Related Links: Highway-Transit Bills' Progress Slows in House, Senate Fight Brewing Over House GOPs Transit Funding Plan As top officials from state transportation agencies gathered in Washington, D.C., for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ annual winter legislative meeting, the major topic of discussion was the continued delay and cloudy outlook for a new federal highway-transit bill.Differing bills are stalled on the Senate and House floors, and party leaders are working on ways to get them moving. The Senate is debating a bipartisan $109-billion, two-year measure, and the House is taking up a GOP-drafted $260-billion, five-year bill.But

Related Links: Summary of administration's proposal President Proposes Plan to Cut Corporate Tax Rates Construction industry organizations are finding fault with the Obama administration’s proposal to overhaul the corporate tax system, saying it does nothing to help many small businesses, which are prevalent in the design and construction industry. The proposal, which administration officials released on Feb. 22, would trim the top corporate rate to 28% from 35% and make permanent tax credits for renewable energy and research. In a call with reporters, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said President Obama's plan would simplify the tax code and end dozens of

Photo courtesy ABC Romney won the endorsement of the Associated Builders and Contractors following his address to the group's board of directors last week in Phoenix. Photo courtesy ABC Anirban Basu, ABC's chief economist, gave an upbeat view of the improving economy during a presentation at BizCon in Phoenix. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised to undo much of the regulatory and labor initiatives of the Obama administration, he said during a speech Thursday to the Associated Builders and Contractors' board of directors in Phoenix. Later that day, the association of construction industry executives threw its hat behind Romney's candidacy

Construction industry officials were encouraged to see long-delayed highway-transit bills move to the House and Senate floors in early February, but their mood shifted when both measures stalled just before the Presidents Day break. Although votes on difficult amendments lie ahead, congressional leaders still view the bills as priorities and are seeking to regain the momentum.In the House, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) decided to split up into separate parts the transportation-energy package he had constructed, apparently because there were not enough votes to approve the combined bill. On Feb. 16, the House did pass the energy portion on a vote

In a victory for architectural firms, the Small Business Administration has backed away from a proposed major boost in the revenue a firm can have and still be rated "small." That ceiling governs eligibility for small-business programs, such as contracts set aside for such firms.Last year SBA proposed hiking the "size standard" for both architectural and landscape architectural firms to $19 million in average annual receipts, from $4.5 million for architects and $7 million for landscape architects. Under the higher caps, small firms would compete against much bigger ones for small-business set-asides. After architects flooded SBA with criticisms about the

The Environmental Protection Agency's new general permit for construction-site stormwater runoff does not include a numeric limit for turbidity, a major victory for the construction industry. Still, the new permit will require substantially more cost and effort to comply with than the previous permit, industry sources say.At more than 100 pages, "it's twice as long, and there's a lot of new stuff in here," says Leah Pilconis, senior environmental advisor to the Associated General Contractors of America.The permit, issued on Feb. 16, replaces the EPA permit issued in 2008. It applies to states in which EPA has permitting jurisdiction under

Related Links: Summary of administration's tax proposal The Obama administration has proposed overhauling the corporate tax system, including a cut in the top rate and eliminating many subsidies and other breaks. But the framework, which the Treasury Dept. released on Feb. 22, does not affect many small businesses, which are prevalent in the design and construction industry.The proposal calls for trimming the top corporate tax rate to 28% from 35%, and making permanent tax credits for renewable energy and research.In a call with reporters, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that President Obama's plan would simplify the tax code and end

Related Links: OMB Proposes BRAC-like Board for Buildings BRAC: Total Cost 48% Higher Than Initial Estimate Plans to trim the federal real estate inventory have advanced, with House passage of a bill to set up a panel to recommend properties to be designated as surplus. Construction industry officials say such a plan would provide opportunities to upgrade federal buildings or spark private developments on former federal sites. But the House measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where a similar bill has been introduced but has yet to move.The House bill, which the chamber approved Feb. 7 by a

A group of 45 Senate lawmakers —all but one of whom are Republicans—is attempting to revive the Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline project, which President Obama nixed last month.

President Barack Obama's proposed $3.8-trillion budget for fiscal year 2013 would continue to squeeze discretionary spending and make further cuts in many construction programs that were trimmed this year. The proposal includes some construction hikes and repeats Obama's 2011 call for a sharp, immediate boost for highways and transit. But the transportation proposal's outlook is dim, because Congress turned it down twice before.Obama's budget request, sent to Congress on Feb. 13, is just the beginning of a long, tough partisan fight over 2013 spending. The outcome will have a direct impact on design and construction firms that focus on government