Related Links: Planning To Punish Structures With Rain, Hail, Wind and Fire Maryland closed a loophole in its building code with a law signed May 16. The measure prevents jurisdictions from weakening Maryland's Building Performance Standards for wind design and windborne debris resistance."The legislation signed by Gov. [Martin] O'Malley (D) corrects a previous flaw in the...statewide building code," says Debra Ballen, general counsel and senior vice president of public policy for the Institute of Business & Home Safety—a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance industry group. The flaw Ballen refers to allows local amendments to weaken the wind resistance provisions in Maryland Building

Related Links: WRDA Bill Clears Senate Committee Bill Summary and Status The Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) easily on May 15, by an 83-14 vote.The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer and David Vitter (R-La.), would authorize new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, revise civil-works policies and give financial help to get projects built. A comparable bill has not yet been introduced in the House, but Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has called WRDA his panel’s “highest priority.”The bill also would implement some reforms in the way projects are delivered, such as accelerated reviews

Related Links: Link to archived webcast of Environment and Public Works Committee meeting Link to GOP News Release on Vote Boycott The nominations of Gina McCarthy, President Obama's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, and Tom Perez, Obama's nominee to serve as the next Labor Dept. secretary, could be in trouble.Senate committee votes scheduled for May 8 and May 9 were postponed after Republicans on the Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) boycotted McCarthy's nomination hearing, and labor committee Republicans used a procedural maneuver to delay the vote on Perez. MCCARTHYSenate EPW committee Republicans continue to push for a

Related Links: WRDA Bill Clears Senate Committee (ENR 4/1/13) Link to Boxer-Vitter revised version of WRDA bill (Senate amendment S.799) On May 14 the Senate was moving toward approving a bill to authorize new Corps of Engineers civil-works projects, revamp Corps policies and provide new water-infrastructure funding sources.When the pending Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) cleared the Environment and Public Works Committee in March, the Congressional Budget Office estimated its authorizations at $7.7 billion over five years, including $4.5 billion for 27 Corps projects. To comply with the congressional earmark moratorium, the bill doesn't name the projects but says they

Related Links: Summary of S. 761 Letter opposing amendmends to bill Advocates of an energy-efficiency bill in Congress are hopeful the measure can pass both chambers sometime this year.The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on May 8 approved S.761 by a voice vote. However, three GOP senators said they wanted to go on the record as voting against the measure. At the meeting, ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said, "It's encouraging to see senators from both sides of the aisle coming together to work on bipartisan energy legislation." Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) added, "To anybody who calls this

Related Links: U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit May 7 Ruling NLRB Fact Sheet on Posting Requirement In a victory for employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has quashed the National Labor Relations Board's "posting requirement" rule, which the agency issued in August 2011.The final rule, which has not gone into effect because of the legal dispute, requires most businesses to post notices in conspicuous places informing workers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Some of those rights include forming, joining or assisting a union as well as collectively bargaining through

The four U.S. groups representing the interests of about 40,000 structural engineers have formed a coalition to promote structural-engineer licensing—a somewhat controversial subject among professional engineers. To date, 11 states have some form of SE licensing, which the structural groups maintain is critical for public safety."It is very important for us to really speak with one unified voice on the issue," said Sam A. Rihani, the 2013 president of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), at the group's 2013 Structures Congress, held on May 2-4 in Pittsburgh and attended by

Related Links: EPA's response to Sandy and guidance to states on funding Hurricane Construction Crews Converge for Hurricane Repairs, Restoration The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 2 that it would provide $569 million to New York and New Jersey for improvements to wastewater and drinking water facilities hit by Hurricane Sandy last year.The funds were appropriated in the post-Sandy spending bill, which was signed into law in January. The Sandy bill contained $600 million for improvements to treatment plants affected by the monster storm. With the sequester in place, the number was trimmed to $570 million.A total of

White House photo by Chuck Kennedy Obama announces his selection of Pritzker for Commerce secretary, Froman for U.S. trade representative. Related Links: Pritzker bio Froman bio (from State Dept. 2009) Seeking to fill top economic posts in his administration, President Obama has selected Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker as his nominee to lead the Commerce Dept. and White House aide Michael Froman to be U.S. Trade Representative.The choices, announced on May 2, are of keen interest to design firms, contractors and construction equipment and materials companies that want to expand their business overseas or fight what they view as unfair trade

Related Links: Disputed Shift by Insurance Brokers Entangles Contractor Clients Watch Out for Workers' Comp Costs Effective this March, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) revised its forms and endorsements for commercial general liability. This latest round of CGL changes is the largest the industry has seen in years. Major and minor modifications, along with new endorsements, could significantly affect, and in some cases narrow, the scope of CGL coverage moving forward. While insurers are obligated to notify insureds about changes that affect policy coverage, as always, the burden of due diligence ultimately falls on contractors to understand their coverage and