Related Links: NGA-NASBO Fall 2011 Fiscal Survey of States States’ fiscal pictures continue to show slow improvement, but still haven’t rebounded to where they were before the recession struck, a new survey says.The National Governors Association (NGA) and National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) latest Fiscal Survey of States, released on Nov. 29, reports that states’ projected general-fund revenue collections are up for the second-straight year, rising 1.6% for fiscal 2012, to $659.4 billion.But that still leaves states’ cumulative revenue $20.8 billion below the 2008 total.Scott Pattison, NASBO executive director, said in a conference call for reporters the biannual

The good news: Dept. of Transportation construction accounts are among the few federal programs with funding locked in for the rest of fiscal year 2012.The bad news: Most of those accounts were trimmed or, in the case of high-speed passenger rail, zeroed out. The major exception was mass transit, which got a $447-million boost, including a $358-million hike for the account that funds new transit-line starts.DOT's FY12 numbers are part of a spending bill enacted on Nov. 18 that also funds the Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development departments. The package also has a continuing resolution to keep all the

The inability of the congressional "supercommittee" to agree on a deficit-reduction plan will trigger $1.2 trillion in mandatory across-the-board spending cuts over the next 10 years. The cutbacks, which start in January 2013, will be split between defense and non-defense categories. Also, federal construction programs' budgets will not be spared.Jeffrey Shoaf, Associated General Contractors of America senior executive director for government affairs, says, "The failure to get an agreement adds more uncertainty for our industry, [which] is still suffering with double-digit unemployment. And we can scarcely afford more uncertainty."The Budget Control Act, signed into law on Aug. 2, created the

A special congressional committee charged with finding a way to trim the federal deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade, has conceded that it cannot agree on a plan to reach that goal.That acknowledgment will trigger $1.2 trillion in mandatory across-the-board cuts starting in January 2013, half from defense and half from nondefense categories, including construction programs—unless Congress passes a new law to modify or abolish them.President Obama called on Congress to come up with a "balanced plan"--presumably including some tax increases--to narrow the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion, but vowed to veto legislation that would

Related Links: Contractor-Controlled Wrap-Up Insurance Plans Gain Popularity The construction recession is killing off numerous smaller companies and surety losses are growing, said insurers at the International Risk Management Institute's construction conference in San Diego. But bigger, better-managed companies continue to win jobs and the surety losses overall will be manageable.At the same time, say risk managers, brokers and insurers at the conference, the never-ending legal wrangling over scope of coverage has led lawmakers in four states to attempt to assure that construction defects are covered under contractor liability insurance. As a result, a few insurers reportedly are steering clear

Related Links: House Appropriations Committee summary of spending package Federal transportation construction programs have their fiscal 2012 funding locked in, thanks to a newly enacted appropriations package. Highway funding and TIGER grants were sliced, high-speed rail was zeroed out, but aid for mass transit got a boost.   The legislation, which President Obama signed into law on Nov. 18, the day after the measure had cleared the House and Senate, provides $128.1 billion in discretionary funds for the Depts. of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Justice and Agriculture.   The bill’s total represents a $500-million cut from those departments’

In an unusual show of bipartisanship, House lawmakers have unanimously approved legislation that would repeal the requirement that federal, state and local agencies withhold 3% of their payments to contractors beginning in 2013. The bill, which cleared the House 422-0, also includes a provision that would make it easier for businesses to hire veterans. The President has said he will sign the measure, which the Senate had passed on Nov. 10 by a 95-0 vote. The bill’s approval is a victory for construction, engineering and other business groups, who had lobbied heavily for it. Some of the organizations that were

Action is heating up in Congress on transportation spending bills, both for 2012 and the long-delayed multiyear highway-transit measure. However, it is still up in the air how much money Congress will approve.House and Senate negotiations formally began on Nov. 3 on a fiscal 2012 appropriations package for the Depts. of Transportation, Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development. Construction officials like the Senate's numbers for key DOT programs, including a $41.1-billion highway obligation limit, the same as 2011's; $10.6 billion for mass transit, up 6% from 2011; $550 million for TIGER grants for select projects, up 4%; and

In what will be the most closely watched ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court's term, the justices announced on Nov. 14 that they will take up a case that challenges the constitutionality of the 2010 law that revamps the nation's health-care system.

The Senate on Nov. 10 overwhelmingly approved legislation to repeal a federal mandate that government agencies withhold part of their payments to contractors.  Construction industry groups and other business organizations, which had been lobbying heavily for the repeal, applauded the 95-0 vote.The withholding requirement, scheduled to go into effect in 2013 , would have required federal, state and certain local agencies to withhold 3% of the dollars they owe to their contractors.The House had approved a  version of the repeal bill on Oct. 27  with bipartisan support.But the Senate added a non-controversial amendment to the bill to provide tax credits