in general. However, in 2011, only two bills we addressed were transportation related.

Construction companies are businesses, and business issues are important to our members. Therefore, in addition to transportation, we addressed:

• Unemployment insurance
• Health care exchanges
• Building permits
• Opposed a 6% sales tax on professional services such as construction
• Covered loads
• Anti-degradation of water quality
• Project delivery methods

 All of these issues are important to construction, and legislation is only half the battle. The Idaho AGC was actively involved in discussions with the Idaho State Tax Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality and various other administrative agencies addressing regulatory matters that have not reached the legislative level yet.

The bottom line? Our members’ bottom line is the reason the Idaho AGC is so aggressive – and successful – in the public policy arena. If construction is your profession, then politics is your business!

The AGC of America offers select news and events for specialty contractors! Visit the link below to browse their sight. If you need to create a login, email Molly Conein for your national ID #. mconein@idahoagc.org

http://news.agc.org/topics/specialty-contractors/

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If investments in surface transportation infrastructure are not made soon, those costs are expected to grow exponentially. Within 10 years, U.S. businesses would pay an added $430 billion in transportation costs, household incomes would fall by more than $7,000, and U.S. exports will fall by $28 billion.

The report shows that failing infrastructure will drive the cost of doing business up by adding $430 billion to transportation costs in the next decade. It will cost firms more to ship goods, and the raw materials they buy will cost more due to increased transportation costs.

Productivity across the business sector will also tumble. Those increased costs will cause businesses to underperform by $240 billion over the next decade, which will drive the prices of goods up. As a result, U.S. exports will fall by $28 billion, including 79 of 93 tradable commodities. Ten sectors of the U.S. economy account for more than half of this unprecedented loss in export value – among them key technology sectors like machinery, medical devices, communications equipment, which produces much of this country’s innovations.

Idaho is not immune to the problem, and state government’s most recent study indicates the state has a $543 annual deficiency in transportation funding alone.  Governor Otter’s attempts in the 2008 and 2009 legislative session to address critical transportation funding deficiencies were defeated in favor of yet another study which only confirmed the problem is worse that previously expected.

As the state’s GARVEE program winds down, the problem will only grow worse in Idaho, and Idaho’s business community and the state’s economic development will suffer as a result.