An apparent agreement between House and Senate conferees on a rewrite of federal financial regulations itself underwent an emergency revision on June 29 as the lead Senate negotiator, Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), won approval for an amendment he hopes will get the bill through the chamber. Construction officials theorized that if the measure becomes law, its new regulatory mandates and costs could prompt banks to make already-tight credit even more dear. Photo By Ap/wideworld Frank (left), Dodd led House and Senate conferees on bill, including late amendment. Dodd saw that objections to a $19-billion “assessment” on banks and hedge funds was

In a decision with implications for software vendors and construction firms, the U.S. Supreme Court on July 28 ruled business methods, such as formulas or strategies for improving efficiency, are patentable. The case, Bilski v. Kappos, appealed a lower-court ruling upholding the U.S. Patent Office’s denial of a patent for a formula for minimizing risk in buying and selling energy. The appeals court cited logic that limited patent protection to inventions involving new machinery or physical transformations of items. In the court’s 5-4 opinion, the justices upheld the rejection of the patent application, saying the formula was too abstract to

Single-employer and multi-employer pension plans that suffered losses when financial markets plunged in 2008 and 2009 have gained some relief under legislation enacted on June 25. The measure allows multi-employer plans, which affect unionized workers and companies in construction, to spread 2008-2009 investment losses over 30 years, instead of 15 years. The pension provisions moved to enactment when lawmakers shifted them from a stalled package of tax-break extensions to a bill that temporarily halts a cut in Medicare payments to physicians. It was the Medicare-pensions bill that President Obama signed. Meanwhile, the tax “extenders” bill was blocked in the Senate

The second major eminent domain decision in 13 months for the New York State Court of Appeals has Columbia University poised to move ahead on its $6.3-billion expansion in Harlem in upper Manhattan. Image: Columbia University In A recent court decision clears Columbia University to move forward on its planned 17-acre expansion, the southwestern corner of which is shown in the above rendering. In a unanimous decision, a panel of judges in Albany, N.Y., overturned an earlier ruling that prevented the state from seizing by eminent domain a small amount of property currently home to private businesses. Columbia already owned

As the State Dept. tackles U.S. embassy construction needs around the world, it is moving ahead on a set of new priorities. The department’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has launched a “design excellence” initiative, plans to build greener facilities and seeks to cut into a huge maintenance backlog. Industry firms will be watching for details of how OBO fleshes out its plans. NAMM Adam E. Namm, OBO’s acting director, told an ENR/Construction Users Roundtable forum on June 16 the bureau has 33 facilities under way. That pace continues a wave of 72 projects completed over the past 10

Five months after a severe earthquake devastated parts of Haiti, a Senate report, released June 22, says there are troubling indications that the process of reconstructing the country has "stalled." Related Links: View Report The report, by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic staff, gives a blunt analysis of the situation, saying that "Haiti is at a significant crossroads." It lists "critical issues" to be addressed in 10 key areas, including developing "a feasible, comprehensive rebuilding strategy" and getting the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission fully operational. The committee staff analysis also calls on Haitian President Rene Preval to "take a

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the National Labor Relations Board lacked authority to issue decisions when it had just two members. In a 5-4 opinion handed down on June 17, the court likely invalidated nearly 600 NLRB judgments from January 2008 to March 2010. It said a minimum quorum of three members is necessary. Unions criticized the court’s ruling, saying it will delay action on important labor disputes. But Denise Gold, the Associated General Contractors’ associate general counsel, says the decision should have a minimal impact. The Senate on June 22 confirmed two NLRB nominees: Republican Brian Hayes and

To provide financing for the Superfund program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants Congress to reinstate the tax on polluters that expired in 1995. The agency said in a June 21 letter to Congress that an excise or corporate tax on manufacturers of substances that commonly cause environmental problems would create a dedicated source of revenue for the Superfund program and speed up the pace of clean-ups.

The Senate was expected at press time to try again to vote on a revised package of tax-break extensions for companies and individuals. A June 17 attempt to bring the “extenders” bill up for a vote failed. The House passed its tax measure in May. The Senate bill, scaled back from an earlier version, has items that construction groups like, including an extension for the Build America Bonds program. But the bill also would hike taxes on firms organized as “S” corporations, though not as much as the earlier version would have. Groups such as the Associated Builders and Contractors

The building energy-use reporting tool released this month by the American Institute of Architects may help firms get a handle on how their designs compare to others regarding predicted energy consumption, but it won’t help designers comply with myriad statewide energy codes. Not only are there different codes in different states for both commercial and residential construction but statewide energy codes are constantly evolving, making it tough for designers to keep up with changes, say code experts. Image Image State codes are generally based on model energy codes, which are “getting more rigorous,” said Dave Conover, senior technical adviser with